Jashley13

Boot camp for Navy is up in Great Lakes. After that, A School for the IT field is down in Florida, I think. After that, it's wherever they tell me my duty station is.

Hey everyone! Just past the halfway point of the chapter so should be done soon In regards to the question of serving in the Armed Forces, well...there's several reasons for me. First and foremost is the fact that I was raised in a military household (Navy brat). Thus, I'm somewhat familiar with the lifestyle and found ways to enjoy it. It's something I always felt I would end up doing someday, just because of my familiarity and the values I was brought up to respect. Second, as that-one-guy said, there are major benefits to becoming specialized in certain fields. I have some IT background, but it's more in a Help Desk environment. I feel like I can get a bit more in-depth with my training in the military, which will help me when I leave...IF I leave. Another major factor is that...well, I'm kind of driven to be the best. One of my major personal philosophies has always been that if you can be the best at something, there's not reason NOT to be. My father retired a Commander; therefore, I want to retire at least a Captain. Selfish? Perhaps, but I've never thought it was a weakness to want to be the absolute best at something. And yes, there are all the other usual reasons people list: become a better person, serve my country, etc. etc. I think all of them factor in at some point, but another one that really drives me is security and benefits. My wife and I plan on having a child within a year or so and the benefits of being in the military will certainly help with that. Granted, that comes with having to live wherever they tell me to live, but she and I are perfectly fine with that. And believe me, I will certainly not be stopping this story because of it

I shall be joining the Navy as an IT Specialist. I'm looking to get stationed on submarines (familial tradition and all that) and also looking to make the jump to officer ASAP. I would love love love to get the Travel Saga done before I leave but I don't know how that's going to work out. All I can do is promise to work my absolute hardest.

Hey everyone! So there's not gonna be much of a Reality Check this time around. The only bit of real life in the chapter was that my close friend who ran for Council President during my Junior year also lost, but that's about it. Everything else is set-up for the upcoming saga. However, there is a bit of business I need to lay out right now, just so it doesn't come as a shock down the line. Two months from today, I will be joining the Armed Forces. It's something I've kind of always known I would end up doing (my entire family has been military) and...well, it's finally my time. I've gotten all the paperwork signed, gotten my assignment, and got my ship date to boot camp. I'm basically just waiting now. So what does this mean for the story? Nothing. I mean, there's going to be a two-month break between chapters while I'm at boot camp (no access to technology, of course), but as soon as I'm in tech school, I will have my computer back and I will be typing up a storm. This story will continue, come Hell or high water. I've invested over 50 chapters into this story and I have well more than 50 more already in my head. Nothing is going to stop this story, short of my...well, let's not get morbid. Just wanted to give you all a heads-up. I will be giving a message when I am actually leaving, of course, but this way it won't come as quite as much of a shock. Hope you're all doing well and I will post updates on the latest chapter soon.

Chapter 53 is up Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July and hope you all enjoy the chapter. See you guys soon!

Happy Fourth of July everyone! To keep the good news a-rolling, the newest chapter of Being More Social is out In further good news, I'll have the next chapter of She is the One out tomorrow. I'd do it today but since Bashful already posted, I want him to have today

Can't make any promises for Fourth of July but I will try my best This is going to be a shorter chapter, lighter on plot details, but it will set up stuff for the coming Saga. Just kind of a laid-back chapter, which I think we could all use after the Voyeur Saga.

Good news everyone! I'm at the halfway point of Chapter 53 Having a lighter, more relaxed tone is certainly helping the process and I'm hoping to continue that speed through the rest of the chapter. Updates to follow.

Hey everyone! Time for the Reality Check: - The whole prostitution ring, I think I mentioned before, was based on somethiing that actually happened at my school. As far as I know, no one ever got involved the way Jack did and the police were, I assume, quick to act on it, so I had to stretch their inactivity just a little longer. Then again, I have no clue how long it was going on at my school, so...there you go. - The scenario Mr. Owens gave the Philosophy class is the exact same one I got while in the same class. All of Jack's responses were my own and I still believe, to this day, that the guy in the scenario made the wrong choice. Unfortunately, as Jack found, real life ended up bowing to the lucky happenstance. - I was able to go to my Junior Prom but I had a friend who was grounded from it for...actually, I don't remember what he was grounded for. I remember that his siblings were all allowed to go and I remember him saying that he just couldn't be with them in pictures, since it would have made him feel like too much crap. - Jack's conversation with Rhona is basically a compilation of several different conversations I had towards the end of high school, when I was getting myself ready for college. I can't say that I immediately took it to heart (nor, honestly, can I say that it will immediately work for Jack) but it was advice that I carried around with me for a long time and it helped me to become the person I am today. - Rhona's 'pensive song' is also my 'pensive song'. For those of you who don't know, it's called 'Northern Lights' by Jaymes Young. Check it out, it's an amazing song. That's about all I had for the last chapter. Thank goodness that Saga is over. It was really starting to drain me emotionally and helping Jack find something of an equilibrium in his emotional life is as much of a relief as I can get when I write. Just a side-note, I won't be saying when the pipe bomb will be coming into the story but I will say that Rhona is definitely not an older Nicole from Being More Social. Not at all. They are two completely different people and, as of yet, BashfulScribe and I have no plans to further cross our stories other than the one time Carson visited. Sorry if that's a little disappointing but our stories are going in completely different directions (my story is at least a year ahead of his) and it would just be too complicated. Big emotional hurdles have been past and brighter skies are ahead. I can't promise that it will be completely free of drama but I can say that the Travel Saga will certainly be much lighter than the previous few. See you guys soon

Chapter 52 is up and the Voyeur Saga has officially ended A very happy Father's Day to everyone. All fathers or fathers-to-be out there...enjoy your day and I hope it's filled with all the happiness you bring to your children.

