Where would I be without free downloads?
Jun. 18th, 2006 11:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
constanceI'm a little embarrassed to tell you about what I've been doing with my free time in the past week, so let me tell you first about Father's Day. My father and I have a relationship that is friendly, but often contentious and strained because while we're similar temperamentally, we're very different when it comes to everything else, and we don't always trust each other's motives, and so any time that we spend together past about three hours has the potential to go disastrously wrong in ways that make life extremely unpleasant not only for us but for everyone around us.
Today was one of the good days, I'm happy to report. I'm not spending money on anything that isn't strictly necessary right now, and so I was absolved from the difficult task of buying something that he wanted that he hadn't already just gone out and bought. Instead, I gave him a bunch of downloaded comedy video, and though you may not think an hour and fifteen minutes of George Carlin talking about suicide was the most appropriate of Father's Day gifts, I assure you that the collection was a big success. I also donated three hours of time changing out a CD drive and reconfiguring things on his PC and laptop (which was sort of a present for my mother, since my father's easily frustrated by computers and has a control over his temper that falls somewhat short of suffucient).
I also cooked dinner, which since my parents started the South Beach Diet last week (I know, I know), I had to look up all these special recipes, and here is what we ended up having: steaks rubbed with garlic and olive oil, garlic mashed cauliflower that was kind of shockingly tasty, baby spinach salad with tomatoes and mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette, and mocha ricotta for dessert (which sounds perfectly disgusting but is perfectly edible).
It was a good day, is what I'm trying to say. Nary a fight, not even a harsh word. The kind of day which makes me kind of sorry I sometimes dread these family gatherings.
:::
Okay, so on to what I've been doing for the rest of the week: playing The Sims. I bought the game for super-cheap on half.com last year, installed it, played it once, and was so appalled at the enormous black hole of a time-suck it represented for me that I just didn't get back to it. But last week I was talking to a friend on the phone when it occurred to me that I may never be in a position to devote entire days to the enterprise of simulated living (the real thing being, of course, somewhat daunting and unsatisfying at the moment) again. And so I've sort of been fully immersing myself, and there are things I've discovered about my Sims interaction, and I promise not to go on and on about them, but a couple, one surprising and one completely predictable, are worth noting:
(1) I manage to turn every single character I have control over into a raging obsessive-compulsive who can't do anything until EVERYTHING IS CLEAN AND ORGANIZED. This puzzles me, since in real life I'm perfectly willing to let most things slide a bit, but it is undeniable that every character I touch cannot so much as get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee without making the bed after getting out of it and then scrubbing the toilet before heading back to sleep.
(2) I am at least as interested in the Sims' houses as in their character development. I love moving them in and out of houses, building them new spaces, buying them new things. Up till now I've been using the default objects and tools, but I've just (as of this afternoon) discovered the wonderful world of downloadable objects, and I suspect that my Sims life will never be the same again. It's too bad you can't just build houses without bothering so much about the Sims, I think.
Am fighting--and, I think, losing this battle--not to succumb to the urge to create a Harry Potter neighborhood.
Today was one of the good days, I'm happy to report. I'm not spending money on anything that isn't strictly necessary right now, and so I was absolved from the difficult task of buying something that he wanted that he hadn't already just gone out and bought. Instead, I gave him a bunch of downloaded comedy video, and though you may not think an hour and fifteen minutes of George Carlin talking about suicide was the most appropriate of Father's Day gifts, I assure you that the collection was a big success. I also donated three hours of time changing out a CD drive and reconfiguring things on his PC and laptop (which was sort of a present for my mother, since my father's easily frustrated by computers and has a control over his temper that falls somewhat short of suffucient).
I also cooked dinner, which since my parents started the South Beach Diet last week (I know, I know), I had to look up all these special recipes, and here is what we ended up having: steaks rubbed with garlic and olive oil, garlic mashed cauliflower that was kind of shockingly tasty, baby spinach salad with tomatoes and mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette, and mocha ricotta for dessert (which sounds perfectly disgusting but is perfectly edible).
