Diet

My girlfriend left for vacation for three weeks so I will spend a lot of time with my friends in the next few weeks. I am still on my break until January 4th, which feels pretty good. I have been doing some shopping lately.

I bought speakers from Amazon, a new power adapter for my exercise bike since my cat broke the last one, and I also purchased some items at IKEA. I actually went to IKEA because I wanted to by a framed poster.

On my way to the picture department, I picked up a few things including chair pads, a dish brush, and a carpet. I noticed how huge the painting was when I arrived at the picture department so I decided to avoid buying it for this time.

I think I will go back later to buy it though because I am tired of the white walls in my apartment. IKEA is currently having a sale, which is pretty rare actually so it is a good opportunity for students to make a few satisfying deals.

I am on a four week diet plan right now. I am trying to get used to eating less and healthier and I am doing great so far. I really hope that my power adapter will show up soon so that I can start exercising because that will greatly help me to lose weight.

I have been walking a lot in the city lately since it gives me good exercise. I bought a shirt at Century 21 today but it is too long so I will have to return it. I will not go to Century 21 in Manhattan anymore. The reason is that they do not have any fitting rooms and it is way too crowded with confusing tourists.

There is one in Brooklyn that I really like and I think I will go there on the day after tomorrow. I will celebrate New Year’s Eve tomorrow with two friends. We are going to watch Avatar in an IMAX theatre before celebrating at my friend’s home. Avatar has gotten great reviews but I am not sure it is my kind of movie. However, I do have hopes that I will like it much because it is in 3D.

I am not sure of what we will do in the evening but I do know that it includes Korean food and great people. I feel good about not going to Times Square this time. It gets way too crowded and the weather is usually extremely chilly on New Year’s Eve.

I received a few gifts from my mom and brother this week. I got Swedish chocolate, which I really like. Unfortunately, I will not be able to eat it for a month because of my diet. However that is also a good reason for me to share it with my girlfriend.

Dominos

The sales continue although many were expecting the sales to end after Christmas. Amazon has a huge sale today and I bought a pair of speakers because of it. I was going to buy these speakers from Apple because they offered the same price and free shipping. However, with today’s sale at Amazon, I saved almost 40%.

The snow has slowly started to melt away. It rained today but there is still a lot of snow left on the ground, which I like. New York is expecting more rain later this weekend but it will snow again early next week. I hope the temperature will stay cold so that we do not get too much slush.

Since I had Christmas dinner with my girlfriend yesterday, we did not have much to eat for today. Most restaurants were closed today too but Domino’s was luckily not closed. I ordered online and they showed up about thirty minutes later with two medium sized pizzas. It tasted great and I am happy that they are always open.

I have been planning to travel to Philadelphia. It only takes two hours with a bus to go there and only cost $30 for a round-trip ticket. I have driven by Philadelphia before but I have never actually stayed there. I will probably just spend one day there and go back home to New York the same day.

I found a great website that offers old Nintendo games for free. People can play games such as Mario Bros 2, 3, and 3 and Double Dragon etcetera. I am not sure if I am allowed to refer to this website, but people should find it if they Google “Nintendo games for free” or similar.

It feels really good to have a break right now. I am looking forward to start school again though since next quarter will look a little different for me compared to my last quarters. I will be taking sixteen credits as usual but all of them will take place in the evening.

My classes include marketing logistics, new product development, organizational behavior, and business strategy and policy. All of them are requirements for my degree except organizational behavior, which is a free elective. I am expecting business strategy and policy to be very busy so I hope that the other classes will not be too demanding.

I am going to try to buy the books well ahead of time but my professors have not posted the syllabus yet because of Christmas. Some professors do not post the syllabus online at all, which makes it hard for students like me who purchase their books online. I still have another two weeks before the next quarter starts and that feels pretty good to be honest.

Christmas

Christmas is celebrated in Sweden tomorrow on the 24th of December. I might actually celebrate it on that date to since I am used to it and since I am very much in the mood to celebrate Christmas while the snow is still here.

I have bought everything that I need for Christmas including groceries, gifts, and decoration. I will have spareribs, chicken, bread, and many other things on the Christmas table. I am definitely looking forward to it and I really feel that it is not because of the gifts this year.

I am planning to watch Avatar in 3D with a friend soon. Many people say that it is a good movie and I want to see it even though I feel skeptical about it. I do know that James Cameron is a great director though and I love his other movies including Alien and Terminator 2.

I had to go to Century 21 yesterday to buy some ear warmers. I took bus B9 to go there but I had to wait for thirty minutes before it showed up. This really upset me. Later on the same day, I had to go to Kings Plaza, which is a mall here in Brooklyn. Again, I had to take the B9 bus. Again, I waited for thirty minutes. I might have been extremely unlucky that day, but unlucky or not, no one should have to wait that long.

Not only was it freezing outside, but the bus was also packed with people because of the delays. A police officer actually started to talk to me about it and she was also extremely dissatisfied with the service. While all this is happening, the MTA is planning to increase workers’ salaries and decrease the amount of services they provide. This is really upsetting New Yorkers.

I had to pay the school tuition this week. Everything went really smoothly and I was able to increase the spending limit on my credit card so that I could pay with my VISA. The reason I want to do this instead of writing a check is so that I can earn points. These points can later be redeemed for cash or other gifts and is a great way of saving money.

I put three of my textbooks up for sale a few days ago. I successfully sold them for the price that I wanted and I again want to express my gratitude to half.com. I personally feel that this is the best website in terms of selling books. It is extremely easy to use and very reliable.

Someone actually filed a claim against me saying that he had not received his book. This claim came three months after the sale and I also had a confirmation number to strengthen my defense. Half.com basically sent me an email and explained what had happened. I replied and sent them the information that they requested, which proved that I shipped the book and that it was delivered. It is now only of concern to half.com and I do not have to worry about anything anymore.

Online Learning

I am enjoying the Christmas break by relaxing, shopping, and taking walks in the city with my girlfriend. It snowed a lot a few days ago and the city is beautifully covered in white colors. I wanted to post something that I wrote for a project at Berkeley College. I feel that it is relevant since I just finished two online classes.

Albert Einstein ones said, “A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?” A contemporary answer to this question could be “The Internet.” The Internet has changed many habits and it is now also changing the way we learn how to change, through education.

Online learning is growing in significance for each day. It started with a couple of online messaging programs that made conversation and the delivery of instructions possible. It now involves interactive video conferences, active testing of students, and liberal attendance policies that actually leads to greater ways of distributing knowledge.

The cellular phone helped people save time; it encouraged efficiency, and led to increasing national growth. The Internet is a continuation of this. Students do not have to spend hours on commuting to and from school, missing valuable time that could be used to do business. “Benjamin Franklin explained why: “Time is Money.”

Most of today’s students use the Internet regularly and visit website like “Facebook,” “MySpace,” and “Twitter,” on a daily basis. These websites involve communication with others and often entail conflicts. It is now time to bring it to a new level; group discussions for educational purposes. Early research has shown that it is not as easy to communicate with people never interacted with before. This, in itself, is leading to a new issue, manners on the Internet.

