Hollywood Challenge 12/31/18

Faith Pederson reached retirement age this round, which cuts her income by 2/3.  That sucks for them because also this round Kaitlyn left for college and now her parents have that debt to pay off via Faith's pension and barista income.  It's going to be brutal.  Sydney Drake had the day off, but did her personal training and called a friend to chat, who told her she'd definitely be getting a promotion next time she works.  Cool!  Her "wife" Andrea got promoted and made a new friend, bringing them ever closer to leveling up to 2*.  Jocelyn Silver got a promotion, met her celeb hour requirement, and got home in time to watch Grey grow into a toddler.  Dante has become more or less a stay-at-home dad since he doesn't have a regular job, but luckily he's a better father than he is a husband.  The only requirement left for them to meet is the money requirement.  Nolan and Savannah Pederson had a quiet day, bartending in the afternoon, then Nolan went to work.  Typical newlyweds, right?  Rachel Burke and her boyfriend Drake both went to work (she got promoted, he didn't but will soon) and Drake brought home Jocelyn Silver.  At one point, Drake went up to the roof where some of the other residents were hanging out.  I was watching Rachel and didn't see what happened, but I did hear the "boing" of someone getting caught cheating.  I paused and went to check out the roof, but couldn't tell what had happened, however Jocelyn, Dante, and Savannah were all on the roof (don't know why Dante was there?) and Dante and Savannah were dancing, while Drake and Jocelyn chatted.  Since Savannah didn't seem mad, I'm guessing that it was Jocelyn who caught Dante and Savannah together.  Bad news for Dante!  So I went to check and, sure enough, Dante cheated, so I had them split up.  Dante moved out to a new apartment and Jocelyn stayed in the current apartment and (based on the 4 point scale to determine custody) retained custody of Grey.  Caryl Karr actually made $300 while freestyling, so that was good for her.  Later I had her invite one of her moms' neighbors over, since she doesn't have many friends, and they hung out for a while (making friends, yay!) before Caryl decided to go to bed.  She also got a call from the cow mascot and befriended him, so now she has a grand total of 4 friends.  Brandi and Elise Karr both reached retirement age this round, but other than that nothing to note.  Samantha Sanders finished another cookbook, netting over $3000, while Justyn continued trying to earn that gold cosmetology badge he's been working on.  Lexie Burke retired from her job, but immediately took an elder job.  Nicholas did yoga hours and then went to his elder job and Michael asked Brooke Sanders to go steady.  Happy New Year!

Hollywood Challenge 12/30/18

Faith Pederson got promoted and it will likely be her last promotion as she'll be reaching retirement age (65) next round.  It'll be just in time for Kaitlyn to leave for Uni as well, meaning they'll be gaining a large debt and losing a significant portion of income at the same time.  Fun!  I was very excited for Sydney Drake and Andrea to get married next round until I realized Sydney has what I call the "phantom marriage" glitch where the game thinks she's engaged or married to someone who is not even in her relationship panel and therefore she cannot get engaged/married to anyone else.  I've had this glitch a few times before and so I know that killing and resurrecting Sydney will likely not break the marriage so it looks like Sydney will have to remain technically single for life.  Usually I don't allow unmarried couples to adopt because the children will only count one parent as family, but this is a special circumstance, so I'm going to allow it.  They're not ready for kids yet anyway.  They want to wait a while and after that there will be the adoption waiting period that I impose on them in this challenge, so it'll be a good long while before that happens.  The Silvers had a relaxing day at home with their new baby.  Jocelyn had the day off from work, though she did do a barista shift in the afternoon.  She is still blissfully unaware that her husband is having an affair with (newly married) Savannah Pederson.  That's right, Nolan and Savannah tied the knot as scheduled.  They are not planning to wait long to have the one and only child Savannah will agree to (I guess she wants to get it over with?), so if things go south we could have multiple confused nooboos wondering what happened to their parents' marriages so soon after their births?  Rachel Burke finally made her move on Drake, they fell in love, and she moved him in.  He wasted no time in getting a job in Science.  They're a fairly good match, both neat, shy, and serious.  Only big difference is that she wants 7 kids and he only wants 2.  Caryl Karr is off to a bit of a rocky start.  She decided to just do freestyling, no day job.  Unfortunately she apparently stinks at freestyling?  She made no money in 4 hours.  Sad.  Brandi and Elise Karr both had the day off, so the only income was Brandi's dj-ing.  They were able to pay off the last of the Uni debt, so that was good.  Unfortunately they'll both be retiring next round, which means even if they get elder jobs, their income will diminish greatly.  It's going to make it much tougher to save up the needed cash to level up.  The Sanders had an uneventful Sunday.  Justyn did makeovers and didn't mess up anyone's face, Samantha worked on her latest cookbook and went to work, and Brooke maxed her logic skill by playing chess with old people.  The Burkes were also uneventful.  Nicholas did his yoga class and spent some time playing chess, Lexie and Michael have both been on health kicks, working out on the exercise bike and jogging.

