Summer Internship, Pt. 3 - August 2008

Part 1 - Summer Internship - June 2008

Part 2 - Summer Internship - July 2008

***

Sabien Cunningham, Sr. is 52, Tomika Cunningham is 52, Trinity Dalton is 52, Cameron Masters is 52, Nick Michels is 52, Honey Michels is 52, Sergio Spencer is 52, Emerita Valdes is 45, and AV guest, S'Ahmisa Warwick, is 18.

Life at the Cunningham home has been somewhat of a routine this summer.  To say "routine" and "Cunningham" in the same sentence, is unusual in itself.  There's usually always something that occurs to knock their plans right out the window!  If one was to sit still for a moment, they could sense an element of underlying sadness and tension in the air, but to look at the family on the surface, you couldn't tell it. 

Tomika's been so engrossed in her time with S'Ahmisa, the 'daughter' she never had, and with sewing.  Her renovated sewing room was hardly ever entered when the boys were home.  Now it's sort of become her sanctuary, well that is...when she's not spending girl time with S'Ahmisa; they clip coupons and make out shopping lists for the Butler, Vasyl, to pick up ingredients for new recipes the Culinary Group is trying out, or they go and buy the latest doo-dads for braiding and fastening S'Ahmisa's hair with, or they just sit in front of the huge TV upstairs vegging out while watching the SimLifetime movie channel.

Tomika, surprisingly, hasn't had time to really feel sad over her absent boys because she's been so pleasantly occupied, outside of work.  If she could only spend some alone time with her husband, that would be the icing on the cake.

Summer Internship, Pt. 2 - July 2008

Part 1 - Summer Internship - June 2008
***

Sabien Cunningham, Sr. is 52, Nick Michels is 52, Trenton VanHouten is 26, and AV guest, S'Ahmisa Warwick is 18.

With nothing to do at the mansion, S'Ahmisa was asked to accompany Mayor Cunningham on a dinner meeting with some members of his Hood Administration.  Usually, an intern wouldn't be requested to attend an after-hours meeting like this one, but since S'Ahmisa was staying with the Cunninghams...Sabien felt it was appropriate for her to see how business is conducted outside of the office, in a more intimate setting.

"We're not gonna be long, just a quick dinner to see what they want to talk to me about."  Sabien said to S'Ahmisa while heading outside to the car.

Whatever the meeting was about, S'Ahmisa secretly hoped it wouldn't upset Mayor Cunningham.  She had never seen his more vulnerable side until last night.  She heard him in his office, late, crying and sniffling; blowing his nose into a tissue....and she immediately wondered if everything was alright with him.

Walking to the car, he seemed tired and agitated.

CPS - October 2007

Steve VanHouten is 24, Elmer Valdes is 18, Erline Valdes is 18, Rashid Cunningham is 18, Marchon Cunningham is 16, Sierra Spencer is 14, Christina Wise is 14, Tyisha Masters is 13, Keva Michels is 11*(I aged Keva too early, just think of her as a 'gifted' child. :P) 

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Nick Michels - Simday 25

50 simyears old

Hindsight is always 20/20. Always. If I coulda-shoulda-woulda...things would be different. I'm in the business of money and finances. But I can't seem to grasp my own! It's a constant struggle to stay afloat, and I'm getting tired.

I'll be an elder in 10 years, and I feel like I haven't moved ahead much since college. I'm always trying to please the ones I love...redecorate the house instead of living with what we had, buy a dog that we don't really want, go to another city while Simmington Hills is struggling financially, invest in some stocks that proved to be a total failure. The list goes on!

Sabien cut a check to us. I know he made a promise, but I hate traveling. Whereas, my wife and daughter couldn't WAIT to go. To me, no amount of simoleans can truly make up for almost being poisoned to death. It wasn't the Hills' fault or Sabien's, it was Asya's fault! And she took the easy way out.

But, my wife has a different take on it..."Who the hell turns down $3,000 simoleans, Nick? We've got a chance to visit any SUN Hood we want! I did my research, and Riverdale has a new Florida vacation spot with Disney World! And, Keva won't be a little girl forever...blah-blah-blah." We should have turned it down..it was a bad time to leave. I knew that, but again...I was trying to please my family.

We went to Riverdale and we had a wonderful time, I'm not gon' lie. It was nice once we got there. The plane ride was turbulent most of the way because of the rain. I don't want to ever ride in a plane again. Twice is enough.

I think I enjoyed Riverdale's Florida vacation spot more than I did Riverdale, only because I was a little uncomfortable. I especially didn't want to talk about the Hills' finances, and was so afraid the subject was gonna come up. There was also a little tension between my wife and Mayor Snowden's wife. Who knows why? Women. I think Honey thinks she's a celebrity and she's not...don't tell her I said that.

But in Florida, we got a chance to let our hair down, relax and sightsee all the animals and swim with the dolphins. We really enjoyed the hotel there. Honey and I got the honeymoon we never had. We got to talk about our love of food and eat as much as we wanted. Honey was chill about it, too. Keva burst out of her shell and became this inquisitive, outspoken little girl! So the trip was worth it just for these reasons alone. Thank you Riverdale-Florida and Mayor Snowden for your hospitality!

Even on vacation, I couldn't help but talk about Simmington Hills' infrastructure. Sabien was having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to stay afloat. And here he was giving us $3,000 simoleans that he didn't have...and we blew right through it like nothing! We had just enough money to buy a souvenir for Keva, which was some Kawaii pillows for her bed and maybe $100 left over to bring home.

Keva loved her pillows, though. Anything to please my Princess.

Getting back home, Sabien and I had to brainstorm on what we had to do. He decided to raise taxes and cut off salaries. I nearly fainted. This would absolutely sink me.

We might as well put a For Sale sign out front of our house, and move to a shelter! I've never seen Sabien look so sick. He knew a lot of us would be in big trouble, but there was nothing he could do...until he called me up at 3:00 a.m. one morning. He had an idea to hold a Silent Auction.

I don't have to tell you the end of this story...the auction was a huge success. Needless to say, we were able to get paid this Period with no taxes, that really saved our butts! Or so I thought, mine turned out to still be in the mud.

We got a dog that Keva begged for, for days on end...her mother said we should reward her for raising her B+ to an A. Here comes Scrappy. Scrappy needs a place to bathe, we don't have a tub..."Oh honey, build a shed!" That takes money. But I built it. "Oh honey, the dog needs walking and it's too late to have Keva do it, can you take him?" At midnight or later, I'm out in the cold walking the dog. Now what if I get sick? Oh yeah, I paid the health insurance this period, too. But, we don't have the deductible if something were to happen.

Everybody needs new Winter clothes, it's getting cold outside. Honey felt she needed a basketball court to practice old moves she used to make while playing with the SimCity Llamas. She still got it, but not like she used to.

Do they think I'm just made of simoleans? They gotta get their hair done and their nails done, and Honey stays in the Shoppes buying jewelry and who knows what else.

I just wasn't expecting to lose my stock investments. BAM!! $3,900 gone...just like *snap* that! And I didn't even have the simoleans to cover my own ass. Honey had to pull all of it out of her bank account. The last few simoleans she earned from Suburb Sims, and it looks like that soap is not even running anymore. What the hell are we gonna do? So, once again, her money is bailing me out. I know we're a team, but it kills me to have her do this.

Even Keva heard me panicking in the other room, and went to dig out her little $200 savings! Daaaamn...of course I didn't take it, I'm not that kind of father.

Will I ever get my act together? GameTime Sports Bar is sorely missed. At least I could count on bringing in extra money. At least I could get away from the house and from the bank and go have some fun. It wasn't real work, you know? I got $15,000 for opting out of it.

$10,000 went towards my bank loan. I owe $-127,400 on my bank loan, and its growing every other day. The other five thou. went into re-decorating our house and driving our cars...did you know that vehicles and taxis cost money here in Simmington Hills? It's true! I don't even want to mention the $5,000 added onto each bill we get. And since my wife raked leaves too early in the morning, we got hit with another $2,000 fine...hell.

