Black Friday

This Friday was crazy because of the great sale that was going on in the country. A lot of people went up very early in the morning to take use of the good deals. When I say early, I mean at around 4 AM.

My fiancée and I planned to get up at 6 AM but we woke up early so we actually went out right before 5 AM. A lot of people go to New Jersey to places like Jersey Gardens and Woodbury, but I thought that we would find the same things here in New York.

My fiancée and I went to Queens Mall and Manhattan after that. We bought a few Christmas and Thanksgiving gifts to each other and we have already been starting to use them.

The first store we went to was Victoria’s Secret. My fiancée really likes that store and they had a few great deals during Black Friday. Every store was really crowded and it got worse for every minute.

The shopping was fun though and we definitely saved some money by shopping now instead of right before Christmas. We also went to H&M because I wanted to buy a coat for my fiancée. H&M had 20% on everything until 11 AM. The sale did not last very long so I guess that is why people get up early.

We were at H&M at about 10 AM so we had plenty of time to stroll around. We found a great-looking coat and a few other things that we bought.

We also wanted to go to Best Buy and Target and those stores are very close to Queens Mall. The area there was very crowded and there was even a line for Best Buy so we did not go there.

Target has a huge store in Queens, which is good because there is more room for everyone. It was still crowded though but I found a few great Christmas gifts over there. I cannot tell you what because I suspect that my family might be reading this blog.

I have been eating all the Thanksgiving leftovers now. I am pretty tired of it actually because I ate a lot of it. I still have some apple pie though that I might eat later.

I was thinking about doing a paper this evening but I am too tired to do it. I have to read a lot and I still have one day tomorrow to do it. The deadline is not for Tuesday as I thought but for Thursday so I have plenty of time to do it. 

Thanksgiving

This week has come to an early ending due to Thanksgiving, which I really like. Today is Thanksgiving and many people will get their families together to celebrate and eat what must be one of the worlds best and biggest holiday dinners.

My fiancée and I have been trying to find a complete dinner to order from a grocery store but we have been out of luck. We started looking for it about three days ago and that turned out to be too late.

I think we called over ten stores around New York but all of them were sold out. We were a little disappointed because of that. The dinner would include a turkey, whipped mashed potatoes, bread stuffing, gravy, and pint cranberry relish.

We wouldn’t be able to cook out own turkey but we went to a grocery store yesterday anyway to see what else we could eat. We thought about chicken but when we arrived to the store we saw that they had one fully cooked turkey left.

We put it in our cart right away together with a cooked chicken. After that, we started to collect thanksgiving food. We got sweet potatoes, apple and sweet potato pie, corn bread, and some vegetables.

We did not want to wait to cook it because we were hungry so we had a pre-celebration of thanksgiving yesterday evening. The dinner turned out to be one of the best dinners we have ever had. Everything matched perfectly.

I cooked masked potatoes out of sweet potatoes. We had also bought already cooked sweet potatoes with some syrup in a can, which we boiled up. That tasted absolutely delicious. Both the turkey and the chicken were perfectly cooked. We used our small oven to heat it up and the meat got perfectly tender.

The corn bread was fantastic. It tastes like cookies actually. We only tried the sweet potato pie, but that one tasted great too.

The best thing about this whole dinner is that we can eat it again. We got plenty of leftovers so we will probably eat it either today or tomorrow. I am already looking forward to it.

I got back two tests yesterday. I got 24 out of 25 in consumer behavior and 48 out of 50 in microeconomics. I made one stupid mistake in microeconomics, but I am not too angered about it since I got 96% right.

Tomorrow is black Friday and I will go out to shop with my fiancée. I will definitely do some Christmas shopping. The reason it is called black Friday by the way is because stores are making a profit that day.

In accounting, red numbers means it is a negative number, and a black number means it is a positive number. Many stores are struggling until this day so there are many so called red numbers in there accounting sheets. However, on this day most stores are making profits, which turns their numbers to black and it is therefore called “Black Friday.” 

Brunch

I went out for brunch last weekend. I ordered pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. I was really hungry so I ordered extra pancakes, but I realized afterwards that it was more than enough with the usual amount.

