David G Kugler » Life

Function & Design in the New Bathroom

davegkugler — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:16:52 +0000

After the last update, I embarked on a number of small projects that largely focused on adding function & style to the bathroom. Don’t get me wrong, it was already beautiful, but did lack a bit of storage space. That and I really needed new towels.

First was the Crescent Curved Shower Rod from BB&B.

Next was the new (and large — 21-1/4 x 34″) medicine cabinet. Sales are good things, and I got the Framed Wall-Mount Med Cabinet from Restoration for 20% off. Always worth waiting. I had a Restoration med cabinet in my last two bathrooms and love it.

Having little space to hang towels can be solved in one of two ways — hooks, for a spa like experience, or a double-towel bar. This time I chose the latter.

Then, the final touch was a glass shelf. It was also from Restoration, in their Dillon Collection (and also 20% off — score).

Next project….shades in the living room. Time to stop giving the neighbors all the free shows.

New Home & Job in DC

davegkugler — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:57:34 +0000

So it’s been a while since a blog update. I appreciate and understand this, and apologize for the delay. It has been a very long and complicated Spring: managing logistics, applying, planning, moving, and being pulled in every direction. Things are very well though, and settling down every so slightly. Here’s the overview. =]

In May, I finished my first year in the JHU-NIH Graduate Partnership Program. I completed the four core courses in cellular, molecular, developmental biology and biophysics, took a viruses & antivirals course, an adv. topics in biochemistry course, TA’d undergraduate biochemistry and cell biology, and won a teaching award for the former. Hopkins is an amazing institution. I know well and good that the undergrads there receive an absolutely world-class education, and I feel mine has been incredibly enriched by the experience. Research this past year at Hopkins has been in areas much less familiar to me — dev bio and biophysics. I worked with zebrafish, and later coded in Fortran and Unix (Awk, Grep). For your infinite enjoyment, copies of the rotation presentations can be found here, and here.

At the end of May, our lease expired and I moved from Baltimore to Rockville, MD. I moved in with one of the two friends/classmates I had been living with the past year temporarily (more on this in a moment), while awaiting my new home. “Temporarily” became quite the incorrect word, as my condo purchase became an extremely drawn-out endeavor. My original closing date denoted in the purchase contract was May 11, 2009 and following construction delays, permit delays, and other delays we finally settled last Wednesday July 29, 2009. As of last Saturday I was no longer homeless, no longer sleeping on a futon (ouch…neck), and living in Washington DC!

This summer I have been working in the Lab of Parasitic Diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. I am studying the opportunistic and ubiquitous protozoan pathogen, Toxoplasma gondii. In addition, we applied for an HIV/AIDS research fellowship to bring in funding and keep me in the lab on a permanent basis. This fellowship was awarded last Tuesday, and I will join Dr. Alan Sher’s lab for my graduate work. Exciting times.

In other news, my girlfriend gets her wisdom teeth out this Friday, and I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend unpacking and making her smoothies. All for now.

Change has come!

davegkugler — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:29:27 +0000

What an emotional time and election. Today I’m tired (for staying up far too late, and celebrating a little too much), but look forward with hope and excitement. It is hard to express how happy I am with the results. I can’t stop smiling. This election showed how a nation can change its fate, and because of every individual contribution we are in a new era.

I had never donated to a political campaign for this election, nor have I been involved or affiliated in any way. Both changed, and I hope others were as inspired as I was. GOBAMA!!!

A few other thoughts: McCain’s speech was well-received, and I regained respect for him (most of which I had tremendously lost throughout the course of his campaign). Obama needs to take some time off over the next couple of months; I can’t imagine the stress and turmoil he’s been through. His time can’t come quickly enough.

Theft

davegkugler — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:24:56 +0000

To the individual(s) who broke into my car –

I moved to Baltimore around the beginning of August. I moved here for graduate school, to study disease and to help people. The morning before you broke into my car I spent two hours cleaning up trash in a nearby park. I am a good person, and donate my time and resources to help people who are less fortunate. You have successfully perpetuated the poor image Baltimore has, consistent with high crime and being an ugly place to live. I feel sorry for you. Baltimore isn’t that place; I think that the people here are good. You weren’t being one of them though. You should feel ashamed.

It isn’t worth it — hurting people to try to get ahead, or worse, simply because it was something to do. Your actions made me have a pretty bad day today; I hope what you stole helps you and those you care about.

2 bedroom, 2 bathroom.

davegkugler — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 23:21:00 +0000

Here it is, my first home. It will be posting on MLS for sale in the next few days. For the past three years I have lived in it, updated it (considerably, check these pages: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11), and loved everything about it. The updates are listed in reverse-chronological order. Seriously, I think that’s all of them but it may not be… I am quite biased, and think it’s an awesome property. =] I will be very sad to leave it.

Here’s the vital information. Sale Price: $335,000. 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom. 769 square feet. All appliances included (not the TV). And a description:

Beautifully updated two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit in walking distance to South Lake Union and close to downtown. Marble flooring in kitchen and bathrooms, cherry cabinets, stainless GE Profile appliances, Liebherr refrigerator, Bosch washer/dryer, and Silestone countertops. Views of downtown and Lake Union from throughout living space. Secure building with garage parking and key fob entry. Easy access to Fremont, Queen Anne, and highways I-5 and 99. The condominium is on multiple bus lines, and close to the SLU street car.

Please contact me if you are interested, have any questions, or knows anyone that does. And, finally…. the pictures.

Stuff.

davegkugler — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:36:03 +0000

I don’t seek stress, nor do I find it appealing to be in a position where I feel stressed. There is enough stress in my life already, and I think it is important to try to minimize it where possible. To combat this, and attempt to shed anxiety I have been trying to live more simply.

I worked out something important the other day. It is far from novel, but nonetheless a good personal discovery. The more I plan the next few months of my life and prepare to move, the more I have realized how little possessions (stuff, material things, having lots of clothes, etc) mean to me. Sure, I like gadgets and very definitely have more than my fair share… but when I think about the important things and what I want to take with me when I do move, the only things I can really come up with are things that help me interact with others, and stuff that is useful.

Step 1: clean out the closet. As you can see below, I have a lot of work to do. I’m trying. Sure, clothes are useful… but not when you don’t wear them and your closet is overflowing. If you are in need of lightly worn quality clothing [of questionable style and design (i.e. stuff I liked)], stop by the Ballard Goodwill sometime this week. This stack will be going out tomorrow. Hard to do? Yes. Sad? In some ways. Liberating? Indeed.

Update: here’s a very timely article on how to declutter your home.

Update 2: Done.

JHU-NIH

davegkugler — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:16:43 +0000

It has been a while since I have written anything here and figured it was time for an update. The world that I have become so accustomed to over the past five years is soon changing… many things are in the works that are both frightening and sad, but at the same time are exceptionally exciting. I am heading to graduate school!!

I recently blogged about some hard times that developed over the past few months. They sucked, indeed, but more than enough has been said about them already and I am tired of being sad and pathetic. Now it’s time to focus on the happy portion! I spent most of February traveling and interviewing at different schools around the nation, and was fortunate enough to receive multiple offers. It was very difficult decision, but I eventually decided to accept a PhD partnership program at Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The more I learn about the program the more I feel that it is a perfect fit for my interests… at Johns Hopkins I will be studying cellular, molecular, developmental biology & biophysics (CMDB), providing a very broad background of training in biology, with the thesis portion of my education at NIH in one of over 1200 labs. I am very excited about both prospects, and the engaging opportunities they will provide. Picking an area of focus beyond that broad training is quite difficult, but I have spent considerable time considering those options…

Over the past few years I have developed a strong interest in immunology and cancer, and moreover the potential of utilizing immunotherapy as a modality towards treating cancers. Cancer seems the summation of coinciding maladies: be it genetic susceptibility, mutation events, environment, infectious influences, or other insults. Following this premise, I feel that future treatments to cancer are going to require appreciating the interaction between cancer and the immune system; to what extent, be it causal or secondary, remains unclear. That interaction is specifically what I would like to study — potentially attempting to understand inflammation and consequential changing susceptibilities to cancer, the progression/promotion of cancer by inflammation, autoimmune disease pathophysiology, immunoediting, or another theoretical event connecting them.

Here are a couple of links describing the program:
- Graduate Partnership Program: JHU-NIH
- Johns Hopkins CMDB Program

The time-line of events that are going to occur over the next few months feels extremely abbreviated; this is exciting but also a significant portion of stress and worry. I have decided to sell my home, and most of my things. Maybe I will blog when they go online; in short, if you are looking for a two-bedroom two-bath condo in downtown Seattle near South Lake Union please contact me!

At some point this summer I am going to have to leave the job that has placed me on this exciting path. The past five years I have worked in drug discovery at Amgen in Seattle in the inflammation department. I have moved around a bit, and have worked in the areas of immunology, protein biology/biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology. I can’t really say enough; it has been an awesome experience and amazing company to work for. I will greatly miss it, and all the exceptionally talented people I have been able to interact with over this time — they took me in a week out of my undergraduate education and taught me how to conduct scientific research.

So the plan for how to sell, leave, move, orient, return, spend a week in HI (to shoot a wedding), and fly again is somewhat convoluted, and requires me to be on opposite ends of the country for a couple of different things throughout the month of June. A cross-country drive is definitely required. The current planned route includes: Seattle, Boise, Pocatello, Salt Lake City, arches area, Denver, the big wide open, Omaha, Chicago, Cleveland, Washington DC. Any suggestions for additional stops and/or highlights would be most appreciated. I am planning a lot of photography on this journey. =] Here is a visual version.

Edit: this linkmight be useful.

It will be a very sad thing for me to leave Seattle, my family, friends, and Amgen. I have been exceedingly fortunate and happy here; complex times definitely bring those elements to light. The important point to appreciate, as I have been reminded, is that this is a fantastic opportunity that will let me continue my education (something I have wanted for a long time now) and put me in the position to go wherever I wish. That is exciting indeed, and something I won’t pass up.