Weekend!

I just came home after a pretty busy day. I had my test in professional selling today and it was pretty challenging. I thought it would be a little easier actually.

The test consisted of 50 true or false questions. I have said before that I do not like that kinds of tests and I still feel that way. The test was actually okay for being a true or false test because it did not contain too many opinionated questions.

What was hard about this test was that some questions were not based on the book and I simply did not remember the right answers. I am not sure how many questions I got wrong but I do not think it is that many.

I feel okay about it but it is always really hard to know how you did after a true or false test. I hope the results will be posted online soon because I am curious of how I did.

I was supposed to have a test in international business this Tuesday but the teacher postponed it to Thursday. That is good news because I have been terribly busy the last few weeks and this will give me time to catch up.

I am waiting for a package right now. I expect UPS to deliver my high speed Internet equipment. I am looking forward to get that because the Internet I am using now is very unstable and slow.

You might have noticed that two of the blogs are missing a picture. I will post pictures as soon as I get access to a better Internet.

I went to the New York Public Library today. I had some spare time because I was waiting for my fiancée. I really like to watch the old pictures taken hundred years ago. I like to see what it was like in the old days here in New York.

It is a very magnificent building and the architecture is very beautiful. A lot of tourists go there but many students also go there to study. People are not allowed to bring books home but they are allowed to borrow books and read them at the library.

I will go to have a hearing tomorrow and defend myself against the ticket I got in the subway. I really do not look forward to it but it is something that I have to do. My police and society teacher told me that the ticket should be reduced as long as I tell them what happened and that I tried to use my card.

I have not too much faith in that though because they did not reduce it last time. It feels really good with weekend now though and I will definitely enjoy it, even though I have to go to the MTA adjudication bureau. 

Professional Selling

I have a test in professional selling tomorrow and I have to read a lot. I have five chapters to go over but most of it makes sense and is not hard to understand.

I have been studying non stop for about five days now and it will definitely feel good when the weekend starts after tomorrow. I still have to study though. I have a test in international business the coming Tuesday and my midterm in finance will take place a week from that.

Finance is definitely something I really have to put down a lot of time on. It is not that I do not understand it; it is just a lot to learn. The midterm will be quite big and cover five chapters dealing with everything from present value to income statements.

I have been focusing the last two days on the professional selling test though. It has a lot to do with communication styles and different ways of approaching customers. It is very interesting actually. I typed down and explained the key terms in a word document and I think that should help me to prepare for the test.

Many teachers who teaches from the book usually uses the key terms, often described at the end of each chapter, when they make their tests. So I recommend people to look them up before a test because if you know those terms, you will probably end up with a good grade.

I registered for next quarter yesterday. Everything went really smooth but there were some problems with the computers so I had to wait for about 40 minutes.  I had a lot of people to chat with over there though so the time flew by pretty fast.

I will take American history next quarter and I am really looking forward to that. I will also take international economics. I think that will be interesting, and I hope that I will have the same professor as I had in macro and microeconomics last quarter because he is very fun and interesting to listen to.

I will also take statistics next quarter. I think that might be a little challenging since it involves some math but I should be able to handle it. I hope that I have the same professor as I had in college algebra. He is very consultative and understands each student’s needs.

I will also take principles of management. I am sure that it will be an interesting class because I could definitely work within management in the future.

The weather is crazy in New York right now. There was a huge snowstorm this morning and Berkeley College sent out alert messages to all students warning them about the weather and informing people that some of the New Jersey campuses would open late or be cancelled.

I was not affected by it though. There has to be something really severe for that campus to close because Manhattan is almost always accessible because of the subway system.

Registration For Next Quarter

I have had a lot to study this weekend and today. I should have done some homework earlier but I never got the time for it because of the new apartment.

The finance really puts people to the test. Students really have to study unless they are very familiar with it. The assignment dealing with Frito Lay that I mentioned earlier required us to analyze real financial statements and I am not sure if I got the answer right, but at least I did a deep analysis.

My fiancée and I cooked a lot yesterday. We wanted to stuff the fridge with leftovers so that we have good food to eat in the week. It is really nice to come home from school and not have to cook for an hour.

I had curry chicken today for example, which tasted absolutely fantastic. The rice machine comes to great use now too because it makes the job very easy.