My kitten is going crazy sometimes. She is very energetic and wakes me up every morning. She is always biting my nose and hair and sometimes jumps on me. I cannot get mad because it is so cute but it gets a little tiring sometimes, especially at six o clock in the morning.

 Black Friday is coming up. It is a special sales event that happens every year after thanksgiving. There will be great deals all over New York and New Jersey and my fiancée and I is going out to do some Christmas shopping.

We will also buy some thanksgiving gifts for each other so I am really looking forward to it. I want a small Manhattan Portage bag that I can use to put my wallet, keys, cell phone, and a magazine in when going out to do small tasks. I have already chosen one so we will probably go to Soho to buy it in a few days. It only costs about $30 so it is a great deal.

I am getting back two tests tomorrow so I am a little nervous about that. I will get back one in consumer behavior and one in microeconomics. I am mostly worried about the one in microeconomics because it was pretty challenging. I am positive that I did fairly well though.

I have been working on a paper for consumer behavior for a while now. I have been trying to find journals to summarize and it is pretty hard to find journals that match what I want to write about.

I found three of them today though. I wanted to write about another subject but since I found these journals, which I am very happy with, I chose to write about that instead. The subject that I will write about is qualitative research and it is pretty interesting.

The articles deal with how companies use this research method but also how new technology changed the way it is being used. I have not read the whole journals yet because they are about 25 pages each. I will try to read them in the next few days though. 

Busy Week Is Over

I have had a very busy week because of all the tests and it feels great that the weekend is here.

The first test this week was an online quiz in math. I was a little nervous about it because I have never done a quiz online before. I got five out of five on it so it turned out good. It was multiple-choice questions so that helped a little but I would have gotten the same results without multiple choices.

It was pretty much the same as a normal quiz except the format. I did all the questions on paper and then I just chose the right answer.

I started studying after I did the quiz because I had two upcoming tests the next day. There was a lot of information to read for the test in consumer behavior but I had already highlighted the most important parts so it was not that hard to study for it.

I do not really like to study straight from the book. I prefer when the teacher uses the blackboard or PowerPoint presentation and explains everything in his own way. Most teachers are like that by the way.

The test in microeconomics was the most challenging one, in its subject, so far. There was a lot of information about elasticity, taxes, and supply and demand curves. I think I did all right though but I am not sure that I will have all questions right.

I felt good after finishing the two tests but the grades have not yet been posted so I am not sure how well I did.

I went out to have dinner with my fiancée yesterday. We went to the same Chinese restaurant as last week. We had the same dish, which is something they call “Hot Pot.” They give you a big bowl with two different flavors and you bowl your own food in it.

It is like a buffet because you can order unlimited amount of food. We ordered sliced beef, lamb, fish, ham, shrimps, a lot of vegetables, and some sauce. We stayed for almost three hours because it is a really nice place to just stay at, relax, and it great food.

It is also very cheap. The check was approximately $37 and after tip, it ended up at $43. The restaurant has become one of my favorite restaurants so I will definitely go there again with my fiancée. 

Faculty Meeting

There is a big meeting for the faculty at Berkeley College this week so some classes have been classes. My math classes are, for example, cancelled so I was off yesterday and I will also be off tomorrow.

That feels very good because it is in the middle of the quarter and I am kind of tired right now. I will have to do some studying anyway though, but it is also a way for me to catch up a little and do some future papers.

I am planning to do my term paper for consumer behavior either today or tomorrow. The paper is not due until the last class of this quarter but I would love to finish it early. It is not a very big assignment actually but it will still take a few hours to do it.

I think that the preparations will take longer than actually writing the paper. I need to find three journal articles about a subject, which I am free to choose, and I am supposed to summarize these articles. I also need to discuss my personal opinion about the subject.

I have not picked a subject yet, but it obviously has to be about consumer behavior. I would like to write about consumers’ behavior in a recession but I will have to find some appropriate articles about it first.

I got back my business law test today. I was pretty nervous about it but everything turned out to be fine. I only had one mistake so my total score was 95 out of 100. People were only allowed to have two mistakes in order to get an A.