These are all factors that make online learning exceedingly exiting. Online learning will change future interactions, lead to even greater efficiency, and may even be part of a new technology that can save this country from future recessions. We are all engaged in it, and now is the time to test-run and challenge this new way of learning.

MTA

I am pretty much done with all assignments and finals for this quarter. One of my online classes has been active for this week but other than that, it has been a moderately calm week. I turned in my final for my managing for change class and I got 98 out of 100 points on it. I actually received 622 out of 575 points total for the class, which seems twisted. However, I received extra credits for a charades event that we had in class, which explains the issue.

I also had to participate in a weekly class discussion online for my marketing research class. It involved nothing particularly important more than questions concerning basic and applied research reports. I wish for another quarter of straight A’s and it looks like I am in a pretty good shape for that to happen.

I will have a two week vacation after today. It will definitely be comfortable to be able to relax for while. I may travel to another state for a few days just to get away from New York, but I have not decided where to go yet.

I will go to a friend’s house tomorrow to enjoy some Korean food. He lives in Queens but on the same train line as me so it will not be too complicated to go there. However, the ride takes more than an hour, which can be pretty agonizing sometimes.

I am taking four evening classes next quarter and I think I will work in the day. The classes I will take are business strategy and policy, marketing logistics, organizational behavior, and new product development. I know two of the professors that I will have. I particularly like one of them but I have not taken any of his classes since my first quarter.

It was 16 degrees outside today. I left home without wearing a scarf or hat so I was freezing on my way to work. I had forgotten how cold New York gets in the winter. It is worth to note, however that I still prefer the winter against the summer.

The MTA is experiencing a budget crisis again. It will affect riders like me because they are planning on closing two lines. They also plan to eliminate the free plan for high school students. This has caused a lot of commotion here in New York. I personally feel that students should pay something but definitely not full price. However, it should be carefully considered, especially since the economy is just coming out from a recession.

The Swedish carmaker SAAB will be terminated. It is owned by General Motors but has long experienced problems. The main issue was simply that they did not sell enough cars. I have, for a long time, felt that they should end the business. In Sweden, this is especially controversial since a certain factory there will have to lay off several people. However, the conditions have been unstable for a very long time so it should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Christmas Photos

I am almost done with my last assignments for this quarter. I need to finish a take-home final for m managing for change class but it is going well so far. I received 50 out of 50 points on my case assignment for the same class and I am certain that I will get an A for the class.

My other on-campus class, small business management is also over. I turned in the final business plan last week and yesterday I went to class just to thank the professor for a good quarter. Not many students actually thank their professors at the end of every quarter. I have done so since my first quarter and I feel that it is important to do so since I spend three months with them.

The class has gone very well and I finally know how to prepare a good business plan. I am certain that I will get an A for this class because the professor told me that I had one of the best business plans in the class.

My two online classes are also coming to an end. My professor in marketing research told me that I was heading for a strong A. This is much thanks to strong test results and a well executed case study. My group dynamics class has also been a success because of great teamwork and a very well written business plan.

Yesterday, I received the shoes that I purchased online from Spring. I am extremely happy with them. They look great and I definitely feel relieved since buying shoes online can be challenging. They also fit perfectly but I need to wear them for a while before I can tell whether they are comfortable or not.

I went out to Manhattan yesterday to take pictures. My girlfriend was going to an event similar to a career fair but for volunteer work so I wanted to take advantage of the situation. We got off at the financial district in Downtown Manhattan.

They have it up the New York Stock Exchange in red and placed a huge Christmas tree in front of the building. It looks terrific and I could feel the Christmas spirit in the air. I also went down to Ground Zero to take a few pictures. There are decorations all over the downtown area and it seems like businesses and the government do not go cheap on the décor even though we are in a recovery.

I am seriously considering buying stamps, envelopes, and other regular mail accessories. Going to the post office these days is a nightmare. I am really tired of the system because it is way too slow and inefficient. Although there are machines people can use to print stamps and other things, barely anyone uses it.

I had to go to the post office yesterday. I did not have any envelopes or stamps and I also needed tape so that I could attach a label onto the envelope. I waited for about twenty minutes but I left since the line did not move a single inch while I waited. I will go there again today, and I really hope there will be less people there this time.

The White House

There is one thing in particular that I adore with the United States, the generosity and good will of the people. I just watched the show Extreme Home Makeover and I always get a little choked up when watching it.

In this show, ABC builds a brand new house to people who have been through tough times or done something remarkable. They do this in one week while the family has been taken away for vacation. The house always turns out amazingly beautiful and I really enjoy seeing these people’s faces when they see their new house for the first time.

Today, ABC airs a Christmas special on the White House. Barack Obama and the first lady give exclusive interviews and viewers are invited to places like the oval office. It is quite astonishing to see what it looks like inside the White House and how everything has been decorated.

People have different opinions about this kind of promotion though. Some say that the President loses credibility as a powerful spokesperson when he shows that he is much like the average American. Some claim that this proves the opposite and that it is of advantage to him.

I am split on the issue. I definitely like seeing the activities inside the White House. I think it is interesting to hear what the President has to say about certain issues involving Christmas and I love to hear that many ordinary Americans help to decorate and prepare Christmas activities inside the White House.

I need to go out to take Christmas pictures around New York soon. Like I have said before, it will be hard to find an opportunity to go to Rockefeller Center because of the tourists but I will try to go there soon.

I turned in the group project for my group dynamics class today. I am extremely satisfied with everyone’s participation and engagement. Two group members did not contribute but it worked out well anyway thanks everyone else’s hard work. We turned in three documents; the actual business plan, a time line, and a PowerPoint presentation. It all added up to more than 25 pages and we all have confidence in its potential.

I want to remind everyone who needs help with their application to Berkeley College or anything else in regards to studying abroad that I am here to help. Please send me an email rather than posting comments on the blogs. I rarely read these comments but I regularly check my email and I will, in most cases, get back to people within 24 hours.

Christmas

The winter has come to New York. Today was the coldest day this winter with roughly 30 degrees. My girlfriend and I travelled to Flushing to have lunch. There were no uptown bound trains so we had to go to Coney Island first. It therefore took more than an hour to go to Flushing and we were starving when we got there.

The food was great though. There is a Chinese place close to the subway station at Main Street. It is a small place but always packed with people. You basically chose to pay for three or four dishes and can pick your own food based on their selection, which is presented to people in a buffet kind of way except that they prepare the plate for you.

There is one thing that bothers me with group projects. In the end when you put together the paper, there is always the question of who you should give credits too. In my online class, for example, only five people in my group out of seven have been participating in our discussions.

I am mentioning this because a group member just posted something saying that she believed everyone had participated. It is definitely easier to put everyone’s name on the paper, but is it fair? I do not feel so and even though it may seem cruel, I rather exclude the persons that do not participate. I responded to the post and I am waiting for group members’ reactions.

Tiger Woods is definitely being analyzed these days. This stuff is really getting annoying. The latest I heard was that he will be travelling to Sweden to escape rumors about prostitutes and other negative news. The funny thing is that people in Sweden knows exactly what is going on since the media is covering the story intensely.

