• Paul (Paulie) Mitchell Braun. If it wasn't bad enough sharing a surname with his father, his middle name also happens to be his dad's first.
• He's 22 (his birthday is November 5, 1986).
• Born in Florida, just outside of Miami. He doesn't remember much about the state, just that Mitch Braun still lives there and he never intends to go back.
• His parents divorced when he was seven after his dad slept with another woman. It wasn't exactly a tidy arrangement, his mom was a wreck for a long time afterwards.
• Moved to New Jersey with his mom to be closer to her family. Most of them don't live in Longport, but they are in neighboring areas.
• For a couple years he tried to maintain a pretty good relationship with his father, by middle school they weren't even talking on the phone anymore. The real breaking point was when Mitch got remarried. Paulie was 12 and didn't care if he was invited or not, he refused to attend.
• He was a diligent student, he managed high marks the whole way through to graduation and was even a part of the football team.
• Originally he'd planned on going to New York for college, he'd always figured he'd be a doctor. While his education could've probably been mostly covered by scholarships, his dad started sending him rent money so he could get an apartment in the city.
• He never did get an apartment in the city, nor did he go to college. Instead he decided to use the money to get his own place in Longport, a decision he opted not to include his father in. His dad still sends the money and still thinks his son is going to be a doctor. It'd probably be a bigger deal if their relationship hadn't been reduced to the exchange of money years ago.
• Of course if his dad did ever figure out what he was pulling, Paulie could get in a good deal of trouble. Still, he's not concerned. He's his father's only son and it's not as though the man is hurting for cash.
• Roughly two years ago his mom started dating ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) idk's dad. Although it was awkward at first (he's very protective of his mother), eventually he realized it wasn't such a bad situation. His mom was happy, his step-dad was cool, and his step-sister wasn't all that bad either. Although things are still a little strange, he's adjusted pretty well to being a "brother".
• Right now he's working part-time at the local bowling alley. Half of the time he's busy in the arcade section, smoking and playing video games instead of doing his job. He'd probably have been fired by now if the boss didn't have a crush on him.
• Paulie used to live for the future, he ignored almost every invitation in high school so he could focus on his schoolwork and extracurriculars. It was mostly an effort to make his mom happy, but after a little while of that it's not too surprising he got burned out. Now he tries to live for the present, he avoids relationships so he doesn't have to turn down anything (or anyone) interesting. It's a rare day when Paul's cooped up in his house, he spends most of his time wandering around or pretending to work. He believes you have to look for a good time, usually it doesn't just find you.
• Unfortunately, being willing to try anything has sort of bled into a few unhealthy habits. He smoked cigarettes for a year before he decided he liked pot better, and there's rarely a day when his refrigerator isn't stocked full of booze. He doesn't do serious drugs (or consider pot a drug, for that matter), but he's probably tried the majority of them.
• He's severely uneducated when it comes to movies and television because they require sitting still for too long. There are only a handful of dvds he owns and watches frequently, usually he doesn't have the patience for things of that nature unless he's got company. He loves music, but he doesn't have a clue when it comes to recent stuff. He's not up on technology either, he wouldn't even have a cell phone or a laptop if his mom hadn't forced him into it. However, it was completely his idea to get an ipod and a wii. If he is home alone you can pretty much put money on video games being his source of entertainment.
• While he is a little childish, he's also a smart enough guy to know that his way of life isn't a permanent one. He considers this an extended vacation. Every year he says he's going to go back to school, every year he decides it can wait. It's not that he's stupid or completely unmotivated, it's just that his small break keeps turning into a longer one. He's simply enjoying himself too much to go back to his old life. One day he'll be a lawyer or something, right now he's not even thinking about it.
• All that remains of his straitlaced, straight A personality are a bunch of memories and random bits of information that aren't important anymore. It's not that unusual for him to randomly spout off facts, and if something seems completely illogical he probably won't hesitate to explain why it doesn't make sense. He's not trying to be rude, he doesn't think it matters that he's not a complete putz, it's just his way.
• Even though he hasn't been in a relationship since last year, he does still believe in their validity. He's not looking to date anyone, but if the situation did arise he wouldn't have any problem accepting it. He's a goof, but his mom raised him well enough.
• As mentioned above, his only long-term relationship has been with somegirl. They dated from sophomore year up until senior year. Eventually his inability to focus on what they had as much as he focused on his schoolwork led to their demise. Even though it was at her hands, he wasn't terribly surprised. It was obvious that flowers and stuffed animals weren't going to fix matters this time around.
• Aside from her, he also dated Scout carmichal for a few months last year. He was pretty into the relationship, but it ended up cutting short on relatively uncertain terms. Unwilling to put himself into a situation where he felt like he was just waiting around for her, he cut most of the ties and succumbed to dealing with the awkward run-ins. They were inevitable considering Longport's size and their friends. He's mostly gotten over any rough edges, but the situation has made him a little more reluctant to get into relationships.
• He thinks animals are cool, but he's too absentminded to take care of them. He's killed 8 fish, 2 hamsters, and a ferret simply by forgetting he needed to feed them. He thinks kids are cool too, but insists he'll never have any for exactly that reason. It's a much bigger deal if you forget to feed your baby.
• Paulie's a pretty easy guy to get along with, but he's met plenty of people who think he's wasting his life. Generally he ignores anyone who doesn't like him, he considers fighting as pretty pointless. He's just not an angry enough person to maintain enemies. Fact is he doesn't take much seriously at all, the only way to genuinely get to him is to start talking about his parents. His mom is his favorite person in the world, his father is his least favorite, he doesn't like discussing either extreme. |