What was very tricky about the test was that all seven true or false questions were true. I put one as false, and I remember that I picked that one as false just because I believed that all questions could not be true.

You should never rely on how many questions you put as true or false. The same thing comes to multiple-choice questions. Sometimes the right answer is covered by the same letter so, for example, you can answer A on eight questions and still be right. Many people do not trust this and end up giving the wrong answer just because it looks bad.

I have an online quiz in math tomorrow so I am going to review some math tonight. I will also have to study for my microeconomics test, which takes place this Thursday. I have reviewed it a couple of times already and I feel confident about it.

Birthday Celebration

I celebrated my birthday together with my fiancée yesterday. I do not really like to party too hard so I really enjoyed our time together.

My fiancée had to go to a museum with her class in the morning so I stayed home and enjoyed a homemade hamburger before picking her up. I bought a Sunday ice cream at Baskin Robbins, which tasted delicious.

We went to Manhattan after that because we both got hungry, and we had decided from before to eat at Hard Rock Café.

My fiancée wanted to give me something for my birthday so we went out to find a jacket for me. I tried the first one I saw and it fit and looked perfectly so I picked that one. I really like that jacket because it looks great, it is very comfortable, and it is a lot lighter than my old jacket.

I really love the food at Hard Rock Café but it is easy to order too much. I have learnt what to order there because I have been there so many times. I used to order one starter to share and a main course each.

This time, I ordered one starter and one main course to share with my fiancée. I ordered the nachos with broiled beef as a starter and the trio steak for main course. I also wanted the dishes to come in at the same time because if I would start with the nachos, I would be too full to eat the trio dish afterwards.

Everything tasted fabulous and nachos is definitely one of my favorite dishes. I have never had it together with the beef and I with definitely have that again.

One thing that I do not like about Hard Rock Café is their straws. They have made them environmental friendly and they taste like paper. It really does affect the taste and feeling when you drink so I really think they should consider replacing them.

I have not done much today. My fiancée and I have stayed at home to study because both of us have a few tests next week.

I saw the movie Wall E yesterday. I am not a really big fan of animated movies. However, I did like the movie The Incredibles, and now I will have to Wall E to my list. I really liked that movie and the effects are fantastic.

Tip

I got a very good lesson today that tipping is very important in New York. My fiancée and I went to a Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood to pre-celebrate my birthday. My fiancée told me that you will not have to tip them because Chinese people never do that, which I am sure is true in China.

After paying the check, we started to walk home. The waitress came running at us just soon after that and claimed that I forgot to give them a tip. It was pretty awkward and I will definitely not go there again.

This shows how important it is to tip in New York. Personally, I hate tipping but I always tip, especially at restaurants, to cab drivers, and at hair salons. Tipping in New York is extreme and I believe that it has gone too far, especially when people force you to give them tip.

Tip used to be given to show people that you think they gave you good service. Nowadays, it is something that you have to give, even though the service is terrible. I want to give waitresses tip, especially if they are good at their job, but I definitely do not want them to ask for it.

Some restaurants in New York have already included tip in the check. Places like Hard Rock Café for example, which is located in Times Square, have included tip in the price. I can understand why, since many tourists presumably forgets to tip.

The thing that disturbs me though, is that Hard Rock Café expects you to give them tip over the included tip. My basic point here is that it is just ridiculous how much you have to tip people these days.

In Sweden, we have to tip at restaurants but that is about it. In New York, you will have to tip almost everyone who offers you a service. I was surprised when I realized that you have to tip your hairdresser, which I find truly preposterous.

Tomorrow is my birthday so I will probably go out to eat that evening too. I think I want to go to Hard Rock Café actually but I will be careful with the tip.

I have three tests next week so I will have to study a little this weekend. One is a quiz in math, another one is a small test in consumer behavior, and the other one is a midterm in microeconomics.

I do not think I will have any problems with any of the tests but I will definitely review for it a couple of times. 

Printer

When I bought my Macbook laptop, I also got a free printer. I did not install that printer until yesterday because I have not really needed it until now.