I have not gone to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree yet. I definitely want to go but I am not sure when because the place is packed with tourists on this time of the year. I could be a good idea to go there very early in the morning but I am not sure I have the energy to get up that early. However, that is probably the only way of taking a good picture of the tree.

I do not have any plans for this weekend. Right now, I feel that I want to go out to do something but I am not sure of what to do. I still want to go to Bryant Park to go ice skating because that is, for me, a holiday tradition. Bryant Park is extremely romantic around Christmas. They have small stores set up and a lot of Christmas decorations installed. The pond also helps to spread the Christmas spirit of course.

I need to do some Christmas shopping soon. I just realized that time is running out and I have not bought anything yet. However, I bought a pair of shoes for myself online today at Spring. I got 50% off so I made a good deal. They will not be delivered until December 21st though, which is way too late according to me. I really hope that they fit and look as good as they do on the pictures. Time will tell.

Final Week

I will have a day off tomorrow, which feels good. Final week is coming up and I need to prepare a few projects. It looks like everything is coming together satisfactorily and I feel happy about most of my latest results.

I got back my business plan today in my small business management class. The professor said it was one of the best ones in class, which made me feel accomplished. I had a good feeling about the business plan before, but I would have chosen another start-up business if I could have done it all over again.

I will not have any more classes in small business management. My professor will return homework next week for people who did not hand in everything on time. I still have to go to school though because I need to attend my class in management for change.

I do have a final for that class. We will have a review on Tuesday and the test is on Thursday the same week. It will cover many chapters but my final will be take-home as a reward for doing well in class. My professor recently got her book published. The book was rated best-seller by Amazon and I am glad to have her as a professor.

The book is called “Rhythm without Blues: The Dichotomy of a Music Genre” and my professor’s name is Dr. Thomson.

I did my final test for my marketing research class today. As I have mentioned before, it is an online class and the tests are to be completed on the online blackboard. I scored 88 out of 100 on it, which I am not too happy about. I still have a 94.5 percent average in the class though so I am in the range of receiving an A for the class. That is really all I care about at this moment.

I was determined to start exercising today. I have not done so in months and I feel way too out of shape nowadays. I was getting ready for it but when I plugged in the wire for my exercise bike, nothing happened and the bike was not powered on.

The reason was that the wire had been bitten off by my cat. It really upset me because it happened ones before and it takes a while for the manufacturer to send a new adapter. I called the manufacturer but they said they could not send me a new adapter because my warranty was covered by Modell’s and not them.

I therefore called Modell’s but they claimed that I had to call the manufacturer. After being redirected a couple of times, I was finally able to convince Modell’s that I had purchased an extended warranty under Modell’s name.

As a result, they asked me to send back the receipt so that I could be refunded. I explained how silly it would be to send back the whole bike just because of a broken wire but they then corrected me and said that I did not have to send back the bike. All they wanted was the receipt. In other words, they let me keep the bike. That is what I call customer service. The only thing I have to do now is to purchase a new adapter, which would cost approximately $25.

Shopping Skills

I am getting better at shopping. I went to Lord and Taylor today with my girlfriend to buy some Clinique lotion because they had a special deal and they gave out free gift sets to people spending $25 or more. The gift set consisted of a small bag containing makeup. People who spent over $49.50 received a bigger bag.

The lotion we wanted to buy cost $24 so we fell short for the small gift set. However, we bought two bottles of lotion each so we received one gift each. We thereafter asked whether we would not be eligible for the bigger gift-set since we spent more than $49.50 together. The cashier said no at first since we split the payment. However, after explaining to her that we could then just return the item and repurchase everything again, she agreed to give us the bigger bag also.

The cashier forgot that she gave us the small gift sets too though so we actually received a lot more than we were supposed to get or at least I think we did. The gift set includes the lotion we originally bought so we have a lot of it now.

I applied the changes that my group suggested to our business plan. We have one week to finish everything and I feel that we have come a long way from just two weeks ago. I cannot wait until it is finished and I really hope that there will not be any major conflicts this week.

I personally feel that it is a great business plan. Some people in the group preferred it to be clearer and more direct with flashier pictures. I agreed with them that it should include direct statements but flashy pictures would make it too informal. I therefore suggested the group to create a PowerPoint presentation to represent the presentation of the business plan and the group agreed to this.

I have made the new business plan very clear. If they keep saying it is too unclear, I do not know what I should do. I will probably ask them to make the changes and send it to me instead in that case. Anyway, it will hopefully not go to that point but this group has made it hard for me before.

It was snowing in New York yesterday. The snow stayed on the ground for about five minutes before it melted. It was raining at the same time so it really was not good winter weather. I cannot wait until it snows again. I want to go out to take pictures next time it happens so that I have some fresh pictures to post on the blog.

Today's picture is from the Halloween parade in October. A lot of crazy people join the parade on that day.

No More Final Week

I just discovered something interesting. When I came home from work yesterday, I wanted to buy Bacardi Coolers so I went to a liquor store to do so. However, according to the owner, he was not allowed to sell it for some reason.

What is funny about this is that convenience stores are allowed to sell it and these are usually the places where people go to buy it. These stores include 7-Eleven and various around-the-corner places. How can a liquor store not be allowed to sell it while a convenience store is?

Later today I am going to a friend’s house to eat Korean food. He has prepared something very Korean and I am really looking forward to going there. I am going together with my girlfriend and there will probably be five other people going there too.

I do not have much homework to do this weekend, which is nice. I do have to finish a business plan for one of my online classes though but there is not too much for me to do on that. My girlfriend also wants to visit a few stores tomorrow because she got a few coupons on Black Friday that she wants to redeem. This is how businesses attract customers and it always works!

My wisdom tooth feels much better now. It has been painful and sometimes it still is. I think it grew out a lot these days actually because I can see much more of it now than I could just a week ago. I cannot wait until this agonizing process is complete.

Berkeley College removed the “final week” from the schedule this quarter and I think it is a long lasting decision. I personally feel that it is a good ruling. The final week sometimes caused conflicts in people’s schedules because everyone’s schedule was changed and students had to follow a customized schedule instead.

Instead of having everyone follow a new schedule, classes will continue like normal the last week. Finals will still take place, of course, but under regular hours. I personally do not know why it has not always been like this because it does not make sense to me to change the schedule for the last week.

Many students book flights and other tickets on the final week, which causes them to miss their finals. These students are sometimes allowed to take the final on another date that will fit with their schedule. This kind of policy will be terminated. It simply is not fair to other students.

The weather has been quite weird lately. It was almost at freezing point three days ago. However, the following day it was over 64 degrees and people were wearing t-shirts. I definitely like the cold weather and I really hate when you dress up for winter and you go outside just to realize that it is warm as in the summer. There will hopefully not be any more days like this for the rest of the year.

Cold

I got a cold a few days ago and it is still hanging on to me. I do feel better but a troubling wisdom tooth is not making my situation better. It is coming out and everything looks fine so I do not want to waste time going to a dentist right now.

Yesterday was a great day for me. I made a presentation together with my Boeing group and everything went very well. We showed a video as a starter and I then went on to talk about what kind of change Boeing has experienced the last few years.

Another group member spoke after me and she talked about our group’s opinion in regards to Boeing’s affairs. Even though I felt very confident and not nervous before the presentation, I got a little anxious, as usual, when I got up in front of the class. I am much better on stage now than I was before college though and I can clearly see that I have improved. However, I do not think people notice it, which is good.

My group also had a quiz at the end of the presentation. We wanted to make sure people were listening so we rewarded people with chocolate if they got it right. The presentation lasted for twenty minutes even though it felt more like five.

Three other groups were also presenting their work. One group was talking about Blockbuster and had a quiz similar to ours. Instead of chocolate, they handed out DVDs. I won one DVD but the movie seems quite boring to be honest.

My group in my online group dynamics class has finally given its consent to go with my idea. We only have one week to finish this so I will have to get started with the project immediately. I will take everyone’s suggestions into consideration and make the altercations necessary. I do feel that it is a good paper and with everyone’s ideas put together, it will get even better.

I need to take a few more pictures with my camera. As you may have noticed, I have posted a lot of pictures of trees, leaves, and parks. The reason is that I do not have access to my other pictures yet since they are in another hard drive. Today, I will post the last nature picture for a while.

I am looking forward to see some snow in the city. I will definitely try to go out to take pictures in Central Park when this happens. It also gets much quieter in Brooklyn when it snows. I guess people in general are more careful when it snows because of the icy roads, which contributes to a quiet environment.

Next week will be the last on at Berkeley College for this quarter. The week following that one consists of finals so I do not want to count that one in since I most likely will only have one final. The reasons are my online classes and a take-home project that will substitute the final.

Black Sunday

I went out shopping today, again. Believe it or not but some stores offer even better deals now than they did on Black Friday. In fact, it is expected that deals are to become even better with Christmas around the corner.

I bought an external hard drive online today. I saved more than $50 and only paid $55 for it. It is a 500 gigabyte Seagate drive and I really need it since my old external hard drive is getting old and I am afraid it will break down soon. I also got free shipping, which definitely made the deal more attractive since shipping usually costs $4 to $10.

I have experienced lately that many stores’ websites have been down and not working. I assume it is because of heavy traffic or at least people should hope it is because it would be a good sign of economic recovery. Actually, it could be a sign of early Christmas shopping too. We will not know until after Christmas.

My girlfriend experienced this when she wanted to buy something online two days ago. I experienced it today when I was going to buy the hard drive. I had to call them to finish the order because of technical difficulties.

The last four days have been great. I have celebrated Thanksgiving and done a lot of shopping. I did catch a cold yesterday though and I still feel a little tired. I wish I had a couple of more days off before having to go to school again but it is only three more weeks till this quarter ends so I guess I can handle it.

I finished by business plan for my small business management class today. I thought I only had the financial plan to do but I had to write a location plan and the executive summary too. I feel that the paper turned out great and I hope my professor will like it.

I have finished most of my homework for next week. I still have to complete a few assignments for my online classes though. My group in my group dynamics class is not as active as I want it to be. We only have two more weeks to finish our final project and some people are still discussing whether we should go with the topic we chose last week or not.

I am convinced we have chosen a great topic and I have already written a draft for the business plan. Some people make their lives harder without realizing it but it is definitely frustrating to work with people like that.

I have my longest break for the year after this quarter. It will last for a little more than two weeks and it will be wonderful to celebrate Christmas here in New York. I love the decoration and the New York Christmas spirit. Things definitely slow down here during the fall and winter much thanks to less tourism and the cold weather.

Black Friday

This Black Friday was disappointing. I went up at 3 AM to catch an early train to New Jersey. I was expecting more people at the mall and although it was pretty crowded for being at 5 AM in the morning, it was definitely more crowded last year. Deals were not at all that good except a few deals at stores like Best Buy that offered very cheap HDTVs.

My fiancée did buy a few things and I bought her a piece of jewelry. We went to JC Penny, Macys, and some other clothing stores. Macys had a few good deals but they offered even better deals two weeks ago.

I believe many stores had the best sales a few weeks ago. Today, they knew that a lot of people would go out to visit their stores so they simply did not force down prices that much. They also expected many people to do their Christmas shopping today and although this thought might have been exaggerated, I did see a few people buying possible Christmas gifts.

Getting up at 3 AM is definitely challenging, and I got very tired at around 7 AM. I came home around 10 AM so I spent about six hours of shopping, which is to me, pretty much. I fell asleep again when I came home and slept for four hours. I got up after that and had some lunch. An hour later, I fell asleep again for another hour. I still feel tired and almost jetlagged.

I hope that I can fall asleep later tonight and wake up like normal tomorrow morning. Anyway, I will probably not go out for Black Friday next year. It is too exhausting and I do not feel it is worth it. I got a few free items though including water bottles, snow globes, and breakfast.

I have done some homework for my online classes today. I basically only posted some responses on the discussion board. I have to work on a few more things before Tuesday next week but I do feel that I have time to relax this weekend.

My professor in managing for change also posted the grade for my group project. We got 145 out of 150, which I feel very satisfied with. Some parts of the paper were, according to me, not very well written. However, it was definitely a good paper as a whole.

As I mentioned before, I have a presentation to do together with my group on Tuesday. I have not yet started to work on the PowerPoint slides but it will not take too long to put it together. Most groups have talked about the company in their presentations and they have not focused much on the change, which we are supposed to do.

Our presentation will focus much more on what Boeing is experiencing at this moment and I feel that this is crucial when making the presentation.

I will try to eat some leftovers from last night today. There are definitely a few tasty dishes in the fridge waiting right now. I tried the pumpkin pie today and it was extremely tasty. I will also have some corn bread, turkey, and sweet potatoes. I cannot wait to have a second Thanksgiving meal.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I first want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Today, people give an extra thought to things they feel thankful about. For most people, this day is one that involves spending time with family and friends while watching football on television. The Giants actually play today so a lot of New Yorker’s will probably watch tonight’s game.

I had a great meal with my girlfriend today. We had almost everything on the table including turkey, chicken, corn bread, spareribs, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. I absolutely love it but I am still stuffed after eating for almost an hour.

We will try to go to bed early today because we are getting up early tomorrow to go shopping on “Black Friday.” There are amazing deals available including 54” HDTVs for less than $1000. I will probably only buy clothing but I definitely feel tempted to buy other things.

I am pretty disappointed with my group in my group dynamics class. Only one other person and I have been active on the discussion board this week and we only have two more weeks to finish our final project. I really do not like to work in groups when people do not care about the assignments. Also, since this is an online class, there is not much I can do in terms of talking to these people.

I have been selected to be the treasurer for the international group at Berkeley College. That means I will be responsible for the cash flow and the accounting. I am really looking forward to work with the international division and to make this group as successful as possible. We will have our first meeting on Tuesday and I am excited to meet everyone.

I have a couple of assignments that are due on Tuesday next week. I still feel that I can relax this weekend though. I also have to prepare a presentation that I will make on Tuesday together with my four other group members. Only one member and I will talk and the other ones will be responsible for the PowerPoint slides and a quiz that we will give the class at the end of the presentation.

I honestly do not like presentations but I think it is great preparation for future job responsibilities that most likely will include similar events. The fact that we have to dress up also makes everything feel more serious, and people in the class definitely look at others with more respect if they dress up for their speeches.

