112 Day Challenge - Rebecca Keller

Last Week Of Summer ... And This Challenge Is Turning Out To Be A Challenge

Despite some setbacks and the choice to adjust her strategy away from the norm, Rebecca has been doing well as far as production is concerned. With her loss of transportation and the need to jog everywhere she goes, she has been able to adapt a more focused strategy that attempts to garner whatever benefit she can get from each step she takes. She doesn't go anywhere without it serving several purposes and does business along the way.

She tries to get some relaxation on the weekends, but that has been difficult seeing as she is always pressed for time. She finished her first week with a little more than 26,000 simoleons but has chosen not to make any investment in property yet (and that's a first for challengers). On her second Sunday she did jog to the bookstore and bought all the cooking recipes (for around 21,000 simoleons).

For relaxation and some peace, Rebecca normally spends Sundays at the Library. The atmosphere makes studying more efficient. She can get a lot done. She usually finishes the day at the gym trying to stay in shape pumping iron. Jogging everywhere and eating nothing but raw fruit has been making her boney, and she doesn't like that.

Towards the middle of the second week of her challenge Rebecca was already harvesting what she had planted with special seeds. She has plenty of life fruits by now and has harvest plasma fruit and death flowers. By the last week in Summer she had finally grown a flame fruit plant and harvested it once.

Speaking of death flowers ... Trying to stay ahead in her fishing and wrap that up by the end of Summer, Rebecca was fishing for angelfish to use as bait up in the mountains by the falls. She got hit by a meteor (i had the speed fast, a stack of fish notices, the volume down and was cleaning out her inventory ... Never saw the notice and it was too late to move).

But ... Rebecca had harvested two death flowers the day before ... The Grim reaper gladly accepted the trade ... And after analyzing the meteor and other rocks made a total of 17, 655 simoleons. I me4am she might have had to die in the process, but she ended up making more money than she started the game with ... 🤣😂

In the last week of Summer she had caught enough deathfish to top out her Angler Career. Rebecca was thankful she met the challenges career requirement, and she didn't have to spend any more nights in the Graveyard. She packed up her remaining bait and stored it away for use in the Spring if necessary. Most challengers fish through the challenge for food and well as profit, but Rebecca doesn't have a burn pit anymore (stolen in the first week) so there is no use for her to do that.

As she had planned, Rebecca started focusing on science as soon as she cleared her fishing requirements. She does have the Computer Whiz and Genius traits. Rebecca hopes she is nerdy enough to progress there without too many complications.

That kind of brings us to Friday in the last week of Summer when James Brand returned to Rebecca's challenge campsite. Uh yeah ... He stole her tent this time. She couldn't do anything but call the cops. When James was headed over to where her treasure chest and shower were, she interrupted him requesting they take a photo together. This not only distracted James, but the cops showed up before they were through taking the picture.

But ... Officer Keisha Wyatt is a terrible police officer ... Wait for them to finish ... Then walked right past James to tell Rebecca the burglar got away with her tent.

Challenge officials discussed the matter, and the legal department got involved ... They all kind of felt sorry for Rebecca. The point was made that Community Lots are not off limits and can be used to their function. Additionally, two Community Lots in Hidden Springs have beds and the officials could not see the difference in sleeping on a couch or bench on a Community Lot and sleeping in a bed on a lot. They approached Rebecca with the good news.

Surprisingly ... Rebecca refused the generous offer saying ... "There have been Challengers that have lost their tents in the past. I am doing this as a challenge and to build character as much as wealth and knowledge. You may think it is stupid, but I am going to tough it out. I don't expect I won't suffer some more ... And it's the stuff Legends are made of" ... 🤣😂😆

Happy Simming ... 💖

End of the Third Week in Fall

The picture above pretty much sums up the season of Fall so far. Without a tent, napping wherever she can find a comfortable, warm and dry place takes up around 13-14 hours a stretch to maintain Rebecca's Energy levels. Since that won't split the day equally, Rebecca's schedule is all over the place and dictated more by availability than any particular hour of the day or night. She also has no illusions of privacy.

