details
basic information full name: Cassandra Jane Sokoloff
also known as: Cassie
aim: cassie cuts
birthday/age: June 25, 1982 (29)
hometown: Eugene, Oregon
location: Goose Hollow, Portland, Oregon
appearance height: 5'8"
build: athletic but on the skinny side.
eyes: blue.
hair: dark brown.
style: classic and neutral when at work or in public. loves black. shameless fan of old sweats when lounging at home.
professional occupation:
Surgical Resident, Oregon Health and Science University
education:
South Eugene High School, High School Diploma (1999)
University of Chicago, BS in Biological Science (2002)
Oregon Health and Science University, MD (2006)
Oregon Health and Science University, Surgical Residency (July 2011)
Oregon Health and Science University, Cardiothoracic Residency (Projected Completion July 2013)
personal sexuality: straight.
politics: democrat.
religion: agnostic.
relationship status: single but not looking.
family:
father. Elliot Sokoloff (Logger)
mother. Marge Sokoloff (Nurse)
siblings. Naomi (b. August 23, 1978), Kristin (b. January 3, 1980), Kevin (b. December 9, 1983), Andrew (b. October 19, 1985), Shawn (b. June 17, 1988).

Personality
Cassie has ... a lot of personality. Equal parts exuberance and cynicism, she prides herself on being a rational straight-shooter who does not take shit from anyone. She's easy enough to get along with, so long as you aren't in her way. She's been known to step on a few people to get what she wants, but she prides her focus and determination as what has managed to get her this far in life. She's a classic overachiever, and she often does things solely for the sake of saying that she's done them, not for any tangible benefit. She's got an ego, but she makes no bones about that. She feels she's earned the right to be proud of herself, and she runs with it.

Cassie does have a softer side, however. Part of what made her want to be a doctor was that she genuinely loves the idea of a life dedicated to helping people. She considers herself to be a problem solver, and prides herself on being the kind of girl that her friends could come to for advice or consolation. She's got a major soft spot for the more vulnerable people in society, namely children and seniors, and she's a huge animal lover. She'd love a dog, but unfortunately, her ridiculous working schedule has confined her to a cat named Toulouse (after the Aristocats, obviously). (Addendum: she now has a dog. Just part-time.)

The darker side of Cassie's personality is that she can be kind of a dick when she gets her hackles up about something. When her feelings are hurt, she tends to mask it with sarcasm and low-blows, and she's not the forgiving type at all. Some people might forgive but never forget, but Cassie's the opposite. She still hates kids that picked on her in third grade, even if she doesn't remember what they said exactly. A grudge keeper to the extreme, she's got a mental checklist of people to screw over before she dies, but unfortunately, she's too busy to really keep up with it. She's saving some of the particularly nasty stuff for retirement.

When she's not working or sleeping, which is rare, she loves to get out and be active. She loves camping, fishing, and kayaking, and is always happy to turn her cellphone off. She works hard to keep up with her family, visiting her parents in Eugene when she gets the chance, and spending a lot of time with her older sister, who lives in Portland. She wasn't as mindful of this before her wedding debacle, but it made it clear to her who and what were really important in her life.

Fun Facts
  • Considers all of the following to be legitimate meal choices: Snickers bars, Monster energy drinks, coffee, gum, mozza sticks (marinara sauce makes it a meal), and cold three day old egg rolls.
  • Cassie is a little young for her job; she skipped a grade in elementary school, and finished college in three years. She prides herself on being younger and smarter than her peers.
  • She's a natural athlete. Cassie has been playing soccer since she was a kid, and she loves to hike, bike, and swim.
  • She loves pop music, unabashedly. She hates anything 'high brow' and has Elton John's entire discography on her iPod.
  • She loves arguing with people. While awkward or confrontational situations stress most people out, Cassie finds them pleasurable.
  • Owns a tabby cat named Toulouse, after The Aristocats, and co-owns an Australian Shepherd cross named Charlie with her friend Alex. She works too much to have a full-time dog, so she and Alex share.
  • Loves Alec Baldwin in a way that is almost creepy.
  • Is a big comedy fan. The Jerk is her favorite movie, with Uncle Buck as a close second.

Storylines

Naomi Sokoloff Cassie's older sister and oldest friend. Cassie and Naomi have wildly divergent personalities, but are alike in the ways that count. They love to hang out together, and are much closer than most siblings.

Phil Powel Phil and Cassie dated for almost two years before a disasterous wedding attempt kind of ruined that forever. Their relationship is pointlessly complicated, as they both fluctuate between hating each other and wanting to make out. Currently, they aren't speaking.

Alex Carlyle Cassie's most adorable friend, she would marry him if her sister hadn't already boned him. Alas, now they just have snuggle parties and do pointless, menial tasks together. They also co-own a dog named Charlie.

Ben Powel Phil's older brother. Ben and Cassie don't really like each other. At all. Alas, they recently went through a terrible time together, and have decided to be science nerd friends who aren't allowed to talk to each other thanks to Phil.

Jack Thompson Jack and Cassie met through GoPo and have a relationship made up almost entirely of their mutual admiration of how important they consider themselves to be. They're buds and they love to hang out and eat healthy food.

Luke Webber Luke and Cassie were 'friends' through Phil for a number of years. They recently had a fling of sorts and remain friendly.

cassie sokoloff, md.

history
Cassandra Jane Sokoloff was born June 18, 1982 in Eugene, Oregon. The third child of Elliot and Marge Sokoloff's six children, Cassie would grow up to be the typical middle child, forever looking for some - any - attention from her parents. It was 'Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!' from day one, and that is something that has never changed. Cassie could never stand being upstaged, and she was always the loudest voice in any crowd.