I watched the movie “The Proposal” tonight. It is definitely a movie I would recommend to couples. I personally really liked it because it was very easy to follow and it was constantly fun and entertaining. My girlfriend and I laughed several times. I honestly thought it was just going to be one of those other romantic comedies that feature typical events that are easy to predict. However, even though the story was very easy to predict, the movie was extremely entertaining.

Berkeley College

I would like to discuss future plans of Berkeley College that may change things quite substantially. There are currently plans to open a new campus in Brooklyn and the school will start an MBA program in a year.

This shows how dedicated Berkeley College is when it comes to growth and innovation. I feel that this is exceedingly important and, as a student, I feel encouraged to hear that the school will offer higher education after I graduate.

Many schools do not grow in size and are almost afraid of implementing change. I am proud to be part of a school that sets challenging goals and always tried to improve its implementation strategies and systems.

I finished the business plan draft for my group dynamics class today. People can really tell that Berkeley College is a business school. The reason I am saying this is that I have taken many classes like ethics, history, and group dynamics and all of them are taught from a business perspective. I believe that this is very important and this also really prepares students for their future careers.

A couple of weeks ago, I went out with two friends to play some pool and hang out. I had a great time and afterwards we went to a place called Chipotle. I would describe it as a Mexican version of Subway restaurant. The food is ordered in the same way but they serve burritos and Mexican food instead of sandwiches.

The food is absolutely great and I went there again today with a friend. Being his birthday last week, I gave him a tie and a birthday card. The tie looked really good and had it not been his birthday, I would probably have kept it myself.

Thanksgiving is coming. I have to go to work tomorrow but I will have four days of tomorrow. I am really looking forward to some vacation. I need to get some rest and turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie will definitely help me to regain my strengths.

I will not go out late night on Black Friday. Instead, I will go to a few places that open the morning after on Friday. I will probably have to get up quite early but that is okay because I can take a nap in the afternoon. I am planning to buy headphones and maybe an external hard drive but I have not decided yet.

The group presentations in my managing for change class started today. People did okay but a few of the presentations were quite shaky. I believe it is because each group contain between five to seven people. However, all presentations were very creative with video clips, PowerPoint slides, and quizzes.

I got my test in small business management back today. I got 98 out of 100. I was uncertain about what I would get on the test because it has been two weeks since I took it. I am obviously very happy with it and I got the feeling that most students did well too.

Shopping

My girlfriend bought me new dressing pants on my birthday. I tried a couple of different brands but was not perfectly happy with any of them. That was until I tried Calvin Klein. Those pants were of totally different quality and the fit was much better. I got two CK pants because of this and I do not think I will ever buy a different brand again.

I have actually done quite a lot of shopping lately. The recession offers new great deals every week and it is good times for people who still have their job or are in college. It is actually not that bright to go shopping right now since “Black Friday” is coming this Thursday night.

“Black Friday” occurs every year on Thanksgiving. On this day, almost all businesses offer excellent discounts and there are a lot of bargains, especially in New York City and New Jersey where the tax is lower. People start shopping at midnight and stay up for the whole night. It is pretty crazy but fun at the same time.

I will probably go out together with my girlfriend. We are planning to go to New Jersey but we have not decided exactly where to go yet. Even if we knew where to go, I would not share it with people until after “Black Friday” so that I can keep all the good deals for myself.

Not only have my on-campus classes kept me busy these days. I have also been occupied with my online classes. These involve one marketing research class and one group dynamics class. I have had one test in the marketing class and I got 98 out of 100 on that test. I also have a case that I have to finish before December 1st. I also have to participate in online discussions almost every day.

The group dynamics class is particularly interesting. I have to coordinate a group project together with six other people and this is not easy, especially since I cannot see these people face-to-face. I try to participate as much as I possibly can because communication is key in making it work. The group project will hopefully turn out well.

We have to come up with a business proposal that is innovative and challenging. After brainstorming and analyzing our ideas, my group has decided to go with one of my suggestions. People came up with ideas such as spas, gyms, and health centers but the professor was not impressed by those ideas. My idea involves new technology and something very different and I think it will be a great project.

I do not want to say what it is since I take my ideas seriously. It may seem silly for me to keep these things secret but my thought is that it might turn out to be useful in the future. Also, I do not want to discover see someone using my idea without giving me credit.

Also my internship has been keeping me very busy. I work three days a week from nine to five. When I was working in Sweden as an operator in a factory, I used to think that working in an office was easy and painless. However, I have realized that it is not that glorious after all. Staring at a computer screen for hours can make you pretty tired. Although, I still enjoy working and it is definitely interesting to do something different than just studying all the time.

Summary

In my last blog I said I was going to write more blogs than I had done the last month. Well, I did not. The reason for this is a busy schedule including work, school, and other chores. My birthday was November 15th and I had a great time. I will write a couple of blogs to summarize everything that has happened the last few weeks.

My girlfriend and I went out to eat and shop on my birthday. I really enjoyed it and it was celebrated just the way I like it. We went to a place called Dinosaur Barbque. I am not misspelling barbeque. That is actually the way they spell it.

The place is purely American and they have everything from spareribs to pork on the menu. Everything is exceedingly tasty and definitely my style. The restaurant itself is decorated like an old tavern with old wood and a matching bar. They serve thirty-eight different drafts so there are a lot of goodies to choose from.

What is unfortunate about Dinosaur Barbque is that it is so far away from my home. It is located in Harlem and it takes me more than an hour to go there. It took extra time when we went there last time because it was on a Saturday with trains running local and they had shut down a few tracks due to construction.

I personally felt that it was worth going there but both my girlfriend and I were extremely hungry when we got there. We had to wait for about twenty minutes because the place was packed. Other than that, it was a pleasant experience like always.

It has been extremely busy in school. I have been working on a group project in my management for change class. My group is working on Boeing and changes they have experienced the last few years. It involves subsidies and delays and I have really enjoyed creating this paper. It is actually do tomorrow and my group has everything prepared.

We will have a presentation next week but other groups will start presenting their work tomorrow. The requirements are to speak for at least fifteen minutes but not more than twenty minutes. The presentation has to be creative and people have to dress up appropriately. That usually means jacket and tie but a shirt and dressing pants will do too.

I had a test in this management class a few weeks ago. I scored 100 out of 100 so I am very happy with that test. It covered questions concerning organizational development, models, and triggers for change. It was quite a lot to study for even though the class was thoroughly prepared for the test.

I also had a test in small business management. I am still waiting for the results to be posted but I am expected the professor to bring the results for tomorrow’s class. We are also working with a business plan and normally have one part of the plan due every week. I am working on a Laundromat business that I believe could have been profitable had the idea been implemented.

Charades

My class in managing for change was extremely entertaining yesterday. We played charades and were competing against each other in groups. My group did best and we got a total of 38 points that will be added to our final project, which is worth 200 points. It got heated and people got really loud at times. The group that did next to best only received twenty points so I am very happy with my group’s performance.

