I felt on top of the world as I strolled down the road to the hut. Yes, the airplane and boat trips had been less than ideal (kudos to the inventor of barf bags), but my queasy feeling was overshadowed by my newfound zest for living.
The hut looked the same as before, and I couldn’t tell if anyone new was living there or not. I didn’t have a chance to examine it because Mr. K arrived a few seconds after I did.
“Joe Shmakova,†he said. “Back for more punishment, eh?â€
“I promise I won’t move a grain of sand unless you tell me to.â€
We both had a good chuckle over that.
“Well, you can dig if you want, and I’ll continue to pay you for whatever items you find,†he said in his lightly accented voice. “But whatever you want to keep, you can keep. This plot of land is yours now.â€
“You’re kidding, right?â€
Mr. K laughed, obviously very pleased with himself. I had a feeling he liked surprising people and showering them with his generosity.
“You’ll have to pay for utilities, naturally. And your own food, clothing, furniture, any construction you do. And of course, this is all on the condition that you accept the job offer.â€
“I’ll take it, whatever it is!â€
He laughed again and waved to someone behind me. “Joe, I’d like you to meet my wife, Adonia. Adonia, this is Joe Shmakova. He’s going to be your new playground monitor.â€
I almost did a double-take at Mr. K. Playground monitor? I believe the appropriate response to that involves words starting with W, T, and F. However, I didn’t want to seem reluctant to take on the position, so I simply smiled and shook Mrs. K’s hand.
“Good to meet you, Joe,†she said. I noticed her accent was different from Mr. K’s — she sounded like a Lemur Island local.
“I hope you don’t mind starting so low on the totem pole at the school,†she continued. “It’s brand new, and we’re still trying things out. I’ll be going on maternity leave soon,†she patted her tummy, “so we’ll need your help.â€
Being a playground monitor wasn’t my greatest dream, but how could I say no? It was Lemur Island, for goodness’ sake. They could have asked me to clean porta-potties and I would have said yes.
Mrs. K invited me to tea that evening at the market to discuss further details, and then she and her husband bid me farewell.
(continued on Page 3)
Oooh Jen, it’s simply fabulous!
I can’t tell just HOW much I love your writing – that entire civilization on his little chunk of land *chuckles*.
The postcard is wonderful, so is Ms Firestick, and Anneke could be a nice person… actually… ;)
Whatever you’re up to, please share it soooon!
Thank you, Eva! You always say such nice things about my updates. And Joe and Anneke have 2 LBs (same as Joe and Eris) so they would probably make a great couple, too.
Yay for the update! Love the post card! How’d you do that? Totally did not expect the playground monitor gig though. And nice to see that Eris goes after what she wants! ;-)
Glad you liked the postcard! I had to do it in MS Publisher since I fail at doing anything in Photoshop aside from cropping and sharpening my photos. :-P Then, since it wouldn’t save in any picture format without looking all jagged, I had to take a screen capture of it in Print Preview and use that. The fonts are free ones I downloaded, and the clip art is just from the Microsoft Office web site. One cool thing is that Joe’s signature is in a font called “Joe Hand”. :-)
What can I say except : Great ! I’m intrigued by this red-eyes woman. Are they red because of the fire ?
That’s a good question. She’s actually a randomly generated townie, so her red eyes came from that, and then I’m using Bitsy’s Mythological Name Hack, so that’s where her name came from. Kind of a cool coincidence!
*dances* I’m so glad Joe was able to get a job on Lemur Island!!!
Mrs. K is pretty.
*waves at Greg*
*waves at Anneke*
I can just feel the chemistry between Joe & Eris. Am I the only perv who thought they were going to do more than take a picture in the photo booth?
Bwahaha. Now that I have ACR installed, that booth is a popular place for townies to, um, “rendezvous”. But my Joe’s kind of shy and a slow mover, all chemistry aside. ;-)
I think your security word has it in one: “SWISH!” What a fantastic entry, jenba. I swear … this rendition of the Founder Joe is probably at the top of my list of favorites. *nods* I wish I could be on that island with him … not WITH him with him mind you. Just … there … having such fortunes fall into my laop like that. That would be great. To find the woman (or in my case man) of your dreams because of what some gypsy lady foretold. NICE. ;O))) And once again … your pictures – AMAZING! Your storytelling – ENGAGING. *pink hearts for jenba*
Aw, thanks, Ange! I wish I could be on the island with Joe, too. Playing this legacy is helping me get through the winter, I tell ya!
I love it. I’m so happy for your Joe. And red-eyed woman is cute too :)
I think she’s cute, too, now that I’ve gotten used to the red eyes. They scared me at first! Haha.
Oh yay! I’m so glad Joe gets to live on the island. He sure is one lucky dude! I’m already excited for the next update.
Yeah, he’s maybe a bit TOO lucky, but ah well, I like to make my Sims happy. :-)
Loved it. I’m liking the way your telling your legacy. =]
Glad you’re enjoying it, jacqueline!
