My third first experience!

Today was my first day in school this quarter. I was excited about it since I will have new teachers this quarter. My schedule this quarter is really good. I finish 12.30 on Mondays, 10.45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Wednesdays I finish school at 3.15.

The downside of this is that I have to get up 6.30am every morning. I’m off on Fridays as usual though.

Today I had classes in marketing, graphical business presentations, and English composition. My teachers this far seems to be good. My marketing teacher has a lot of experience and since marketing is my major, I’m really looking forward to learn more about it.

I have the same computer teacher this quarter as I had last quarter. I’m a little disappointed about that. I’m not that happy about that teacher even though he gave me an A last quarter. His English skills are not that good and I have some troubles understanding him.

Something that really annoyed me last quarter was that he kept saying how easy the test was going to be. Yet, many people had troubles with them. It wasn’t that most people didn’t know the software we were using but that he made the questions hard to understand.

An example is my test last quarter. He asked us to do a clustered column bar chart in Microsoft Office Excel. That chart doesn’t exist. However, he called the easiest two ones we used that so I picked one of them. I picked the one in 3D since he didn’t specify if he wanted it in 2D or 3D. That made me loose twelve points and got me down to a B.

Even though I made up for it later, this is a problem the teacher has to do something about. What is really good with Berkeley College is that they have surveys a couple of times a year. You simply grade the teachers’ effort and your satisfaction about your college experience.

I really think this helps improve Berkeley College. My English teacher is totally new to me. I have never seen him before so it’s hard for me to form an opinion about him at this time. He seems to be good though, and this quarter we will read and write a lot of short stories. I think I will like that.

I went to the gym after school. I swum for forty minutes and it feels really good. As I mentioned before, I have never exercised like that before. I think I will keep swimming for a few months, but I’m thinking about running at least once a week.

I feel really comfortable in my new apartment. The traveling to school goes really smoothly and it’s so much better than my last place. It’s also really convenient to have my bank, McDonald’s, and Dunkin Donuts nearby. Now I can drink white hot chocolate with my girlfriend every day if I want to. We absolutely love it!

Cats and Water

I had a great day yesterday! Me and my girlfriend took the train to Union Square and enjoyed the rainy, beautiful day. We went to some stores and my girlfriend almost bought a dress. She’s still thinking about buying it and she’s going a little crazy right now.

We also went to Sander’s. It’s a really nice bookstore with great prices. I like it because it’s a little old style. There are books everywhere with huge bookcases. Sometimes you have to use a ladder to climb up and get the book you want.

After that we went to a pet store. They had kittens which I love. I really want one but I’m simply not in a position to buy one right now.

After one hour of cuddling with the pets we went uptown to 34th street. I wanted to check out some cloths at Old Navy. I really love that store. I needed some shirts and I wanted to buy a pair of swim shorts. I found some really white shirts and some other stuff.

It’s kind of funny because almost everything was on sale so I gathered lots of stuff, thinking I would get away with plenty of cloths really cheap. It got pretty expensive though. I’m still happy with my purchases though because today I went swimming with my girlfriend at the gym.

I haven’t swum for more than three years. It felt great to jump into the water and start swimming. I consider myself being a good swimmer but I’m really slow. My girlfriend raced me and totally won all the time.

After a few mouthfuls of cold water we went home. When it comes to exercise, I think I’m going to stop running at the gym and start swimming instead. I really feel that swimming gives you great exercise. It covers the whole body and it’s a lot more comfortable.

I know I have mentioned this before, but I’m really looking forward to the summer now. I want to wear my new shirts and shorts and enjoy the summer heat. I’m going to buy a pair of sunglasses that will match my shirts. I’m thinking about buying Ray-Ban’s actually.

I might buy a pair in East Village instead though since they have a few that look great too. Then I could go to eat a burger and visit Mc Sorley’s too. They have a few great hamburger places there and Mc Sorley’s is the oldest bar in New York.

New York, New York

The weather is getting better in the city! Today is beautiful and warm and it really feels like the spring is here. I went to Manhattan today to work out. I got off at a subway stop a little further away from the stop I usually get off at so that I could walk from there and enjoy the weather.

In Sweden I used to work out a lot! I went to the gym about five to six days a week and got really bulky and strong. When I came here I totally stopped so it feels great to work out again.

