We're a couple who've been together since 2000.

Mike:
I just finished my first year of teaching high school physics. I'm 34 and this is my first professional job, so my ongoing focus is adapting to a new lifestyle. I've worked as a landscaper, vegetarian chef, full-time presidential campaign staff (3rd party), and "sandwich artist," so I'm having a hard time pretending to be an adult for a bunch of teenagers. I want to be the best teacher I can be without missing out on love and friendship.

I'm most myself when I spend a few days with a backpack on with friends and family (or by myself) in the woods and mountains.
My shins are less hairy than they used to be because I've recently taken up juggling torches, which sometimes hit the ground and bounce back at shin level. It doesn't hurt, but is an effective depilatory.
I like to build stuff with wood, and hope to use some of the money from the "real" job to buy a house with a garage that I can turn into a workshop.

Loralynne :passionate and outspoken. Working on a second master's degree in communications. Avid fangirl. Loves dinosaurs, vintage/retro, and twisted stuff.
Be kind to animals, take 'er easy for the dude, expand your mind through all means possible.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We started with CS because we were too poor to travel otherwise, but stayed on because... well, all kinds of things! When I stay with CS'ers I'm more alive and aware. The experience of being with generous people who open their homes to strangers is joyful and emotional, makes me more trusting and loving, and reveals a sliver of colorful vibrant life that hides behind every face that I pass on the street. Being exposed to different ways of life has expanded our perspective, and allowed us to live more freely. I hope that we've had the same effect on other surfers.

We've hosted lots of guests, some through CS, some not.
We met a good friend while he was hitchhiking through our town. He hung out for a while, had dinner, then was getting ready to go when we invited him to stay at least overnight. He ended up staying for three days and we had a great time. He continued hitchhiking west, but called us a few days later after a bad experience, and he hung out for a few more days before deciding to continue his trip via airplane. Haven't heard from him since, but still count him as a good friend.
Traveled to San Francisco and met some great CS folks on the west coast. I recommend going to a CS Meetup in a new city for anyone who gets the opportunity! We've been pleasantly surprised by all the various reasons that someone might want to travel to or through Schenectady! Baseball hall of fame, East Coast music tour, Walking the entire length of the former Erie Canal.

Interests

Mike likes hiking, board games, cooking (used to work at a veggie cafe), craft beer, woodworking.
Loralynne likes food, craft beer, politics, comic books, memes, movies, cheese and booze. Whovian, Fannibal, Sherlockian.

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC:
Mike: fingerpicking acoustic guitar (Leo Kottke), a little bluegrass. Downtempo, jazzy, swingy, loungey electronica.
Loralynne: Richard Cheese, Scissor Sisters, Electric Six, Greenskeepers, disco, a little of everything really.
MOVIES/TV
Mike likes Requiem for a Dream, but can never ever watch it again. Lord of the Rings
We both got into Matrixesque movies after Loralynne wrote a paper on the genre that became her thesis. 13th Floor, eXistenZ, Videodrome, Harsh Realm, Animatrix, Truman Show, Dark City... they were great, but there should be a dosage warning on those things. We felt disconnected from reality for a good few months afterwards.
Loralynne: The Wall, Jaws, Jurassic Park, X Files, X Men movies, Easy Rider. The XFiles, Sherlock, Doctor Who, Hannibal.
Both: Big Lebowski
[Comic] BOOKS
The Watchmen, The Walking Dead, Astonishing X Men.
Mike: Planet Hulk
Loralynne: Old School X Men, Phoenix Endsong, Y the Last Man
BOOKS
Mike: Slaughterhouse 5, The Stranger, Tolkien, Scifi classics: A C Clark, etc. Richard K Morgan. Non Fiction: Jared Diamond - Collapse and Guns Germs and Steel.
Loralynne: Whitley Strieber, The Prince, Lord of the Flies, Stranger in a Strange Land, Lots of Academic Stuff for School, old school scifi

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Mike: seeing the top of clouds from the peak of Mt. Lincoln in New Hampshire.
Loralynne: working on a presidential campaign, visiting holy sites in Italy:Lots of energy pulsing through those places. Snuggling with the cat and dog.

Teach, Learn, Share

As recent converts to graphic novels, we can show people that there is much more to them than most people assume.
Mike can juggle, and is a patient teacher.
Loralynne can tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the just-scratch-the-surface way that humans experience existence. Simulated reality. zombies.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Passionate conversation. Juggling lessons. A pint of local beer. Pets to play with. Local recommendations.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy