Apartment Pictures

Welcome to our humble abode. 

Come on up! 

First things first, here's the bathroom if you need it: 

And the laundry room's across the hall: 

Here's the hallway on the left. My room is the open door at the end. 

Now follow me into the living room! 

Which brings us to the kitchen! 

And finally there's my room: 

And there you have it! Thanks for checking out the new place! 

Back to School Update

My final year has begun! Here's a little update.

My three roommates Amanda, Kim and Erica and I are all settled in to our new apartment together quite nicely! (I will post pictures soon, hopefully). It has a very different vibe than Tupper did, but I like it. This year is going to be so different! Having three roommates instead of two makes it harder to be as involved in each other's lives and we all have fairly different schedules, though Amanda and I have two classes together which is great! It's also different because we have a dishwasher in our apartment so there's no "arguing" about washing dishes, but there's also no dish washing quality time. I never thought I'd miss washing dishes but I definitely miss blaring TSwift or "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" while Kinsey washes and I dry. Also having such a big kitchen makes meal times easier as we're not fighting for counter space. Having laundry machines is also awesome...now I can use my spare change for coffee instead of laundry which is definitely an improvement. And we have closet space! Amazing! Finally, and most shockingly I think, I'm noticing that I'm no longer the first one up in the morning and first one to bed! In this house I'm the last one up and the last one to bed! It's sort of weird but I'll get used to it. :) Overall, we're all getting along splendidly and even had a fun bowling night together yesterday!

This year is much different from other years, not only because of a new apartment and new roomies but because of school itself. In the past I'd buy my textbooks and start my reading and note taking right away. I'd have full days on campus with lots of class time and some breaks in between. This year my schedule looks like this:

That's right. No class before 10am and on three out of four days I'm done before noon. And three day weekends! Yahoo! I have three classes that have scheduled class time. My fourth is my senior honours research project that I'm starting this week in McGill's Language and Memory Lab on bilingualism so I'm sure most of that empty space will be filled up with time in the lab but for now... WOOHOO!

Another difference from previous years is that two of the three classes I'm taking are seminars. That means that they have about 20 people in them (instead of 120) and have no midterms or finals. My grade for those courses entirely depends on presentations and class participation. My homework during the week will be to read and critique research papers and prepare to make presentations and contributions to discussion in class. In a way this is great - no cramming for midterms or finals! But on the other hand this is terrifying - I spent the last three years perfecting my multiple choice exam skills and now in my final year they're going to make me throw that all out the window and actually force me to think on my feet!? ...shoot. But I'm hoping for the best and reminding myself that these are actually important life skills that I will only learn by practicing...and we're all in the same boat!

My non-seminar class is an anatomy and physiology class through the department of kinesiology. (For all of you who know about my struggles to satisfy this requirement for grad school, it all worked out! I was able to get out of the hard physiology course and into this one!) I'm going to love this course, I just know it. First, because I just really like anatomy and physiology and secondly because the professor said, "I don't want anyone to be nervous. I want everyone to have fun in this course!" (most of the students in this course want to be Phys.Ed teachers) and then proceeded to tell us stories about her son. Waaaay better than the physiology course I was in with 700 future doctors. And thirdly because Amanda's in it with me! Yippee!

So that's it for now. I'm enjoying my three day weekend. I got to spend some time with my girl Katelyn who lives less than 5 minutes away and also with Kinsey which was such a treat. I went for a run with my friend Kirsty who just got back from 3 months in South America and who kicked my butt into shape. Yikes, and she's not even training for the half! Though she has run it before. I think she's a natural runner. I on the other hand most certainly am not...four months of training and I still dread every run.

Anyways, hope everyone's having a good start to the school year! Happy September!

Refrigerator Worthy

Sometimes swimmers at the YMCA give us lifeguards gifts. Coworkers of mine have received chocolate or fruit, Kinsey even got a necklace for Christmas one year! I myself have been given raspberry tea and this past week a swimmer found out it was my birthday and decided to bring me a gift. I had to share it with you. It's just too good to keep to myself. He gave me some hints as to what it would be before he gave it to me. He told me that it took him an hour to prepare and that it weighs 1 milligram. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the artwork of Mohammad, the McGill graduate student who studies earthquakes:

 I wish I could tell you more about Mohammad than what I mentioned above but I honestly don't know much more except that he swims every day at the pool and we always have a short conversation mostly consisting of "How are you? Good swim?" and long pauses that I usually fill with some random statement about my life (eg. "I'm going home for my birthday next week!") and also he likes to play badminton. 

Mohammad asked me if I knew where this was and I told him I wasn't sure but it looks like a park. He wouldn't tell me where exactly it is but said he will next time so I'll keep you posted! In the meantime, this masterpiece is on my fridge. 

The Colour Run

This past weekend I ran The Colour Run at Parc Jean Drapeau with three friends. The Colour Run is a 5k run where runners wear white and get covered in a different colour at each kilometer. The whole point is to have fun, get messy and be active! We had a blast and here are some pictures of before, during and after!

Before

During

After

Study Bible Update: Promises

I just wanted to post a tiny update on my study Bible adventures! I have a pretty sweet setup at the apartment right now and it's really been helping me get into a routine. Every morning I make my breakfast and coffee and bring it to my desk in the living room which has my Bible and a notebook sitting open just waiting for me.

