One legacy ends ... another begins.

So those few of you who have read my legacy on the boards know that it has come to an end. And not a voluntary end either. The story's imploded before, but now it's gone utterly belly-up BOOM unsalvagable. Which sucks. And sucks more because I was nearly done with the rotten thing!

Now, the normal course of action for me in this situation is to have a screaming hissy fit, swear off Sims for weeks and months and devote myself to a different video game (Mass Effect, ahem ahem), curse the latest EP/SP I installed for eating my game, whatever. I've decided not to follow these very reasonable courses. Instead, I'm going to start a new legacy. And not just any legacy, since I find the regular rules and scorecard dull as dishwater anyway! I ... am ... doing ... something new!

I got rules. :)

[... the primary rule is that heirs cannot produce an heir with someone of their parents' lineage. For example, an heir with an Egyptian mother and a French father is free to ultimately marry another Sim of Egyptian/French descent, but their heir must be produced with a Chinese Sim, or someone from their hometown. To that end, oveseas trips (which should be taken frequently in any case) must be taken any time family funds reach §10,000 ...

... heirs are nomadic--they live in tents, or very small shabby dwellings. (While a nicer house is permitted to be constructed on the lot, the heir must not use it as their primary residence.) No burglar or fire alarms are permitted on the lot. No basements are allowed. Collectible items must be hoarded in a storage shed or concealed in chests. Heirs may not establish friendships with celebrities. Celebrity status, opportunities, and accompanying perks are to be completely shunned ...

... All items (except nectar) normally available at a consignment store must be found or bought. Heirs will prefer at-home professions to careers. If a career is chosen, heirs cannot advance beyond level five ...]

... so as you can see, I'm deliberately making it hard on myself. Not quite Apocolypse-Challenge hard, but hard enough. I'm sure my founder will eventually find a way out of this enormous mess I've made for him, though. :D

**hangs head in shame**

"One thing at a time, April!"

I remember one time in my life when I was scolded--frequently--for being a poor multitasker.  I was told that it was a skill that I'd need to get ahead in the workforce.  I was told that it was a sign of an intelligent mind. 

Now it seems like a curse.  I literally can't concentrate on any one project--I'm usually up to my knees in at least two, and usually unhappy unless I'm over my head in a third.  My unfinished project file is a fire hazard.  My half-baked concepts litter the landscape.  I have a notebook stuffed with floor plans for sim houses, fewer of half of which were completed, and fewer than half of those were worth uploading.  And worst of all, due to this frame of mind, the only solution I can conceive of is to write yet more stories that are probably wholly unnecessary, take more screenshots to balloon out my folder, which is rapidly approaching 6000 photos, begin more projects in Workshop, over half of which I won't finish for one reason or another, start more building projects that are destined to be abandoned and eventually bulldozed. 

What the hell is wrong with me?

Griping won't fix it.  But how do I un-learn something that was hammered into me and that is still considered a desirable trait?  Even as we see the very real consquences of multitasking, the errors made, the accidents caused, the productivity lost, the stress induced?

A while ago I'd have joked that I'd write a story about it.  That joke just doesn't seem very funny today.

:(

Thoughts on story and photo trolling.

Thoughts that have circulating in my pea brain for a bit:

I think we can all agree that the ratings trolling is a bit obnoxious.  You post a screenshot that you just love from your game.  You post a story that you worked hard on and it has significance to you.  Things go on swimmingly, you're getting good feedback ... and whammo!  Three hours later your rating has plummeted from the high 4s to the low 3s.  Or, if you're especially unlucky, the high 2s.  In every case when this has happened to me, it only takes me a few seconds to look around at the surrounding postings to realize that everyone took a hit along with me; a troll is on the site, and most likely it's not personal.  Still stings, though.  People have stopped contributing to the site over it.

Why do people do this?  Dunno for sure, but I've heard a few reasons over the years. 

