Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Barbuckle: The Next Generation

Belinda has been struggling in her career. While things have improved exponentially at home, her job has faltered. Brenda has now entered childhood and started school, Amin is still not working but he has a dream and Belinda understands that. But she has been unable to get a promotion at work. She is still slogging away on the yearbook club, making sure copy is sent to the printer, that photos are not switched out with things that shouldn't be in there (she learned her lesson on that one), making sure the kids show up and that the cameras are returned to the equipment locker. She's just not happy with the way things are going.

Belinda left home and decided to skip university because she was certain she could succeed without putting her life on hold for four years, but she's beginning to think she may have been wrong. Then she worries about what to do if she does get a promotion. How does she emphasize education for Brenda if she, Belinda, is able to make it without one. Belinda often wonders if she's insane when thoughts like these chase each other around her head.

Belinda finally consented to marrying Amin. He hasn't said anything about having any more children, but Belinda wonders if he wants them. Perhaps after he starts working. Right now Belinda has to focus on moving up the ranks in journalism.

The Barbuckle Beginning

The family founder is Belinda Barbuckle. Belinda wants to be the best journalist she can be and she wants to leave a lasting and impressive legacy for her daughter, Brenda. It took her awhile before she found a job that she felt would move her forward as a journalist, but she finally landed a gig as a yearbook club supervisor. She hit a rough spot when the yearbooks were printed incorrectly, but she got over that and luckily it didn't lead to her being fired. She's ready for a promotion, though, and with her outgoing nature and need to make friends, it shouldn't be long until it happens.Belinda has been unlucky in love.

Belinda met and was engaged to Toby Bruenig, but when she started hinting around that she was ready to set a wedding date, Toby freaked out and bailed. She should have seen that coming. He kept screwing up at work and losing his job. She's still not over her anger towards him. Belinda had met another man she had got along with well and thought she'd ask him to move in. Turns out he was previously attached. Belinda wanted nothing more than to have a baby and establish her legacy, so after finding out she was pregnant, she asked him to leave. They parted company on much better terms than her and Toby and she felt good about moving on in her plans for her career and her new family.

Belinda has recently met a new man named Amin and while he's working as a bartender, not ideal, he seems a good man and he's interested in her, despite her baby baggage. Things are looking up for Belinda, despite still being unable to afford a shower. Thank goodness for the gym down the street or she'd be spongebathing all the time and that's no way to bring romance into your life. She's down to less than one hundred simoleans in the bank, but she needed that new fridge to feed the baby. No regrets there. Here's to a story worth telling.