I had to do three assignments for my international business class today. I was a little behind but I had already prepared two of the assignments in school so I actually only had to do one full assignment. It still took about two hours to complete everything though.

Registration for next quarter has already started so I made a schedule for next quarter today. I am not sure if that will be my actual schedule yet though because I need to ask a few friends what classes they are taking. 

Right now it looks like will take history, management, statistics, and an international economics class. I think it will be a fun quarter because the subjects should be very interesting.

I have waited for a long time to take history so I am really looking forward to taking that class. I had a teacher in English that I really liked and who is very good at, especially, New York history. I hope that he teaches that class since that would make it extra interesting.

I will probably go to register tomorrow and I am also thinking about bringing my laptop to school because I need to do some assignments and I do not have Internet at home yet. About Internet, after several calls to Verizon, they finally called back and let me know that I can get their service.

That response made me really happy because they offer a great deal. I will not get it for another week though because it takes a while to set up the account and to send the equipment. 

Target

There has been a lot to do this weekend. It was mostly because I am moving and needed new appliances such as a microwave and blinds.

I went out yesterday to get a microwave and a rice machine. I thought Target would be a good store to go to so I went there with my fiancée. It turned out to be a great day at Target because they had a big sale and unbeatable deals.

The microwave cost about $70 and the rice machine around $30. I guess those items were not on sale but I still think the price was decent. We also found a frying pan at the clearance section. We paid $12 for a frying pan worth at least $30 so that felt really good.

The probably best deal we found at target was cereal. My fiancée and I love cereal, especially the Kellogg’s brand. They have blueberry, vanilla, red berries, fruit and yogurt, and chocolate flavor and they usually cost a little more than $5.

Sometimes you may find a two for $5 deal but Target sold each package for $2.26. We bought nine packs since cereal last a very long time as long as you do not open the box.

I forgot to bring a cart that we usually bring when we shop for groceries so it was quite a drag to get home. I thought my arms were going to fall off at one point in time but here I am typing my blog, with both of my arms.

My landlord started to help us putting up new blinds in the apartment. We have to replace seven of them so it takes some time. I told him he did not have to do everything yesterday so he will come back another day to finish the job

He replaced three of them in one room and it looks so much better with new white blinds. He also helped us to put up a bathroom cabinet. At first we did not know how to put it together but my fiancée figured it out for us.

My landlord also helped me to connect the antenna with my TV. I can now watch all channels that I could watch in my old apartment. The only difference is that the picture is amazing. I guess the signal in my old apartment was too weak so I could not get DTV at that place.

In my new apartment I get HDTV and a few more channels. I am really happy about that. I need to get Internet too now but I am having some trouble with Verizon. They are trying to set up my address in their system and it takes some time.

I have talked to maybe five different people because I never got a confirmation email and they all tell me a different story. I am now going to wait till Tuesday and if they have not called me back I have a name and know who to talk to. 

How To Dress

Some people wonder what you should wear when attending college. Some schools in Europe require students to wear suit or similar so I can understand the question.

Students at Berkeley College are not required to wear suit or any specific clothing. I support that rule because it is nice to sometimes come dressed casually. I normally wear suit pants and shirts together with a coat in the winter.

I want to feel dressed because Berkeley College is a business environment and you never know who you might meet there. I also think that professors look more up to you if you dress properly and look as if you take your education seriously.

Most students dress properly and many fashion students dress very flashy. My professional selling teacher always dresses up in very flashy outfits because he owns a fashion company in Midtown Manhattan.

Everyone have those days when you just want to put on your jeans and a comfortable sweater. This is perfectly acceptable. Some students wear it all the time while others, like me, like to wear fancier, more up scale clothing.

I am in a group in my professional selling class and we have to make a presentation together. The project focuses on selling something to a retailer. My group has had a few problems in coming up with ideas of what to sell but today, we finally came up with something.

A guy in my group is from India so I suggested we should sell something related to that country. This later led us to the idea of selling a consulting service of setting up customer centers and help desks for American customers.

This is very popular in today’s market and many companies are outsourcing their customer service centers to countries with cheap labor, such as India and China. I really think this will be a good presentation and also very successful.

