Craig Ferguson

There is a bunch of sporting events taking place in New York right now. The U.S. Open has already started and tickets are sold out quickly. I am planning to go to see a game but I am not sure if I will yet. It is not my favorite sport although I am sure I would enjoy watching it.

Football season is also getting started. It is pre-season right now and I am really tempted to go and watch a game. I believe the New York Giants have their stadium in New Jersey, which is quite funny actually. However, there are buses available that make it easy to get there from Times Square.

I am going to try to finish up most of my homework assignments this weekend so that I will have an easier quarter ahead of me. My professor in ethics gave out an extra credit assignment for people who feel they need to complement their midterm or the upcoming final.

I do not need to do it since I got a 100 on the test. However, I have been thinking about it and I believe I will do the assignment anyway. It is, first of all, an interesting assignment that deals with the question of abortion and if it should be legal or not. Also, I would be able to study less for the final the last week of the quarter, which usually is one of the busiest times since all test happen to show up that same week.

I really like to watch late night shows on television. My favorites used to be Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno. However, I feel that Conan’s performance has taken a hit after he took over from Jay Leno. I feel that the show has become a little too big and Andy Richter simply is not a fan of mine.

I discovered another comedian with a late night show a few weeks ago though. His name is Craig Ferguson and he is absolutely hilarious. I usually only laugh out loud a couple of times when watching Conan or Leno and it is not uncommon for me to sit quiet and watch a full show without laughing.

However, Craig Ferguson makes me laugh in all of his shows. He is definitely unique and has a very appealing personality. Also, he is not afraid of joking about his guests just like Conan O’Brien used to do. For example, I was watching the show a few weeks ago and he showed a movie clip from a movie, which his current guest had either produced or played a role in.

After playing the clip he commented on it and sarcastically said: “That is going to be the movie of the century.” The movie was not a big one and it definitely did not seem to be very good. Ferguson’s comment made the whole audience laugh, including me. The guest was actually laughing too, at least on the outside.

High Net Income

Today was an interesting day. We started to run the simulation in my management class. There is a lot of material to study before making the actual decisions. My professor actually showed us his decisions before we started and he ended up with a 20% net income, which is very good.

I wanted to experiment as much as possible before we replay the whole simulation so that we could get as much experience as possible. After putting in all our decisions we ended up with a net income of 25%, which was quite surprising. I hope we will stay in those numbers because it does not get much better than that.

My class in ethics had a discussion about homosexuality today. It as extremely interesting actually and it formed intense class discussion. It is extremely hard for anti-gay people to argue against homosexuality because there simply are no rational arguments against it. I tried to come up with some arguments but we could always find contradictions to it.

For example, if someone would claim homosexuality is wrong because of reproduction issues, another could ask whether people in celibacy or sterile people are immoral too. This argument therefore does not hold up. Also, people who argue that it is wrong because the bible says it is wrong are also walking on thin ice.

The reason is because the interpretation of the bible differs all over the world. There are things in the bible that are not practiced such as stoning for example. The bible also says that masturbation is wrong. How many anti-gay people could say they do not engage in that practice?

If someone is reading this and has a good response to why homosexuality is wrong, I would like to hear it. I love challenging my professors. I have done some Googling but I still could not find any reasonable or rational arguments against it.

I am looking forward to the weekend. I have a few assignments to do for Tuesday but it is definitely doable in one day. I have to do a take-home midterm for my management simulation class. The midterm asks questions concerning the pharmaceutical industry and how the simulation works. It is very similar to the first one, which I got a 90 out of 100 on. However, my answers were quite brief on that midterm so I am going to try to answer more thoroughly this time.

Today was actually a relatively cold day. I believe it was around 78 Fahrenheit, which was very refreshing. I think it will stay this way for the rest of the week or at least I hope so.

I am really in the mood to travel to Boston or similar over the weekend. I feel that I want to get away from New York just a few days. It has been a very intense quarter and a break would definitely help me get my energy back. I have also been considering going to Montauk here in New York but it is quite hard to find affordable hotels in that area.

All Classes Cancelled

I bought a few ties as planned. However, I had planned to buy one or two ties at most but I ended up buying six of them. The reason was the price because they only cost $1 a piece. They are made of 100% silk and perfectly okay when it comes to quality. I was very surprised with how many good ties I found and I definitely feel that I made a bargain.