I always print my documents at school but I think I will change my habits now that I have a printer at home. What is really good with the printer is that I can make copies and scan with it too. I am not sure that I will do all that but it feels good that I have the opportunity to do so.

My birthday is coming up. I am lucky because it will be on a Saturday so I will not have to go to school. I am not going to throw a big party but I think I will go out for dinner with my fiancée.

My business law class was cancelled today, which came as a disappointment because I really want back my test that I had this Tuesday. I am very curious about the results because I am not sure how I did on the first part of the test.

I will have a long weekend now. My math classes have been cancelled next week so I will not have to go to school next Monday and Tuesday.

I read a very good article in “The Economist,” last week. It explained the credit crisis and talked about aggregate demand, which we talked about in my macroeconomics class last quarter. It was very easy to understand so I thought that my teacher should introduce it to his current macroeconomics students.

I talked to him today because I have him in microeconomics right now and he liked my idea. It would be honorable if he would give out that article to his students so I really hope that he does so.

There is a really tasty crab spread from Sweden that I usually buy when I go to IKEA. I bought one pack with my fiancée when I went there the last time and it only lasted for two days. Next time we will go there, I will definitely buy more.

I usually get something to eat when I am at school, but when I have crab spread and bread at home, I sometimes make my own lunch and bring it to school.

It is getting really dark outside at a very early time nowadays. It starts getting dark already at about 4 PM and it makes me feel really tired. It is really hard to get up in the morning because of that. It is also very cold outside so staying under the cover is very tempting these days. 

Veterans Day

I have been studying a lot the last two days because I had a test in business law today. We have covered a lot of material so I did not want to miss out on anything.

The test was a lot shorter and a lot easier than I thought it should be. I do not want to say it was too easy though because I struggled a little with a couple of true or false questions. The test consisted of five true or false questions, five multiple-choice questions, five short answer questions, and one essay question.

I really do not like true or false questions because they can be very tricky sometimes. I always analyze the questions and I think I do that too much occasionally. I know I got one true or false question wrong because I looked up the answer after the class.

I would want the whole test to be in short answer or essay style. I think I will be all right though but I am a little worried about the true or false questions. I know that I answered the other questions correct though.

I got back my consumer behavior test today. I got 39 out of 40 questions correct so I am happy with that. The teacher had also added five extra credit questions so my final score was 103 out of 105.

One thing that I really do not like about test days is when students start to talk out loud about the test ten minutes before it is supposed to start. It always makes me question myself and wonder if I really know everything there is to know.

The students that do talk about the test before it starts are usually always the ones that end up with a bad result. When they discuss a certain topic and what they say is wrong, I start wondering if I am wrong or if they are wrong, which is very frustrating.

I will take it easy for the rest of the week but I have a couple of test coming up next week. I have one quiz in math, a small test in consumer behavior, and a midterm in microeconomics.

The math quiz will actually be an online quiz so I do not have to go to school that day. It works in the manner that you log in to your student account and after you have clicked on the “take the quiz” link you will have one hour to do it. People have only one chance to do it so after that you have turned in the results, you will not be able to do it again.

It will be the first time for me to do a quiz online so I am looking forward to it.

Today is “Veterans Day,” and there was a big parade along Fifth Avenue. The day is designated to the troops currently fighting around the world and to veterans. I really like the parade but unfortunately I missed most of it because I had classes at that time. I was still able to take a few pictures though.

The Triple Cheeseburger

I had a test in consumer behavior last Thursday and I think it went all right. I am thankful that I read the chapters a couple of times because the different answers for the multiple-choice questions were quite similar.

I believe that the teacher has to be very careful about what answers they put for the different questions. In my test there were some questionable answers that might as well be correct, but because it is not mentioned in the book, it is not.

One example is for example one question that was about online surveys. I do not remember the question nor the answer but I remember that one of the answers was that online surveys is not a hundred percent affective because some people find the new technology hard.

This can actually be true to some extent so I believe that it is not appropriate to put this as an alternative. Most students said that they found the test easy. However, I am sure that many of them will be surprised when they get it back and I think that the average will be lower than expected.