One thing that is funny about this is that we probably have the group that needs the points the least. We are almost done with the group project and I am currently working on finishing the final draft. There are a couple of things that needs to be changed and added but other than that I think we are fine. We should be done by next week.

To add some attraction to the paper, we will take it to Staples to have it bound and set up with a plastic cover. I currently have the maximum amount of points for this class so I am not worried about not getting an A in it. Also, since I received a 100 on the midterm, my final will be a take-home exam, which makes it much easier.

My birthday is on Sunday next weekend. I will go out with my girlfriend to celebrate. We are planning to go out shopping in Bay Ridge in Brooklyn. There is a Century 21 there and not as crowded as in Manhattan. I like the neighborhood and I am a little tired of the everyday shopping areas. We will also go out to eat at Dinosaur Barbque in Harlem. I really like that restaurant because it is very American and they serve excellent barbeque dishes.

Today is Veterans Day. Military personnel, veterans, and other men and women in service are honored and thanked for doing the duty. I personally feel strongly for this day and I believe it is an important day to celebrate or at least dedicate some time to think about those who give their life to protect us. Berkeley College holds a ceremony to honor student veterans and I respect that.

I am going to stay in school after my classes tomorrow. I feel that I need to do some studying and I lack motivation at home because of an always working internet connection and high definition television. I am going to try to finish a case for my online class, the final draft for the group project in managing for change, and another assignment for my group dynamics class.

I have been very busy lately and the number of blogs I write have gone down significantly. I am going to try to write more in the future but having an internship and being a full time student simultaneously is not easy.

A cold has been bothering me lately. I bought Dayquil to suppress it and it worked with limited success. My throat hurt and, unexpectedly, seconds after I drank Dayquil, my sore throat was healed. However, I still struggled with the cold. I feel better now though, and I am happy it is over.

Lion King on Broadway

I really enjoyed this weekend. I went to see Lion King on Broadway and I also travelled to Staten Island to visit the Staten Island Mall. I had never been to a Broadway Show before actually so I had no idea what to expect. I heard that the actors are of world class so I had very high expectations.

I really enjoyed the show. The costumes and scenery were fantastic. I was blown away how brilliant everything was put together and just like I expected, the acting was fantastic. I am glad I saw the Lion King because it involves a lot of costumes and great singing.

I am going to try to find tickets for another show before Christmas because I want to see more now that I know what it is like. I really recommend everyone to watch a Broadway show. It is much better than other plays around the world. For example, compared to Sweden, I found the Broadway show to be much greater.

I also had to study this weekend. I went over my group project which now is 27 pages long. I was disappointed with some people’s grammar and I had to make a few corrections. I personally feel that at this time in college, people should be more responsible when it comes to their language. I generally feel that we have a good paper though, and I think we will be well rewarded for it.

I also wrote an organizational plan for my business plan in small business management. It turned out pretty well and was not too hard to write. The professor is of great help because he gives out questions that need to be answered when writing the business plan. That way, the plan will be complete and it is easier to know how to put it together.

Yesterday, I went to Staten Island Mall. It took almost two hours to go there so it was quite agonizing to go back. The mall is pretty big and there are a lot of stores there. I did not want to buy too much because “Black Friday” is coming up in two weeks. The biggest sales of the year are offered on that day so it would be unintelligent to buy everything now.

However, I found a winter jacket that was 50% off that I bought. I feel that I made a pretty good deal actually. It was also exiting to see Staten Island. I have been there before but only at the shore right where the ferry takes people. I was in the middle of the borough this time and it is very different from the other four boroughs.

I had a test last Thursday in my managing for change class. I hope my professor will post the grades today because I am curious about how well I did. I feel that she is pretty lenient when she grades people’s papers and tests so I am not very worried about it.

I also had lunch with two friends last week. We went to Korea Town to eat, which is a place with excellent food. I had Job Chae, which basically is a dish of sweet Korean noodles. I really love it and I also had some kind of Korean pork with rise. Everything tasted great and it was nice to catch up with friends.

Halloween

Halloween was celebrated on Saturday night last weekend. I went to the parade between Spring Street and 24th Street with my girlfriend. The day started of great with beautiful weather, which unfortunately changed into rain later in the evening.

I went to Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn in the afternoon to take some pictures. The fall is really kicking in right now and the leaves are getting colorful. It feels like this happens pretty late this year but I really like taking pictures in the fall.

I was first thinking about going to Central Park but I did not have enough time. Fort Greene is definitely worth going to and I took some great pictures over there. There was also a carnival taking place that afternoon with lots of kids and parents engaging in various activities. It is exciting to see all the different costumes people come up with.

After taking pictures, I went to Korean Town with my girlfriend to have lunch. We were lucky because they closed early and we ordered our food right on time. Korean food is delicious and everyone should definitely try it. They have a lot of barbeque entrees and their side dishes are delicious.

The Halloween parade was great as usual. I was standing at 21st street at the end of the parade so I had to wait an extra hour and a half before I got the opportunity to see it. It was unfortunately raining during the whole event but people still kept their spirits up.

I tried to take good pictures but it turned out to be extremely difficult because of the huge crowd of people, the rain, and all the commotion. Although we missed a train because it was packed with people, the trains were actually running quite well this time with not too many delays.

I have been studying for a test that will take place on Thursday this weekend. I thought that it would be quite easy because the professor would post all questions online before the test. However, the questions are pretty general and not all that easy to answer. I will have to study a lot these days to learn the material so that I can get a full score on it.

It is definitely interesting though because it is about change management and how to implement change in organizations. My group is working on Boeing and what is affecting them right now. There are a lot of companies out there that are in a process of big change because of the recession and what caused it. Another group is working on GM and I am sure they have a lot to write about.

I also finished writing my marketing plan for my business idea that I came up with for my small business management class. I believe it turned out pretty well and it will be interesting to see what my professor has to say about it. Even though I failed the in-class test, which tested students whether they were the “entrepreneurial” type or not, I still feel that I have the potential to become a business owner.

300 Blogs

Halloween is coming up next weekend. I plan to go to watch the parade in Manhattan with my fiancée. I went there two years ago and I remember that I was fascinated by the costumes people came up with. I was not able to take many good pictures that time because it was very dark and my flash was inadequate.

This year, I borrowed a flash from a friend for my new and better camera, the Canon 5D. I have never shot, alone, with a flash before so it will be interesting to see how well the pictures turn out to be. I have been thinking about buying a good flash but they go for around $200, which I do not feel like paying right now.

I usually shoot in manual mode but I will probably shoot in automatic mode this weekend because it can be extremely difficult to shoot in the dark with a lot of movement and at different ranges. I hope to post a good picture here after next weekend.

I turned in my group’s assignment yesterday. The professor seemed surprised by how many issues we had found in regards to the case, which is a good thing. I am still waiting for her to post the grades but I expect her to do so later today. Everyone in my group contributed to the assignment except one person.

Also, another person in my group sent me his material so late the night before that there was no way I could implement it into our paper. Next time, I will seriously consider not putting their names on the paper if they do not contribute. It is unfair to the group as a whole if some members have to do other members’ work.

My online class in group dynamics seems to be going rather well. I wished some of the members in my group could check blackboard more often so that we could discuss assignments with greater precision. It is a challenge to make a group work when people get online at different times, especially since you cannot meet them face to face either.