The two people in my group are international business majors while I am a marketing major. I believe this is a great combination for selling a service like this and it will definitely not be any problem to talk about it.

I will have to study this weekend. I have two assignments in finance to deal with, and I will also have my first midterm this quarter on Thursday next week. That test is in professional selling and I do not think that I will have any problems with it.

The test covers five chapters so I will definitely have to read a lot but most things in the book make sense, and they are pretty logical if you think like a salesperson. However, as I have mentioned before, the first test is always the hardest one because you never know what kinds of questions the teacher will test you on. 

Working On The Apartment

I am definitely calmer now than I was the time after I got the ticket. I have been cleaning my new apartment and assembled some IKEA things and that makes me feel very happy.

My fiancée and I put all our things in the kitchen the day we moved in. It looked like a mess and I was doubtful that everything would fit in the kitchen. However, I have been cleaning and organizing the last few days and it is really starting to look like a home now.

I have assembled a kitchen table, a drawer chest, and a chair. It is hard work actually and my fingers are pretty sore after all the twisting and hammering. It looks great though and I have realized now that there is so much more space in this apartment than in our old one.

I also, successfully, negotiated with Verizon. I ordered high speed Internet, which usually takes about a week to receive by mail. They will send it to me in two days instead and I also got a free modem with a built-in wireless router.

It is pretty hard to live without television and Internet but I have survived since I have had a lot of other things to do. I also need to assemble a bathroom cabinet. I do not know how to put it up but my landlord will, fortunately, help me with that.

I have a lot to prepare for in school right now. The first tests will take place in about two weeks and I have plenty of things to study. Finance is, for example, pretty challenging to I will have to start practicing the homework we have been assigned.

The finance class requires students to be able to understand financial statements such as cash flows and income statements. We will also have to calculate ratios and understand how financial managers use certain information.

It I a lot to take in and there is more to come. I am learning a lot from the class though and I really want to take this opportunity seriously. I believe that finance is one of the key subjects to understand when dealing with business.

President Obama’s inauguration took place yesterday. Whether people like him or not, he did deliver a very moving speech. I personally believe that he is a very good speaker.  Everything from the speech to president Obama’s after hour dancing was in the newspapers.

I got an assignment in police and society to write a short essay of what Obama said about criminal justice related issues. Unfortunately, he did not talk much about it since the country is more worried about the economy and foreign policies.

I also had to write a little about what I think Obama should focus on when it comes to criminal justice related problems. I will not have to turn it in until next Tuesday, which is good because I need to ask my professor if I missed some part of Obama’s speech where he talks about policing or similar. 

Another Mistake Made By The NYPD

I have always respected the New York Police Department and looked up to them. My opinion is now changing, however, because today I got a second ticket in the subway.

My fiancée and I went to IKEA today because we had to buy more things for our new apartment. We had Swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes and it was really good. We found a lot of stuff that will come of great use in the new apartment.

On our way home we had our cart packed with things. We had cabins, drawers, and a big bag full of things on it. Since I got my first ticket in my subway, I have always been very careful in swiping my card.

We had to use the emergency exit because our cart was simple to big for the turnstiles. The gates can be used for that as long as you swipe your card. There was a machine next to the gate where you are supposed to swipe your card so I swiped it there and the machine made a beeping noise as if it accepted my card.

I thereafter opened the gate and walked in with the cart. My fiancée swiped her card and went through the turnstile. After walking through the gate a cop stopped me and said she did not see me swipe the card.

I told her I did but took my card and went to see if I used it or not. When she came back she told me I had not used it even though I had. Obviously, the machine at the gate did not work so the card was not registered.

I told her it is a 30 day unlimited card but she did not care and wrote me a $100 ticket. I am furious right now and seriously believe that the NYPD must be the most incompetent cops in the country.

I obviously did not try to pass through the gate without paying or similar but that is what she wrote on the ticket. I will call my insurance company and ask them if they will cover lawyer costs because they do that in some cases. I will definitely try to defend myself against this.

It is seriously humiliating when cops do this, especially to people who are honest, nice, and look innocent. It is a fact that the city of New York tries to catch people to cover up some of the huge deficit the city is in and it is ridiculous the way they do it.