Hollywood Challenge 12/28/18

Neil and Kaitlyn Pederson spent the day hanging out together, while Faith went to work and did not get promoted.  Then the family tried to get a good night's sleep but couldn't because first the neighbors kept being loud and waking them up and then a tree outside kept getting struck by lightning and catching fire, and for some reason their building has smoke alarms outside, so that kept waking them up.  Needless to say, they're pretty miserable.  Kaitlyn has had the want to go to college since she aged up to teen.  Guess she can't wait to get out of there, lol.  Sydney Drake continued to move forward by achieving her celeb hour requirement. She almost has the money requirement also, so they just really need to work on friendships and they'll be good to go.  The Silvers settled into their new apartment.  Jocelyn went to work, gave birth on the sidewalk as soon as she returned home, then promptly went out to her barista job for 4 hours, did some skilling, ate dinner, and cleaned up the kitchen, before finally getting to bed.  She's a superwoman, lol.  Anyway, their new son is named Grey and he's perfectly adorable.  Savannah Sanders invited Dante Silver over again while her boyfriend Nolan Pederson was at work.  This time their 3 bolts got the best of them and they are now officially having an affair.  Dante left before Nolan got home, so he was none the wiser as they headed out to do their bartending jobs.  Nolan and Savannah are set to get married next round and I almost hope the affair comes to light before then because Nolan would be much better suited to Rachel Burke, Savannah and Dante could get together, jilted Jocelyn would likely pursue Nicholas Burke, and (with the exception of Lexie Burke) everyone would be happy.  The domino effect of drama would also make me happy so win-win right?  (Again, except for poor Lexie, lol.)  Rachel Burke got a promotion, did some personal training, and had a disappointing evening with Drake who, after a couple of non-romantic interactions, decided to just leave.  Sigh.  The Karrs had an uneventful round: they made a tuition payment, Brandi went to work and did celeb hours, Elise hung around the house all day.  Since it was Saturday, Justyn Sanders took his daughter Brooke to the beach with him.  While he did hair and makeup, Brooke met up with Michael Burke and, some flirting later, they're crushing!  Meanwhile, Samantha finished up her 4th cookbook.  Not a bad day.  For Nicholas Burke, rather than waste the time I spent building the yoga studio/spa, I decided to eliminate the masseuse job and change the yoga instructor job from a per student pay rate to a flat rate for 5 hours like most of the other 2* jobs.  This way he gets paid whether any "students" join him or not.  It's a compromise, but it'll work.  Nicholas also got an elder job in Music in which he got promoted on the first day, so pretty good.

