Ulysses Strassenburg : Instrument Maker/Sled Pilot : Male

CHARACTER PROFILE
Name: Ulysses Strassenburg, Uly for short

Age: 28 (Late Summer)

Gender: Male

Distinguishing features: Muscular, broad chested

Hair Color: Long dirty blonde with streaks of paler blonde

Eye Color: Blue

Description: The man is tall, broad, and quite muscular -- That is the first impression people usually give of Ulysses. He has a habit of making other men look a bit small around him. For all that however he is nothing but a gentle giant. His mouth is often split in a wide grin, and his blonde hair is often pulled back into a fashionable ponytail. He takes the time to make sure his appearance is at least not tarnished by things like dirt or grime, that he might pick up in his work.

His hands are remarkably large but soft and gentle. His fingers are delicate, from all his work with instruments, but his arms themselves are strong and muscular from the heavier tasks of woodwork and other activities. His stomach is flat, and his strong legs help him move quickly. He is often spotted wearing some simple clothes; such as a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt; or sometimes a long tunic like shirt over a pair of shorts. When he can get away with it, he wears sandals.

Personality: Ulysses loves nothing more than to laugh. He will tell jokes, make faces, and listen raptly to anyone telling the same. He prefers joviality to anything, and makes no bones about being a bit of a flirt with the boys -or- the girls. In fact, he delights in it.

Given that bit however he also has a very intense concentration. His work as an instrument maker requires delicate hands and a great sense of timing, and is not kind to foul-ups. So when something truly garners his attention, he will give it his all and do his best.

Aside from this, he loves to eat; and try out new foods. It is not uncommon for him to poke his nose into the kitchens and see if the cooks there have anything they would like to 'try out' on him.

History: Ulysses was born on Earth to a family of instrument crafters; instrument crafters whom had been working in the family business for hundreds of years. From the time he was just five years old he had been training to help his father and brothers in crafting, but he knew he would never get any recognition for it. They crafted mostly violins and he learned how to play; but he also yearned to learn other instruments. Being the second youngest, when he voiced this concern they allowed him a bit of leeway. He was able to at age 12 start working to craft other instruments.

By the time Ulysses was 17 he had skills at crafting pianos, guitars, woodwind instruments, percussions, and of course, he still made most any string instrument available. He had just started learning to craft brass instruments when he heard about the call for Pern colonization. At his age he felt the yearning for adventure, and after many long weeks of discussion with his family, he recieved permission. He was Pern bound.

Upon arrival he had no troubles setting up a brisk shop, making instruments on demand for those that wanted them. It kept him busy and quite happy, and he never once felt that Pern had been a bad decision for him. In fact he felt it was the best decision of his life. As his little business grew; he spent more and more time working to perfect his instruments and also spend time with the other colonists, advertising himself and in general enjoying life. He even after a night of drunken goading by some friends enlisted himself as a sled pilot, as proof of his abilities. About this time he impressed one of the dragonet creatures; a brown he lovingly came to call "Thud" for his propensity to flop down in the middle of the floor.

Of course, Threadfall altered that. He had been lucky to be out with a sled at the time; because his instrument shop that had been mostly wood and composite organic build had been destroyed along with most of his instruments. That set him back quite a bit. This upset him; and the change of events also caused his business to take a tumble. During the move he spent time working as a sled pilot and re-establishing his small instrument business, and while now he has finally finished doing so, very few have elected to commission him for new instruments. The dragon program and other events have kept many too busy to bother with music but he is determined to change that in time.



Pets

Name: Thud

Species: Dragonet

Breed: Brown

Age: 3 Years

Description: Thud tends to be on the overfed size for a dragonet. He's a big brown, and not just in belly, but in general size as well. His hide varies between a rusted reddish-brown and a tan-brown tone, the lighter shades tending to be about his head, limbs, and underbelly. He often walks instead of flies.

Personality: Lazy, lazy, lazy. Thud prefers to spend his time plopped down in the middle of a floor or table, where he can either sleep or keep an eye on things. He rarely will wander out of the shop of Ulysses but if he does; he follows closely at his heels. He's quite friendly and there has only been twice Ulysses has heard the dragonet growl or act in any sort of aggressive or defensive manner, and both were when other dragonets tried coming too close to him. Other than that, he's a lazy and friendly dragonet.



Sled pilot
Rank: Flying Officer
Enlisting Age: 26
Squadron: Blue