/squeals He’s going back! Woot … hmmm… i wonder what kind of job he’s getting..
oh.wo. I love the post card!
bwahahaha playground monitor … thats awesome and just hilarious. but ya, getting free land.. pfft I’d do it to!
/bounces Look! Its Greg! Jenba look.. oh.. you already know.. never mind. /waves to Greg
Really? he wants to be a teacher? well then .. this is great news. I hope he makes it to the top!
/bounces again Look its Anneke! erm … ya i’ll stop now.. hehe
/giggles Whistle of Authority .. how funny! i love it
aw Joe is in love with the fire eyes chick!
I’m so excited for him. life is going so well.
and to answer Lisa… Nope! I thought so too.
Heehee, your comments always crack me up, Ruby! And yeah, his LTW is to be a Minister of Education, but since I doubt that would have occurred to Joe just yet, I figure teacher works for now!
Your Joe is really cute! Must be the awesome pics!
I can’t take any credit for Joe’s innate cuteness — that’s all Ruby’s doing! But thanks for the compliment on my pics.
I’m really liking this new legacy, Jen, and Joe’s Ma sounds a bit like my nana! I loved the bit about ‘I dance like a monkey wearing concrete shoes’! I hope you and yours had a fantastic New Year, too!
Thanks, Scally, it’s great to see you!
Another great update. I love Joe, he is so fun and charming. Just a regular average guy.
Yep, he’s just your average scruffy Knowledge Sim trying to make his way in the world. I’m glad you find him fun!
Wowzers! I can honestly say I almost died when I saw your ‘postcard’ of the island, it looks FANTASTIC Jen! You know I’m surprised, I was looking at your first shot of Joe and I never realised what defined cheekbones he has before. (he must be weight over being stressed and depressed not on the island ;)) Beware those red eyes I say :D
Hi Linda! Thanks, and I’m thrilled you liked the postcard. I had a lot of fun making it. And I think Joe’s features look more chiselled in that first pic because I had a bunch of lighting on the ground — the overhead lighting tends to make his hair too glowy (probably a side effect of Gunmod’s Radiance Light System). :-) But I like your suggestion that maybe he has just lost some weight from being stressed.
What a great update! I love the postcard. Hey, it’s Greg! And Anneke! Hi guys!
Oooh, he’s hot for the fiery one, eh? Heheheh. Go, Joe!
Can’t wait for the next installment.
Hot for the fiery one, heehee…yeah, I’m having fun with all of the wordplay. Joe’s burning up, Joe’s melting, etc. I’m so easily amused. :-p
That was a nice postcard! I swear Joe’s mom sounded so like my mom, ‘Is it an internet scam?’. Eris really cute but her red eyes kinda unnerved me.Oh yeah, nice updates with stunning pictures as usual!
Yeah, I found her eyes unnerving at first, too. So did Joe, as a matter of fact. Thanks for your kind words! :-)
Oh poor Joe, obsessed with checking his e-mail. And then Mr. K calls! Oh I love the postcard! That is so cool! A job as playground monitor, it certainly could have been worse for Joe. Joe just can’t stop digging can he? Poor Joe and his unsuspecting job interview. I think he did well though. Joe looks quite happy with Ms. Firestick (great name!) and I think he’s happy on Lemur Island, hooray for Joe.
Yeah, Joe likes to dig. It’s the thrill of discovery, doncha know. Plus it doesn’t hurt that Mr. K gives him money for it. ;-P
What’s wrong with checking your e-mail multiple times? *blush* HAHAHA!! Too funny he wanted to reply to the mail-order bride e-mail. *snickers*
Aww, poor guy, dreaming about wearing your undies in public. *chortles*
SWEET!! That’s awesome that he -called- him! *cheers*
Hehe, typical mom. *grins*
Awesome post card!! *envy* How’d you do that?
You know, I want to scold Joe for taking the job without even waiting to hear what it is. But you know what? To own property in paradise, I think I’d do the same thing! HAHA! See? You should always ask what before agreeing. *nods sagely*
Nice present you got there. :-D I hope you drop your mom and sis e-mails!
Cheers to a good beginning! *raises her glass and waves hello to Greg*
Hey, what’s my Joe’s wife doing in some tropical paradise without him! *peers* (It’s fun seeing the various Founder contestants popping up in everyone’s blogs.)
Whooo! *cheers Eris on* I agree with her, there’s definitely fire there. *waggles her eyebrows*
That’s cool that he’s already getting swept off his feet by the woman with the eyes of fire. :-D *claps*
(Hehe, my security word is “island” – talk about appropriate!)
Woot, thanks for the great comments, Aer! Your Joe’s wife could have easily ended up being my Joe’s wife, too — they actually have 2 lightning bolts. But he was just drawn to those red eyes for some reason…
how much chemistry does Mr Shmakova and Miss Firestick have?
Two lightning bolts! And I’m working on getting them to three. They’re very close…