My small business management class is also an interesting class. We are in the progress of developing a business plan right now and the next step will be to work on a marketing plan. The professor is doing a great job because he discusses the format, step-by-step, prior to assigning homework. It is therefore easier to put the business plan together. Each week we do one part of the plan so at the end of the quarter, we will have a complete business plan of the company we would like to start.

This quarter is so far going very well. I feel a little worried about my group dynamics class since it is online and because it will be difficult to lead the group. However, I do believe that if I show participation, initiative, and innovation to the professor, I will be in a pretty good shape.

Time to Start Exercising Again

It is time for me to start loosing weight. I feel that I have neglected exercising for a long time and I am not in a mood to blame it on lack of time. I was first to blame it on various stores and how their sizes must have shrunk but that is also an idea I have given up on.

It hit me today when I went to Bay Ridge to visit Century 21, a department store. There are a couple of Century 21 stores around New York with the one in Downtown Manhattan being the most famous. I never liked the one in Manhattan because it is very messy and there are always a lot of people there who fight over different items.

The one in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn turned out to be much better. It is relatively big and it seems much more organized than the Manhattan store. I bought a tie and a new dressing shirt. The ties were only around $10 with brands such as Calvin Klein and Donald Trump.

After my shopping spree, my fiancée and I went to get some take-out at a Sichuan restaurant. We then decided to take the bus. However, before doing so we noticed that Burger King had a new deal, a double cheeseburger for $1. We had two each before taking the bus home.

When we arrived home, we decided to eat the Sichuan food too because we did not want to spoil it. After maybe 20 minutes of slow eating, I started to realize that what I was doing was stupid. Anyway, I have decided to start exercising again and to eat healthier. I am really tired of eating unhealthy and gaining weight. I hope to reach my goal in two to three months.

I have worked hard the last days to finish my homework assignments for this week. My group in my managing for change class has functioned pretty well with a few exceptions, but I feel that we have a good paper for tomorrow. The assignment was a case usually given to graduate students. We had to structure a change management program for a certain company and look over its procedures.

It has been very interesting and I feel that it is a great class. It is definitely interesting and I believe that what I learn will be of great benefit to me in the future. I was skeptical to the class at first but, fortunately, I have a much more positive opinion about it now.

I have also worked on a discussion board assignment in my market research class. I had to answer a few questions concerning secondary data and how it is distributed. Market research is also an interesting class. I thought I knew a lot about it but I learn new things every day.

That is really the advantage with online classes. They are active seven days a week so new material is presented to students every day. It, most often, also opens up opportunities to reach the professor faster and with less trouble than on campus.

Dinosaur Barbque

It looks like my group problems are coming to an end. I have received most of the material for the project and I am now waiting for one of the members to create a draft based on that material. I hope to have the draft by next week so that I can finish it. However, there will be a test after next week in that class so it will probably get busy at that time.

I went to a really great restaurant with two friends this weekend. The place is called Dinosaur Barbque and is located in Harlem. It is purely American with excellent food. I had a dish named “Big Ass Pork Plate,” and I loved it. I did not only like the food, the environment itself was great and it seemed like a lot of bikers went there as well as office guys.

I have been quite busy with my online classes this week. I had to do a test in my market research class, which included 50 true or false questions. It was pretty tricky but I was able to score 98 out of 100 on it. I also have to engage in group discussions about different topics and it is very time consuming.

I had to read an 18-page article for my group dynamics class this weekend. Following that was a paper asking four questions worth 25 points each. In other words, it was a pretty big assignment. I worked on it today and I think I did okay. However, I am curious what my professor will think about it.

I had a test last week in small business management. I did pretty well with a score of 94 out of 100 and I am, of course, happy with that outcome. We will have two more tests in that class and we will also have to create a business plan. Generally, I feel good about the class but I have a feeling that it will get extremely busy in the end.

The dollar is really weak right now. I read in the Wall Street Journal that the United States and the European Union had tried to lower the value of the euro in attempt to boost investment and increase the value of the dollar. This has obviously failed with the dollar being very weak.

I hope it will stay like this for another month or so because I want to transfer some money from Sweden. Thanks to the strong Swedish Krona, I will get a lot more dollars for my money when transferring them to New York.

I want to go to Central Park to take pictures soon. The colors are said to be excellent at this time of the year because of the fall so I hope to take some excellent shots there. Next weekend is Halloween and there will be a huge parade in Manhattan. I will probably go there this year even though I do not really like the crowd and the malfunctioning subway.

Group Project Issues

I am starting to have a few problems with my group in my class managing for change. We all had agreed to exchange papers last Thursday. Not to surprisingly, three out of five members did not show up with their paper. I agreed to have them do it for this weekend instead but so far they have not sent me anything. It will be interesting to talk to them on Tuesday to hear what they have to say.

I am done with my part and if they would be too, we would pretty much be done with the whole project, which is not due until week nine. It would feel terrific to have it done as early as possible, especially since it is so hard to work in groups when members do not seem to care about the outcome.

I feel very rested there days. I have a two-week break from my internship and the school projects so far have not been overwhelming. I have a test on Tuesday in small business management that I think I will have no problem doing. It is a very interesting class and the professor is very knowledgeable.

It is getting really cold in New York. The temperature is almost hitting the freezing point and I have had to wear a hat this weekend, which I by the way do not mind. Fall and winter is definitely my favorite times of the year.

My girlfriend had a cold a few days ago so I bought her Nyquil, which is a liquid cold remedy. It is interesting how powerful American drugs are compared to European ones. Both my girlfriend and I drank one dose each and briefly afterwards we fell asleep. We woke up at around 11 AM the next morning feeling good. This remedy is available without a prescription and I love it.

I need to plan my schedule for next quarter tomorrow. I am not sure which classes I have to take but I have a lot of electives to choose from. I hope that marketing logistics is offered because that is one of my last required classes. I also believe I need to take business strategy and development.

I am planning to go out with a friend to take some fall pictures in New York. We want to go to a place located in Upper Harlem, which is said to be a safe neighborhood. The view from there is supposed to be fantastic so I am excited to check it out. I also want to go to Central Park because the colors are beautiful at this time of the year.

I went out to eat at Chinatown in Manhattan with my girlfriend this weekend. The food is much more expensive than in the Chinatowns in Brooklyn and Queens because of the tourism and the food is not as “authentic” as there. I was quite disappointed by it and they were not generous in regards to the portions either. Luckily, there was a Burger King nearby.

Two Weeks Break

I have not written my blog for a long time now so I thought I should do it now. I have been very busy since I came back from Sweden but it will be a little calmer for me in the next two weeks.

I have two weeks of from my internship so I can focus on studying for a while now. I felt that I needed to relax for a while because I have had a lot to do lately. This weekend was wonderful and I have been taking it easy for most of the time.

I went to a Chinese restaurant in Flushing with my fiancée and a friend two days ago. My fiancée had read about it online and it had gotten great reviews. My first impression of the restaurant was a disappointment. The place looked pretty torn down and it did not smell too good.

