Meet Joe Shmakova

Joe Shmakova Legacy

NOTE: Some of my Simming friends and I are doing a Legacy Challenge where we all start with the same founder. Everyone submitted a Sim (except for me, since I joined late), and we voted on who we liked best. A Sim named Joe Shmoe won. I changed his name to Joe Shmakova for variety’s sake. We also voted on his primary aspiration (Knowledge) and his personality (Pisces). Everything else is up to each individual player to decide. Anyway, I thought this would be a fun way to actually PLAY the game, since I haven’t in many, many moons. I’m keeping each update to 5-6 pics so I don’t get bogged down in writing lengthy updates like I usually do. All right, enough introductory patter…let’s meet Joe Shmakova!

Joe Shmakova Legacy

Joe sat on the edge of the beach on Lemur Island, trying to become one with the sand. In a few short hours he would be on a plane heading back to Winnisoda, where it was so cold that even the snowmen wore long underwear.

He didn’t want to go back. The last few weeks had been a dream…traveling the world, meeting all kinds of exciting people, putting off his entry into the world of desks and cubicles…

Joe Shmakova Legacy

Joe curled his fingers into the cool sand and started to dig. It felt good, scooping the little granules up and letting them fall in big clumps. He remembered when he was a kid, building sand castles on the shore of the Riverblossom River…

Joe Shmakova Legacy

….and how terrible he was at it.

Joe laughed at himself. “Why does it always end up looking like two dogs under a blanket?”

A sweet-scented breeze swirled around Joe’s head. He took a deep breath, letting it seep into his lungs, his stomach, his toes. No, he didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay on Lemur Island forever. There was something about it…

Joe Shmakova Legacy

But his parents would kill him if he didn’t go back and get a job like a good little college graduate. It was time to grow up.

Not yet. Let me enjoy Paradise for a few minutes longer…

Suddenly a harsh voice intruded on Joe’s reverie.

“HEY! You! What do you think you’re doing down there?”

(to be continued…)

Read the next installment of Joe’s story

27 thoughts on “Meet Joe Shmakova

  1. Jen, I can’t tell you how excited I was when I saw this!! I absolutly LOVE your writing and it’s great that your actually ‘playing’ again! (Lol I know how easy it is to get ‘distracted’ though).
    Can I ask if any of the other people doing the legacy are posting about it? I think it would be fun to see how different people develop (and err torture :P) the same character. Great job!

  2. yippie :)

    too good to read this, legacy challenges simply rock. I would SO love to continue mine that I started last summer, but my university-stuff and work simply won’t let me…

    loving it already :)

  3. Wow! It’s been awhile since you’ve done a legacy. I’m certainly excited. I hope you have fun with it!

  4. Ooh, the start of a new legacy! Don’t see too many of those anymore, what with Sims 3 right around the corner (or maybe it’s just me not seeing them; I haven’t kept much in the loop of all things Sim bloggy the last couple months). Good to see you back to playing the game, Jen. Hope you’re having fun with it! I’ve been poking around with my Legacy’s a bit, but I think I’m going to fall short of my goal to get them to G20 before Sims 3. Alas!

    Looking forward to the next update on Joe Shmakova!

  5. Thanks for the comments, all! I’m amazed that people still check this blog, I’ve been so absent from it for so long. But it’s wonderful to see you. And it looks like I need to catch up on some blogs!

    Linda – So awesome to see you posting here; your blog is one of my favorites! I just downloaded your Pollination Techs the other night! Hehe. Anyway, I will check with my Simming buddies to see if they mind me sharing the links to their Joe legacies. :-)

  6. So if you are starting another story does that mean that the fran story isn’t going to get finished? I really like your stories but they never seem to get finished. I have been checking back often waiting for an update but nothing until today I came on and there was a new story but I thought what about the old ones?

    • That’s a good question. I guess the only good answer I have is that I don’t know. I had the next Fran update about 50% finished, but I ran out of steam, and months went by, so I’m focusing on Joe now. I know that leaves you guys hanging, and I’m sorry for that. But unfortunately if I have to force myself to work on a story, it ceases to be fun. That doesn’t mean I won’t go back to it someday. I just don’t want Simming and storytelling to feel like a chore. So…I hope that answers your question. :-)

  7. yay! i was so happy to see a new story posted! And it sounds great too! well, i hope your having fun with it and i cant wait too see more!! :)

  8. Good to see you posting again! I miss Fran, but I look forward to reading about Joe too! Your stories are always highly entertaining, so I’m sure I’ll grow to love him! :)

  9. Awww thanks Jen, I really hope you like those PTs! Ohh and I can’t wait to hopefully see some more Joe :D

    Pssst, I stalk your site on a regular basis I love it so much. :P

    • I stalk your site, too! Totally enjoying your BACC stories so far. I even signed up for an LJ account so I start leaving comments…which I am going to do RIGHT NOW! :D

  10. Welcome back Jen! I’m pretty sure we’ve all missed you a whole bunch! I know I check your site often, you’ve always been such an inspiration to me. I’m glad to see you’re still simming and trying new things. I’m the same way. Even when I get discouraged b/c my game breaks (which it does waaaay to often), I still can never just give up simming. It’s become a part of me I guess, and I always find myself coming back for more. Hope you have fun with your new legacy, and I can’t wait to read more.

    • Man, that totally sucks about your game breaking so much. :( I’m glad you didn’t give up on your Sims; I need to go check out your new hood!

  11. I have been around, but not around for a while now. Life got busy, I got busy, DH lost his job and I basically forgot about the sims when the game kept crashing and losing my legacies (though I’m at it again and backing up almost constantly!).

    I want to be absolutely honest with you, Jen: I have been waiting for this moment. When I saw the update I felt like a big cat waiting to spring, and I did spring. I just didn’t comment right away. The truth is that I like legacies: I like reading them, I think writing them, I like playing them. I’ve missed your legacies. It isn’t that I didn’t like Fran… I just missed the way that you had with the ongoing saga of a family, the way you had of keeping things fresh in sims “real time.”

    I’ve been looking around some of the other “Joe Schmoe” sites and I have to say that your Joe has a feel that is very uniquely Jen. I like that. It makes you stand apart and for those of us who are your “fans,” it pulls us in from the start.

    I’m looking forward to more!

  12. How do i miss this update? My god you are back! Hmm, that is interesting who is talking to joe? This challenge you are doing seems interesting but i suck at challenge, so i’ll stick to reading yours! Nice to see you back!

  13. What an interesting start. I have a feel Joe is going to get to stay on the island but it might not be what he was hoping it was going to be.

  14. *shivers* I don’t blame him for not wanting to go home! Yucky cold weather! *shivers again*

    Hehe, two dogs under a blanket? *snickers*

    I don’t blame him. I’d rather stay in paradise and not return to the cold world of winter and desk jobs.

    Uh-oh… was he on a private beach or something?

    (I like the start of your story and can’t wait to see what keeps him here!)