The apartment: pt. 2

I went up to Quest on Friday to sort out all the paperwork needed for my March and April classes. I'll post about that soon. While I was there, along with enjoying time with Kate (i miss her so much) and my friends, i enjoyed the fast internet! I never thought i'd say Quest's internet is fast, but i uploaded all these pictures in a reasonable amount of time so there ya go.

The chair and futon came with the place. At first we where super excited about the futon but now... the novelty has worn off and we've realized it's just old and flat. But, we are still thankful to have a couch!

The pictures seemed to lighten up when i uploaded them to the blog, not sure why! An old record player Hunter found in his garage, we've got a small collection and a big wishlist of vinyl.

We bought this shelf at Ikea a little while back because it was on sale. I put it together alone on while Hunter was taking the van back to Bellingham. People are always complaining about how hard it is to follow Ikea assembly instructions, but i really enjoyed it! It was like a puzzle. A big heavy, real-life type puzzle. I think I got some of Grandpa's fix-it genes, because I also pride myself in my trunk/car packing abilities :)

My Zen alarm clock is amazing. It has "sleep trained" me. Now i wake up at the same time everyday, without an alarm. If it's the weekend i can easily fall back asleep, but if i have to get up i'm up.

I couldn't help putting a scarf over the hand-me-down tv Hunter brought. You've trained me well Mamma.

It's the little things that make it feel like home. A beeswax bee and flower candle, hand-made bowls from my brother.

Again, little touches ground me to the houses i've lived in and loved from the past. We brought pictures of Hunter's parents and have them on our fridge (i couldn't figure out the light setting to get a good picture).

That's our place! It's beginning to smell like our home. I find smell is so important. We've got our rhythms, we're mastering our kitchen, and we're able to keep the little place tidy. All in all, i am extremely happy.
Take a look at us moving in, and our apartment.

Academic leave

I thought i'd make a little post about what I'm getting up to this February, academically speaking. For the block of February (if you need it, here's a refresher on what the block plan is) i am taking a class through the Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences (ACOS), which means I have to take an Academic Leave from Quest.

There was a lot of stress and drama (Quest doesn't define the rules very well, and that gets confusing for students and faculty) but I finally got my leave approved, my tuition and housing fees credited back to my account, and my class through ACOS approved as a transfer credit. Getting this class approved for a transfer credit is an accomplishment, Quest is very strict about what can be transferred towards your degree.

Now the class i'm taking, it's titled Introduction to Chinese Medicinal Substances.
The learning objectives are as follows:

• Origins of Chinese herbology,
• General botany applied to herbs,
• Habitat, collection, cultivation techniques,
• Processing of herbs,
• Herbal properties: four qi, five tastes, channel tropism, etc.
• Methods of consumption,
• Dosage and toxicity,
• Combining of herbs.

The course is broken down into 15 lessons, with reading, assignments, and a quiz that accompanies each lesson. These lessons are supposed to be done each week, starting in January and ending in April. There are no fixed dates except the end date in April. Each assignment and quiz is graded. 

My plan, or more accurately said, my Quest Mentor Ryan's plan is for me to complete the 15 lessons within one month. I am a little apprehensive; I hoped to get a job, move in with as little hurry and stress as possible, and try and make some new friends/explore the city of Vancouver. But it seems i will only be exploring the local coffee shops with free wifi. Ah well, i am sure the fast pace and rigor of Quest's block system has prepared me for this.

 The herb kit for my class, how cool is this?!

The little mystery plant i had to grow (i've got to make some observations of it in "week 9")

I am excited about the class- i'll keep you posted on progress and maybe snippets of what i'm learning if you are interested!