Test in Two Days!

I had my review for my upcoming test in international economics today. There will be thirty questions on the test and I think it is going to be complicated.

I only have two days to study for it because the test is on Thursday. My professor’s reviews are always very helpful but students can definitely not rely to a hundred percent of what he is saying.

He is basically just providing guidelines to what kind of questions will show up on the test. I always type down the questions in word because we are allowed to bring a reference sheet to the test.

I usually stuff my paper with text of size six or similar. It usually helps but you can simply not put down everything that is covered on the test because it is hard to know exactly what the question will ask you.

This test deals with international trade, comparative advantage, tariffs, quotas, and similar. It can be very complicated so I will try to read as many pages in the book as possible.

I fixed my exercise bike today. I feel really relieved now because that means I will not have to send it back. It was a big trouble to put the belt back on and I had to use force to do so.

One thing I really like about New York is the samples that are being handed out on the streets. There is always someone promoting a product and I try to take advantage of it as often as possible.

Today, I got two free cans of cat food, which I really appreciate. I will probably never buy it myself because it is some kind of food people can only buy at pet stores and I am sure they cost over $2 a can. $2 is a lot considering the size of it.

I have started to watch a show called The Deadliest Catch. It is extremely entertaining and it makes me miss doing actual physical work. The show is about a bunch of fishermen at the Bering Sea, and they are probably practicing one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. I highly recommend it to people.

I took today’s picture in Brooklyn. There are a lot of these kinds of fire escapes in New York and they fascinate me. It looks very different from European architecture so I guess that is the reason why I like it so much. 

Planning For Next Quarter

I had a test in statistics today. Like I said before, this test was supposed to have been last week but that class was cancelled.

I felt prepared for the test but it actually offered a few surprises. I think I got everything right though and I really hope that I will full score on it. The test covered stem-leaf display, histograms, systematic sampling, standard deviations and more.

It looks like my old professor will not come back to this class. A new teacher has been assign my class and he explained that he would probably stay in my class till the end of the quarter.

It is time to register for next quarter again. I have not made up a schedule yet so I am not sure what classes I will take. I have a lot of free electives to take so I have to customize my schedule more and more. I want to take web design and that class is finally available.

I tried to fix my exercise bike today. I removed the cover to see if the belt had slipped off and I noticed that so was the case. I thought it would be easy to fix it but it is extremely hard.

The cover does not come off fully because the pedals are in the way. Every time I am trying to put the belt back on I cut my wrists against the cover and it hurts a lot. I am waiting for my fiancée to come back home so she can help and I will hopefully be able to fix it.

The belt is very inflexible so it is hard to put it on. I have cursed a lot the last hour because of it and the customer service has not been able to help me. My final option will be to return the bike but that would be a painful last way out.

The news is warning about a new flue in New York. A lot of people are worried about it but I do not think the risk of getting it is very high. One school in Queens was closed after a few students got infected but all of them seem to be okay now.

It was really warm in my bedroom last night. Strangely, it is hotter in the evenings than in the afternoons in my apartment. I ran the fan the whole night and that made it more comfortable.

There is a big risk of catching a cold when using the fan overnight though but I felt great when I woke up. I will try using it as much as possible instead of installing my air conditioner. I do not want my electricity bill to go up by $60. 

Exercise Bike

I received my exercise bike three days ago. It was easy to assemble and I was improved by how sturdy it was. The quality was definitely of better standard than what I thought it would be.

However, it broke today, which really makes me upset. I have only used it twice and it is already not working. I think the chain or rubber band inside it jumped off because there is no resistance at all when I use it.

I called Modell’s today and they said I should call the manufacturer if I do not want to send it back. I definitely do not want to send it back because then I would have to take it apart, find a new huge box, and ship it. That would be too much work.

I could not call the manufacturer today because it is Sunday but I will call them tomorrow when I get home from school. The only option they have is to send a guy over to fix it or assist me in looking up what the problem is. I am not going to send it back.

I typed down a week of notes from my history class today. It takes a really long time to type them down and it is amazing how much we cover in every history class. It is very interesting though so I do not mind doing it.

It is getting really hot in New York now. It was 90 degrees today and I had to install my fan. The apartment is not that hot actually, which is a good sign because I might not need to install the air conditioner.