I have never had any problem against authority or similar. I pay for everything and I am a lawful guy. It is a disgrace how the NYPD treats people sometimes.

I will go to have a new hearing some day and it will again take up a huge amount of time. I am so fed up with this and furious about it. I did swipe my card and they want me to pay $100 just because their machines are not working. This city should feel ashamed. 

Moving

I will move this weekend and I have already started to prepare. I went to IKEA today to buy a dining table and a few small accessories.

I really love taking the bus to IKEA in New Jersey. The ride is really nice and you get to see something different from the city. My fiancée and I brought our cart because we knew we would have a lot to bring home.

We found a really nice dining table in wood that we bought. It was really big and heavy though and weighted over 70 lbs. Luckily, IKEA has hand trolleys for sale. They only cost $20 and it really helped us in getting our dining table home to Brooklyn.

It was quite difficult to come home because at first we had to walk from the bus at Times Square to the subway. We had to take elevators and escalators to get to the train but it is great that the MTA provides that service because without it we would not be able to bring big things like a dining table.

I finally found someone to stay in my apartment after I move. Now I will not have to pay extra rent so that feels really good. I will also have to change my address and order television and Internet service.

My fiancée and I started packing all our things today. We will not move until Monday but there is a lot to pack. We have only started with things that we do not really need such as old books and cloths.

An airplane crash landed in Hudson River two days ago. I saw it live on TV but I never actually went to Hudson River to check it out. The police blocked most of the road over there and the weather was freezing.

It is pretty amazing that all 150 passengers made it out alive and the New York rescue service acted truly heroic. They were on the scene minutes after the crash landing and it is partly thanks to that that all passengers survived.

I also thought about what my international business teacher told me: “Never fly Airbus.” That was only a joke though but he also said it because Boeing is American and provides more space.  I must agree with that.

I will probably go to IKEA again tomorrow. There are still a few things we need for the new apartment. Small appliances and silverware organizers are a few of them. I also bought blinds today. We want to replace the old ones because they look too used.

We had to buy seven blinds but it only cost about $45 so it was not that expensive. Our new landlord will help us install them so I will not have to worry about that.

I posted a picture from Sweden on the blog today. I realized that I had not downloaded all my pictures form my camera yet and found a few nice ones. 

Comfortable Week Ahead

I finally have a somewhat relaxing day. I only had finance today and I do not have too much to do for tomorrow.

I am going to look over a small assignment for my police and society class. It deals with questions from a video we saw in class. The documentary showed the history of the police society in New York and it was very interesting.

It was amazing to see the old New York and the huge differences from that time and today. Police officers before the 1900s used brutal force to maintain order and they almost functioned as some kind of mafia.

It was actually a former president who transformed and modernized the police force in the very early 1900s, Theodore Roosevelt. He was the police commissioner of New York between 1895 and 1897.

I really love reading about New York history. I have not really read much about it since I had classes in English so I greatly appreciate this class.

I have started to understand finance much more now than what I did after my first two classes. It sounds obvious, but I really thought that I would have to struggle a lot to keep up with the professor.

I read the book when I have time so that I will be updated and prepared for the coming classes. That is really the key to understand finance, at least for me. A lot of people had problems with today’s assignment but I successfully solved the problem together with a friend.

We later found out that the answer was provided in the book, which annoyed many who had struggled several hours the previous evening. I was okay with it because it is a fact that you get better practice if you do it yourself instead of just copying the answer.

I will not have any finance at all next week. Next Monday is Martin Luther King day so everyone at Berkeley College is free from school. The following Wednesday has been cancelled because my teacher had to attend a meeting.

We have gotten plenty of homework though so I will be quite busy at home. It will be nice to only have to go to school two days next week. The first days have been pretty stressful and this will give me some time to relax and focus on reading books.

I am really looking forward to move now. I am still trying to find someone for my old place though and I really hope I will succeed so that I will not have to pay double rent. I have a few people who wants to see the place today though so I think it will work out. 

Applying To Berkeley College

I would like to assign a blog to discuss how to apply to Berkeley College and what international students can expect. I have gotten many emails lately from wondering people so I hope that a few readers will get a better understanding of this topic. 