I also received the screen protector, which I bought on eBay, for my iPhone. I am extremely satisfied with it and it actually works like a mirror because the reflection is very strong. I wish I had been a little more careful when putting it on my iPhone because there are some bubbles under the protector that developed because I did not stretch out the film good enough. However, it is not very noticeable so it does not disturb me significantly.

Berkeley College cancelled all classes today. I have never experienced this before and I did not really experience it today either since I do not have any classes on Wednesday’s. The reason was a water leak somewhere. I do not know much details but I cannot claim students were disappointed.

Classes will resume tomorrow like normal and evening classes were still scheduled for tonight. I am glad my tomorrow’s classes are not cancelled since I actually like going to school to learn new things. Also, another big reason I do not like classes being cancelled is that I am paying a large amount of money for my education. Surprisingly, not too many students think like that.

It looks like the weather will turn chillier at the end of this week. It has been way too hot the last month and it gets especially unbearably hot in the subway and inside my apartment. The subway system in New York definitely needs a ventilation system. It actually feels dangerously warm sometimes and I am sure it gets over 105 degrees in some areas. The subway system in Washington DC is much better because it is bigger, cleaner, and better ventilated.

My professor in international trade held an extremely interesting class last week. I talked about how to raise a million dollars and that anyone can do it. It was very inspiring to listen to and what he said definitely sounds feasible. I am not going to share what he said because that is something you have to go to Berkeley College to learn.

We are still going over the details in my management simulation class regarding our new task. We are going to run a large pharmaceutical corporation with responsibilities including promotional activities, product lines, and competitiveness. I cannot wait to get started with the simulation and in my opinion, I feel that we should start it as soon as possible because actually running the simulation is going to teach us students more than learning theory.

Berkeley College

Many have questions regarding Berkeley College and their questions are usually similar. Therefore, I thought I would talk a little about school and why it is a good investment to study at Berkeley College.

First of all, the location cannot get better. People who want to study business should do so in New York. Berkeley College has locations in both New Jersey and New York, which include campuses in Downtown and Midtown Manhattan. I am studying at the Midtown Manhattan campus, which more specifically is located at 41^st Street between 5^th Avenue and Madison Avenue.

With that said, it is close to the New York Public Library, Bryant Park, a lot of shopping, and great restaurants. It is impossible to find another school that is as central as Berkeley College.

The reason New York is one of the best places to study business in is the many businesses that are located in the city. There are corporations all over Manhattan and this leads me to another key advantage of Berkeley College, internships. Berkeley College has a career center that helps all students who want or need to find an internship. They are very helpful and work with students to build their resumes and to find them a desired position.

The professors at Berkeley College are another advantage. Berkeley College hires extremely experienced teachers who are dedicated to share their experiences and to help students develop and become true business people. Berkeley College does not only teach theory unlike other schools, they also teach in a practical matter that helps prepare students for tough business environments.

Another big advantage is the small classes, which allows students to build strong relationships with their professors. I personally value this a great deal since I got my current internship much thanks to one of my professors. Students can also ask questions freely or set up appointments to meet their professor other than at the time of the class.

Tuition can be hard to afford for many students. However, Berkeley College offers scholarships to most students that range between ten to twenty percent. Also, paying tuition should be seen as an investment. College graduates earn significantly more money than high school graduates.

I am extremely happy with Berkeley College. The school had a placement rate of 100% two quarters ago and the numbers are consistent. This happened in a struggling economy when employment rate was climbing. That is why I feel Berkeley College is a good investment.

Football

One thing I have always missed with my iPhone is a mirror. I have an iTouch also, which has a mirror on the back and I got used to it before. However, a friend of mine bought something on eBay called chrome mirror or similar. It is basically a screen protector that is very reflective.

I bought one for approximately $2 and I am really looking forward to install it on my iPhone. It kills visibility a little when using it in bright daylight but I think I should be fine. If it turns out to be very ineffective, I can always throw it away since it was so cheap anyway.

