Mesa Vista – A Build a City Challenge (Week 2)

Hello and welcome to Week 2 of Mesa Vista, my Build a City Challenge for fun! At the end of Week 1, Mesa Vista had a population of 35, one privately-funded university, and the Athletic, Military, Business, Medical (which I missed last time) and Architecture careers opened up.

Founder Zach Adams and his wife Nikki became the proud new parents of twin boys: Ryan on the left with his father, and Quincy on the right. "Oh dear," said Nikki, "they're expecting me at the office right away, but I don't want to leave them."

Zach assured his wife that he would take good care of the babies. "We need to get our population up if I'm to get into the Agency. We need your Business District!" "Of course, darling, I shall gladly go for you," Nikki said. "Don't forget your promotion!" he teased.

Not much happened those first few days with the newborns, unless you counted bottles, dirty diapers and Nikki's promotions.

Ryan in the tux and Quincy in the sweater.

While Nikki skilled and worked to become a Business Tycoon, Zach continued to stay home with the little guys. It was a far cry from his ambition to be Head of the SCIA, but things in Mesa Vista were progressing nicely. There wasn't much he could do about the situation, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to push things forward a little.

Zach stopped by the new Mesa Vista Market ostensibly to pick up some groceries, and was pleased to see that Kerie Ng was indeed the owner, proving the rumors true. "Neil Cameron, you old coot, what've you been up to?" "Just thinkin' this town could use a good old-fashioned diner. What I wouldn't give for goin' out to breakfast for some down-home eggs and bacon." "Hey, Zach!" Kerie smiled, looking up from the register. "You should stop by my house sometime. Diane and I are neighbors now." "I'll take you up on that invitation, Kerie." And so, the wheels were set in motion...

Carl Homeless was actually the first household I played in Week 2, though "house" is a loose term, as he is the star of my attempt at Callista's Homeless Challenge. The challenge is won when the homeless family sends a teen to college, which in itself has difficult requirements.

Carl immediately starting jumping rope, which is a good thing because he will need Body as well Charisma and Creativity in Callista's custom Homeless career.

Since Carl is a single guy at the moment, he can have only three Buy-Mode items placed on the lot at a time, so this alternates between the tent, a fridge, a toilet, a shower, a mirror and an easel. The fireplace is a Build-Mode object, which is not subject to the limit.

The rules say that primary aspirations are random, which I took to mean I had to roll for Carl's. He's Family with a LTW to have a Golden Anniversary. Poor guy, this isn't going to be easy for him. I'm not sure I'll be able to stick with this challenge, but I wanted variety so we shall see...

It took all week for Carl to get promoted from Level 1 Bench Squatter to Level 2 Panhandler, due to high skill requirements and long hours 7 days a week.

Looks like Carl is conducting business with Nikki Adams at Neil Cameron's sports bar.

Neil wanted to be a Mad Scientist, but since that wasn't going to happen, he would settle for spending his twilight years living on his own terms with his own business.

The Dugout, aptly named because of its location across from the baseball diamond, quickly became a favorite hangout for the residents of Mesa Vista.

Especially once we got the barstools turned the right direction.

Neil and Madeleine Mazza soon became a team in the "Wednesday Night Shucks" matches.

Madeleine eventually asked Neil if he would like a roommate, after which he told her in Rocky fashion, "absolutely."

Madeleine knew she would never get her dream of Six Grandchildren with Neil, but she was very fond of him, and in the meantime she could put her sewing skills to good use and make something else with him, something they could do together.

Zach continued to monitor Mesa Vista's progress and was more encouraged when he heard an import store had popped up. He correctly surmised Shin's Orient could only be owned by...

"Diane Shin! Look at you!" "Hello, Zach." "I saw Kerie the other day, she said you're neighbors." "Yes, there's a few of us on our little street. Neil lives there too." "Kerie invited me to her house, maybe I could stop and see you sometime too." "Sure, then you can meet Stephan." "Stephan?" "Yes, my husband." "You have a husband?" Zach asked incredulously. "Why are you so surprised?" Diane asked a bit crossly. "I-I'm not... really. Congratulations. It's just I thought I'd met everyone in Mesa Vista at the Hoops and I don't remember a Stephan. Where did you meet him?" "You got some time? It's a long story." "Sure."

"When I got to my new house, Madeleine Mazza was passing by and had a good chuckle at my t-shirt." "That wasn't very nice." "Come on, you know it made me look a bit wacko. She didn't mean anything by it, she even offered to sew me something more sophisticated, but she wasn't good enough yet. "I told her about my hasty retreat from Sim City, that I had left the rat race without a thought of changing out of my goofing-off-at-home clothes, that I needed some serious R&R and that's how I ended up in Mesa Vista. She asked what I wanted to do here, and I said 'what everyone in Mesa Vista does, dig for treasure until you can afford to set up and run your own community business.' "Then she said that didn't sound like much of a break to her, and had I ever considered taking a vacation... a real vacation."

