Diary-ghan

I've had an idea off and on for years now.  It's not uncommon to make a blanket by making one 12" square every month, and at the end of the year you have enough for a decent sized afghan/blanket.  But I've always thought it would be cool to make a blanket out of squares that represent every day of the year.  Do I think I'd stick with it?  Of course not.  I have a project attention span of about 2 weeks...if I'm lucky.

But I can't get the idea out of my head for some reason.  Just think, a blanket based off of the calendar.  Each square has the date embroidered onto it and perhaps an applique of something relating to that day.  Then all the days sewn up into months and the months sewn up into a year.  Perhaps even little headers for each month.  At the end of the year you'd have a blanket that represented the year exactly.  Like a diary that keeps you warm.  You could look at it and go "Oh, that was the day I was late to work but I saw a rainbow on the way in so it made it seem better" or "Wow, was it really that long ago that I finished that sweater?"

Thankfully for my sanity, I never seem to remember about this idea at the beginning of the year.  It wouldn't be that bad to catch up a day here or there, but a whole month would be tricky since you would have already forgotten what seemed most important that day.  I would love to do it some day.  I've even worked up a "chart" for 2013 so I could see where there'd have to be blank filler places (hey, some months are five weeks long, it happens).  Eh...someday.

Sims 3 Homeless "Challenge"

Ok, maybe it's a bit less "challenge" and a little more "starting condition" or "play style".  My favorite way to start a sims game is with a completely broke sim living out in the middle of nowhere.

 Basics
Imagine - as a homeless sim, no one really wants you around.  They expect you to snitch their stuff, regardless of if you really would or not, and think that you bring down the neighborhood property values by your mere presence.  Unfair? Sure.  But it's understandable.  So instead, if you must call some place home it must be somewhere away from society where they won't kick you out.

So, long story short, this is the basic setup:

• Place an empty lot somewhere away from the main town centers.  It's up to you how far away, but most places empty enough for a new lot are kinda in the middle of nowhere.  I've not played one yet where the lot was actually connected to a road.
• The size of the lot is really up to you.  If you're feeling mean, use the tiniest lot possible.  If you're feeling nice, use a bigger one. 
• Move in your sim/family.  Doesn't matter what your family is comprised of.  More sims are harder to take care of obviously, especially if there's children involved who will not be able to leave this lot after curfew.
• If desired you can decorate the lot with trees and other landscaping stuff.  If you're feeling really nice, go ahead and add a park bench.  Keep in mind that selling these for later is frowned upon.  I won't say "against the rules" if only because this is more a play style than a challenge, but still, don't.
• Use the familyfunds cheat to set the family's money to 0.  Yes, I said zero.  You can see for info about this cheat here.

 Living the Homeless Life
You've found yourself a little bit of land where no one bothers you.  You don't dare build here for fear of attracting unwanted attention.  If you're lucky, you've managed to scrounge enough to get yourself something to sleep on other than the cold hard ground or the park bench downtown.  You're still pretty broke though, and so you are forced to hoof it rather than take public transportation, and no one will hire you because you don't technically have an address.

So, what this means in actual play terms?  Here is how I play a homeless sim:

• Place out possessions and garden and such all you want.  But no walls or other construction on this lot.
• If you can afford it, go ahead and buy a bed or something.  If you have World Adventures, go ahead and use buydebug to get the cheapest tent.  I don't think it's fair you have to go on vacation to get a crappy tent when real people can get far better at walmart.  If you have Generations, feel free to get a sleeping bag.  In fact, I think tent or sleeping bag is a more realistic option than an actual bed.
• You do not have running water.  You're camping out in the middle of no where, so no items that would require running water.  This includes showers, toilets, sinks, etc. 
• You do not have electricity.  So this rules out anything that requires electricity that cannot be conceivably be powered by batteries.  So something like a boombox is ok if you really want one, but no tv.
• Anything that you can't use on your home lot is still free to use on any community lot that has one.  I find that even though I do have that home lot I end up spending most of my time on community lots.
• While cabs are technically free in the Sims 3, I maintain that you shouldn't get to use a cab if you don't have any money.  So until my sims can afford a vehicle they have to walk or run everywhere.  Yes, this is a nuisance. It's slow, and requires me to take the extra effort of using "Go Here" set to walk/run instead of being able to just send them to a community lot without thinking about it.  And yes, bikes count as a vehicle. Also, feel free to set a § goal to reach before being able to use a cab if you like.
• If you're mean like me, no real jobs until you're actually living in a house.  Any other method of earning money is up for grabs though.  Self employment from Ambitions is still allowed, but no professions.  So Angler is ok, but Ghost Hunter is not.
• Go ahead and adopt/buy any pets you want.  Have fun taking care of them.

The Future
Sure, you've managed to carve out a life - scrounging for food and using community lots for things they probably weren't intended for.  But you want something more.

Playing a homeless sim is a fun but if you're anything like me, you need a goal.  For me, this is usually earning enough money to buy a lot in town or starting a family despite the homeless conditions.  Here's some possible goals:

• Save enough money to purchase a home/lot that's actually part of the town.  This lifts any building/item/job/transportation restrictions you've decided to follow the way I do.
• Save X amount of simoleans.  §100,000? §500,000? Whatever you want.
• Get married and have a kid.
• Buy -insert expensive item here-
• Reach the top of a career.
• Raise a child to adulthood while still homeless.  For added challenge, do it as a single parent.  Hope you don't have twins.

I'll be honest, the point at which things become easy is the point at which I stop caring about the family.  So playing homeless sims helps keep things interesting longer.