I started at the beginning. And I'm still there. I'm making progress but this study Bible sure has a lot of extra study notes! I haven't even gotten to Genesis yet! I've read all the notes that give an overview of the Old Testament. For example, who wrote it, when and why. And I'm almost finished reading the introduction notes to Genesis which explains the major (and minor) themes. Even though I haven't even gotten to the actual Bible part I already feel like I've learned so much. These overviews have been so helpful in outlining the important messages and in explaining how the whole Bible points to Jesus. It's not just a list of genealogies and laws and stories that are all loosely tied together by being God's word but it's one complete book that's all about God's promises. It's about His creation and His love for us despite our rebellion and His promise to restore us to the way He created us. In the Old Testament He makes promises to Abraham and Israel through Moses and in the New Testament we see these promises fulfilled by Jesus! God sacrificed His only Son to die for our sins, paying our price, so that through Him we can be restored. I am already in awe of how the Bible unveils God's promises and purpose for His creation throughout the Old and New Testaments. I never saw it as a complete narrative before! I already feel like my view of God and the Bible is being transformed and I haven't even started reading it! I can't wait to see how else God will open my eyes and my heart with more time.

Speaking of God's promises, I just read Whitney Newby's blog post where she writes about God's promise to Abraham and Sarah that they will have a child in their old age. Sarah laughs and God says "Is anything too hard for the Lord?". A great reminder that God's work doesn't require our faith, though He is glorified by it. The fulfillment of His promises are not dependent on us but on Him. Anyways, she unpacks this passage a lot better than I can so you should read the whole thing for yourselves! It's a good one.

Thanks for reading!

An old friend in a new apartment.

This weekend I was able to host my dear friend Katie as my first visitor to the new apartment (besides dad ;) ). Katie was working for the YMCA orchestrating a Quebec-Ontario exchange program and she was able to stay with me for the weekend after bringing her students back to Montreal on the train. Hooray!

It was such a treat to have her here. We met up on Saturday evening and enjoyed famous Montreal poutine(s) at La Banquise and then had a great day Sunday exploring and shopping and eating in the morning and baking and eating and watching Suits in the afternoon.

Katie and I have been friends since elementary school and went to the same church for a few years during high school and it was so great to be able to catch up. I don't always get to see her when I'm home and this was her first time visiting me in Montreal so I'm so grateful that it was finally able to happen!

My friend Katelyn and a friend of hers will be the next visitors to de Bullion! They are moving into their apartment next weekend and will be crashing at my place :) Luckily I was able to borrow the biggest air mattress ever from the spectacular Ryan Chan so my overnight guests have a comfortable place to rest their heads :)

It is sincerely such a joy for me to host so please friends and family, come visit me in Montreal this year! Can't wait to have you here!

Vineland Vacation

I had a wonderful week at home. I tried not to make too many plans in advance so that I would have time to relax and so that when things came up I could say yes. And that's what happened, things came up!

Saturday I was able to have breakfast with my Neufeld grandparents who generously allowed me to borrow their car while I was home and then I spent the day getting ready for the bridal shower and catching up on some sleep. (The overnight bus ride was not as luxurious as I was hoping. It was packed and also at some point the bus driver kicked a passenger off the bus and I couldn't sleep through that). The shower was a success though! We had a great time celebrating Malorie and her future with Zack!

Sunday was almost like a day in the life of Jared day. We went to his church together and had lunch with his parents and in the evening attended "Encounter" which was a worship night Jared was playing guitar for. After singing, Jared and I met up with a couple of his friends at The Upper Deck which is a restaurant they go to frequently. While they talked music, I was content just to be there having heard so often via skype, "and then Keith and Sathiya and I went to The Upper Deck...". Jared has amazing friends and it was such a pleasure to spend time with them.

During the days while most of you are hard at work I was able to catch up with a few friends. Kinsey and I were able to reconnect which was so wonderful and Malorie and I were able to spend more time together as well. Dad and Jared were able to take long lunch breaks so I was able to have a few lunches with each of them and grandma and grandpa-next door had me in for a birthday lunch too! I was also able to make it to Cambridge to visit my camp friend Beth-Anne. When I wasn't meeting someone for coffee or lunch I was lounging on the back deck reading a book, napping or writing and I did go for a run occasionally (afterall, the montreal half marathon is only 6 weeks away!).

Jared took a long lunch and we had a picnic on the parkway. This is us enjoying the swings :) 

For my birthday Dad and Andrea had some family over for dessert which was delicious and then the next day mum prepared an amazing dinner and grandma T brought over my favourite raspberry pie. I also received the most beautiful bouquet I've ever seen from Jared on my birthday day which was such a splendid surprise. Now I think it's becoming a birthday bouquet tradition and it's my favourite. :)

My evenings were full of family dinners: at dad's or mom's or grandma N's. On Saturday grandma outdid herself. When she rattled off the menu to me my jaw dropped. I thought she was joking. She wasn't. It was spectacular.

Just some of grandma's kitchen creations.

I was also able to meet baby Summer finally! She is so precious.

I think my favourite day was Saturday though, the day before I left. Mom and I had some quality mother-daughter time consisting of breakfast and pedicures and then Jared and I spent the day by the pool. It was so relaxing and refreshing and exactly what I needed. I read, I snacked, I swam, I slept. Jared played guitar beside me. It just doesn't get better than that. We finished the day with grandma N's outstanding cooking creations as well as her and grandpa and dad's fine company and then out to see Despicable Me 2 in 3D.

My view. 

So, it was a wonderful week and I have another one to look forward to in less than a month! 3 more weeks of work here in the lab and then I'll be back just before Malorie and Zack tie the knot at the end of the month! I have lots to look forward to then including Fiddler on the Roof in Stratford with mom, and all sorts of wedding shenanigans! In the meantime Katie Culp is coming to visit me and Katelyn Moyer is making her return to Montreal and my new roomies too! So many blessings!

Thank you to everyone for the warm birthday wishes and a special thanks to those who were able to celebrate with me! It was so wonderful to be home vacationing in Vineland. Love you, miss you, see you again soon!