It became a little of an obsession and it feels good that I don’t do that anymore. I go to the gym when I’m in the mood for it and that’s enough for me to stay in shape!

I’m going to Queens later today with my girlfriend. She bought an XBOX 360 game today and I thought that I had to take her out so that she doesn’t get stuck in front of the TV. Kidding! The new electronics I bought is great actually. We really enjoy it and we will still go out and enjoy the city.

Many people get stuck at home when they buy new appliances such as televisions and gaming consoles. I really feel that I have a great passion in the city though, and I think I’ll always feel excited to go out and do new things and discover new places.

I remember one thing my classmate said in class. We were talking about New York City and the subway system. She said it’s always a show when you go down there. She’s been living in the city her whole life and she is right. That’s one of the things I love about New York. The city is so alive.

I used to take trains in Sweden for about 15 minutes every weekday to school. The ride felt so long every day and was really boring. Nothing ever happened there and people were so quiet and boring. The trains were almost always delayed and I hate that.

In New York new things happen all the time. Crazy people, nice people, and entertaining people enter and leave the train all the time. It could be a Mexican with a guitar or a group of gospel singers giving you some entertainment. I really love it!

My English teacher told me ones that the music in the subway never sounds bad. He’s so right about that.

What to do when you're bored!

I was planning to go to the gym today but I’ll skip it. I’m not in the mood at all for that. I might go to Queens later with my girlfriend to eat a burrito and to take a few night shots on the Manhattan skyline. As of the place in Brooklyn, I really recommend this place too. Take the 7 train from Manhattan to Vernon Blvd – Jackson Av. From there you walk towards East River and that’s it.

Since I don’t have much to do this day I want to share some of my tips on what to do when you’re out of ideas.

There are so many things to do in New York. A few of my favorite things to do is simply walking and as you should know by now, taking pictures. Now, I understand that not everyone likes to take pictures. However, walking is highly underestimated!

I’ve been to all five boroughs here in New York City. Every single one has something to offer. Central Park in Manhattan is beautiful in all seasons. I also like to walk Downtown and in East Village. I can’t really pick one as my favorite since I like so much here.

In Queens and Brooklyn there are great areas where you can walk and watch the Manhattan skyline. I have told you about that before. It’s very romantic if you plan to go there with “someone.” Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn and Hunter’s Point in Queens are beautiful.

You can also take the Staten Island ferry from South Manhattan. It offers great views especially on the Statue of Liberty. It’s also free so you don’t need to worry about that. When it comes to Bronx, I have only been there ones. I went to check out the New York Yankee’s stadium. They have a few really nice diners too if you want to have a late breakfast or something.

If the weather is really bad you could take the D train to 81st street and go to the Museum of Natural History. I have told you about my trip there and it is amazing!

I’m also planning to go to the Bronx Zoo. It’s supposed to be a great experience. They have a lot of animals such as Tigers and Monkeys. You should check out their website to get the latest news but they are open 365 days a year. I will tell more about my experience when I go there.

There are so many things to do here and I really find it hard to understand people who say that they are bored when they’re here. You could also google things in what to do in New York. There are a few great tips on what to do.

In the summer I recommend you to go to Brighton Beach. I don’t really like to spend a whole day at the beach but it’s beautiful there and it’s a nice area. I haven’t been at Long Beach yet but I’ll go there this summer.

In the evening you can go out and enjoy the party life in New York! Brooklyn has a lot of great Jazz clubs. On Wednesdays you could go to Apollo in Harlem. They have amateurs’ night there. I haven’t been there yet but I’ll go there someday.

One bar I recommend you to visit is McSorley’s at 15 East 7th Street in East Village. It’s the oldest bar in New York and it’s over 154 years old. They haven’t changed much since then so it looks really old. It’s really nice!

More tips later!

Puuuh!

It has happened a lot since I last posted here. I received my TV and I love it! It’s perfect for this room and it looks great. The same day, me and my girlfriend asked our landlord if he could help us with a cable so that we could watch TV. He’s a very helpful guy and gave us a cable, and the next day I bought a splitter so that we could connect the cable to the TV.

Now we have around twelve channels to watch which is great! I also bought an XBOX 360. It’s awesome! I feel like a child again. I bought the game Guitar Hero 3 together with a guitar and it’s really fun. Me and my girlfriend play a lot!