Good news! Closing in on the end. I hope to have the next chapter up by Sunday or Monday

Hey everyone. First of all, Chapter 52 is just about finished. Should have some more news on progress in the next day or so. Second, I don't know if any of my readers are in the Orlando area but if you are, my thoughts and prayers go out to you. What happened was horrible and it breaks my heart every time something this senseless and horrible happens. I was actually born in Orlando and my wife and I had our honeymoon there. I can't claim to have a super deep connection with it, but that won't stop me from wishing the best for everyone affected by it.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lateness on this but here's the Reality Check: .............................................................................. I got nothing. That's not to say that individual bits weren't borrowed from real life or real life reactions, but major events? None in this chapter. Everything was kind of grown out of a situation that was only based on something that actually happened, ergo all of that had to be invented. So no Reality Check this time. However, I am plugging away at the next chapter, the final chapter in the Voyeur Saga, and boy am I ready to be moving on, as I'm sure you all are. As I'm sure the characters are as well. Look for updates and I hope you're all well

Chapter 51 is up One chapter left in this Saga.

Next chapter should be out by tomorrow

Hey everyone! Closing in on the end so only a couple more days and the next chapter should be out

Hey everyone! Time for the Reality Check: - Jack's audition and his subsequent excitement about being cast is exactly the same as mine when I was cast for the same play the same year of high school. I couldn't sing either but when I was told there was a major speaking role with no singing, I was so excited. - Jessica and Craig's campaigns against each other are very similar to a campaign for the same position my Junior year. It was a tough time for me, since they were both my friends and neither was, honestly, a great fit for the position. I made it a little easier on Jack. - I wish I could say I saw Shannon and Binyam's real life counterparts again but, sadly, I never did. Recently looked them up on Facebook and they seem to be doing quite well. - The first Philosophy class and the subsequent paper Jack wrote are exactly the same as the one I wrote for the same class. I doubt I can plagiarize myself but if I can, I shall sue myself to the fullest extent of the law. - Jack's beating is identical to one that I myself received in school. It was actually in elementary school and the damage was not as extensive, but it was still pretty brutal. I have a hard time around brick these days, just because I keep expecting someone to slam my face against it. Sorry about the delay on this but I've actually been writing up a storm on the next chapter and its more than halfway done. Hopefully it should be done soon! In other business, I completely agree with Joe Long when he said the 'exposition dump' may have been a little much. I was trying to goof on the whole thing a bit (hence the, "Just imagine it as a Star Wars text crawl" thing) but it was a joke that probably went on a bit too long. I apologize for that and will attempt to rework it in the future. Two more chapters left in the Saga and then we can move on. This one's been draining, not gonna lie, but the end is in sight and its giving me strength. As is your continued support so thank you all so much for that and I hope to be back with good news soon

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been silent for a bit but I'll be posting the Reality Check and an update soon!

Chapter 50 is finally up. Fifty chapters...Cripes. Hard to believe I'd get this far from when I started. Not gonna lie, this one took more than a little out of me. Once you read, you'll understand why. But rest assured, I will be starting work on the next story as soon as I get a little rest and I'll be working as fast as I can for you all.. Hope you enjoy

Chapter 50 should be up either Sunday or Monday

Closing in on the end guys

Hey everyone! Reached the halfway point of the chapter I wanted to post this a day or so ago but we were only a couple of posts away from the 3000th post and I didn't want to be the one to take that. Congrats to Chester57 for the 3000th post on this forum! I'll be back soon with another update. Second half of this chapter should be much more of a breeze.

Hey everyone! Busy busy time for me so sorry about the lateness of the Reality Check but here it is: - Arthur is very similar to my real-life cousin's current boyfriend. She's had about the same amount of luck with guys as Tara but I'm hoping this one will last. - Alan and Amanda's reaction is based around my brother's real-life reaction to a joke me and my theater buddies once made about having to 'act' like we were broken up with the girls we were dating. We weren't serious but he took it as such, telling us that our relationships aren't something to just toy with. Rhona's reaction was also based off this a little. - Despite the fact that I've always held that Jack is who I am and Joe (the goofball) is how I act, Craig's refusal to leave Jack and Kayla's 'breakup' alone is very much something that I do in real life. It's something I've had to work on since, more often than not, people seem more hesitant to get back together when I'm pestering them like that. - My Junior year musical really was Guys and Dolls and I also went to my teacher, asking if there were any major non-singing roles, as my voice had not developed yet. She said the exact same thing Mrs. Karlow did. The rest of the chapter, as before, is purely fiction. There might be bits and pieces of truth in there but nothing major enough to be worth noting. On a side note, I just want to say that it really warms my heart to be able to come on this forum and see serious, thoughtful discussions about my story. I mean, obviously I'm glad that something I write facilitates such discussions, but I just love reading the stuff you guys talk about. It's so much more interesting than endless comments of 'This is so hot!' or 'Make one of them pregnant!' So thank you for that. It really means a lot to me. I'm seeing maybe three more chapters or so in the Voyeur Saga and, not to give away too much, but this last chapter was just the beginning. Chapter 50 coming up so some big stuff has to happen. Hope you're doing well and I'll be back soon with an update

Chapter 49 is finally posted. Sick and tired and going to lie down. Hope you guys enjoy it. I shall be back as soon as I feel better.

Next chapter should be out tomorrow I apologize for the wait