My name is Michael. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Russian was my first language, which included four years of private school study in Russian. I was also a translator liaison in the United States Air Force as a Russian linguist.
I received a Master's Degree in Philosophy from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2003, where I finished second in my class with a 3.87 GPA. I was a Teacher's Aide at the University, and have accumulated over 300 hours of substitute teaching. I taught in Korea for a year as an EFL (English as a foreign language) instructor to students between the ages of 8-16. I was also a private tutor in TOEFL. Part of my work in Korea also included proofreading for Korean professionals. I was an excellent student in high school Algebra, often assisting other students after class.
I played competitive soccer between the ages of 4-28, both indoor and outdoor. My primary position was goalie. I am an avid chess player, specializing in opening play. I held a rating of about 1750 with the United States Chess Federation. I have been weightlifting since the age of 16, learning various programs from competitive weightlifters.