Oh well this is life, right? Sound too much like your own? Well, sorry for that. We all go through it, I guess. At least my true friends understand. Can you believe I'm calling Sergio a true friend? We've been kicking it ever since we made up. No big news now. He came by after we got back from Riverdale to see how I was holding up from all the scrutiny in the papers. We tossed a football to get some fresh air and get out from under the ladies in the house. heh-heh.

I thought this was a nice gesture, one I won't forget. I really needed someone to talk to and he put a smile on my face.

Honey still knows how to put a smile on my face, too...she corners me in the bathroom almost daily. heh.

I'll just keep on weathering the storm, the road'll smoothen out one of these simdays. I just hope it's before the old Grim Reaper comes to claim me.

Honey Michels - Simday 25

50 simyears old

I've been thinking and thinking on how we can get out of this debt we're in. Money is not coming in like it used to. I'm not playing for the SimCity Llamas anymore, I left the team as an MVP. I'm trying to get further up the chain in the Athletics career, but I can't play basketball forever. I'm hoping for a coaching job. Thanks to my husband, I'm still able to practice on the new court we put in.

I also don't know my fate on Suburb Sims. The last I heard, Anthony Troy the producer of Suburb Sims, had died.

Paul Yates, my agent, sent me an email telling me that I could possibly get a renewed contract with them. That was over a year ago. I've gotten paid, $3,150 for each show I've appeared in. It's been our saving grace, so far.

The way it works is, I've already filmed all the shows I was gonna appear in, but if there is a reason for the show to cancel, then all that time goes out the window. Time I spent away from my husband and daughter. What's done is done now. I'm gonna email Paul and see where we stand. If I was to get extended on the show, I'd be making $4,050 per episode I appeared in. But again, I'm not sure about the longevity. I need to take matters into my own hands.

I've still been going about my life as if everything is alright. I feel that it's necessary if you have kids, to still treat them and reward them for doing well. You can't panic. Things have to go on as normal in front of your kids.

(It's nice when someone recognizes me from the show.)

Next period we're really gonna have to get in gear, if we're gonna send Keva to college. I have some ideas that might work. I might try out for Pahala Shore. ? I don't know, I'm getting up in age now, but before I get too old-looking, I need to get out there.

When we were re-doing the house, I found this green lips painting to put in my bedroom. It's kind of playful and sexy, since Nick is Pleasure and I'm a Romance Sim, it was perfect for us. A few simdays passed of me looking at it, and it suddenly reminded me of an organization in Simmerville.

Have you heard of the Green Lipz Organization? It's all about the environment. It was started by this young teenaged girl, I think.  I went and bought a magazine to help me understand more about the environment, and possibly how we can save it, and save some money in the process.

With this new deal Sabien signed, we could buy some solar panels for the house, to cut down on our bills. I don't know how much they cost yet. I've also tried my best to keep my garden looking decent, to avoid getting hit with that $2,000 Garden Maintenance fine, but I can never get the timing right. The leaves in the Fall are neverending. Sabien shouldn't even fine us for leaves!

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I regret buying a dog for Keva. That's one thing I do regret above all the other money I've spent. She was all hyped up over getting a puppy, and then when she became a teenager, she lost all interest in having a pet. I should've listened to Nick. None of us like animals. It was a hasty move, but you never know how things will turn out. I'm always scolding that dog to stop tearing up my stuff.

We might just sell Scrappy, he's learned two commands..Stay and Come Here, that should be worth something. Then again, I don't know. He's working as a Security Dog, so he's bringing in some cash. Truthfully, I'll be glad when a breeder moves here. If I could sell Scrappy to a breeder, some other family could benefit. The new shed I had Nick build, could be used for something else, like a massage table. I could set up my own home business! My biggest dream is to earn $100,000 in my lifetime. Is it too late to start now?