Hollywood Challenge 12/26/18

Well, the Pedersons must be the unluckiest sims ever.  While Faith did get promoted back to her original job level, her husband Neil got fired!  Stupid chance cards.  It sucks because he was fairly high up in the Athletic career and probably would have received one more promotion before retiring in a few days.  Now there will be no promotion bonus, no daily income, and no pension.  Sigh.  As unlucky as the Pedersons are, that's how lucky Sydney Drake is.  She had a fantastic round during which she got a promotion, did her personal training, fell in love with Andrea, and asked her to move in.  Andrea only brought a couple of friends, but she brought in a substantial amount of money.  They will likely level up in the near future.  Woohoo!  The Silvers are nearly ready to welcome their first baby, so after Jocelyn received a promotion at work, they decided to move to a bigger apartment in preparation for the new arrival.  They moved into the building where the Burkes and the Sanders live.  Nolan and Savannah had a typical day: bartending in the morning followed by Nolan going to work in the afternoon.  Savannah rolled a want to be best friends with Dante (I guess they became friends while I was playing another family?) so I had her invite him over.  They hung out a little, but didn't become best friends or romantic.  Nolan arrived home and they both went to bed.  I was actually hoping for a little drama.  Sigh.  Rachel Burke spent another quiet day at home.  Her dad Nicholas stopped by for lunch.  She didn't roll any wants for Drake, but she did roll a want for a first kiss.  Poor girl still hasn't had that milestone.  The Karrs did not make any progress on their money goal since the only money they brought in was from Brandi's dj-ing and they had to pay rent and Caryl's tuition.  Luckily the tuition's almost paid off and rent won't be due again for a while, so they can get back to saving next round.  Justyn Sanders earned his silver cosmetology badge which will earn him more money.  Samantha went to work and worked on her cookbook.  Brooke brought home Chloe Gonzaga from school and befriended her over a game of chess, securing the friend requirement for the family.  My plans for Nicholas Burke did not work out at all.  I built a yoga studio/spa with massage tables and a yoga/tai chi area, but when he went down there, he couldn't give massages, nor could he get anyone to join yoga.  So I don't really know what I'm going to do with him.  I'm frustrated to say the least.

Hollywood Challenge 12/24/18

The Burkes leveled up!  Having met all but the money requirement, all they needed was to earn a few thousand dollars and they just barely went over the mark.  Since they already lived in an appropriate apartment, all I had to do was reduce their money back down to $35,000.  Nicholas retired from his Science job and will look for an entertainment related job.  He will also switch to 2* celeb work, but I haven't decided what to have him do yet.  The only things he's qualified for at the moment are makeup artist and dj, but I've already got sims doing those and wanted to try something different.  If I build a yoga studio or spa, I'll have some other options so I think that's what go ahead and do.  Both Pedersons had the opportunity to get promoted this round, but only Neil succeeded.  Faith actually got demoted because of a bad chance card.  Nevertheless, they did earn enough money to finally pay off their Uni debt.  Too bad in a few more days Kaitlyn will hit them with another one.  Sydney Drake got a promotion which is great, but her new work hours will make it harder to get her personal training hours in.  She also made best friends with Andrea Hogan, so that's something.  This girl really likes to take things slowly, lol.  Nothing eventful happened with the Silvers.  Jocelyn didn't get promoted and was too tired to work her celeb hours.  Dante did his celeb hours, but made no money.  Nolan Pederson and Savannah Sanders spent most of their day at home, aside from their bartending gigs.  Savannah rolled the want to be friends with Dante Silver, but he never left his apartment and wasn't interested in hanging out when she knocked on his door.  Maybe he's trying to avoid temptation?  Rachel Burke had the day off, so she did some personal training and then hung out on the roof of her building with some of the neighbors.  She too rolled a want to be friends with Dante Silver.  What is it about that guy?  However, she also wanted to be best friends with the guy from college, Drake.  She achieved that with a phone call.  I'll have to have her invite him over to see if any sparks fly.  The Karrs met both their friend and celeb hour requirements in the same round.  Now they just have to work on money.  It helps that Caryl earned 3 scholarships and got A+ both semesters of her Freshman year at Uni.  It means her moms won't have to contribute as much out of pocket and might potentially be able to level up one more time.  Samantha Sanders finished her third cookbook and Justyn messed up some townies' faces.  Brooke rolled a want to be friends with Kaitlyn Pederson and accomplished it.  Unfortunately, she lost Michael Burke as a friend, but I'm sure she'll regain him soon, since they live in the same building and see each other all the time.