She centers most of her napping and activity around the research center as it allows many options. There are showers available, computers for playing chess or refining her writing skills and the equipment necessary for her to earn some income. Currently, Rebecca is not invested in any of the local businesses or community properties with the exception of the Junkyard she improved as her Challenge Community Lot Project.

What used to be Grady's Junkyard is now Keller Recycling. It was impossible to keep it strictly as a Junkyard, because as such it could not be purchased. So ... Rebecca approached the town council, had them bulldoze the lot, and she purchased the lot with a promise to open a facility that would serve the same purpose and more under different zoning restrictions.

Not only does the new recycling center offer waste disposal, but it also offers the opportunity for patrons to do something with the scrap they salvage. There are two inventing stations and a full complement of facilities to encourage use. Rebecca also built a time machine, travelled to the future and during her adventures found a guitar she returned with.

Rebecca's Garden hung in there for a while and remained productive almost through the second week of Fall (it's been kind of warm this Fall). She has collected all that is required and has some surplus. In the background you can see where she has stacked smelted gold where her tent should be with a gnome guarding it. It's there in hopes that any burglars steal it instead of the few precious items she has left at the campsite.

With her schedule messed up, having to jog everywhere, and having to really concentrate on making every step in any direction count ... Rebecca hasn't had much time for just goofing off. She has taken the opportunity to get in a few more game of bowling on one or two occasions.

Although she has been invited to many parties, Rebecca has only attended two so far ... One at the Vanderburg Mansion, and another at Nicholas' house. She has carried on the challenger's tradition of making desserts at a party. Rebecca prepares the rare Baked Angel Food Cake. At Nicholas' party, guests were having such a hard time getting to her cake and then finding a spot to eat, that Rebecca just ate hers in the kitchen before playing the guitar while everyone else ate. She has become a pro at multitasking, setting priorities and keeping things on track.

Speaking of ... Rebecca doesn't waste any steps when visiting the Elixir Shop to cut and consign gems. She has been taking the time to collect insects and take care of the bees. She stores the insects, honey and wax at the moment to use when she studies Alchemy and needs them for potions. She hasn't started that yet in hopes that she can relocate once it snows and she can build an igloo ... Allowing her better sleep, more time and a closer base location to the Elixir Shop.

Rebecca is truly hanging in there against the odds. With one more week left in Fall, and no investments other than the Recycling Center ... She is still worth a little over 2.5 million simoleons. If she has any trouble with the challenge ... It will be coming up with the time for the 80 hours of Community Service, but that's a requirement she will probably meet even it means her other desires take a hit.

Happy Simming ... 💔

End of Fall and the Beginning of Winter

Often when covering a 112 Day Challenge everything is steered towards what the challenger is achieving. I also sometimes neglect some of the simple joys the challengers can provide that make the gameplay worthwhile. For instance ... Rebecca has both the Good and the Excitable traits ... And for all the struggles she has encountered during her challenge, she is still upbeat and precious when she breaks out into her 'happy dance' on whatever occasion that might warrant.

Even with difficulties and challenges ... It's not all terrible ... 🤣

As Fall started to wind down with Winter knocking on the door ... Rebecca found the rare opportunity to simply enjoy herself and attend a Feast Party at the Abbot House. She socialized most of the time but prepared a baked angel food cake, as is customary for her in her challenge.

Prior to leaving the party, Rebecca was playing with the Abbot's toddler when she noticed there were no accommodations for a child that age in the house. As is standard practice since an exception was added to the challenge rules, she provided the family with a training potty, crib and toybox.

Rebecca took the last few days of Fall, to shore up some of her earning potential. She planned on spending more time across town after the snows came and provided her with better accommodations. That would make the Research Center farther away, and other opportunities for advancement closer. She took full advantage of the facilities surpassing the 3 million simoleon net worth mark prior to the change in seasons. Rebecca might not break the overall record for simoleons earned, but she has beaten the record at the halfway mark by quite a lot ... Not to mention doing so without investing in the local businesses outside of the single community property she upgraded as her challenge project.