I’m still waiting for one grade from school. Four out of five grades have been posted. I got straight A’s so far. I’m still waiting for the English Composition 2 grade. I think I’ll get an A there too though. The grade should be posted any day this week.

The day after my final day in school, I went out with a friend to have a drink. It was really nice. The place is located between 28th and 29th street at 5th Avenue. I think it’s called 230 5th Avenue bar. It was cold outside, but they have a bar inside too with great view on Empire State Building.

Two days ago there was an Eastern parade at 5th Avenue. I didn’t go there though. I read online that it’s a little smaller than most of the parades here and that it’s less organized.

Today I went out to Brooklyn Bridge with my girlfriend. I really recommend everyone to go there. It offers a beautiful view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge and there are not that many people going there. Get off at York Street with the F-train.

You have to walk north bound towards the water and then take a left. I think I will go there again but in the evening. There is nothing more beautiful than the Manhattan skyline at night!

I bought something really tasty today! I think it’s sunflower seeds from Russia. It tastes amazing and is pretty cheap. I bought one box for about $2.50. It’s not very big though. One other thing I recommend is McDonald’s offer. One six pack of McNuggets for $1! The offer ends March 31 so you have to hurry!

I’m still working out. I don’t run anymore though. I use a machine for one hour instead. I think that if I would run every second day, my legs would probably start hurting later in life. This machine feels great and gives me a lot of exercise.

It’s amazing that I could fit everything in this apartment. It’s thanks to the bookcases and my bed box from IKEA that it’s working out. The room really looks good and I’m very happy that everything turned out this good!

School is off!

Just came home from my last day in school, at least for this quarter!

Yesterday was Saint Patrick’s Day and I had the possibility to see the world’s biggest parade from above. Berkeley College is right on 5th Avenue and I finished my final just when the parade started. I saw the troops marching and some crazy people with green sweaters.

I took the picture there. It got really crazy! I didn’t celebrate myself since I had two finals today but it was fun watching all the people celebrate. Since my school was in the middle of it, it was kind of hard to get home. It took me twice as long to go to the subway station then what it usually takes. It was alright though.

The math final was easy. I didn’t really study for it since I already knew most of it. My accounting was hard though. I really had to think about what option to choose. It took me about one hour and I felt really tired afterwards. I think it will work out though.

My other final yesterday in oral communication was fairly easy. I finished it in maybe half an hour and went home straight after it. When I got home I checked blackboard to see if the teacher had posted the final grade and he had. I got an A and that made me happy.

Tonight I’m going out to have a drink with a friend. We are just going to talk and celebrate a little. We will go to Sky Bar which is located at 5th Avenue. I hope it won’t rain. The view up there is said to be amazing so I’m really looking forward to it.

I bought a TV today and I feel really excited about it! I bought it online which probably saves me a lot of money. It should ship tomorrow and arrive in a few days. It’s a 32 inch flat screen LCD HDTV. It will be perfect for this room. I might buy an XBOX 360 later.

I’m trying to sell a few books now so I have put up a few posters in school. I haven’t received a response yet though. However, I will sell three of them on Thursday to a friend. I really recommend people to resell their books. You will save a lot of money by doing so.

Now I’m going to continue celebrate my time off and cuddle with my sleeping girlfriend.

Cleaning

This weekend is to be over in thirty minutes. I’ve had a lot to do. I went to IKEA to buy the last bookcase. Everything was great and I bought some Swedish chocolate there. I miss the Marabou milk chocolate we have there and the Ballerina cookies. If you ever decide to go to IKEA you should definitely check that out.

The visits at IKEA are starting to get boring though. I’ve been there far too many times now. The next day I went to my old home to pick up some possessions and move them to my new place. I put all my cloths and stuff in my bookcases and it looks really good now. The room looks actually bigger now with a lot more room for storage.

I also bought some cleaning supplies. Today was the big cleaning day. I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen together with my girlfriend. The stove was really greasy and I had to use some super strong chemicals to remove it. After the two hour cleaning process, I put aluminum foil over the stove top so that it will be easier to clean the next time.

It’s actually a great tip for people who are living together with other people. When there are a lot of people using the kitchen it gets really dirty. If you use aluminum foil you can just remove it when it gets too dirty and replace it with new foil.

The bathroom was really disgusting. There was something looking like fungus hiding behind the toilet. I used a mop to clean it and now it looks great. My super chemicals really did wonders. This apartment is definitely cleaner than the last one I had so I’m exaggerating a little when I say it was really disgusting.