One thing Nick and I agree on, is everybody in this household has gotta hold down a job! *smiles* That means Keva and Scrappy, too.

We'll see what happens. I'm thankful that things aren't worse. There could be all kinds of mess going on. Don't think I haven't had those urges us Romance Sims are inclined to.

Keva Michels - Simday 25

11 simyears old

My Mom bought me these red butterfly earrings..she said she had an experience with a butterfly once and it was really special to her. It reminded her of her best friend, Asya...like a reminder that she was here. I can tell my Mom misses her a lot. That's a weird situation, 'cause I know Asya tried to kill my Dad. I'm glad she's dead and not him.

You ever just watch a butterfly - fly? It's so beautiful and graceful. That's why I like butterflies. They're like dancers. I've caught some really pretty ones recently for my bug box. So I think I'll hang onto these earrings, not because of Asya, but because they remind me of dancers. That's what I want to be when I grow up.

Speaking of dancers, I saw a lot of them at Disney Florida in Riverdale. Fire dancers. Yeah, real dangerous. I couldn't wait to get to Florida. I remember being excited to leave town, but my stomach hurt so bad, I couldn't go to sleep the night before. We had to go on a plane and I was pretty scared. My Dad didn't help much, so I turned to my Momma to make me feel better. Turns out, flying in a plane was the most fun ever! It actually felt like a roller coaster! I couldn't stop talking about our trip even once we got back home.

I wanted my Mom to make my face over like a tiger, like they did in Disney. I still have that picture in my room, too. I wanted to scare SayJ with my tiger face. Arrrgh!

SayJ Cunningham used to be my closest friend, and my enemy as well. LOL! We're not as close anymore since I became a teenager.

---------------------------------------------------

Which brings me to my next issue. Everybody's fussin' about this dog! Let me explain about Scrappy, ok? I love Scrappy. I just don't have the time anymore to play with Scrappy like I used to. He was the cutest little puppy I had ever seen. He had these cute reddish-brown eyes. Somebody scared of him, like SayJ, could think he was a wolf or something. I don't know.

I wanted him so bad, 'cause I got tired of SayJ coming over here bragging to me about his cats. All I could do was brag to him about all the bugs I had collected.

Well, when Ms. Wise called to check up on my school project and I told her it was finished. 5 insect specimens! She said I was the first to complete my Fall School Project, and now I could pass to Secondary class!

But SayJ Cunningham wasn't so impressed. He said I was gross, and that I loved bugs more than I do animals. He was just jealous, that's all. But I still wanted to get a big dog to scare him. My parents got Scrappy for me, and I was happy.

Scrappy grew up and so did I. Therefore, SayJ wasn't hanging around anymore to get scared. All the excitement disappeared. LOL!

I started helping Mom out around the house more. She's big into the environment. Everything's gotta be recycled or composted.

Scrappy got a job and I got one as an Aerobics Instructor down at Magnolia Ballet Academy.

Even my Mom works for extra simoleans at home on her days off, writing sports articles for SimCity.

Dad...he's the CEO of the bank now. I hardly ever see him. He does something with the home owners about affording their houses, or something. So that makes some extra money for us.

There's no free rides in our house.

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Age correction was made for this family to match up with the new time relevance for the next update. Keva is a teen but she should be 11 years old at this time.  Please overlook my mistake.

Honey Michels - Simday 20

46 simyears old

I don't want my little girl feeling bad about anything going on in her life. I want her to feel as confident and secure about herself, as I feel about myself.

I'm so proud of her. And I try to tell her that all the time.

It took a long while for me and her to warm up to each other. I had been gone, filming Suburb Sim, for a lot of her infancy/toddlerhood. She had a tighter bond with her father, but I think she's come to know that I'm her mother and I'm not going to leave her again. I let her get to know me, and teach her some of the things I'm interested in, like Cuisine. She reads my magazines and seems to really like it.