The electricity bill usually goes up $60 a month when using the air conditioner so I rather use a fan. My cat is extremely lazy these days because of the heat. She likes laying on the floor because it is the coldest place right now.

I went to eat buffet with my fiancée last Thursday. Apparently, they have 50% off this season so it only costs about $8 per person to eat there. The restaurant is located in Flushing in Queens and they have Chinese food only.

The food was okay for being that cheap but I am not sure I will go back there. It takes a really long time for me to get there, about two hours. One thing I liked about it was the dessert. They have an ice cream machine so people can eat all they want.

I took today’s picture in Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan. The grass has gotten really green now and the weather was beautiful that day. It is really nice to see everyone sitting outside and enjoying the weather.

There are certainly more people on the streets now. More and more tourists are coming in to the city and I guess more people walk instead of talking cabs or subway now when it is warm outside. 

No Test on Test Day

I was supposed to have a test today but no professor showed up. It is a little upsetting because I will now have to study again on Sunday.

There has been some trouble with my Statistics class and a substitute teacher was supposed to be assigned my class. No one showed up today to give us the test, however, and now I have to wait to at least Monday next week to take the test.

I did talk to the chairperson of Berkeley College today and they are in the process of dealing with the issue. Berkeley College handles everything very fast and I feel that they care a lot about their students.

I will have a quiz in my management class on Wednesday next week. It will be an online quiz so I can do it at home. I really like that actually and it should not be hard for me. I believe we have the whole weekend to do it so I should definitely be able to come up with some good answers.

I have homework every week in international economics. I think it is the most challenging homework I have had so far. I really have to read the chapters and analyze different problems to be able to answer the questions.

I learn a lot though and it is very interesting. I really think what I learn now in my international economics class will be helpful for me in the future. Actually, I think everything I learn today will be helpful in the future in some way.

Things that are specifically interesting in my international economics class are our discussions about trade, tariffs, and currencies. It can be very complicated sometimes but it is fascinating to learn about different transaction methods and how international shipments work etcetera.

It is getting warmer and warmer in New York. There have been a few thunderstorms these days to so the weather is pretty unstable. The weather in Sweden is usually pretty unambiguous and does not change much, whereas in New York it can be 85F one day and 60F the other day.

I will receive my exercise bike tomorrow. I am really looking forward to start assembling it. I have not assembled anything since I went to IKEA and bought a table last time, but it should not be a problem.

I saw a cool license plate a few days ago. It said Barack 09. Although, it should say Barack 08, it is still entertaining. I took the picture at Dekalb Avenue in Brooklyn and there are a lot of Obama fans over there. They still have signs for sale saying, “Yes We Can” together with other campaign material.

Order Shipped!

I have a problem verifying my account here on Blogger. It is disgracefully difficult to get in touch with customer support so I am not sure how I can deal with this problem. Hopefully they will read this blog, which I doubt.

My exercise bike that I ordered from Modell’s was shipped today. They have really been fast in handling my order so I am very satisfied with the purchase so far. I really hope the bike is of good quality but I bought a two-year warranty plan so I do not worry too much about it.

My group in the management class won a challenge today. Everyone saw a video about three different companies and each group was then to answer a few questions about it. The different groups graded each other and my group was given a 100% score.

I feel really good about it and I already sense that my grade is going to be an A in the end. I teamed up with a great group too and we are all A student. I am the only one with a 4.0 though.

I bought razorblades today for my Mach 3 razor. It is amazing how expensive they are and it is quite frustrating when they run out and I have to go out and buy more of them. A package containing eight razorblades cost about $20 and it does not seem like they will lower the price even though there is a recession going on.

Actually, the good thing about recessions is that prices usually come down a little. There are a lot of great offers in New York right now, except for the razors that is. As a student, this affects me in a positive way and the recession will hopefully be over when I graduate.

I always thought that the American cheese was worse than Swedish cheese. However, I bought some American cheese over the counter a few weeks ago and I must say that I love the taste of that cheese.

People usually buy a whole piece of cheese in Sweden and than slice it themselves. In New York, however, when people order a cheese they will automatically slice it for you. I like that actually.

I have read about 80 pages in my history book so far. It is extremely interesting so I am reading it almost every day. My professor warned me that the author puts in his opinion in a few places and I started to notice that today.