I’m really happy with my new IPod. I use my big headphones when I listen to music on it at home. When I used my headphone with my IPod Nano the sound was really low. With the Shuffle I can increase the volume more which makes the whole experience a lot better.

The headphones are really good. They are of the brand AKG and you can really hear all the details of the songs. I got them as a Christmas gift two years ago. My girlfriend got really jealous on my cute Shuffle so yesterday we went to the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue to buy her one. I’m regretting it a little since she now spends more time with her Shuffle than me. Kidding!

I have a final tomorrow in oral communication. I’ve read the book a couple of times and I also typed up some notes from it so I feel prepared for tomorrow. I don’t think the test will be hard.

I just remembered that I also bought a vacuum cleaner today. It was $70, which I guess is an acceptable price. Together with the vacuum cleaner, me and my girlfriend also bought a cart. It’s one of those square looking, four-wheeled ones elderly people use. I felt like a ninety year old walking around with it. The truth is though that it’s great to have when you’re out shopping groceries, buying stuff at IKEA, or when you’re doing your laundry, especially when you have to do a lot of walking in a city such as New York.

I’m almost looking forward to my ninetieth birthday!

School is over soon!

I did my last computer assignment yesterday. The class has been easy until now actually. Everyone who had an average of above 93 didn’t have to take the final exam. I was one of them which was nice. However, the last assignment he gave out wasn’t that easy. It consisted of several new things and I had to use some advanced brain activity to get it going.

I handed it in today and it feels good that I have finished it. I have only two more days left in school! That feels really good. I will have one final on Monday and two on Tuesday. I will study for it this weekend.

After school today I went to Bryant Park with a friend. We had a coffee and talked a little. An hour later we went to Queens to eat burrito. There is a really good Mexican place close to where he lives and I love their burritos. Two beers together with that and my day was complete.

This weekend I will relax mostly I think. I might go to IKEA with my girlfriend to buy one last bookcase though but I haven’t really decided that yet. A few days ago me and my girlfriend went out shopping in Manhattan. We went to Old Navy at 34th Street which is a really big and cool place.

They have a lot of great urban cloths and I bought a few tees and a pair of shorts. I will go there again soon to buy some shirts.

I bought a new IPod today! I didn’t buy the nano this time though. I figured that the IPod Shuffle will be as good for me. It looks really cute actually. I will start downloading some music for it later. It’s really hard to work out without music. I’ve been watching CNN and other shows during my exercising but it gets boring.

It’s a lot easier with music. I also miss it when I’m riding the subway. I hate when you can hear music from other peoples players in the train, especially if they are playing it really loud. I will probably load it with artists like Tracy Chapman, Live and The Fray. I listen to almost everything but those are one of my favorites.

New Haircut!

I went to a hair salon today. I was a little afraid of going there because of previously bad experiences here in New York. Last quarter I went to a barbershop in Brooklyn close to my home. They only charged $10 and I thought that it couldn’t be that bad since I only needed to shorten it a little.

I was wrong. After I told the big old lady how I wanted my hair to look, she picked up the biggest scissor I’ve ever seen. She didn’t wash my hair, nor did she make it wet. She started cutting my hair with that scissor but gave up fairly early.

Instead of using the scissor she picked up one of those razor machines. I guess she tried to shape it in some way. I was really scared and I didn’t have the courage to tell her to stop. I also didn’t want her to stop because I was still hoping it would look better in the end.

When she was done it looked like I had fell through a bush with knives in it. It was uneven and still too thick. I had to wear a hat for a few days before my hair automatically leveled out. Anyway, today’s experience was a lot better. I’m not 100% happy about it but at least it looks and feels good.

It surprises me though that a lot of hair salons and barbershops in New York use machines more than scissors. In Sweden my mom always cut my hair. She’s been doing it since I was a kid and she is very professional. She has her own hair salon in Sweden. I have never had to pay for a haircut until now. That feels a little weird.

It’s not only about the price. My mom knows exactly how I want my hair and she understands my taste. It’s impossible to find a better hairdresser.

The end of this quarter is coming up. I have a few books to sell, so today I created a document with all my books for sale. I have put them up on all floors in one of our school buildings. I can actually get back a lot of money by selling them.

