Monday 20 March 2000

Pic of the day: The office computer, your home away from home.

Barely is one day over before a new one begins. It was not always like this. It used to be that the nights were long and filled with curvaceous dreams. It used to be that I woke up slowly to the sound of my clock radio telling me the latest news from around the world. I used to come to town after the shops were open, and come to work not too long before lunch. Those were the days.

This all changed a couple weeks ago. I cannot say for sure if it changed when I bought The Sims or when my computer collapsed. Now I wake up around 6. And regardless of whether my body is tired, my mind is wide awake. I may as well get up and go to work. Well, I could get up and play Daggerfall (very slowly) or Civ2, but I would anyway have to work sooner or later. May as well have it done with.

Funny how some small detail made me flip so completely. I wonder what (if anything) will make me flip back? Getting my computer back? Getting bored with The Sims? I am not bored with it yet, which means that it is good value for money. Not that I doubted that.

I had a slight headache this evening. I better not get sick, because for tomorrow the wonderful SuperWoman has invited me over for her special homemade spaghetti dinner. Mmm! Mouthwatering! :) And I like spaghetti, too...

(Just kidding there, people. I don't actually drool over my female friends. Even when they are young and beautiful, I am not, and I think and act accordingly.)

Sim lesson of the day: Better two than one. One of my single simulated girls moved in with another simulated girl. Not only did they release a lot of capital that was bound in the small house, but it cost them next to nothing extra. So two eat a bit more than one, but they still need only one food processor, one microwave, one shower and one kitchen table. It's not fair, now is it?

Of course, in real life things are a bit different. They simply must be, since the number of single households is growing rapidly. One obvious economic factor that is left out in The Sims is the highly diverse job market of the real world. In the game, you can follow your entire career track in the same town. It all depends on your contact net and your ability to arrive at work rested, fed and happy. In the real world, you may have to move frequently if you want to climb the career ladder at some speed. And it is not likely that two working household members can move to the same location. One of them may have to quit his job, or switch to something less interesting or less well paid. This is not going to go down well.

Perhaps in the future, when more people can work and study from home, the trend towards single households will again turn the other way. But it won't be this year or the next, I think.