I'm there for her when she leaves for school each morning...to encourage her when she doesn't want to go. The kids at school can be very mean. They call her 'blubber butt' because of her recent weight gain. She's just a little chubby, nothing to fuss over. Although, it's hard for me to see her stuffing her face like she does. I have to remember, she's just a kid...and that's what kids do.

But, she seems to bounce back quickly. She's making friends and she's becoming interested in Music & Dance, so we bought her a ballet bar for her room.

Maybe one day, she'll be a star just like her Mom. She didn't want me to take her picture, because she's not good enough yet, but I told her if she practices everyday, she'll become SimNation's best ballet dancer! She just has to practice.

We've become the best of friends now, and I don't want to lose that trust between us.

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I invited my girls over on my day off. I just love hanging with my girlfriends. They're a lot of fun, and it fills the gap from when me and Asya used to hang out and do all our dirt together. I really miss that.

I also wanted to feel out Emerita Valdes and she was cool. She doesn't know that I was the one that called in the story to THG about Ed and Tomika down at the car lot...no one knows I did that, but me and now you...the readers.

We were watching a movie and the subject came up about Asya. That's my life these days. No one can let it go. I'm trying to let it go in my own way, but it keeps coming up. I guess its because all of us have never sat down to talk about it. They wanted to know how me and Trinity felt. If I was still angry about Asya trying to kill my husband. Truth is...yeah, I'm still angry at her. I haven't forgiven her. They told me I needed to forgive her, and Nick needs to forgive Serg and vice versa. Rita said she was tired of throwing parties and either we don't come, or Serg and Kim don't come, because we don't get along.

That got me to thinking that I need to go visit Asya at the cemetery. I haven't been there since the funeral last year. I remember like it was yesterday, when I went over to her and Sergio's home in Cedar Homes, to talk to her about the effects her drinking would have on her newborn baby girl, Sierra. She had such a defensive wall up, I never got through to her.

A butterfly flew overhead and landed on the balister fencing near the grave. I knew it was a sign from Asya, asking me for forgiveness. I felt it in my spirit.

It was time for all of us to forgive one another.

I actually tried to catch that butterfly to keep it...heaven knows why. *smiles* It is kind of funny, now that I think about it.

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Me and Stacy Masters have gotten pretty close. She's in Athletics, as well. She's an Assistant Coach at some school over in Sim City. I invited her over to talk some more and maybe to go and check out the new Sports Park. (I'm so glad we all have some place to go and workout now.)

She wanted to blow off some steam over the latest drama down at City Hall, regarding some letter she sent to Sabien. "Well, let's go work it out, girl! That's what Sims like us do!"

I hope I didn't intimidate her too much. With her being pregnant and all, she didn't want to come near the water. I thought she was gonna get in with me, but she didn't. I know one thing...I still got it!

Boy, did it feel good! My recreation only lasted a few minutes, though...the dark clouds rolled in and it started thunderstorming once again, within a few short minutes. I'll be glad when all this rain clears up, so I can enjoy this new park.

I can barely get my gardening done, with all the rain. You would think it would keep my flowers from dying, but nope! I forgot to water them and they've quickly started dying. As much as I hated to do it...I knew that the end of our rotation was coming, and I needed to get out there and 'pretty-fy' my front yard again. We got charged a couple thou. last time for not maintaining the yard.

Can you believe one of my co-workers is Jonathan Wade? He's on the coach's lineup with my team, the SimCity Llamas. Yep, the same Jonathan Wade I was furious with years ago, for making a pass at me. He came home with me and helped me out with the yard. He's been trying to make amends ever since that news hit the paper, oh so long ago.

I thought it was really sweet, and now I've even forgiven him! It's so nice how forgiveness can turn your life around, full circle. I hope other Sims will be inspired by this.

And, since Nick and Keva couldn't be bothered with yardwork, I put them on bathroom detail. *smiles*

At the end of the evening, we went back over to Aldi's as a family and had dinner, where we were greeted warmly by the staff and an estatic, Sergio, who barely let us enjoy our meal for wanting to talk about this or that. He was mighty happy to see us.