Sweden may be very different from other countries in terms of application to a foreign country. The VISA applications and how finance the studies probably differ depending on where people are from.

However, applying to Berkeley College generally works the same for everyone. It can be hard for some international students to understand terms such as major, minor, bachelor degree or similar, since the American education system differ a lot from other countries’ education systems.

There is an organization in Sweden called GoStudy that helps Swedish students to apply to colleges abroad. The website can be found at www.igs.se. I used this organization and they helped me with everything from applications to translating my high school grades.

To apply to Berkeley College, people will need to have their grades translated. In Sweden, people will need at least VG in English and Math B, which represents a B in American grades.

It is also recommended that people collect two letters of recommendation. One could be from a former mentor or high school teacher and the other one could be from a former employee or business related person.

There are direct links on this blog that takes people to application forms and similar. I recommend you all to take a look at it. Everyone should try to find an organization that can help him or her to get all proper documents.

I did not have to do the TOEFL, which made my application easier. This may not be the case for all international students though. Berkeley College will test your skills in math and English before classes start. They can then assign you to the proper classes. I had to take one math preparation class for example because I did not do too good on the test.

Finding an apartment in New York is probably the most challenging part when moving to New York. I recommend everyone to use craigslist.org but they should do this with caution since there are many people committing fraud there. I found my first apartment there and it worked fine.

People do not have to be afraid that they do not speak good enough English. The language will be the smallest problem and Berkeley College takes care of international students very well.

Berkeley College has great teacher will years and years of experiences. My teacher in professional selling, for example, owns a company in Midtown Manhattan with 3,000 employees.

Berkeley College will also help students to find an internship. I have not heard any student that has been dissatisfied because the school usual finds great internships for people. I have a friend that got an internship at the Swiss investment bank, UBS for example.

Convincing yourself to take the extra step and apply is the hardest step of all. Sometimes you just have to do what your heart tells you. That is what I did.

A Tough Quarter

This quarter will be very busy. I will definitely have to dedicate more time to study more this quarter than the last one.

I did not really realize it until yesterday actually. I had to do some problems and questions for my finance class and it was very challenging. I had not read the chapter, which I should have had.

The teacher is very professional and he knows a lot. He goes way beyond what would normally be covered in the book. I am not really complaining but it will definitely be challenging to follow for some people.

I went to the gym after my finance class and straight home after that today. I read the finance book on my way home to Brooklyn and I got a better understanding of what we talked about in class. It will definitely be important to read the chapters before class.

I also had to do a few questions for my international business class. They mostly dealt with how managers make decisions in global companies. It is very interesting actually but it takes a while to answer the questions because they often ask you to compare and contrast or describe differences.

I was planning to start packing a little to prepare to move out but I have not had the time today. Tomorrow will be busy to because I will have to prepare financial statements for my finance class. It seems as if I will have homework every day of class this quarter.

It has been really cold in New York today. I think it dropped down to about 20F. My apartment is also really cold because the landlord does not provide us with enough heat. I had to wear a hat and scarf ones because it was less than 60F inside.

Things like that make me feel really happy that I will move. The main reason I wanted to move though was because I wanted to get my own place with my fiancée.

I will go out for dinner later today. I will probably have a subway sandwich with tuna or similar. It is very convenient and not too expensive. They always have a $5 foot long deal here in New York.

Next Monday is Martin Luther King Day. Many people in the United States are looking up to this day because they see King as a patriot and an American hero. This day has become a holiday because of this and that means I do not have school that day, which is nice because that is the day I have finance.

My teacher will, for sure, give us some homework for that day though. He is not the kind of guy that gives you an easy break. I respect that though because I pay for this education and I really get value for my money. 

New Apartment!

I went to bull riding at Madison Square Garden yesterday and that was a blast. It was better than last year because this time I knew what to expect.

I met my friend a couple of hours before so that we could have a few drinks before going there. We were at his apartment, which is close to Madison Square Garden and on the 56^th floor.

The view up there is absolutely fantastic and I will definitely get an apartment like that after graduation and when I get a good job.

The first week of school is over and it feels good actually. It is always a lot of new information to take in the first few days and it makes students pretty exhausted. It is also hard to adjust to get up early in the morning.