It is easy, at least for me, to understand when the author changes facts to opinion but I am sure it can be confusing for some people. The good thing about my professor is that he explains the real facts to us when the author might be expressing his opinion a little too much.

There is not much to say about today’s picture. I took it in Brooklyn on my way home from school. The signal lights look very different than signal lights in Europe, which is why I like it.  

Do Not Put People In The Washer!

Time has gone really fast lately and I have not really had the time to write my blog. I have typed down all my notes from my history class this weekend and it took a while.

I had around ten pages of notes from my history class. It translated to five pages in size ten in word. It took more than three hours to get everything down because I had to look up some additional information and find some pictures online for it.

We have been talking a lot about World War Two lately and we have almost finished up talking about the Cold War. It is extremely interesting and I am really happy that I chose to take this class.

I will definitely sign up for more history classes if there are any ones available. The textbook has over five hundred pages so it is a lot to read but I figured that if I read twenty pages each day, I should finish reading it in a few weeks.

I have not gone to the gym for a long time now. Like I mentioned before, I quit because the showers stopped working and it took them forever to fix them. I feel that I am getting lazier and lazier and I definitely want to start working out again.

I have found a great exercising bike at Modell’s and I will buy it online this weekend. The shipping fee is actually only $12 and a two-year warranty plan costs about $30. The final bike with everything included will cost around $230.

I will share it with my fiancée, and I calculated that it would correspond to the cost of about five months of a gym membership. I definitely believe it will be worth it. A big reason to why I do not like going to the gym is because I had to bring a bag every day to school.

It was annoying to do so and another downside was that I came home two hours later every day. It would be much more convenient if I could do my exercising at home. It would also allow me to watch a movie, play Xbox, or read something at home, which would make it more fun to work out.

Today was laundry day, which was not very fun. I was able to do some reading while waiting for the machine to stop though. I like the warning signs that are put on almost everything in the United States.

The picture I posted today portrays a sign next to the laundry machine I used to today. Maybe some people are not that clever, but they should understand that they cannot put people in the washer. 

Cat Problem

I have done some homework this weekend and I was surprised of how much I had to write for my management assignments.

I had to answer a total of ten questions covering two chapters in my management book. I thought the questions looked easy at first but I ended up typing seven pages for each chapter.

I guess every week will be similar to this and it will in that case be a lot to do every weekend. The questions are definitely not hard to answer because everything is in the book. It just takes a long time to answer the questions and type everything down.

I also had to do some studying for my statistics class. I expected something different than this actually and I thought it would be more algebra like math in this class. I find this more interesting than algebra though.

So far, we have only covered the very basics of statistics so I cannot be sure of what is coming up. However, the material look interesting from what I have seen is in the book.

I received my last book today, which is weird since the mail usually is not delivered on Sundays. The book was in great shape and I think it will be useful and definitely interesting.

I did not celebrate Easter this year. I guess it is the first time for me not doing that. I do not feel that it is a must though even though painting eggs and eating chocolate rabbits can be quite enjoyable.

My cat has been quite problematic at night lately. I used to keep the bedroom door open so that she could run around and go wherever she wanted to go. Lately, however, she has been playing around and scratching the walls, which kept waking me up all the time.

I am luckily in a two-bedroom apartment now so I decided to put her in the second room. The problem with this is that I have to put the litter box, water, and some food there too. I have done that for two days now and it feels great not waking up at night anymore.

I posted a picture on my sleeping cat today. This is how I prefer her and I wish she could stay like this most of the time, or at least at night. That is because she is totally adorable when she is calm. 

USPS

The first week is over and I must say that I feel very enthusiastic about this quarter. My professors are great and the classes I take are so far very interesting.

We talked about World War 2 in my history class last Thursday. It was extremely attention grabbing even though the professor talked straight for about an hour and a half.

The professor is great when it comes to separating his opinion and facts. He liked to tell people what he thinks but he always lets students know if he is talking based on facts or opinion. I really appreciate that since many professors sometimes forget to teach in an objective manner.

I sold my finance book online today. I believe I bought the book for about $60 if I remember it right. I was able to sell it for $84. It is very uncommon that people sell their books for more than what they bought it for but I guess it happens.