We decided to give it a try anyway and the food turned out to be excellent. It was a pure Sichuan restaurant so the food was spicy and not greasy at all compared to all the Chinese-American restaurants around New York. I do not think I will go there again though because the environment was terrible.

My class in managing for change had to do an in-class case last Thursday. We had to use a model for change and try to find where certain activities should take place. I was the only one in my group with the book so everyone had to take turns reading it. This really frustrated me and I find it inexcusable.

We really did not have much time to understand and finish the material and I believe my group did really badly this time. We are going to talk about it tomorrow and since the case was worth 20 points, I really hope we will get an okay score on it. This really just strengthens my suspicions about group work.

I also read the syllabus for my online class in group dynamics. It looks like we will have a group work in that class too. This will be extremely difficult since I have no idea how to communicate successfully with people in my group. I really hope I will not have to do this.

It is getting really cold in New York now. I actually like it since the summer heat in New York is awful. I hope my landlord will turn on the heat soon and I do not think it will be a problem since he is a very good guy.

I have been thinking about going to restaurant Aquavit here in New York. It is a Swedish guy who owns it and the food looks terrific based on what I have seen on their menu online. I believe it is a pretty pricy restaurant but I want to try it since I am curious about how he has implemented Scandinavian food in the culture of New York.

Korean Food

This weekend, my fiancée and I celebrated our two-year anniversary. We decided to go out to eat Korean in Korean Town in Midtown Manhattan. There is a fabulous restaurant there called “Shilla,” which basically is a Korean Barbeque restaurant. I had been there ones before and so had my fiancée but we had never gone there together.

At first, I wanted to eat barbeque. I like the fact that they cook it on the middle of the table right in front of people. However, my fiancée wanted to eat something else and I found a few dishes that looked delicious so we decided to go for them instead.

I specifically wanted Job Chae, which is a certain kind of noodles that is served as an appetizer. I had it the last time I was there and I absolutely loved it. It was delicious this time also and the entrees we ordered were absolutely stunning.

They were served in some kind of hot stone bowls. I ordered beef with rice, which included all kinds of vegetables. We also ordered two other dishes that I forgot the name of. What I love about Korean food is that they give you several side dishes that are included in every meal.

I tried to replicate the Job Chae yesterday but it was not a hundred percent successful. It tasted great but I made it a little bit too spicy and I guess I used the wrong sauces. However, I will try again soon because it would be terrific if I could learn how to cook it since I like it so much.

I am still waiting for a book that I ordered from half.com two weeks ago. The seller does not respond to my emails, which is extremely frustrating. If he does not respond within a week, I am going to cancel the order and get a new book. Fortunately, I can borrow the book from our school library and do the assignments from there. However, I would prefer doing it from home.

I have also been unsuccessful in contacting one of my professor’s in an online class that I currently take. I have contacted the helpdesk and they were not able to contact him either. I talked to them again today and they provided me with the phone number to dean, which I will try to contact either today or tomorrow.

This has never happened to me before at Berkeley College and unless that professor’s email is not working, I will get extremely upset especially since it is an online class the only way of communication is through email or blackboard.

There is one question that, especially, Swedish people ask me regarding studying abroad. It is: “Is it hard to get over the language barriers?” The answer to this question is a big NO! Especially Swedish students have nothing to worry about and I have seen students that barely speak English do okay in class because they use some kind of translators.

First Week of School

My first week of school is finally over. I must admit that this probably felt like one of the longest weeks of my life. I came back from Sweden in the evening last Sunday and had to go to work the following morning. I was quickly assigned new work tasks so it was busy at work.

On Tuesday I had to go to my first classes, which was managing for change and small business management. I was very skeptical about managing for change since I had read we had to do a group work lasting for nine weeks. Now afterwards, I am somewhat more optimistic.

My group seems to be better than the one I was assigned last quarter. I am going to try to organize the work better too and I told everyone to bring back his or her part in two weeks so that we can put everything together in time. We are going to work with Boeing, which is a company that I find very interesting. It is definitely a plus that we were assigned that company.

The professor has a doctor’s degree and apparently very smart. I have not gotten to know her very well yet but I hope she will bring great knowledge to the class. However, we had to do something I thought was a very stupid exercise the first class. Everyone had to introduce him or her to each person in the class and write down something he or she found he or she had in common with that person.

This took maybe 20 to 25 minutes and after the exercise nothing was asked and the notes we had taken about common characteristics could be tossed away. This is something I will never understand. I understand that it is important to network and communicate with people but at this stage in college, I find it extremely ridiculous and unnecessary.

My professor in small business management is very interesting and entertaining. He is very smart and I definitely believe this class will help me get a deeper understanding of how to start a business, which is something I can think myself doing someday.

I also have two online classes this quarter. They are group dynamics and market research. Group dynamics is a class I had rather skipped because I do not think it will bring anything new to the table but I have to take it as a requirement. I should have taken it much earlier in my education but I never found it convenient.

Market research will probably be very interesting. I hope to learn a lot from it and I am looking forward to working with students and the professor to find new innovative ways of doing and analyzing research.

The weekend is finally here and I will try to enjoy it as best I can. I am planning to go out to eat a nice dinner with my fiancée to celebrate our two-year anniversary, which I am really looking forward to. Tonight, I will probably drink a glass of white wine, watch something on TV and just relax.

Back in New York

I came back from Sweden yesterday. Like I expected, I did not suffer much from jet lag, which was well appreciated. However, I had to go to work today so I had basically no time to relax after my short visit in Sweden. I have been given new assignments at my internship and it feels refreshing to start with something new even though it is connected to what I did before in a few ways.

The flight was great and I felt very happy with my seats. On my way to Sweden I sat at the emergency exit, which meant a lot of space. On my way back to New York I sat right behind the economy extra section, which gave me an advantage in getting off the plane faster than most other people in the economy class. I usually prioritize that since the line often is huge at the customs in the United States.

Tomorrow will be my first day in school since last quarter. I am looking forward to meet my new professors but I am skeptical about one of my classes. I read the syllabus online a few days ago and it explained that there would be a group project that will last for nine weeks.

Based on my experiences from last quarter, I am not optimistic at all about it. Last quarter I ended up having to do the whole project by myself since my two other teammates were too lazy to do it. I was really hoping that I would not have a group project for this quarter so I will see what I can do. I might drop the class and take another one to replace it.

I got straight A’s again last quarter. That means my GPA remains at 4.0, which makes me feel extremely happy about myself. It takes a lot of effort to get straight A’s especially since some classes people have to take do not interest them. I always try to make the class as interesting as possible by asking questions and looking things up. This is one way of guaranteeing a good grade.

I went to Chinatown in Brooklyn yesterday to buy some groceries with my fiancée. We went there right after I had arrived from the airport. I took a shower first though and realized I did not have anything nice to wear. I put on a shirt and some trashy pants and when we went out I had a feeling of freedom. Since it is New York, no one cares what people wear or what they look like. In Sweden, people are very judgmental and it is a very different environment.

That is the biggest reason of why I love New York. People can be themselves and no one has to worry about being judged or stared upon. It is also getting colder in New York, which makes it much more comfortable to walk in the city. I am really looking forward to Christmas and walking late at night and contemplate decorations.