I have started to watch football again. It is preseason and I can finally follow the Giants on their way to Super Bowl. They lost against Carolina yesterday and they looked pretty weak but I hope they will improve their game through time. I remember when they won Super Bowl two years ago. I watched the game at BB King at Times Square and huge celebrations broke out right after the game. That was definitely an exciting moment.

I finished reading a book called “Our Daily Meds” by Melody Petersen yesterday. She talks about how pharmaceutical companies have gone from trying to find cures for diseases to preventing symptoms and how extreme some of their marketing campaigns can be.

I personally did not know that pharmaceutical companies manipulated journals, doctors, and others to sell their products. I have actually also learned a lot about how to market certain products even though the author tries to prove that most methods are unethical. It is a very biased book in one way but it is a great read for people who can think critical.

I spent the whole day at work today. It feels good to go to New Jersey to work because it is a new environment and the view is astonishing. I also feel more motivated to do work when I am there because it is a very inspiring atmosphere to work in. I have so far learned a lot from my internship and I hope to stay there much longer than only until September.

I need to buy a new tie tomorrow. Sometimes, there are street stands in New York that sell ties for $1 to $10. The ties are supposed to be made of silk but I am doubtful about that. However, I am going to buy one just to see it the quality is good if I see a stand tomorrow. I might make a bargain.

I am going to take the New York University language test. I can earn 12 credits that Berkeley College will approve for proving my knowledge in Swedish. Obviously, the test will be very easy for me since I am from Sweden. I will be able to graduate one quarter earlier than originally planned thanks to the test and it only costs around $300. I thought the other day that if native speakers of a certain language cannot pass the test in that language, there must be something wrong with the test. So, let us all hope that there is nothing wrong with the test.

Unlucky

I had a very unlucky day yesterday. After working on a project for the whole day, I went to Kings Plaza in Brooklyn to do some shopping. Macy’s had advertised about a sale they were going to have. However, nothing of what I wanted was in stock when I went there, which was a big disappointment.

I also went to buy a golf game for Xbox that my fiancée wanted to try. I must admit, I pretty much wanted it too since after Tiger lost against Yang in the PGA Championship. After waiting for the bus for half an hour we finally was on our way home for some relaxation.

When we were going to try the game we realized that the clerk had given us the wrong disc. Instead of the latest Tiger Woods game we got the 2006 edition. I needed a haircut so I thought I could go out again but this time only a few bocks away because we have a GameStop store in our neighborhood.

This store did not want to solve the problem because they claimed they had a completely different inventory system than the other store. This really frustrated me since I now had to spend money on a new bus ticket and travel the 40 minutes it takes to go to Kings Plaza.

The highlight of yesterday was my haircut. It is the best hair salon I have ever visited in New York actually. First of all, a haircut only costs $13 and that includes a wash. The wash is not just a wash though. They usually wash people’s hair for about ten to fifteen minutes while giving great massage.

They normally only massage the skull and neck but yesterday I also received a great back massage after the wash. It is a Chinese place and my fiancée told me that it is pretty common in China. The service is absolutely fantastic and my haircut always turns out the way I want it.

I have been very curious about my upcoming electricity bill this month. I have been running the air conditioner day and night most days and I thought the bill would end up at over $120 for this month. However, I received the bill today and apparently I only have to pay $51. Electricity in New York is a lot cheaper than in Sweden. This is actually mostly because Sweden has shut down two of its nuclear plants and is importing electricity from Russia.

I bought fifty small magnets on eBay a few days ago. I really do not like the look of the fridge so I wanted to stuff it with pictures. I received the magnets the other day and I have already started to put up some pictures. I still need to cover about half of the fridge but it already looks much better. I think it is a great way of decorating the kitchen.

Software Bugs

I got my management simulation report back last Monday. I got 105 points out of 100. The 5 extra points were rewarded to me because I was able to increase profit for three consecutive months. I believe my group was the only one to receive the five extra credits, which were not easy to get. I am very happy with the first half of this quarter but it has been hard work.

I also, apparently, was the only one who received a hundred on the midterm in ethics. The professor was surprised and asked me if I cheated, which I responded to by saying: “of course” with a touch of irony. I do not like to brag about grades and other accomplishments even though it might sound like it sometimes.

