http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/blog AudreyMay creates custom content for The Sims. Available at http://www.thesimsresource.com/ en-us http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/comments/?blogID=7616 http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/comments/?blogID=7616 On March 24, Audrey May, our 12 year old basset hound had to be "put to sleep". She was having multiple problems and her quality of life was not good at all. I am the kind of person who believes in getting another dog right away and on March 28 my husband and I adopted Droopy from the Rhode Island SPCA. He is a basset hound who was owned by two other families before he came to us. Poor Droopy was nervous and anxious when I brought him home and his tail was tucked permanently between his legs. He was afraid of sudden noises and if anyone touched him unexpectedly on any part of his body he would yelp and run. After two months he is much better. He loves to run around the house and play and comes when we call him. He has come a long way. :) On March 24, Audrey May, our 12 year old basset hound had to be "put to sleep". She was having multiple problems and her quality of life was not good at all. I am the kind of person who believes in getting another dog right away and on March 28 my husband and I adopted Droopy from the Rhode Island SPCA. He is a basset hound who was owned by two other families before he came to us. Poor Droopy was nervous and anxious when I brought him home and his tail was tucked permanently between his legs. He was afraid of sudden noises and if anyone touched him unexpectedly on any part of his body he would yelp and run. After two months he is much better. He loves to run around the house and play and comes when we call him. He has come a long way. :) AudreyMay 2008-05-24T18:55:00-00:00 http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/comments/?blogID=4214 http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/comments/?blogID=4214 I had been thinking about this idea for a story for over a year and finally got up the nerve to post it in the Stories forum. Saoz suggested I add it to my blog so here it is! :) The Dream of a Sim City Firefighter Lights flashing and siren blaring, the fire truck screeched to a halt outside a little yellow house and the firefighter jumped down from the cab. Grabbing the hose, he dashed through the front door and into the kitchen where an hysterical young woman jumped and screamed in front of a burning stove. "Stand back, ma'am!" he admonished, aiming the hose at the flames. "Oooo! Eeee! Aaaa!" The woman hopped up and down and spun around in terror, waving her hands in the air. In a matter of minutes the fire was out and the firefighter stood waiting expectantly, peeking at the woman out of the corner of his eye. "Oh come on! Say something!" He watched as she brushed the hair from her face, poured herself a cup of espresso and left the room. He sighed heavily. "Gotta run. Please be careful next time. Bye." he recited for the tenth time that day before walking out the door and climbing in the truck. Back at the firehouse he heated up a TV dinner and sat down at the table across from his friend and fellow firefighter, Sam. "Hey, Joe! How ya doin'?" "I'm okay, Sam." "You don't sound it." "Well, you know the way it is." His friend smiled and took a bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich. "I see you are still lookin' for Mrs. Right." "What if I am?" Joe shot back. "What's wrong with that?" "Nothin'! Nothin'! Don't get your boxers in a bunch! I'm only sayin' that we can't pick and choose whose fires we put out. If they don't stop to thank us or say 'hi' there's nothin' we can do about it. It's better to just do our jobs and not expect too much." "I don't think it's too much to hope to meet a woman, settle down and start a new life.” protested Joe. “Look at Bob! Last week he put out that oven blaze in the two-story colonial on Main. The owners invited him for dinner and he hit it off with their adult daughter and they got married. Now he is moving up fast in politics and is the father of twin toddlers!" "I know...I know...It can happen but it doesn’t happen often. Hey, we aren't the only ones, ya know! It's the same for the cops, the exterminators, even the kids who deliver the paper. Don't let it get to you, Joe! Go in there, put out the fires, give out the warnings and hope for the best. Besides, what's so bad about being a Sim City firefighter!? We keep the city goin'! Think about it! Without us the Sim City body count would be...well, it would be too high to count!" Giving Joe a wink and a grin, Sam rose from the table and sat down in front of the TV. "Being a Sim City firefighter forever is okay for some sims," thought Joe. "But I want a life and a family of my own.” The days passed by and Joe wasn't any closer to realizing his dream. He extinguished numerous fires but the only sims who took the time to speak to him were a young man with romance on his mind and an old lady living alone with her parrot. Joe politely turned down the man’s advances and promised the old lady, who was very sweet and gave him a piece of berry pie, that he would stop by and visit her when he had a chance. One day toward the end of his shift, Joe responded to a call concerning a fire in a white ranch house on Long Lane. A microwave was ablaze and a teenage boy ran frantically back and forth near the flames. "Stand back, son." said Joe, spraying the microwave with a shower of chemicals. In a moment the fire was extinguished and Joe watched the boy sink down on a kitchen chair, his face pale and drawn. "Poor guy," thought Joe. "When will sims learn to teach their kids some cooking skills at a young age? No matter how many times we try to educate the public about fire safety they don't seem to listen!" Preparing to give his warning speech and leave, Joe glanced to his right and saw a pretty young woman standing in the doorway. “Wow, is she cute!” he thought, his heart beginning to do flip-flops. He watched the woman walk to the boy and give him a hug. “Okay. Guess it's time to go.” Joe muttered under his breath. “You can’t stand around forever. Give your little spiel and get going.” He opened his mouth to speak when she looked up at him and smiled. “I was about to start dinner but it seems my little brother couldn’t wait.” she said with an anxious little laugh. “I wish there were something we could