1. The troller is bored and just feels like being spiteful. (I had an ex who was a member of a few ratings site for this specific reason; he went after highly-ranked photos specifically to downgrade them.) 
2. The troller is trying to "average" the ratings.  (Usually this seems to happen in reverse; people upgrade because they feel sorry to see such a low rating.  Every now and then someone admits that they don't like seeing someone with such high ratings and they need to knock it down a little.)
3. The troller is not actually trolling; they are used to a system where "1" is high and "5" is low, so they think they're doing it correctly.  (I remember when this happened to an FA who was renowned for her excellent work.  We all felt bad for her, but at the same time it was funny in a "shake-your-head" way.)

The problem was resolved as far as submissions go by removing the star rating, and that may be a viable solution for screenshots and stories as well.  Personally, though, I'd rather keep the rating systems on stories, flaws and all.  It may be because I've been writing for the vast majority of my life and I'm used to feedback that isn't always kind or even constructive.  It may be because I'm not on Facebook and am not in the habit of just "liking" random stuff.  The saying "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" might be suitable for photographs, but it doesn't work for a writer.  If a writer doesn't receive constructive criticism on their work, they'll still be writing in the same manner at 40 that they did when they were 18.  Trust me, that's not a pretty sight. 

Despite its potential and history of abuse, I find that the ratings are usually a good indicator that I will enjoy reading the story.  I've also noticed that stories unfairly knocked down by trolling usually float up again because the readership knows a good one when they see it, spitefulness be damned.  This is not a universal truth, of course, but I've found it to be so in most cases.

But naturally I want to know what you think. :)

Horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE Dream

Arrgh.  I'm just awake, the coffee's perking, and seeing the bugs clinging to the window screens is reminding me of the dream I had last night.  I can't believe I didn't wake up freaking out ... ugh.

What is this dream, you ask?  Well, we were living in a house, and the house had some sort of infestation issue, and we called an exterminator, who recommended a natural solution--a two-foot tall spider.  Basically, we were to let the spider have the roam of the house, and it would consume the other pests.  Bear in mind that this was not any sort of electronic or robotic spider.  It was a fully organic, live, HUGE spider.  So I'd be reading in bed, or typing in the office, and see a shadow come stalking by ... just UGH!

Now, of course IRL no one would stand for such a scenario.  But this was a dream, and we were fully used to living with the spider and cleaning up its victims and whatnot, until my mother came by for a visit and took us out for lunch.  When we came home, we found the spider locked in mortal combat with a giant slug.  The spider was losing.  We fled the house.

So ... yeah.  When my future kids come to me and tell me they want a tarantula as a pet, I'll be pointing them straight to this blog.

Ugh.

Need coffee.

Occasionally Yours

So that poll on my minisite ... it's gone now.  Primarily because I took a look at the results, and the voting was an emphatic 4 to 1 that I should be providing you all with a bonkers sequel.  Second place went to "give us something new," so I do hope that The Stones has provided you with a seasonable dose of the "something new," as I'll be finishing that story next weekend, after I've become more familiar with Late Night.

Now, onto the point of the blog.  The working title of the sequel series is Occasionally Yours.  I have no solid details beyond the fact that Holden Wozny has in fact become a firefighter, and a rather popular one at that.  Gwen has also found success with a musician's career, though she is beginning to be overwhelmed by the constant demands of performing and fans.  In addition, there is a third roommate involved now--and he seems to have some rather strange hobbies that regularly attract the attention of the police.  Hmm.

... ha.  Anyway, that in and of itself is fairly silly.  Fortunately, RatRaceRob and I have been in conspirational talks to inflict our characters on each other--his Jesse Simanski seems to like Miss Glover, and well, Jesse's such a charming young man when he sings about those photographs he likes to collect!  So this new series is all but guaranteed to provide your daily mininum requirement of crazy, and you can continue to enjoy the foolishness you have come to expect when you hear the name "spladoum"!

... what's that?  When's it coming out?  ... oh.  Umm.  Is that my cell phone?  I gotta go.  Ask Rob! :P