I've been so busy trying to get ready for Christmas since we got back from vacation, that I've hardly looked at The Sims. I did play it briefly last night and again this morning--I put up Christmas trees in the houses and put some gifts under them, and scattered some poinsettas--pink ones--around.

I haven't been quite as interested since Qui-Gon became a zombie. I admit I've actually tried to get one of them--I don't really care which one, although I suppose it would make sense if it were Qui-Gon--abducted by aliens.

Apparently all you have to do is buy them a telescope, which I did, and get them to use it frequently. I don't know what the chances are, but there's apparently a good chance the aliens will show up.

Perhaps that's heartless . . . Karen has a "black widow" in her game, who keeps killing off husbands. I haven't killed anyone yet--the zombie has been the worst that has happened, and even he hasn't really been all that big of a problem.

The little boy, Jake, is hoping that there will be a puppy under the Christmas tree. There aren't any pets in the Sims' world, which I think is a glaring absence. Well, there is one pet--a hamster (or guinea pig, I'm not sure which)--but if it bites you, you can get a disease and die, which doesn't sound particularly pleasant.

Here, Qui-Gon appears to be suggesting that they get a fish instead, which would certainly be easier to take care of. You do have to feed them, and clean the aquarium, but they provide hours of enjoyment. Perhaps a hard sell to a kid, although Jake seems to be considering it. Maybe tonight I'll buy them a fish tank.

Before we left on vacation, I downloaded some Buddhist monks from SimFreaks, along with some temple wall decorations and paintings; I didn't download the temple itself, although I suppose I might.

The problem is that you (i.e., a Sim) can't afford much of a house when you first come into existence. Every "family" (whether it's just one person or eight, the maximum) starts out with $20,000, which will only buy the cheapest house, and then of course you have to furnish it, and still afford to buy food until you can get a job.

It's quite a struggle at first.

So what do I do with a monastery full of monks? I'm considering the money cheat. I haven't cheated at all so far, but there's a code you can type in that will let you have all the money you want. At first I thought that would be terrible, and couldn't imagine doing it--most of the fun of the game is figuring out ways to earn more money, and figuring out what to buy with it--and when I'd see screenshots on websites showing castles furnished with all the most expensive furniture, it irritated me.

Then I read someone's site where they talked about the backgrounds and biographies of their Sims, and they said one of them was independently wealthy, having inherited from a rich relative, and I thought, hey! there's a possibility.

So maybe the monks live on donations from the faithful.