do to thank you. How about having dinner with us? Oh, and don’t worry! My cooking skills are maxed out so you shouldn’t need to put out any more fires.” It took a moment for Joe to realize what had just happened but when he did his face burst into a grin from ear to ear. “That would be great!” he replied. The young woman named Carolyn and her brother, Tom, whose parents were both deceased, invited Joe to dine with them often and it was only a matter of time before Joe and Carolyn fell in love. One warm summer day the young couple exchanged wedding vows under a rose-covered arch. As Joe gazed into the eyes of his new bride, he remembered Sam's advice. "Yes, Sam. I guess in a way you were right. It is best not to expect too much." he mused. "But there is nothing wrong with having a dream." I had been thinking about this idea for a story for over a year and finally got up the nerve to post it in the Stories forum. Saoz suggested I add it to my blog so here it is! :) The Dream of a Sim City Firefighter Lights flashing and siren blaring, the fire truck screeched to a halt outside a little yellow house and the firefighter jumped down from the cab. Grabbing the hose, he dashed through the front door and into the kitchen where an hysterical young woman jumped and screamed in front of a burning stove. "Stand back, ma'am!" he admonished, aiming the hose at the flames. "Oooo! Eeee! Aaaa!" The woman hopped up and down and spun around in terror, waving her hands in the air. In a matter of minutes the fire was out and the firefighter stood waiting expectantly, peeking at the woman out of the corner of his eye. "Oh come on! Say something!" He watched as she brushed the hair from her face, poured herself a cup of espresso and left the room. He sighed heavily. "Gotta run. Please be careful next time. Bye." he recited for the tenth time that day before walking out the door and climbing in the truck. Back at the firehouse he heated up a TV dinner and sat down at the table across from his friend and fellow firefighter, Sam. "Hey, Joe! How ya doin'?" "I'm okay, Sam." "You don't sound it." "Well, you know the way it is." His friend smiled and took a bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich. "I see you are still lookin' for Mrs. Right." "What if I am?" Joe shot back. "What's wrong with that?" "Nothin'! Nothin'! Don't get your boxers in a bunch! I'm only sayin' that we can't pick and choose whose fires we put out. If they don't stop to thank us or say 'hi' there's nothin' we can do about it. It's better to just do our jobs and not expect too much." "I don't think it's too much to hope to meet a woman, settle down and start a new life.” protested Joe. “Look at Bob! Last week he put out that oven blaze in the two-story colonial on Main. The owners invited him for dinner and he hit it off with their adult daughter and they got married. Now he is moving up fast in politics and is the father of twin toddlers!" "I know...I know...It can happen but it doesn’t happen often. Hey, we aren't the only ones, ya know! It's the same for the cops, the exterminators, even the kids who deliver the paper. Don't let it get to you, Joe! Go in there, put out the fires, give out the warnings and hope for the best. Besides, what's so bad about being a Sim City firefighter!? We keep the city goin'! Think about it! Without us the Sim City body count would be...well, it would be too high to count!" Giving Joe a wink and a grin, Sam rose from the table and sat down in front of the TV. "Being a Sim City firefighter forever is okay for some sims," thought Joe. "But I want a life and a family of my own.” The days passed by and Joe wasn't any closer to realizing his dream. He extinguished numerous fires but the only sims who took the time to speak to him were a young man with romance on his mind and an old lady living alone with her parrot. Joe politely turned down the man’s advances and promised the old lady, who was very sweet and gave him a piece of berry pie, that he would stop by and visit her when he had a chance. One day toward the end of his shift, Joe responded to a call concerning a fire in a white ranch house on Long Lane. A microwave was ablaze and a teenage boy ran frantically back and forth near the flames. "Stand back, son." said Joe, spraying the microwave with a shower of chemicals. In a moment the fire was extinguished and Joe watched the boy sink down on a kitchen chair, his face pale and drawn. "Poor guy," thought Joe. "When will sims learn to teach their kids some cooking skills at a young age? No matter how many times we try to educate the public about fire safety they don't seem to listen!" Preparing to give his warning speech and leave, Joe glanced to his right and saw a pretty young woman standing in the doorway. “Wow, is she cute!” he thought, his heart beginning to do flip-flops. He watched the woman walk to the boy and give him a hug. “Okay. Guess it's time to go.” Joe muttered under his breath. “You can’t stand around forever. Give your little spiel and get going.” He opened his mouth to speak when she looked up at him and smiled. “I was about to start dinner but it seems my little brother couldn’t wait.” she said with an anxious little laugh. “I wish there were something we could do to thank you. How about having dinner with us? Oh, and don’t worry! My cooking skills are maxed out so you shouldn’t need to put out any more fires.” It took a moment for Joe to realize what had just happened but when he did his face burst into a grin from ear to ear. “That would be great!” he replied. The young woman named Carolyn and her brother, Tom, whose parents were both deceased, invited Joe to dine with them often and it was only a matter of time before Joe and Carolyn fell in love. One warm summer day the young couple exchanged wedding vows under a rose-covered arch. As Joe gazed into the eyes of his new bride, he remembered Sam's advice. "Yes, Sam. I guess in a way you were right. It is best not to expect too much." he mused. "But there is nothing wrong with having a dream." AudreyMay 2007-06-16T19:26:00-00:00 http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/comments/?blogID=1994 http://www.thesimsresource.com/artists/AudreyMay/comments/?blogID=1994 Since this is my blog I guess I should say something in it. Welcome to My Blog! How is that? :D Since this is my blog I guess I should say something in it. Welcome to My Blog! How is that? :D AudreyMay 2006-11-06T18:00:00-00:00