My laptop has been really slow lately. I had never restored a Macintosh laptop before but it is as easy as doing it on a PC, if actually not easier. All I had to do was to insert the installation CD and restart the computer and, after that, follow the instructions.

My laptop is a lot faster now and it almost feels like new. I took a lot of pictures with my Canon 5D camera and I realized while cleaning up my laptop that I have about 40 gigabytes of pictures. That is pretty much and I really hope I will not lose it some day.

I filed a complaint against my local post office today. They always deliver my issue of The Economist late and it is getting on my nerves. It should show up every Thursday but it is usually delivered on Fridays.

I can accept if it is late for one day but sometimes I do not get it until after the weekend and last week I did not get any magazine at all. However, this Thursday I received two magazines, last week’s issue and this week’s issue.

The post office called me back today and promised to look over the problem. Someone will oversee my mail for a few weeks so I really hope I will receive the following issues on time.

I took today’s picture in Times Square. I love this part of Manhattan except from all the tourists gathering there. I always get off at Times Square when I go to school. It only takes about 8 minutes get to Berkeley College from there. 

Trouble With The Schedule

I was surprised when I arrived to school today. No one was waiting for the history class and there was another class going on in the classroom. I thought I had the wrong room number but the class turned out to have been changed.

The class I registered was supposed to start at 8.55 AM. However, when I checked my schedule online this morning, it said the class was going to begin at 9.50 AM. Something had definitively changed and this meant a conflict between my history class and my international business class.

I double-checked the day schedule for the New York Midtown campus, and that one too said the class was going to begin at 9.50 AM. The thing is, I would not be able to register if there would be a complication between classes.

I had saved the old day schedule that I had printed out last quarter before registering for classes and that one said the class begins 8.55 AM. So, I was right. I got very upset because this could mean that I would lose four credits this quarter sense I would not be able to take both history and international economics anymore.

I went up to the international division and the academic advisors who confirmed the issue. The class had been changed after that I had registered. They were going to talk to the dean while I went to the class and I would later come back after my classes.

I think the history class will be very interesting. We will talk about history between 1940 and 1982. I felt that the professors knows a lot about history and I definitely think he will make it fun and enjoyable to go to class.

I had to leave early because of the conflict in my schedule and that made me feel a little bad. I believe it is extremely rude to leave class in the middle of a lecture. However, I had notified the professor earlier about the problem.

My international economics class turned out to be as fun as I had expected. The professor is extremely humorous and he definitely makes it fun to learn for most students.

I went back to the international division after my classes. I was surprised to hear that the class had been changed back to its normal schedule because of my complaint. This made me very happy since I now would not have to drop my history class.

I bought all the books I need online today. My friend brought two of them for me today in class and I bought the last two online a few hours ago. I only spent about $50 on books this quarter so that feels very good.

I took the posted picture in the subway. I was waiting for the train and thought I could use some of my creativity while doing so. It is one of many phones located in the subway, which people can use to either call the police or their loved ones. 

First Day

Today I had my first day in school this quarter. I was looking forward to going to school this morning actually and I really believe this quarter will be very interesting.

My first class was unfortunately cancelled. Some homework was posted on blackboard though so I will be able to prepare for next class. I wish I had checked blackboard before leaving home this morning because I had to wait an hour and a half for next class.

I am pretty lucky this quarter when it comes to books. My friend will borrow me two of the books I need and I think the other two will be fairly cheap. I am not sure what book I need for my contemporary history class yet though.

I am looking forward to seeing my friends again tomorrow. I have one class with two of my closest friends on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The class is international economics and the professor for that class is both intelligent and extremely fun to listen to.

I had my class in principles of management after waiting for an hour and a half. I am having great expectations from this class. The professor is also a graduate teacher at New York University with a PHD in management.

He is very considerate, respectful, and intelligent. I got a little nervous when I saw that we had to make a five-minute presentation in class. However, the professor later explained that it would be a group presentation, which calmed me down.

I know a couple of people in class already so I feel good about it. I think it will be an interesting class with a lot of discussions and cases.

The weather was disappointing today. It was raining and the black umbrellas ones again dominated in Manhattan. It gave me the opportunity to wear my new jacket though so I was fine with it.

I have already started to miss Boston. I felt that four days there was enough when returning from the city. However, right now it feels like I a few more days would not hurt. I guess it is the hotel life that really attracts me.