Hollywood Challenge 12/22/18

The Burkes have almost made it.  They both got large promotion bonuses this round, putting their money goal just a few thousand away.  They've already met the friend and hour requirements, so they're in the home stretch.  They also paid off Rachel's college tuition (she graduated, btw, and moved into her own apartment) and Michael became a teen.  The Pedersons continue to tread water financially.  They made a small payment on their college debt, but neither worked this round.  Faith did her celeb hours at the café, more for money than anything which is sad.  Neil should score a promotion next round (Faith might too) which will hopefully pull them out of their slump.  Sydney Drake had a pretty quiet day.  She did her personal training, chatted with Andrea on the phone, went to work, and got a promotion.  Not bad, but not exciting.  Since Jocelyn Silver had the day off, they spent some time working on that baby they both want.  Success!  Baby Silver is on the way.  Afterwards they did some celeb hours, etc.  Savannah Sanders moved in with Nolan Pederson right after graduation.  They are very different, so I'm not sure this is the best match.  He's Family, she's Romance, he wants 8 kids, she wants 1, he wants to get engaged to her, she has 3 bolts for Dante Silver.  Nolan would likely be better suited to Rachel Burke who is also Family and wants 7 kids.  For now we're going to see how things go.  Will Savannah and Dante cheat on the respective partners?  Will they get caught?  Will two relationships be down the tubes?  Who knows?  Speaking of Rachel Burke, she moved into her own place in the same building as Nolan, Savannah, Sydney, and the Silvers.  She immediately found a job in Law Enforcement and picked up a part-time gig as a personal trainer.  She also put in a call to a guy she met at Uni during her senior year.  She has a want to be best friends with him and 2 bolts, so we'll see where that goes.  Brandi Karr is doing well on her requirements; she just needs 2 more friends, 2 more celeb hours, and about $50,000 more.  Granted that last one is tough, and made even tougher by the fact that Caryl left for Uni this round, but both Brandi and Elise are high up in their careers so I don't think it'll be terribly difficult for them to achieve.  The Sanders paid off their Uni debt, Samantha got promoted to the top of the elder Dance career, and Brooke grew up to teen.  They have a long way to go on their money requirement.  Samantha will have to sell quite a few cookbooks in the next week in order for them to level up before Brooke goes to college and they get hit with another Uni debt.

Hollywood Challenge 12/20/18

During last round Nicholas Burke had somehow become transparent, which had me worried, but luckily when he went off to work this round he came back normal.  Whew!  Other than that, nothing really to note.  Nicholas and Lexie worked, but didn't get promotions, Nicholas padded his celeb hours by bartending, they paid another $5000 towards Rachel's tuition, and Michael went to school.  Neil Pederson almost didn't make it through this round.  He's been on a health kick recently, wanting body points, so I sent him out jogging.  He came home overheated, but went straight to the bathtub anyway.  He got out of the tub and immediately passed out.  When he revived he went to bed, waking several times to pass out and dragging his Hunger bar into the red.  I managed to get a plate of leftover spaghetti into him somehow, despite his falling asleep in the plate every few minutes.  He went to bed again, passed out a few more times, but finally got his needs high enough to stave off immediate death.  It was a long day for poor Neil.  Sydney Drake had the day off from her Culinary job, but she still went to the gym in the morning for her personal training gig.  Afterwards she invited Andrea Hogan over to hang out.  They had some comfort soup, danced, flirted, and by the end of the night they had mutual crushes, though they're not yet best friends.  All in all, a successful day for Sydney.  The Silvers did their usual routine.  Jocelyn went to work while Dante hung out at home for the day.  After work, they both went out to do their celeb hours, then back home for dinner, skilling, and bedtime.  Next round they will start trying for a baby so that should be more interesting.  Nolan Pederson, having recently graduated, settled into his new apartment, found a job in Culinary, did a little bartending for his celeb hours, and spent some time trying to get to know his neighbors.  Since he fell in love with Samantha Sanders while in Uni, she will likely be moving in with him as soon as she graduates.  Until then, he'll keep doing what he's doing.  The Karrs finally got back to work this round, with Brandi landing a promotion.  They made a significant gain on their money requirement, but with Caryl leaving for Uni next round, they won't be able to progress on that for a while.  They also lost a couple of friends and will lose a few more when Caryl leaves, so the friend requirement has also taken a hit.  Hour-wise they're in good shape with 93/100.  The Sanders both met their celeb hour requirement this round.  Samantha also finished a cookbook and got a promotion in her elder job, which helped to balance out the tuition payment a bit.  Savannah should be graduating next round, so hopefully they'll get the Uni debt paid off and having some time to save before Brooke goes to Uni.