It was a good day, is what I'm trying to say. Nary a fight, not even a harsh word. The kind of day which makes me kind of sorry I sometimes dread these family gatherings.
:::
Okay, so on to what I've been doing for the rest of the week: playing The Sims. I bought the game for super-cheap on half.com last year, installed it, played it once, and was so appalled at the enormous black hole of a time-suck it represented for me that I just didn't get back to it. But last week I was talking to a friend on the phone when it occurred to me that I may never be in a position to devote entire days to the enterprise of simulated living (the real thing being, of course, somewhat daunting and unsatisfying at the moment) again. And so I've sort of been fully immersing myself, and there are things I've discovered about my Sims interaction, and I promise not to go on and on about them, but a couple, one surprising and one completely predictable, are worth noting:
(1) I manage to turn every single character I have control over into a raging obsessive-compulsive who can't do anything until EVERYTHING IS CLEAN AND ORGANIZED. This puzzles me, since in real life I'm perfectly willing to let most things slide a bit, but it is undeniable that every character I touch cannot so much as get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee without making the bed after getting out of it and then scrubbing the toilet before heading back to sleep.
(2) I am at least as interested in the Sims' houses as in their character development. I love moving them in and out of houses, building them new spaces, buying them new things. Up till now I've been using the default objects and tools, but I've just (as of this afternoon) discovered the wonderful world of downloadable objects, and I suspect that my Sims life will never be the same again. It's too bad you can't just build houses without bothering so much about the Sims, I think.
Am fighting--and, I think, losing this battle--not to succumb to the urge to create a Harry Potter neighborhood.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 05:53 am (UTC)I'm glad your family gathering was fun and not hideous :)
no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 03:21 pm (UTC)It's too bad you can't just build houses without bothering so much about the Sims, I think.
It's funny- Brooke and her friend and I were discussing this phenomenon in relation to playing with dolls. We all love setting up, arranging, building, or creating habitats, towns and living spaces, but then, when our younger siblings would clamor to haul out the dolls and imagine up some domestic drama, we'd infuriate them by losing interest.
As for your Father's Day dinner menu, I think it sounds really tasty. As diets go, the South Beach program has pretty realistic, tasty recipes. And your present idea is inspired! I wish I could have found something that personalized for my dad.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:10 pm (UTC)Oh, God, yes, this was alwas my favorite part of any game too. Looking back on the elaborate houses I always insisted on creating, for my dolls, for me, for whatever game we were playing, it's kind of a wonder I ever actually got any playing done at all.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 08:01 pm (UTC)I am at least as interested in the Sims' houses as in their character development. OMG me too. I especially love shopping for crappy stuff I'd never get myself. Like the bucking bronco and the disco floor. This is my favourite download site: http://compsimgames.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Faroundthesims.online.fr%2F
no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:16 pm (UTC)And I've been to Around the Sims. You're right, it's one of my favorites, though only one of several. We should compare notes and download sites! (And did you know that one of the sites uses the bucking bull object as a base for a broomstick? So your characters can ride brooms!)
And I'm sure you've seen this but I have only just this morning discovered it and am most pleased: http://mirasfics.livejournal.com/50930.html. It's a little short for my taste (especially given the six-month wait), but satisfying nonetheless.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-19 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:17 pm (UTC)Yes, ma'am. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-06-21 04:48 pm (UTC)ctrl-shift-c gives you the cheat code box, then type rosebud, and I can't remember if it's a semicolon or comma, then !, and you get 1000 bucks for each entry. The exclamation points add another thousand, so you can essentially rack up, like, 20000 dollars by just typing loads of exclamation points. It looks something like this:
rosebud;!;!;! [ad infinitum] (or they might be commas in between)
I highly recommend quitting cold turkey, and soon, though.
And I'm glad Father's Day went well!
OMG, I'm such a nerd.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-04 02:19 pm (UTC)(It's a semicolon, by the way, because I know that question was troubling you greatly.)
(And I got your package! THANK YOU! I have not sent yours yet, because I suck so awfully much at mail, but I will, I promise.)