I went out to have a look at beds and mattresses yesterday. I wanted to find a bed as soft as the one in my hotel room in Boston. I did a test at Sleepys to find the perfect bed for me and it chose the one I loved the most, which was also the softest one.

However, at $2,500 it was a little too pricy for me at this time. It would only be $80 a month for 36 months with no interest though so I felt really tempted to buying it.

I took today’s picture in Boston. The city offers a few skyscrapers but there are not at all as many as in New York. The Boston skyline still looks gorgeous though. 

Last Day in Boston

We dedicated the fourth and last day to shopping and doing things we thought we had missed. We were planning on visiting the Samuel Adams brewery but we had the wrong address.

My fiancée wanted to buy some shoes at Aldo because they had a “buy one get one free” sale. She ended up buying nothing though because they did not have anything she liked.

After that we walked up to Quincy Market to have a look. We really liked that place but there were a little too many tourists there. There was a great Australian street performer there who was extremely funny and entertaining.

He could squeeze through a tennis racket, twist his arms around his head in scary ways, and stand on a tall pole while joggling with knifes. He was definitely the most entertaining street performer I have ever seen.

My fiancée and I went to the Boston Public Garden after that. There are a few famous duck statues there so we took some funny pictures.  We walked a lot during this trip so I hope I lost a few pounds.

The garden itself is beautiful and the world’s shortest steel-wire suspension bridge is there. It is close to the richest neighborhood in Boston, which of course looks very attractive. Someone had put plants in a few sneakers there, which looked pretty cool.

A tour guide had commented earlier on that saying when poor people do things like that they are called crazy, and when very rich people do the same they are called creative and exquisite. I feel that there lies some truth in that statement.

The hotel we stayed at allowed us to leave our bags there until our bus left. That was very helpful because it would be very inconvenient to drag the bags with us all the time on the last day.

I am on the bus right now actually writing the blog. It amazes me that I can access the Internet from here sometimes when driving through a city or next to a Bolt bus. The Chinese buses do not offer Internet but they have an unbeatable price of $30 roundtrip New York – Boston.

I am looking forward to see my cat again, to get back to busy New York, and get ready for another quarter at Berkeley College. However, I will miss the peaceful, friendly, and comfortable life in Boston.

I recommend everyone to go there sometime in his or her life. It offers beautiful views and architecture. There is a lot of history there too, which should be interesting for most people. It was certainly for me and I feel that I have been warmed up for my history class starting next week. 

Boston Day 3

I went to have another tour on the third day in Boston. It was included in the Go Boston Card so I felt I had to do it.

The tour is called the Bean Trolley Tour. It is similar to the duck tour because it takes people around Boston but it differs in that it lets people get off at any stop and later reenter the bus at any time before 4.30 PM.

My fiancée and I wanted to see MIT and Harvard and the bus took us there. It actually only takes people to MIT but MIT is only two train stops away from Harvard. The guide told us a great story about MIT students.

I am not sure about when but a long time ago a few MIT students stole a police car and took it apart to be able to take it inside one of the MIT buildings. They then reassembled it on the roof and put a dummy, portraying an office, inside the car. They also put a few donuts next to it. This really frustrated the police department but the story is definitely fascinating.

It was really fun to see Harvard. I have always wanted to know what it looks like. I took a bunch of pictures of the buildings and a few of when I touched John Harvard’s left shoe, which is said to bring luck.

Harvard University is huge and consists of a lot of different buildings. The students did not dress as upscale as I thought they would actually but it is impressive when you think about how many famous people there are who have graduated from there.

There is a restaurant called Uno Chicago Grill at Harvard Square. I wanted to go there because they served the famous Chicago deep-dish pizza. The pizza is almost as deep as a thick pie so I felt that I had to try it.

My fiancée had sirloin steak with rice and soup. That was actually a lunch special so she could eat as much soup as she wanted. She could choose between four different soups but the one I fell in love with was the clam chowder soup.

We also bought a bunch of souvenirs from Harvard and MIT. There is a great store called the COOP, which sells Harvard and MIT souvenirs. I bought one MIT and one Harvard shirt. We also bought a few cups and hats.

My fiancée and I went out to shop at H&M, TJ Max, and a few other stores later the same evening. I found an awesome black summer weather jacket. I really love it so far because it looks and feels terrific.