I am really just trying to show others that anyone can be successful if they put time into doing so. I hope to influence and motivate others to do what they really want to do in life because it is not hard unless they make it hard. Making it hard for oneself includes studying one hour the night before the test takes place. It is much easier to study the material a week in advance and dedicate one hour every day until it is time to take the test.

It is fantastic how some people can spend their whole life complaining about other people and how unfair their life is. I try to learn from other people’s success and I feel genuinely happy when hear that someone received a generous bonus. Maybe that can be me some day.

I received two shirts today that I bought online about a week ago. I am extremely happy with the purchase because the shirts fit perfectly and they look and feel absolutely fantastic. One is Tommy Hilfiger and I believe the other one is Dockers. I only paid $30 for the Tommy Hilfiger one, which I find quite amazing since the material is of such great quality.

I have been wearing suit a lot lately much because of my internship. However, it is not very comfortable taking the subway and spending time outside when it is 100 degrees. I will probably skip the jacket for the rest of this summer because this is the warmest time of the year.

I was going to by an application on iTunes today. The price was reduced 30% so I wanted to buy it as soon as possible since many of the discounts only last for a few hours or a day at most. However, iTunes did not let me download it for some reason and it said the application was being modified. I feel I was really lucky though because when I tried to download it again a few hours later, the price had been lowered by 50% and this time I was able to download it. Sometimes, software bugs are not bad at all.

Group Projects

I bought a huge watermelon yesterday. It weights about 25 pounds and I do not think I have ever seen a watermelon that big. It tastes pretty good too but it is not as sweet as the ones I have had before. I am not sure if it is because of the size. It is definitely a pleasure to eat it because it has been intensely hot outside the last few days.

I finished my project for international trade today. I am satisfied with it and I think I came up with a very good idea. We are a total of three people in the group and I basically told my group members to answer all related questions, give them to me, and I would put together everything.

My team members have not been very engaged in the process, which I pretty much expected. That is one reason why I hate when professors assign groups. I prefer finding a group member by myself because I can then see who will actually contribute. I assume the professor will give them lousy grades anyway since they barely show up for class. However, the group will receive one grade as a whole for the project.

I gave my members a free ride but I do not really mind to do it. If I would not do it, we would all receive a bad grade. It was pretty easy for me to complete the project since my major is marketing and I did not feel there was excessive work to do. Also, during our presentation, our professor will most likely see that I am the one who is most prepared to answer any questions. This already happened when we introduced our product.

Many would have assumed that my online class in professional selling would ease of a little towards the end. However, my opinion is that the tests are getting tougher and tougher. The first tests pretty much asked questions students could find by reading the book. The last few tests have asked questions related to the material in the book, but students have been forced to analyze and understand the different material found in selected chapters.

The online class is definitely more time absorbing then normal lectures. I am not sure about how many hours I have spent studying for my professional selling class but it is far over six hours a week.

One thing that I have recognized during the recession and up until now is that commercials have become far more competitive. I just saw a commercial from Chevrolet that compared Chevy cars to Honda ones. Apparently, Chevrolet gives people more mileage and the only thing Honda does better is lawnmowers. It was actually a very amusing commercial.

It fortunately looks like the recession is coming to an end now. People should not hope for too much though since this recession has surprised people many times. It would be wonderful if the economy could start to improve now because that would make my graduation, which will take place in one year, more optimistic.

Cheesecake

I was planning to make cheesecake together with my girlfriend today. It should not be too hard to bake one but when we arrived to the grocery store, we pretty much changed our minds and bought an already made cake, which by the way, tasted fantastic.

I received my grades for the midterm yesterday. It was posted online and I am always very curious about the scores after the test. Thus, I always check the online blackboard several times a day. I got 100 out of 100 on the test, which included a 50 question multiple-choice test and a take-home essay problem. It feels very good to have scored that well. I had a feeling I did okay but getting a hundred is obviously always very encouraging.

This is the first weekend in a very long time that I have been able to relax a little. I have still done homework including international trade and professional selling but it has been tiny tasks to work with compared to what I have had to do the last few weeks. To be able to watch a movie or a show at night is really amazing when you are not used to it.

I had tacos with my girlfriend today. We bought some tortilla bread, salsa, ground beef, and cheese at the supermarket and the meal was great. Mexican food is something I really like to eat at home, especially tortillas and similar food where you have to put together your own plate.