Despite her inferiority complex, she had a pretty normal, happy upbringing. Her father was a logger, and her mother a nurse, and despite not being the wealthiest family around, all six of the Sokoloff kids grew up happy and well-fed. Cassie in particular was bright, if not kind of a know-it-all. She excelled in school, and gladly skipped the sixth grade when offered by her teachers. Her parents, of course, wanted her to stick with the kids her own age, for social reasons. Cassie didn't particularly care for 'social' reasons; she relished being smart, and certainly wasn't afraid to let everyone know. This incredibly irritating trait had mostly cleared itself up by the time she hit high school, largely because even Cassie didn't like being the annoying girl that no one liked.

She continued to excel in high school, and having grown into her vaguely alien looks, she actually became relatively popular with her peers. She had no interest in boys her own age, however, she was much more interested in seniors, or even the handsome, collegial guys from the University of Oregon. Nevertheless, she kept her head in the game, and when her mother caught her making out with some college sophmore at the age of fifteen, she had decidedly more extracurriculars keeping her occupied after school. Luckily, these extracurriculars would be her ticket to college. Smart as she was, it was Cassie's soccer skills that got her a full-ride scholarship to the University of Chicago, where she majored in biology.

Cassie liked college. She had a few low points (like learning how much alcohol one could consume the night before an exam without failing it in the morning), but overall, she managed to mix a very good time with a strong dedication to her grades. She'd decided at the age of ten that she would be a doctor, and she followed through at U of C, following a pre-med track and volunteering at a local hospital. She dated very casually in college, always finding the girls she played soccer with lost focus when they got too 'into' their boyfriends. Frankly, she considered herself too sensible to be that kind of girl. She worked hard, and by taking on some summer courses, managed to graduate a year ahead of schedule. She didn't care to go home over the summers, and she enjoyed Chicago in the summer.

She graduated with honors in 2002, and deciding that she'd had enough of the midwest, she opted to accept the offer of admission from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. For one, the university housed a Level I trauma center, and secondly, she missed Oregon. She missed the trees, the rain, and the crazy politics. With Eugene only an hour and a half away, she'd be able to see her family, but still have space to breathe on her own.

Cassie decided in her third year that she was interested in surgery, after being told that it was one of the most competitive residencies in the medical field. Always a glutton for punishment, she pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion and managed to land a coveted general surgery residency at OHSU upon graduation from her program in 2006.

It was around this time that she met Phil Powel, working in a restaurant not far from the school. She and her girlfriends had gone for drinks after a particularly brutal day in class, and she couldn't help but notice that Phil was, well... pretty. Never ashamed to go for what she wanted, she approached him, told him he was like a Greek statue and gave him her number without any prompting. Figuring that it was probably too bold for a guy like him, she was pleasantly surprised when he called back and they went out on a date.

Cassie liked a lot of things about Phil. For one, he was kind of a douche, and she liked people who weren't afraid to hurt feelings every now and then. They had a lot of shared interests. Cassie loved the outdoors, and Phil always matched her step-for-step in any activity they undertook. He was warm and affectionate when it was just the two of them, and most importantly, she was a lot less uptight in his presence. Dating Phil during the first year of her surgical residency probably saved her sanity, and after ten months of dating, it seemed like a no-brainer to move in together. Of course, considering she spent more time sleeping in the cafeteria at the hospital than she did at home, they didn't really see that much more of each other, but it was nice. Easy.

Cassie was stunned when Phil proposed to her on a camping trip on their first anniversary. Mostly because she always took Phil to be the type who would never really want to get married. Something about buying the cow when you could get the milk for free. Anyway, after a long, sweaty hike, he took her to quite possibly the best vista of her life and embarrassed himself trying to be romantic. Finding his fumbling attempts at romance adorable, she of course said yes, and set about planning a wedding with the same ruthless abandon that she approached any new project.

Despite being, uh, Cassie, she managed to plan their wedding without being that much of a Bridezilla. Mostly because Phil would make fun of her when she acted like a neurotic bitch, and she just didn't have time to waffle over things like china patterns and floral arrangements. All in all, the year leading up to her wedding was busy (surgical residencies were time suckers), but pleasant. She felt more in love with Phil than ever, and things seemed to be coming up Cassie.

Then, of course, came her wedding day. The happiest day of every girl's life turned into a huge nightmare really, really quickly. Everything seemed organized and ready to go, and then Phil just sort of... disappeared. Standing her up on the one day where he was actually required to show up. Cassie didn't break down like expected. No, her anger burned so hot and so bright that it took weeks for her to even shed a tear over the whole affair. In all fairness, she had good reason to. She ended up cleaning up the mess that was her wedding that wasn't on her own. She returned all of the wedding gifts and wrote everyone apology notes. She boxed up Phil's things along with her engagement ring and sent them to his new place. It was only after the whole ordeal was dealt with and she'd run out of jobs to do that she finally had her meltdown, alone in her apartment.

Emerging from that was difficult. The littlest, stupidest things reminded her of Phil. She moved out of their apartment and got a cat. She dyed her blonde hair brown. She went back to work and focused on purging her life of everything that even echoed her time with Phil; she worked on cultivating a closer relationship with her friends and family, both of whom had fallen to the wayside between her career and her relationship. Thankfully, these connections kept her afloat and helped her emerge a stronger, albeit crustier person.

Fast forwarding to the present, Cassie is finished her general surgical residency and is well on her way to becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. Her work schedule is heavier than ever, but she's managed to balance it with some semblance of a social life - even a couple of relationships. She's kept her eye focused on the prize, and is finally at peace with having a crazy career and less time for other aspects of her life.


OOC
played-by: Olivia Wilde
availability: EST, evenings and weekends.
style: Third person, storybook style. IC & OOC friendly. I prefer threads/customs to AIM.
contact: Here.
game: prtland.