[b]Name:[/b] Jacob Logan Taylor.

[b]Preferred Name/Nickname:[/b] Jake.

[b]Age:[/b] 19.

[b]Gender:[/b] Male.

[b]Housing Preferences:[/b] No preference.

[b]Major:[/b] Physics.

[b]Minor:[/b] Russian Language.

[b]Extracurricular Activity:[/b] Party Animal.

[b]What do you feel is your best natural ability?:[/b] Intelligence.

[b]What do you feel is your weakest natural ability?:[/b] Strength.

[b]What languages do you speak?:[/b] English; Russian.

[b]What do you feel your skill set is?:[/b] Jake is really a jack of all trades, though there are things that he could be seen as standing out in. He's a fairly quick learner about technical things in general, and has a good memory to back it up. In particular he is good at figuring out how machines work, and will sometimes take things apart for the sake of learning how they work and familiarizing himself with them. He claims he could do it with an engine block, but he would never actually do it on a working vehicle for fear that he does get something wrong putting it back together. He is also a knowledgeable and experienced shooter and can learn how a firearm works, given a few minutes of tinkering and familiarization. The same applies for his schoolwork, and he is quick to grasp and retain ideas, concepts and theories related to his studies. There are certain things that he doesn't really get, but can do anyways; a good example being that he is a good singer but doesn't know anything about musical theory.

[b]Hindrances:[/b] Jake sometimes has problems keeping his mouth shut and might say something a bit out of line. His reasons are generally good, or at least well-founded, but it has landed him in trouble before. He also generally has problems when it comes to dedication, particularly in anything work-related. He is also one of those types of people who is concerned more about others' well being than his own, and he has done things and taken falls for friends, family, and even complete strangers in some cases. Additionally, he has a strong hatred of heat, and he can become irritable if exposed to hot environments for prolonged periods (he would have gone to college out of state if the tuition weren't more expensive). Last but not least, and he'll never admit it, but if Jake notices something off, like if he thinks a car has been following him, or he hears something weird, he will get apprehensive and paranoid, which is part of why he always has his knife with him. Most of the time he writes it off as just something and gets over it, but there are times when he becomes truly spooked, and in these cases he tends to get defensive and stop thinking clearly until he thinks it's safe. It's not that he scares easy, more like he tends to get anxious when he has insufficient data about a situation, and he hates surprises.

[b]Helpful Edge:[/b] Even though Jake has gotten into trouble on multiple occasions, he has a sort of charismatic presence that prevents him from getting the fullest extent of any punishment. It's not that he doesn't get in trouble, but he almost always receives a less severe punishment than would be expected. Most of the reason he isn't doing worse in school due to his carefree behavior is because he learns things quickly and has good memory, plus he actually attends every lecture unlike some of his drunken cohorts. He also has a way with keeping cool in situations where he knows what he's dealing with, and can think quickly under pressure, so long as the aforementioned requisite is met. Most importantly is probably his instinct and insightful nature, and while he can't predict the future, he does often get good or bad vibes about things.

[b]Vehicle Registration:[/b] [url=http://www.2040motos.com/_content/cars/images/80/102480/001.jpg]Lime Green 2003 Kawasaki KLX400R.[/url]

[b]Appearance:[/b] [url=http://i.imgur.com/pCpdT3x.jpg]Jake[/url] is pretty much average as far as appearances go. He stands at 5' 9" and weighs about 145 lbs. He's far from out of shape, and his thin figure lends to that to an extent, but he's also not particularly in shape. He has green eyes and wavy/curly brown hair, which he tries to keep straightened. He'll wear a black beanie if he doesn't have it straightened for whatever reason. He tries to keep his face clear of hair, but sometimes he'll allow a five o'clock shadow to grow in on days that he feels too lazy to shave.

He usually wears relatively plain clothes, generally a solid-colored t-shirt or v-neck, blue jeans, and converse. Sometimes he'll wear a complimentary casual button-down shirt along with the aforementioned undershirt. He keeps one 3 piece suit on hand, along with several dress shirts, vests and ties, all of which are solid colors. He also has a couple of hoodies, one of which has Black Mesa logos on the front and back, along with a [url=http://i.imgur.com/UH9rpPD.png]Red Army winter coat[/url] for the colder months.

[b]Interests:[/b] Partying hard, target shooting, Russian stuff, music, movies, physics, psychology, science, science fiction, writing.

[b]Disinterests:[/b] Politics, government, religion, sports, Texas.

[b]Personality:[/b] Jake is an overall easygoing guy with a kind heart and a good head on his shoulders, though he does often enjoy going to parties. He is rarely seen in a bad mood, unless you get him started on the state of the world. He tries to avoid thinking about it, but there are certain things that will make his blood boil, and when he gets started he says it like it is, and with no regrets. He's the sort of person who would charge headlong at an armed robber with nothing but a pocket knife just to spite them. He's not really brave in that sense, just stupid, feeling that he has a moral obligation to help others with no concern for his own safety, which lends to the idea that he has sort of a hero complex, even though he'll claim that this is not true. He would simply say that he does things without a second thought, because it's the right thing to do.

[b]Equipment:[/b]
Fairly powerful laptop
Android phone
MP3 Player
Poker deck
Notebooks
Russian copy of Roadside Picnic
Spring-assisted knife
Mosin-Nagant (stored securely on-campus)

[b]Brief Bit About Them:[/b] Jake was born and raised in Dallas as an only child, raised primarily by his father. His parents got divorced when he was 7 and his father got custody due to his mother having a drinking problem. Since then, life has been fairly uneventful for Jake. He has always done fairly well in school and picked up on things quite easily. His father was an avid shooter, and Jake shot his first gun when he was twelve, sparking his interest in shooting. His interest in Russia began not long afterwards when he shared a class in eighth grade with Sergei Grigorovich, a student from Russia. The two became friends, and even though Sergei already knew a fair amount of English, Jake offered to help him learn more in exchange for bits and pieces of Russian. The two remained friends all the way through High School, and Jake became well-versed in Russian by the time he graduated. Unlike Sergei, along with most of his friends, Jake didn't know what to do after High School, despite having earned several thousands of dollars in scholarship money. He decided to take a year off from schooling, thinking that it would give him time to decide what to do, and attend some parties on the side. He knew he'd have to apply fairly early to get accepted to any good colleges, so he applied for ETU in early November, shortly before his 19th birthday. He has since been accepted; the scholarships covering tuition while his dad pays for housing. All in all, he's happy to be moving forward with his life.

[b]Notes:[/b] Even though Jake is already fairly fluent in Russian, he figures minoring in it couldn't hurt, plus it's practically a free second degree. That shit looks good on a resume.