O Larua!

Greetings! My name is Rosa and I'm here to welcome you to the exciting and rewarding realm of the uneasy dead. This is what happens when you get a bad haircut, folks. You die of complete and utter shame. But enough about me. Being dead isn't the end. Follow me and see for yourself!!




 That's my hubby Max. A constant fixture around the old homestead, he loves nothing more than building snowmen and raiding the fridge. You too will be able to mold and manipulate solid stuff. It's always better to sneak out from the grave at night. Our relatives have a weird hang-up with us being around during the day.

On the other hand, death does have weird hang-ups of its own. You may find yourself a little peckish from time to time for the nastiest foods imaginable. Hubby likes his salad fresh and his hot dogs well-grilled but not me. One night I just had the worst craving for week-old goat cheese... yeah. You may want a sick bucket nearby if you want me to go on. You don't? For all our sakes, thank you.

Don't get me wrong - I like my silky coffin lining but some of us remember our old beds and the like. You may want to sneak upstairs and have a nap once in a while. Expect to get some static from your relatives if they catch you.

The best part of death? You can keep hanging out in your relatives' pool even after you've died. Remember that old jerk Mr. Tub? He'll leave you alone! And the best part; you can swim all night if you want. You'll never get tired and you'll never run out of breath if you dunk! Bonus!

There's the more traditional ghost stuff you can do as well but if your relatives are ghost-savvy that sort of thing will get boring pretty quickly. Make snowmen! Jump in the pool! Gross yourself out at the bin! It's all waiting for you; here in the afterlife!

Under One Roof

 "Good morning, babe! Uh, I can barely hear you. What was that? I'm a waste of time? What do you mean by that? Oh. Michelle messed up space and time. Well, where are you then? And why can't I hear you that well?"

 "Yes! It is Michelle that has the tele-thingie! Her witch pals decided to have some fun with the house so we're stuck six hours in the past. She won't give it to me so I'm stuck with the new-fangled phone-thingie." Would you give it to me already, Michelle? He muttered as the old woman chattered merrily away.

 "She better not be doing anything remotely close to any thingie! What? Oh, she's trying to call her witch pals.Can they fix time and space and get you guys back here?" Brooke sighed despondently. This is what happened when your landlady was friends with the occult element.

 "Hey! Good news, angel!" Connor said, now much clearer with the dish in his hand. "The witches are in the basement with their spell-books. Hopefully they're fixing everything and turning Michelle into a toad."
Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and the sickly sweet stench of death. "Uh, I think something messed up downstairs, angel."

"What do you mean? Wait! What am I doing in my party dress? This was from last night!" Brooke looked behind her to see Connor with a relieved smile on his face. "You mean to say the witches brought me back six hours instead of you guys forward?"
"I think so." He said. "However, I think something went wrong."
"It did." A sad voice rasped. "Anyone for a funeral?"

Nothing is Absolute?

Warning! If you are burdened with darkness and looking for a way out PLEASE talk to someone! You are worthy of all the love and respect life has to give you and the good times will come back.

      Suicide is in the darker grey area of topics for discussion. Many religions consider it an abuse of free will and an insult to life and as a result suicides are considered to be outside the 'blessed places', if you will. Like everything, suicide is a decision that sows karma - in this case, of the negative version - that may very well likely send one down a few notches in the next life. No matter where you look, suicide for any reason is a bad decision. For a long time I considered this to be 100% truth, absolutely. Then I met Sydney Carton and my steel wall took a hit.
     Sydney Carton was a burned-out lawyer in Charles Dickens' England and France in the seminal 'A tale of two cities'. One of his few redeeming qualities, by his own evaluation, was that he was friends with Charles Darnay, whom he respected immensely. When Darnay fell afoul of the French Revolution and was ordered to spend time with Madame Guillotine, Carton saw his chance to save his friend's life and future and give himself a chance at karmic brownie points. With his final words, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." Sydney Carton goes to his destiny with a clear conscience and a contented heart.
     But this is a fictional character, one might insist. What else have I? It wasn't until recently that I started reading up on seppuku - the act wherein the samurai disembowels himself in a final act of sacrifice to honour his lord. This year I read Andrew Rankin's incredible book 'Seppuku: a history of samurai suicide'. The act of seppuku is ancient and far more elaborate than I expected. A very detailed account of a most gruesome way to die. When the samurai commits himself to dying he does it with all his mind, heart, and skill. There can be no doubts or second-guessing.
     Pretty similar to Mr. Carton's decision, isn't it? Of course I can't stop at just one book on even this very dark topic. Of late I've been reading about the kamikaze - Japan's desperate 'divine wind' that was to eradicate the U.S. aircraft carriers during WWII. I recommend Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney's 'Kamikaze diaries' and Maxwell Taylor Kennedy's 'Danger's hour' if you would like to read up on it a bit. The latter inspired me to write this post. Not the same situation as the samurais were in. Unlike them, the kamikaze were young men ordered to destroy themselves and their planes as a way to take some of the U.S. soldiers with them. Based on the recovered diaries from some of these pilots not all of them went to their deaths with a completely clear conscience. Nevertheless, they carried out their missions and the emperor was obeyed. All for nothing.
     These books I recently read slammed against my steel wall of absolutes even harder. Suicide is still a bad decision but if one goes to it with a completely clear mind and conscience, are the consequences lessened? Like most things involving the afterlife, we cannot really know. And what of soldiers who die in battle? They know they may have to make the ultimate sacrifice - just like the samurai and the kamikaze did years ago. It's a matter of perspective, I guess. Meanwhile, my journey of exploration will most likely continue. This is an unfinished and completely unpolished conversation.

    I hope to have some more Sims stuff for you but not for a bit. If I don't post anything else until the new year, have a wonderful Xmas.