I got back my accounting test today. Me and my friends were really nervous about it. I did well though. I got 200 out of 202. Once again I was second best in class. It’s kind of annoying but of course I’m very happy with that result. Now I only have the final week left next week. I will do some studying after school this week and some reviewing this weekend.

Bomb in Times Square

And so the weekend has come again. Feels great! I had a final in accounting yesterday. Just like the first midterm, I didn’t study that much. Accounting is one of those subjects that when you have done your homework and read the book, you simply won’t have to study that much before the tests.

The week of the test, I stayed in school after my classes and did a few exercises in the book. The day before the test, I only reviewed the book a little for about thirty minutes and that was it. I felt prepared and ready for the test when we received it and I think I did great. I’ll know more about that next week.

There was a bomb going off in Times Square yesterday morning. I went to check it out after school but the damages were barely noticeable. All I could see were some shattered glass and people from the authorities. I’m glad that it wasn’t a big bomb, acts like this are cowardly.

Today I’m in school to study. I just finished doing my math and English. I should do some accounting homework too but I’m not really in the mood for it. Fridays are really nice. It’s quiet and not many people are here in the library.

I’m looking forward to the summer now. We have had a few warm days this week and it really feels good. The summer in New York is amazing. It’s really nice just to walk around and contemplate the city or to sit down in a park and use the wireless internet.

There is one thing that I’m a little afraid of when it comes to bringing my laptop to the park. It’s not thieves or pickpockets but birds. What would happen to the laptop if you got bird waste all over it? My computer is too heavy to bring to a park anyway, but I’ve been thinking about buying a MacBook.

I’m thinking about buying either that or a TV and an Xbox 360. It would be fun with some extra entertainment. I used to play videogames in Sweden but since I came here I stopped. Not because I don’t have an Xbox 360 but because there are so many other things to do here. It’s impossible to be bored in New York. You have to be really narrow minded if you can’t come up with things to do here.

I also had what hopefully will be my final test in Spreadsheets and Databases. The people who get a 93 average or more on the tests won’t have to take the final, I think I’m one of those persons. I can’t come up with anything that could possibly destroy my chances of that. I really have to screw up big to make that happen, which is good. I’ll probably see my results this weekend on the online Blackboard.

There are only two more weeks left in this quarter. It’s amazing how fast everything is passing by. However, I’m looking forward to the next quarter. I will have some interesting classes then including Principals of Marketing and Managerial Accounting.

The picture is from Times Square a few hours after the bomb went off. Took it with my cell phone that’s why the quality is pretty bad.

IKEA trip

I’m pretty tired right now. I just helped my girlfriend clean her room. The room is small but it took a few hours cleaning it. The reason we cleaned it is because I’m moving in there in a few weeks.

We went to IKEA today and that was fun! We looked up some storage furniture and organizers to use in her room when I’m moving in. We bought some stuff and a box you put under the bed. It’s great for me to use when I move in.

We took the free IKEA shuttle bus. When we got back in to Manhattan we waited for all the people to grab their stuff from the bus’s luggage space. A guy tried to remove our plastic box which had gotten stuck in between his package and ours.

Just when we screamed to him to be careful he cracked our lid for the box. After a few minutes of sharing beautiful words with each other a woman came up and offered her to bring back the lid to IKEA the next day and give it back to us. We didn’t trust her and went home instead.

When we got home, I built the bed box which turned out great. We also discovered after cleaning the room that we need to buy book cases. We will go back to IKEA tomorrow to do just that. Everything looks really good right now which makes me feel good.

I’m a very organized and clean guy. I want things to be clean and put in order. I’m not a freak about it; it’s just the way I want things to be.

Yesterday was really fun! My girlfriend and I went to the American Museum of Natural History. That’s definitely the best museum I have ever visited. I bought two tickets including everything. It was only $23 each thanks to the student discount.

First we went to a really amazing place. A room full of butterflies. What is really nice is that you walk in a room with butterflies originating from all over the world. It’s nothing in between you and the butterflies, no glass or anything.

I took a lot of great photographs in there. After that we went to see the space show. That was awesome. There is a big screen in the roof and you sit down in a circle. It’s a show about space, its planets and the sun. It’s very interesting. We also went to see the water show, a show about dinosaurs and other museum objects such as crystals and objects from different cultures.

I have to study for my accounting now and write a fiction about Cornelius Vanderbilt. I love writing so that shouldn’t be a problem. I also feel good about the accounting.