I tried some kind of new energy drink the other day. I was extremely tired when I woke up and my girlfriend had bought them because she is studying for a huge test hat she has to do. It only took a minute for me to get extremely energetic and I was very surprised with the effect it has on me. The energy drink is called 5 Hour Energy. One bottle only contains about 60ml, but it is definitely enough to get people going.

I also turned in my report for my management simulation class last Thursday. I feel satisfied with my report but I am not sure about what my professor will think about it. The first simulation, which involved running a car dealership, is over. We will run a pharmaceutical company from now on. However, I can still do the dealership simulation one more time so I will probably do it from home just for fun.

One of my classed for next quarter were cancelled last week. This really frustrated me since I have had a few problems registering already. I went to the advisors office to talk about it but they had already corrected it for me and switched me to the morning class instead. I have to get up early again next quarter, which I had hoped I could have avoided but at least I can still take the class.

I am planning to go to Upper Manhattan in a few weeks. My friend told me that he knows a great location for taking pictures and I would really like to check it out. I know the view from there can be fantastic but I have never actually been to a place in Upper Manhattan that offers that kind of view.

Internships

I feel that I have become really engaged in my internship the last days. The first days are always interesting because everything is new and people do not really know what they are up against. I am extremely satisfied with the people I am working with and I have a great feeling about this company.

I am not taking this internship for credits. All students at Berkeley College have to do an internship in their last quarter. It is worth five credits, which is quite significant. Most students only do this one internship and they hope that things are going to kick of when they graduate.

However, I feel that it is of great importance for people to get engaged in business they are interested in as soon as they can. One internship is often not enough to be competitive, especially not during recession times since more highly qualified people are out looking for jobs.

It is not only important because of the job opportunities itself. Although students may think they know what they want to do, many change their minds after getting some real work experience. Doing many internships help students find a particular industry and it guides them to find something they would really like to work with in the future.

I feel that I have found an industry that I really like. It involves international business, communication, and analyses. It is a business I can see myself working in after college and I feel that a can grow in this industry. There are also great MBA programs that can prepare me even further for work in this industry.

Today was a busy day. I had to go to work for some briefing and to do some research. One thing I really like with my internship is that they let me do real work. In the evening, I had to finish a report for my management simulation class, and one midterm take-home exam in ethics. I am happy with the papers so far and I think I will do well.

A few days ago I noticed that a Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood had started to serve Mexican food. These kinds of restaurants are pretty common in Brooklyn but since after I moved, I have not been close to a restaurant like that. They usually have 99c burritos, tortillas, and nachos with steak, beef, chicken, beans, and much more.

It is very yummy and since I eat a lot of Chinese food because of the many restaurants here, it is nice to have one more option to choose from when going out to eat or ordering take-out. I cannot believe how they can make profits actually. One meal is usually less than $5 and they are incredibly generous with the food. They also give people free sodas and soups on the lunch-hours. Profits or not, it certainly is delicious.

Vacuum Cleaner Bags

I have been doing a lot of studying this weekend. Actually, I have been studying a lot for several weeks. I will have a test in ethics on Tuesday and I have prepared for it by typing all my notes into a word document. It is a great way to rehears and it definitely helps me to get A’s.

I have also started to write my report for my management class. It is quite challenging because I have to answers questions concerning costumer service, profit, and costs. I have to analyze financial data, surveys, and employee statistics. Putting everything together and try to see what decisions lead to where is tricky, but I think I have figured out most correlations.

I also answered all questions for my international trade class. I have asked everyone in my group to do the same and we will compare our answers on Tuesday. I did my part very thoroughly and I hope the rest of my group also takes it seriously. I really believe we have a great product and I think the professor will like our conclusions.

There was a plane and a helicopter colliding over Hudson River today. It is extremely shocking that these kinds of things keep happening. I am not sure of why they collided but the FAA should definitely do something to regulate traffic over Hudson in a more secure way.

I am still waiting for my paper in professional selling to be graded. I believe I did great and I am very happy with it so far. I hope the professor feels the same way. He will probably grade the paper sometimes next week. One thing I really like about online classes is that the professors post the grades very quickly.