That's pretty much thanks to the previous challenger Kathy Ragsdale who 'broke the code' on mass earnings ... With the proper skills and a fortunate find ... A Sim can make upwards of 225,000 simoleons in two day's work. Timewise, it works out to around 14,000 simoleons an hour ... Not counting the time it takes to jog across town running errands on the way to the Elixir Shop to cut and consign the gems ... 🤣

With Rebecca's schedule being a mess due to the need for napping, she was still crashed out on a couch at 3:00 in the afternoon when it started to snow on the first day of Winter. She finally got up about two hours later and took care of all of her necessities such as eating an apple, texting friends, showering and playing some games on the computers available at the research center. Even though the snow wasn't quite deep enough yet, she left the center around 9:00 that evening to jog across town back to her campsite.

She did make a few fortuitous stops along the way allowing more snow to fall ... But half an hour before midnight on the first day of Winter, Rebecca had finished construction of an igloo. She was about to have the first decent sleep she could get since late Summer.

With the igloo, change in locations and more availability to different opportunities ... Rebecca was able to quickly dig into Alchemy. She had saved many items/ingredients she had collected for this opportunity, and the process went quickly. With a little dedication and effort, her planning paid off.

That's not to say that there wasn't a hiccup or two ... She managed to turn herself into a toad twice. However ... By the time this happened, she already knew the recipe for the Cure Elixir and didn't mind overpaying for the ingredients necessary to make it. Luckily, she made two Cure Elixirs in one batch ... And completed Alchemy (including all the associated challenges) ... Before she ran out of cures ...  🤣

Rebecca was able to make upwards of 65,000 simoleons consigning elixirs she didn't use. She had a stockpile of ingredients for elixirs such as Bliss (she threw all those at townsfolk to complete a challenge), Ad Nauseum (a lot of butterflies and ladybugs), Angry Bees (she had been tending the bees) and Witches Brew (a lot of toads from fishing while light bugs and moonstones can be cloned).

With the proper planning and skills ... Witches Brews are not the most profitable elixirs an Alchemist can make ... But they are very profitable considering the easiness of access in acquiring the ingredients.

Rebecca also chose Witches Brews because she is keeping one and will most likely become a "Good Witch" after the challenge (a challenger cannot be a Witch during the challenge for obvious reasons). Witches make excellent Tomb Raiders, because they can satisfy most of their needs with Charms ... However, they cannot spin when skating ... 🤣😂

Last but not least ... Due to time constraints the napping required, Rebecca was late getting to her required Community Service hours. Currently being able to get better sleep not only allows her more time for fun, but she has also been dutifully attending to her requirements in all areas of the challenge.

Happy Simming ... 💖

Winter Folds Into Spring and the Final Stretch of the Challenge

Rebecca had grown accustomed to a rather jumbled daily schedule as sleep demands overshadowed her immediate desires in the challenge. As Winter set in, she could not escape the nature of her previous challenge habits and continued to conduct business as time allowed, with more efficient sleep, but with little regard towards the hour of the day or night.

The igloo at her campsite held for most of the winter barring a day or two when it was warm enough to make her igloo unusable and require the building of another. She often returned to old haunts, when the igloo was unserviceable and this led to Rebecca never really changing her habits trying to conquer an uncertain foe ... The weather ... 🤣

Rebecca's activities did change some as she reached the extent of her knowledge in Alchemy. There was little else for her to learn without starting a new path and she built on existing skills. Being used to communicating with friends whenever possible through texting, Rebecca had gained some Social Networking skills. She started a News Blog but has only found mediocre results with several steady followers but little reward.

Having fine-tuned her Writing skills, Rebecca also started to use the Greenwire Cafe or the Library to write a few short Mystery Novels. With 5 Novels currently under her belt, she has no failures but no bestsellers either. Rebecca was confronted with idea she could spend the day picking flowers for sale and make as much that way as with her writing skills.

Rebecca has managed to wrap up all of her challenge requirements outside of the final task, which she does have the ingredients and skills necessary to achieve. Far beyond her Community Service requirements, Rebecca can still be found around town tutoring the townsfolk. She has dedicated the bulk of her tutoring towards instruction in cooking as she figures it can be the most useful for everyone.