I have really enjoyed this weekend and tried to get as much sleep as possible. I have some homework to do though but I will do it tomorrow.

My apartment lease is expiring in February so my fiancée and I have been looking for a new apartment for some time now. It is not easy to find a good place in New York, especially not for an affordable price.

I went to check out a few places east of Prospect Park in Crown Heights. The rent was around $900 and the neighborhood was just terrible. It was very trashy and unsafe. It is amazing how expensive it is to rent an apartment in New York. That people have to pay $1000 to live in a bad and dangerous neighborhood is just ridiculous.

My fiancée found a place yesterday when I was at Madison Square Garden. We really found a bargain actually because we went there today and the place looks very nice. It is in the same neighborhood as where we live now and it is less than $1000.

We signed the contract today and will move in the 20^th this month. I am very happy with it and I cannot wait to move in. It will be so nice to have our own place. I am so tired of sharing bathroom and kitchen with roommates.

The weather has been great today too. It is snowing and the temperature is nice. It is probably below 34F but it does not feel that cold. I love the snow because it makes everything look beautiful and it also makes everything quieter.

The new apartment is also great for my cat because she can run around more. She gets a little crazy sometimes because she needs to exercise. That will not be a problem in my new place though because there is plenty of room for her to run around. 

Bull Riding Coming Up!

I have now met all my teachers for this quarter and I have a good feeling about it.  I have four extremely experienced teachers. One of those teachers is a little boring with no humor or smiles but that is okay.

My teacher in international business has several degrees in various subjects and has worked a lot in Germany. He knows a lot about business and he is also a very funny person. I laughed out loud several times during his class.

I think I will really enjoy his classes and I will definitely learn a lot. The second teacher I met yesterday was my teacher in police and society. She has a more than twenty year old experience within the New York Police Department and sits therefore with great knowledge.

It is interesting to hear about her experiences and there are definitely things about policing that I am unfamiliar with. I am sure that it will be a very interesting class. There will be many discussions in the class also, which I like.

The third and last teacher I met has great experience too. He owns a company close to Bryant Park with over 3000 employees. They sell cloths to Calvin Klein and similar. This guy definitely knows what he is talking about but he is not really the kind of teacher that I feel comfortable around with.

He never smiles or jokes and everything feels very serious. I understand that college is a serious thing and I believe I prove that by maintaining a 4.0 GPA but I also believe that there are better ways to teach students than scaring them and making them feel nervous.

The professor is, however, very experiences so I am sure that I will learn a whole lot from his class. We have been assigned a term paper that is supposed to be presented orally. We work in groups of three. I really do not like to work with other students because there is always someone that makes something go wrong.

I have to go up really early these days because I start at 8 AM and 9 AM. It has not been too hard yet but I am sure I will feel pretty tired in a few weeks.

I will go to see bull riding at Madison Square Garden on Friday. I was there last year too and that was hilarious. It is mostly people from the South that try to stay on the bull for, what I believe is, thirteen seconds.

The tickets only cost about $50 so it is not a big expense. I think it lasts for about two hours and people are having really fun during the whole time it is going on. 

First Day

I had my first day in class today, this quarter. The class was finance and I have been a little nervous about it.

When people hear the word finance, they think of math and numbers. Their thoughts are justified because when talking business, everything comes down to numbers in the end. Finance is more than just numbers though. It includes shareholders value and things like capital investments.

I was surprised to hear in class that we will not only calculate with numbers. There are so many things to finance and it is truly interesting. We will talk a lot about management decision-making and financial statements.

My teacher is a former vice president for a famous company here in New York so I really look up to him so far. I have only been able to shape a first impression but I definitely feel good about it.

He is also a very funny guy. He is not slow or boring but very sharp and intelligent. Berkeley College is very good in finding professional teachers with long experience.

I have decided to start eating healthier. I will not start to eat only salads and fruit, but I will skip unnecessary drinks such as soda and drink water instead. I will also not order too much takeout food and other fast foods.

I went to the gym today for the first time in three weeks. I did not work out during the break because of my trip to Sweden. I am not in that bad shape actually because I was able to run for 45 minutes without stopping.

I will go to the gym four days every week and run for at least 45 minutes. I should be able to lose quite much weight in a month if I keep it up. I have gained a few pounds during the break because of the Christmas food and being lazy but I do not worry about it at all.

