Our Story
The "Us"
A pair of weirdos who have been together since 2011.
They were friends for a long while before the celestial bodies aligned.
Meeting in 2005 while attending art college in Florida, Mike and Ashley both were preoccupied with school to even think about romance. Mike’s health declined and he had to return to New York. Ashley stuck around and finished her degree then moved around a bit.
Thanks to the internet, they never lost contact. After a few years the perfect excuse came up. Pirates of the Caribbean; On Stranger Tides was coming out around Mike’s birthday. Ashley booked a flight up to spend time with him and share in their love of the movie franchise. Perfect excuse!
Three months later, she moved up. Not knowing what was in-store, hoping to land a dream job, and letting the cards land where they may . . .
MIKE
Mike is a 30-something year old guy. Born in New York. He loves history, art, and other such nerdy things as reflected in his ever growing list of hobbies. He enjoys painting, collecting straight razors and pocket watches, playing historic-based games, reading alternate history, going to museums, perusing galleries, snacks, and attempting to learn at least the basics of any musical instrument he can get his hands on.
He was born with a genetic disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and has tried hard to not let it define who he is. He was diagnosed at 8 years old but the hardships did not really start hitting him until about a decade later. A slow-to-quick decline happened in his mid-twenties which resulted in Mike being on oxygen 24/7. At that point he and his family made the choice to per sue getting him on the lung transplant list. He had been on and off NYC’s transplant list for a couple of years due to getting better, then worse, then better but never as good as the time before.
When the wait list in NYC was too long they decided to look at other lung transplant centers. After research and reviews they settled on Duke Hospital. Mike, his mother, and Ashley all packed their things and started that process. When given the green light they moved down to Durham, NC. After three months, Mike was able to be put on the NC lung transplant list. Two weeks later he got “The Call” and received 6 more wonderful years with few hiccups along the way.
November 1st, Mike received a 2nd set of lungs with a kidney the next day.
Everyday is a blessing.
ASHLEY
Ashley is a 30-something year old gal. Born in the exotic state of Alaska. Parts of her mother’s side have been in Alaska for many generations. Her dad has always been the traveling one on his. Adventure is in her blood. She shares much of Mike’s interests and has a bad habit of collecting what seem to be post-apocalyptic life skills such as spinning, knitting, weaving, and other such textile based non-sense.
Traveling was always part of her life. At a young age her mother worked for Markair, a now defunct airlines based in Anchorage, Alaska. With that benefit, the family would travel to see her youngest brother play baseball games when possible and travel to other destinations. Even had the ability to visit Nome, Alaska.
Ashley and her father would take off and do something just about every other summer. From visiting random places that they could drive to in Alaska, to driving or flying to the “lower-48” and taking a cross-country road trip. Her dad wanted her to see the US and share in the experiences that many others never took advantage of. Some trips her mother would fly down and meet them in locations.
From these experiences she has become accustomed to making conversation with strangers, knowing the unwritten rules of the road, taking the path less traveled no matter the extra time, and trying to make the most of where her feet land.
She drags Mike with her wherever she can and hopes this next chapter brings many more years of adventure and love with Mike.
