About Michael
<< Michael, his wife, Barbara, their daughter Rebecca
and their two dogs, Skagit and Fisher.
I was born in a US Army hospital in Germany while my father was serving during the cold war, but grew up in suburban Bellevue, WA, back when there were still open woods, farms and horse pastures inside the city limits. I attended the University of Washington, where I earned a degree in history (mostly medieval and non-Western studies) and another degree in psychology. While in high school, I took up cycling, backpacking and mountain climbing, which turned into leading Sierra Club trips and rock climbing during my graduate school years in Austin, Texas. Since the birth of my daughter (and shoulder surgery), I've pretty much stayed away from vertical surfaces.
My daughter and I are frequent users of the public library. Some of my favorite authors include Patrick O'Brian (the Aubrey/Maturin sea going novels) and award-wining science writer Matt Ridley. I recently finished reading an extended account of the Haleakela, the Hawaiian-built double-hulled sailing canoe whose journeys have been demonstrating the ability of Polynesians to navigate across open oceans for thousand of miles using only traditional navigation techniques. I enjoy woodworking and "fixing stuff," which means our basement has barely any walking room, what with all those must-have tools and boxes of holiday decorations. I enjoy listening to music, and have spent a good number of hours this last year to amass a ridiculously diverse collection of digital music files on iTunes.
My wife and I met in high school, where I sat behind her in math class admiring her smile whenever she would turn around. We began dating our first year in college, but did not start our family until after both of us had finished up our advanced schooling (medical school and residency for her, graduate school in behavioral neuroscience for me). With the birth of our daughter, we decided that we needed to return back home to Washington State, but found that Bellevue was no longer a place that we could live. We took a leap of faith and moved to the Bellingham and the "Fourth Corner" and have never regretted it for a second.
I am the proud husband of Barbara Hahn, a family doctor, and the primary caretaker of our daughter Rebecca. Our dogs are two brothers, named Fisher and Skagit.
I am active in community affairs through volunteering and my own neighborhood association, school parent-teacher association, church youth programs and mentoring, Greenways work parties, and Girl Scouts. My daughter represents the sixth generation of my family to live or work in Washington State - before Washington became a state in 1889! You may have seen Rebecca and me at work spreading mulch on Greenways projects, attending waterfront meetings (yes, she comes along, witnessing and learning about a citizen 's role in a democracy), or you may have seen me amidst the vast sea of parents at the Northwest Soccer Park showing a bit too much enthusiasm.
I currently serve on the executive board of the Fairhaven Neighbors association and on the board of trustees of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship. While our daughter is growing up, I have chosen to work part-time in the field of neuropsychology. I graduated magna cum laude and with college honors from the University of Washington, and hold a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience.
I was born in a US Army hospital in Germany while my father was serving during the cold war, but grew up in suburban Bellevue, WA, back when there were still open woods, farms and horse pastures inside the city limits. I attended the University of Washington, where I earned a degree in history (mostly medieval and non-Western studies) and another degree in psychology. While in high school, I took up cycling, backpacking and mountain climbing, which turned into leading Sierra Club trips and rock climbing during my graduate school years in Austin, Texas. Since the birth of my daughter (and shoulder surgery), I've pretty much stayed away from vertical surfaces.
My daughter and I are frequent users of the public library. Some of my favorite authors include Patrick O'Brian (the Aubrey/Maturin sea going novels) and award-wining science writer Matt Ridley. I recently finished reading an extended account of the Haleakela, the Hawaiian-built double-hulled sailing canoe whose journeys have been demonstrating the ability of Polynesians to navigate across open oceans for thousand of miles using only traditional navigation techniques. I enjoy woodworking and "fixing stuff," which means our basement has barely any walking room, what with all those must-have tools and boxes of holiday decorations. I enjoy listening to music, and have spent a good number of hours this last year to amass a ridiculously diverse collection of digital music files on iTunes.
My wife and I met in high school, where I sat behind her in math class admiring her smile whenever she would turn around. We began dating our first year in college, but did not start our family until after both of us had finished up our advanced schooling (medical school and residency for her, graduate school in behavioral neuroscience for me). With the birth of our daughter, we decided that we needed to return back home to Washington State, but found that Bellevue was no longer a place that we could live. We took a leap of faith and moved to the Bellingham and the "Fourth Corner" and have never regretted it for a second.
I am the proud husband of Barbara Hahn, a family doctor, and the primary caretaker of our daughter Rebecca. Our dogs are two brothers, named Fisher and Skagit.
I am active in community affairs through volunteering and my own neighborhood association, school parent-teacher association, church youth programs and mentoring, Greenways work parties, and Girl Scouts. My daughter represents the sixth generation of my family to live or work in Washington State - before Washington became a state in 1889! You may have seen Rebecca and me at work spreading mulch on Greenways projects, attending waterfront meetings (yes, she comes along, witnessing and learning about a citizen 's role in a democracy), or you may have seen me amidst the vast sea of parents at the Northwest Soccer Park showing a bit too much enthusiasm.
I currently serve on the executive board of the Fairhaven Neighbors association and on the board of trustees of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship. While our daughter is growing up, I have chosen to work part-time in the field of neuropsychology. I graduated magna cum laude and with college honors from the University of Washington, and hold a Ph.D. in behavioral neuroscience.