"So that's what I did."

"I went to Takemizu Village and checked into the cheapest hotel there. I wasn't exactly loaded with cash as you well know, so I could only afford four days there."

"The first thing I did of course was buy something to wear that was more suitable for... sightseeing, and then saw the tour guide."

"The first place he told me about was the wishing well." "What did you wish for?" Zach asked. "Really, Zach! In good time."

"Let's just say right after that, I didn't exactly get my wish."

"I went to all the places the tour guide suggested, and it was delicious..."

"And calming..."

"And soothing..."

"And the day before I had to leave, I had one of the locals take a picture to remember my time in Takemizu by."

"On my last night there, I met Stephan Go."

"And my wish finally came true."

"When I left the next morning, I felt like the weight of the world, or at least my suitcase, had been lifted from my shoulders."

"I wouldn't ever be alone in Mesa Vista."

"So yes, I hope sometime you do come over and meet my Stephan." "... Thank you for that, Diane. Well, I'd better get home."

Marie Sims had moved into a house on the same street as Diane, Kerie and Neil. "Zach seems eager to get reacquainted with us," Diane said. "Has he stopped by your place by any chance?" "No, I've been holed up here trying to max all my skills, then I'll be set for life." "At least you don't want to be a Mad Scientist like most of us."

Marie started her first week with all the skills required for a Celebrity Chef.

Unfortunately, stargazing in Mesa Vista did not come without peril, nor did it meet the fire requirements for Law Enforcement.

Before I knew it, Marie's week was up, and she was well on her way to being set for life, even without Zach Adams.

After Kerie had gotten her own place, it was easy for her to turn her attention to building up her business. It hadn't taken a genius to figure out Mesa Vista was in need of a grocery store, even if it was a small one, and she found running it to be gratifying to her Fortune aspiration. In fact, she had been able to put Zach Adams out of her mind quite easily. That is, until the other day when he had shown up to buy a few things. She thought about her strange behavior at his house... you didn't ignore someone you had three bolts with, did you? Maybe she had felt pressure to perform or something, maybe that's what went wrong... Whatever had happened, she couldn't get him out of her mind now, but what was she going to do about it?

"What are you doing in your underwear?" "It's the coolest thing I have, it's always so blasted hot around here." "It's not that hot." "Says the one in the summer dress. That looks positively lovely on you, by the way. Would you like to trade?" "I love this dress, I got it in Takemizu. It's what I met Stephan in!" "Diane, I'm kidding. How well do you know Nikki, Zach's wife?" Diane shrugged. "I don't, aside from she's the one Zach chose." "... I'm thinking about inviting Zach over. Maybe tonight." "Not a good idea." And because she couldn't resist, Diane added, "Why? You know he's an opportunist." "Look, something wasn't right at his house, I know it! Three bolts means something, right?" "Stephan and I had three when we first got back from Takemizu, but we're down to two now." "Then you know what I'm saying! I was... off somehow, and I have to know if it was a fluke. What if Zach and I are the real deal?!" "Have you forgotten he's married? With children?" "Three bolts, Diane. I have to know." "Mark my words, no good will come of this. And I'm really not strong enough to pick up the pieces when it goes bad for you. And it will."

"You know he's an opportunist." Yes, but how could she hold that against him when she was one herself? And face it, she didn't have the moral high ground here, not by any stretch of the imagination. "Mark my words, no good will come of this." Kerie was at once elated and terrified that that possibility wasn't even a consideration.

Kerie knew her instincts were right when Zach eagerly accepted her invitation. The blood coursed hot through her veins at the sight of him, and she threw caution to the wind, and damn Diane's torpedoes.

He said he needed to talk to her, which she filed away before cutting him off, determined to plunge them both into the three-bolt vortex every Sim aspires to. And for Zach, he loved Nikki and the boys, but his life had become so routine and rather... humdrum. He couldn't help craving adventure, the excitement of the unexpected, and what was happening right now with Kerie was definitely... unexpected.

"You were on fire, I wasn't expecting this tonight." "What were you expecting?" "I wanted to talk to you. I've been wanting to talk to you since the other day at your store." "Since then?"

"What did you want to talk about," she asked, sidling up closer to him. "It's about your career. Your former career."

She pushed him away and sat up abruptly. "You mean when I was a Criminal Mastermind?" "Exactly." "What do you want to know?" "If you'd ever consider going back."

"Moving me in was a miscalculation on your part, wasn't it, Zach?" she said nonchalantly. "Just like tonight was a miscalculation on mine." "I never meant for this to happen." "You think I don't know that now? Your primitive little basketball venue was a nice cover," she continued, shooting air balls for emphasis, "but I had my connections... I knew where your so-called heart lies before we ever met." "It was never my intention to hurt you." "Hurt me? You didn't hurt me! We're a three-bolt fluke! We are not friends! We are nothing! And in case you're still wondering, I’m going to be Chief of Staff because that's where my so-called heart lies, and I will never be a General, or a Criminal Mastermind or a Scientist. Get my drift?" "You've made yourself perfectly clear. I hope someday..." "Get out. Go home to your perfect wife and enjoy your perfectly ordinary life, Zach Adams."

"Nikki! Hi!" Zach called out, his heart thumping frantically with guilt and regret for the first time in his life. "Where have you been, Zach?" she asked, a little niggle of fear flitting about her stomach. "All over!" he said without missing a beat. "Did you know we have an import store now? And a clothing store is going up. This place is really taking off!" The excitement in his voice was infectious and she smiled as he took her hand and led her inside.

That night, he was more affectionate than usual, which she chalked up to his earlier excitement. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but I could become a General first, and then go into the SCIA." "If that would make you happy, darling." "Nikki, I know I don't say it enough..." "You don't say it at all." "Never?" "Not once."

"Nikki, I love you so much."

Diane's torpedoes, what Kerie sort of affectionately referred to her pregnancy as, hit her full force.

He and Kerie went way back, but why she had decided to settle down in Mesa Vista was beyond him. And at night it was even worse... dogs with eyes that glowed like that just weren't natural, if you asked him.

"Whoa boy," he said in a placating tone to the dog-wolf growling menacingly at him, "I'm a friend. Not here to cause trouble, nope... KERRRIIEEEE!!!" "Shoo, Biscuit!" Kerie shouted from the door, sending the stray on its way.

"Thank goodness! Brandon, I didn't know who else to call." "Kerie! What happened to you? I mean...." "I don't know what happened! I'm afraid!" she cried, panic starting to set in. "I can't do this by myself." "Just tell me what do you want me to do!"

"I need helllllp..." she sobbed.

"Ohhh, Brandon. Just until I get used to this, okay?" "Of course. I wasn't doing anything good anyway. Besides, what are best friends for?" "Thank you, you don't know what a relief it is having you here." "You might as well take advantage of me while you can. That new clothes store is finally open, why don't you, um, go buy something new to wear?" "They did get pretty stretched out, didn't they," Kerie said with a laugh... the first one she'd had in days.

Kerie took Brandon up on his offer and went to Mesa Vista's first clothing store, Outside Outfitters. "Go on in," said Ciel Outside, "you're our very first customer."

Kerie stared blankly at the clothes rack, her mind still racing here, there and everywhere at how her life had veered so crazily off track.

As she dithered, more customers began pouring in, and Kerie stared, fascinated, as Mesa's Vista's ugly fashion ducklings were transformed, one by one, into beautiful swans.

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"Yvette Tan, future owner of Mesa Vista's first and finest hair salon. How are ya?"

There was Marie! Kerie was about to call her over...

When the less welcome sight of another familiar face stopped her short. "Kerie? Hello, doesn't this place have great stuff?" "Oh. Hello, Nikki." "How are you? It's been ages, hasn't it?" "Yes... ages." And because Kerie couldn't help herself, she asked, "How are you?" "Couldn't be better... I'm almost a Business Tycoon and we're expecting again!"

Kerie high-tailed it out of Outside Outfitters, head held high despite the pounding in her chest, not caring what Nikki made of her abrupt departure.

"Noah. What is mommy going to do now?"

Well, that pretty much wraps up Week 2 of Mesa Vista. Outside Outfitters is owned by the Outsides, a six-member CAS family I placed for a quick population boost.

From left to right: Ciel, Nemo's wife, a third-generation spare from my Apocalypse, originally Pleasure turned Family, wants to graduate 3 kids from college Mina, their second oldest daughter, Fortune, wants to be Chief of Staff Nemo, Ciel's husband, simself of Little Nemo who writes the Far away from Eden Apocalegacy, Fortune, wants to be a City Planner, and has entered the Architecture career Nicole, their eldest daughter, Pleasure, wants to be a Game Designer It took a lot of digging to get enough to start a clothes store... beware, the racks are expensive.

And last but not least, Emily, youngest daughter Neil, first boy and youngest child Until next time, thanks for reading and Happy Simming!

Playable Sims: 19 SM: 8 Population: 152 Community lots: 6 + military base Universities: 1 Earned CAS: 11, Placed: 7, Available: 4 Careers: Athletic - unlocked Medical - unlocked Military - unlocked Architecture - 2 openings, 1 taken Business - 1 opening, 1 taken Criminal - 1 opening Slacker - 1 opening Public Uni Taxes collected @ 10% of lot and business values: $62,330

HERE WE GO WITH WEEK 2 STATS: