2013 'Life more Abundant'

2013 has been an amazing year. I can’t help but summarize all the amazing ups and downs, if only for my own reflection. Take a stroll with me won’t you?


The year started off good my AHA funding which paid for most of my salary for the previous two years had just ended, and I had secured a post-doc position to begin as soon as August 1st, pending the completion of my degree.

Started Blogging on Not-Dot – Everyone needs an outlet. I’d always wanted to blog, and I needed a new place to share my creative writing.

$5,000 in car repairs! – Yeah that set the budget back. Catalytic converter, tires, radiator etc etc.



Started blogging as a writer on ‘The J. Aurel Guay Archive’ – Blogging was fun, why not two blogs? The Archive was set up to segregate the fun steampunk and art interests from my writing so as to give a more professional appearance. Who knows maybe I’ll get published at some point? It was on this blog that I reviewed ‘Mechanized Masterpieces’ and made the pivotal connections that would later enable my fiction writing.

Jacob learned to ride without training wheels! – We went on so many great bike rides this summer, I’m so grateful for my fun-loving and active bride that gets us all out and adventuring!

Midsummer I submitted and won a place in Xchyler Publishing’s Anthologycontest! I would be a published writer by fall!!

F32 application - In August I submitted my first F32 application, with Dr. Levin. His research is fascinating and breaking new ground in developmental biology and regeneration! Sadly, it was about this time I also realized I would not be able to graduate in time to accept the position he had for me (unless the F32 was awarded).

1st place presentation – I’d been vying for first place in the annual grad school presentation competition. I finally made it this year! Woot!

Alopecia – So maybe there was a little stress over getting my first author paper together, graduating, re-securing a postdoc positioin etc. Who needs facial hair? I couldn’t grow a proper beard to begin with so, whatever. . .

First author paper submitted in early October! – With much angst and only one moderate panic attack my first author paper was finally submitted! What a relief that was! Unfortunately, it was not accepted at JCI, or at Nature Communications, or at JASN. . .


Short story published – Halloween saw my first publication as a fiction author for my story ‘The Death of Dr. Marcus Wells’ in ‘Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology’

Remember that F32 application for my future postdoc? Yeah, that didn’t get funded. . . But Dr. Levin wants to talk about resubmitting, so that’s good right?

Snowboarding again after 12 years! – My beloved bride convinced me to go snowboarding once again at at Squaw Mountain where we first learned and had many, many slope side dates. I couldn’t believe that it all came back to me! I was linking turns in seconds and never caught an edge!


Thesis submitted – Just before the year end my final thesis was submitted. 31,000 words, 177 citations, 162 pages, 38 Figures, 8 Tables, and 7 Chapters of anguish. Now if only Kidney International will accept my paper I might have a shot at graduating before my funding runs out . . .

All in all it was an amazing year, my most turbulent, stressful, exciting, and accomplished yet. In 2012 I really committed to trusting Christ to lead me and realize the plans he had for me, ‘…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jer 29:11), and He certainly has. 2013 is very uncertain from a human perspective, but God has moved so amazingly in our family I can’t help but believe he will continue to do so and bridge what look from here to be gaps between where we stand and where we need to go. After all C.S. Lewis said it best when he said He was the ‘master bridge builder’, who bridged the gap from my sinful condemned position to grace, forgiveness and peace with Him.

Here’s to another year of ‘Life more abundant’ John 10:10