I want to be able to eat good and tasty food without having to think about my weight. I will eat extra healthy for about two months to lose some weight but I will start eating normal again after that. I should not gain any more weight as long as I keep working out.

I have to get up really early these days because of school. I have to get up at 6.10 tomorrow so that I have enough time to prepare and take the train to Manhattan. It is pretty hard now in the beginning but I am imagining sleepy days in the weekend so I can manage it thanks to that. 

Takeout

I have been eating out a lot lately, mostly because I have been too lazy to cook. I am enjoying it though but I need to stop doing it because it starts to affect my wallet.

Chinese takeout is one of my favorite foods to order. We have a lot of different restaurants to pick from in this neighborhood and almost all of them bring something unique to the table.

Lunch special costs about $5 so it is very affordable to eat out in New York, or at least in Brooklyn. Almost all restaurants offer free delivery too but I rarely use it due to the unavoidable tipping policy.

I went shopping for groceries with my fiancée today because I do not want to eat out that much when school starts. It simply costs too much and I will safe a lot of money by cooking my own food.

I bought bread so that I can make Swedish sandwiches from the food I brought from Sweden. I have not tried the things I brought yet but I am sure it tastes good because I have eaten it a lot before.

I have a really bad toothache going on right now. I have had it for about two days but the pain comes and goes all the time. It is one of my wisdom teeth that is growing so I will go to a dentist if the pain does not stop until Monday.

There is a great dentist clinic south of Central Park that I have looked up. It is closed during the weekend so I convinced myself to try to manage the pain and hope that it will go away by itself until then. But like I said, if it is not gone by Monday, I will definitely go there.

I have a great insurance to so I will not have to pay a dime for it. Swedish students are pretty lucky that way actually. We have great opportunities for cheap loans and insurances that cover almost everything.

I bought three of my textbooks for school today. It is really expensive but I bought used ones so the final bill got a lot cheaper than what it would have gotten if I had bought brand new ones.

I paid about $150 for all three books. It is a little risky to buy the books already because the teachers sometimes change the book even if it is in the syllabus. I decided to take that risk this time though because I do not want to risk that I get the books too late.  

I am looking forward to start school again. I only have one day left though so I will try to enjoy tomorrow as much as possible. I am sure I will miss comfortable days like this when the school has started again. 

New Year's Eve

This is the first blog I write this year. It is pretty amazing how fast the time has gone by this year but I have also done a lot.

I remember my last New Year’s Eve very clearly. I was at Planet Hollywood’s New Year’s Eve party, which was really fun. My fiancée and I decided to celebrate a little more personal this year by taking a walk close to Times Square.

Times Square is, of course, really crowded on New Year’s Eve and the police have blocked of many roads. It is still fun to see people celebrating and trying to persuade cops to let them pass through roadblocks though.

We have had a few pretty warm days in New York this week. Yesterday was one of the coldest days of the year though, which was unfortunate for the many hundreds of thousands people at Times Square.

That was one of the main reason my fiancée and I decided not to go to Times Square. The temperature fell down to 26F or -10C. Some people went to Times Square at around 12 PM so they had to wait for twelve hours before the show started. I would not want to do that, especially if it would be 26 degrees outside.

I saw the ball drop and the fireworks on television, which honestly lets people see a lot more than if they would hang around Times Square. It is an amazing feeling to be at Times Square when it all is happening though, and I can understand why people go there.

I am still waiting for Canon to contact me about my lens. I tracked my shipment and the package is said to have arrived three days ago. Canon told me that it takes one to three days before they put the package information in their database, but today is the third day and they still have not called me.

I am going to call them later today to see if everything is okay. I did insure my package so if it is lost I will get the full value back. I was surprised of how cheap it was to insure the shipment. I insured my package to a value of $1050 and it only cost me about $12.

My school starts in four days and I actually look forward to it. I have been relaxing for a long time now and I feel very rested now. I also want to get started with my exercising at the gym again because I have not gone there for about two weeks.

I never make New Year’s resolutions because I do not want to promise things that I am not sure I will keep. I do not really want to see my life in periods so if I decide to change something about myself, I will do that at that specific time.