Stuart Duffy:
CLASS OF 1979
West Genesee High SchoolClass of 1979
Camillus, NY
McGill University Class of 1983
Montreal, QC
Stonehedge Elementary SchoolClass of 1973
Camillus, NY
Stuart's Story
Life
December 26th 2007: San Diego, CA
The last time I wrote my bio I had to dispel rumors of my demise. I've no idea how that got started, but I've been living out in San Diego CA for the last 22 years after graduating from McGill in Montreal with a bachelor's in Molecular Biology. I really had to pay my dues before landing my first "real job" at UCSD. Back in 1983 when I came out to San Diego, there were very few biotech jobs. I worked in the movie theatre selling popcorn, bussed tables, waited tables, and even sorted onions on a workfare program when I didn't have a job. Now, San Diego is one of the biotech capitals of the country. I worked for 9 years at UCSD and Scripps Clinic in research before smartening up and going to work in the biotech industry. I worked for the last 13 years (until recently) for a company called Nanogen where we developed robotic instruments to do automated genetic testing. The technology is very cool and actually works quite well, but the market is not yet there and we couldn't afford sinking another $20 million per year keeping it going until the market arrives. So there we...Expand for more
re mass lay-offs and I was let go along with a bunch of my friends. Now I'm just trying to catch up with stuff that's been left by the way-side for so long. Since leaving high school and going to college it's been 26 years of non-stop studying or working. This is my long overdue sabbatical!
I have to admit that I wish that I'd kept in better touch with people over the years. That's one of the regrets that I've always had. It was really difficult after college getting and staying on my feet out here in San Diego. I was down to my last $5 twice and even lived in my car for a bit. Now, it's quite a bit better, I've got a townhouse that I rent out and a 4 bedroom house that I live in and share with roommates. It's still extraordinarily expensive out here, and the "sunshine tax" is huge (i.e. that means the pay out here is lower than alot of other places because people are willing to work for less due to the beautiful beaches and weather). Yesterday (Christmas day) it was in the 70's and sunny.
I'd be happy to hear from others, what you've been up to and all. Take care everybody. Happy New Year!
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