Rebecca has been able to attend a few more parties, preparing her baked angel food cakes. She also often finds herself repairing appliances and fixtures around the houses before everyone settles in for dessert.

Likewise ... Rebecca is pretty much the IT department around the Greenwire Internet Cafe (I never upgrade the 8 computers at the Greenwire because it allows challengers to complete the Electrician challenge under the Handiness skill).

Rebecca has the Computer Whiz trait and has Overclocked some computers around town. She dabbled with some hacking once but only netted a paltry 514 simoleons. It also kind of conflicted with her Good trait and she was not comfortable with the practice. I mean seriously ... If she can make 4,466 simoleons jogging around town and collecting flowers, seed, and insects ... Then why go through the time and trouble of ripping someone off for much less. Of course, that might be a heavy dose of moral ambiguity ... 🤣

With everything 'wrapped up in a box with a bow' by the end of Winter, Rebecca did take some time on the last day of Winter to get in some snowboarding. The snow slowly melted and was entirely gone by the time she finished boarding. It was going to be a long four weeks of Spring and wrapping up the challenge between naps on the couch ... 🤣

By the end of Winter Rebecca has 4.3 million in the bank (not counting her other assets ... the only two properties she owns). She won't try to make the record unbreakable for future challengers, but she will most likely break Kathy's record for total earnings. Before that seems difficult with hardly any investments and royalties coming in ... Rebecca can do it working only 6 of the remaining 28 days ... 🤣

Happy Simming ... 💖

Another Challenge Comes to an End with a Successful Challenger

Never before has a challenger suffered so many setbacks so early in their challenge. Regardless, Rebecca was a blast to play, and she overcame everything the game could throw at her. Tailoring her ambitions for the challenge towards what had worked for previous challengers ... She surpassed them all in earnings, most of them in skills ... And definitely set a record for jogging over 4000 km in 112 days ... 🤣

Unlike most challengers ... Spring was a cake walk for Rebecca who had already squared away her requirements and was well on her way to breaking the earnings record. She only 'worked' hard a total of 7 of the last 28 days of her challenge. All other work she may have done was just filling time when no one else was awake, and nothing was open for business, because napping messed up her schedule. She abandoned her garden early in the season as it required her to travel across town ... And her campsite was overrun with gnomes ... 🤣

There's another first for Rebecca ... She is the only challenger to get rid of money instead of keeping everything she could earn. For the entire Spring season, she donated 1000 simoleons a day to whatever cause interested her ... Whether it be the Fire Department or Underprivileged Llamas.

She spent the rest of Spring doing whatever crossed her mind at the moment. Rebecca nailed down skills in all kinds of activities, but generally just had fun. She did continue to tutor both adults and children beating the associated challenges for instruction under the Logic skill.

When she wasn't out fine-tuning her skills ... She was having fun around town. Rebecca even worked the Kissing Booth at the Spring Festival, although she made no tips and gained not a single kiss in hours. Rebecca also was not named Spring Dance Queen ... However, she can bust a mean Smustle on the dancefloor ... 🤣

Goofing off got worse during her last week as she started to get back into the groove of taking things easy. Rebecca was getting her head straight again after all of the adjustments the challenge had demanded. She had 'earned her stripes' and was starting to wonder what her next steps would be after the challenge.

Saturday Morning and the last day of the challenge, Rebecca finished napping around 10:00. She swore it would be the last time she would be sleeping on that couch ... Or any couch for that matter ... 🤣

Rebecca headed over to the Winterly house not long after getting up, and like a pro she whipped up the required Ambrosia. That settled the last task of the Challenge. She went to her campsite to start packing her bags shortly after finishing the meal.

Uh Yeah ... That screenshot was taken before I cleaned out her treasure chest ... And after I did, she finished with over 6.5 million simoleons. That beats Kathy's record by a million or more.

Skills ... She wasn't too shabby in that departments either. She did many things differently than other challengers have and still succeeded with ease under tough circumstances. If Rebecca was attempting the challenge to 'test her metal' ... That it did, and she stepped up to the challenge ... 🏆

She was still a blast to play ... Happy Simming ... 💖