The triple cheeseburger has landed in New York. I had it the first time in Seattle and I loved it. McDonald’s advertise on TV right now that you can get two triple cheeseburgers for three dollars. I tried out the deal yesterday and it was absolutely delicious. The offer itself is truly unbeatable.

I got back my results from my math test that I had last week. I ended up with 20 our of 20 so I am very happy with that. My old thoughts that I was bad in math are finally starting to disappear.

My fiancée and I have finished moving everything now. It has taken a long time so it feels good that we are finally done with it. We had to go to IKEA today to buy some organizers and boxes because we want everything to be organized.

We still have to unpack a few bags with all kinds of things in but I think we will do that tomorrow. One thing that is really good about this room is that we can have the TV further away. The pictures looks better thanks to that and our eyes do not hurt anymore because of the TV being to close. 

New President

The election is officially over and that is a great relief. I have never experienced an election this long and it has been truly historical.

Many people celebrated yesterday since Obama is a great favorite in New York. Most people gathered at Times Square and I know that many foreign countries broadcasted from there.

I thought it would be tight between McCain and Obama but I was obviously wrong. Obama won with a landslide and the democrats now have power in not only the white house, but in the senate and the house too.

My cat is really adorable. She is still very comfortable with my fiancée and I and there have not been any problems with her.

I had a test in math today but I was not very nervous about it. I studied for it a little yesterday and I felt that I knew everything we had to know. The test consisted of twenty questions. 18 of them were about graphing and two of them were based on the previous test we had.

The teacher put two questions from the previous test because he does not want us to forget what we did before. The final will be cumulative so it is important to remember it.

My fiancée and I are still in the process of moving our things out from our old room into the new one. It is amazing how much stuff we could fit in there actually.

It felt a little weird to go to bed yesterday. The room is so much bigger and everything is different. What is really good about the room is that it has double windows. We are on the second floor and there is a road with pretty much traffic outside. With the windows closed we barely hear anything and it is quieter then in our old room.

I have a test in consumer behavior tomorrow. I have not studied that much for it so I really have to start doing that now. We have had a couple of reviews in class so I know what to expect and I have also read and made highlights in the book.

I do not think that I will have a problem with the test. Much of it is somehow a repetition of my old marketing classes. The test will cover segmentation, research, and some psychological measurements. 

Kitten

My fiancée and I have thought about getting a kitten for a long time now. We have looked at different alternatives and found a great adoption center here in New York.

One other issue has been that our room is not big enough. That problem was solved a few days ago because our roommate moved out and we will move to a much bigger room. We talked to our landlord about it a few days ago and he accepted it.

My fiancée found a really cute kitten on the adoption centers website. They had just gotten it and we both kind of fell in love with that kitten right away. I went to have a look on it yesterday and I found it to be really cute.

I dealt with all the paperwork, which was not too complicated. The kitten had to stay over night because it had to be spayed.

When I picked up my fiancée that same evening, we went to a supermarket to buy all the necessities. I actually got a litter box in the afternoon. It is really good and looks like a small house with a transparent hatch. It has an air filter so it will not smell anything.

My fiancée took the day of from her work today so that we could pick up the kitten together. She had not seen it yet so she was really excited. The cat is about two months old and is white and orange. The breed is called Domestic Shorthair.

We got home about two hours ago and the cat is fantastic. It is really comfortable with us and it actually fell asleep on the train home. That is very surprising because it is very noisy down there.

The adoption center told us that it was a little stiff but that is definitely not accurate. The kitten started playing and cuddling with us right away.

One thing that I was a little worried about was if the kitten would start to use the litter box right away or if it would accidently do its personal business on the floor. I am pretty used to cats since I grew up with a few so I know how to train them.

I put the kitten in the litter box and scratched her paws in the sand. She did her business right after that and everything is working out perfectly so far.

I had a quiz in math yesterday and that went great. I just checked my score and I got five out of five correct. I will have a bigger test in math tomorrow with twenty questions so I have practiced for that one tonight.