We had Chinese food again when we came back to the hotel. It tasted better this time because both of us ordered different dishes than the first time and I guess we were hungrier too. 

Boston Day 2

The first thing on our list for last Thursday was to take the duck tour. The duck tour is a typical tourist thing to do in which people are taken around the city in an amphibious vehicle, which by other words is a vehicle that can drive both on land and water.

These vehicles were actually made by the U.S. military during the Second World War. They are quite comfortable for being old military vehicles actually. There is also a tour guide who explains each attraction.

We saw a lot of what we had already seen the first day actually but it was interesting to have the history explained to oneself.

We entered water after about 45 minutes. From there, we could see the Museum of Science, which was also whe

re the duck tour started. We also saw old graveyards located in the middle of Boston, the USS Constitution, and beautiful neighborhoods. The view was fantastic from the water and we really enjoyed the tour.

The tour guide also asked us tourists if anyone would like to drive the boat. I was among the first persons to raise my hand so I can now proudly say that I drove a duck tour vehicle. I also got a sticker as evidence.

The Museum of Science did not impress me that much actually. There were a lot of loud school kids there, which annoyed me a little. I did see a detailed video about how a woman gives birth though. That was both interesting and a little disgusting.

After an hour at the museum, my fiancée and I took the train to the New England Aquarium. I really enjoyed the time there because they have a lot to offer. I saw penguins for the first time in my life. They have a lot of them actually.

They also have a huge transparent tank with sharks, eels, and many other fishes in. I have always wanted to see a shark and the experience there was awesome. There are also a few aquariums in the basement with jellyfishes in them. They look absolutely beautiful in the light even though I would never want to touch one.

We also went to see a 3D movie at an Imax theatre at the New England Aquarium. The 3D effects were very impressive actually and scared me a couple of times. The movie was about the life at sea and showed sharks and various fishes.

We went to the Museum of Fine Arts after an amazing time at the aquarium. They have many beautiful paintings there and the building itself is magnificent. I do not know much about art but I certainly appreciate it.

We ended the day by going to Hard Rock Café. I love the food there and so does my fiancée. The food is identical in all of their locations so it was not a unique experience. I did enjoy the ribs though.

Everyone going to Boston should get the Go Boston Card. It includes several tours, museums, and free gifts at different restaurants locations. It will really save people money if they plan their trip well. 

Boston Day 1

I am on my way to New York now after visiting Boston. Since I have not written any blogs since then I thought I would dedicate a few to why people should travel to Boston and what I did when being there.

My fiancée and I caught an early bus to Boston last Wednesday. It only took four hours to get there so it was a very convenient trip. It also stopped at a Burger King ones after about two hours on the road.

Our hotel room was excellent and I will definitely stay at a Hilton Hotel if possible next time I travel. We got free chocolate cookies when we checked in and they were freshly warm and very tasty.

My fiancée and I decided to walk something called the Freedom Trail after resting for an hour at the hotel. We basically saw everything in Boston by doing so. The Freedom Trail is a walk that takes people to famous, historical, and beautiful locations.

Among several other things, we saw the old state house, Boston common, and Cambridge. I took a lot of pictures so I will post a few of them here for you all to see. It is very easy to navigate in Boston because it a much smaller city than New York.

Boston is definitely a beautiful city and I must say that the people are much friendlier there than in New York. I actually felt that Boston was quite similar to Seattle when it came to hospitality.

We decided to take the train to Boston University after an amazing time of exploring the city on our own. I wanted to take a few pictures there on the Boston skyline, and my fiancée wanted to see the university.

The weather was not very good during our stay. It was at best partially cloudy and there was even a thunderstorm yesterday. It definitely did not stop us from doing activities and having fun though.

We got very tired after spending several hours of walking in the city so we bought some Chinese food and brought it to our hotel room in the evening. It is cheaper to eat in New York and we preferred the taste in our neighborhood compared to the restaurant we went to in Boston.

The bed in the hotel room was amazing. It was a king size bed and the mattress was absolutely gorgeous. It was perfectly soft and it made it especially hard to get up in the morning.

My fiancée and I had planned every day pretty well so we knew what to do all the time. Both of us does not really like to plan every step of a trip but it really helped this time since we only stayed for four days.