The weather has been very comfortable the last few days. I have not had to run the air conditioner, which always is a good sign. However, next Monday is forecasted to be extremely hot and approximately 100 Fahrenheit.

I cleaned my apartment today. I actually refurnished a little too because I moved a drawer chest from the small to the kitchen. It is extremely useful because now I do not have to put my keys and papers on the kitchen table anymore. I would also want to install a big plant in my kitchen but I am afraid it will attract small bugs.

I tried to find vacuum cleaner bags today. It is not as easy as people can imagine. A seller in a 99c store told me no one is using that anymore, which I found quite surprising. Then how do people clean their apartments, with a broom?

I am going out to look for it tomorrow. I think I know a place that has it but it takes twenty minutes to walk there, which was the reason I did not go there today.

Higher Profits

I successfully increased my profits in my management simulation today. I finally identified the problem, which was caused by using the wrong labor. What I had done was that I hired a lot of service advisors instead of finding people who could do specific jobs, which the service advisor also could do.

The service advisors were expensive in labor so I fired three of them and hired a porter and two warranty clerks instead. This really brought my costs down and I increased my profits by 300%. I feel now that I am really getting a grip of it. I only have one more class until this part of the class ends and then I have two days to write a report.

The next simulation has to do with a pharmaceutical company but I do not know the details yet. I have learned a lot from the first simulation so I am looking forward to try the next one. I will hopefully start of better with that one but there is a chance I will not because positions, tactics, and labor will all be completely different than the first one.

I had a review for my midterm in ethics today. I do not think it will be very hard because I feel that I know most of the things we have covered in class. The midterm will be a multiple-choice test and I think I should be able to figure everything out. At least, I have the whole weekend to study for it.

I will try to start planning for my project in international trade this weekend. I organized my team and we will get together next Tuesday to talk about our project. I will put everything together after I have listened to their ideas and collected their papers.

I am still waiting for my project in professional selling to be graded. The professor is waiting to the last day before grading them because he wants all of them uploaded so that he can compare each one of them. I still feel I did well and I believe I came up with strong arguments and ideas.

I have really been in the mood to buy a few Ralph Lauren polo shirts lately. I found a website that only charged approximately $100 for five shirts, which really surprised me. However, I got suspicious even though the website looked legit. I Googled a little and soon found out their shirts were fake. I think a lot of people purchase shirts from there but I am glad I did not.

The Swedish krona has strengthened against the dollar lately. A dollar bought 7.8 kronor a few weeks ago but the number has come down to 7.1 now. This is quite a fall for the dollar and it has a huge impact when transferring money from Sweden. I expect the dollar to weaken further but it is, of course, hard to tell whether it will happen or not.

Management Simulation

I got back my test in the management simulation class today. I scored a 90 out of 100, which I feel satisfied about. However, I had a few disagreements with the professor about his grading. I did not spend a lot of time on the test though so I can understand why I did not get a better score.

I am doing quite well in the class. I believe that my partner and I are scoring higher than the other students in our class right now. I want to increase the profit for our dealership but it is not easy to do. We have successfully lowered inventory by almost 100 days, which I am extremely happy about because it saves us a lot of money.

One thing that I am not sure how to deal with is cost cutting. The market rates for wages keep going up and I have to keep my salaries even to the market rates to keep my employees happy, which eventually leads to higher customer satisfaction. I earned approximately $25,000 in profit in one period but I seem to be stuck at an average profit of $8,000 in the last few cycles. I am not sure if it is possible to earn a higher profit than that but I really want to.

I am thinking about doing a language test at New York University that will give me 12 credits. It would be possible for me to graduate earlier and the test should not be any problem since it is in Swedish. Berkeley College accepts these credits and many students actually do the test. I just need to make sure I have enough electives left on my progress report.

I will have a midterm in ethics next Tuesday. I will have a review on Thursday and I really do not think the test will be hard. I have heard from a friend of mine that his tests are easy to understand and that people will do well on his tests as long as they study and listen to him.

I only have three to four quarters left at Berkeley College. It is quite amazing how fast time has past. I cannot believe that I will be graduating so soon but I am looking forward to starting to work. The economy is in recovery right now and I think that a year from now will be a good time to graduate. I am also convinced that, for the ones who need it, Berkeley College will help students to find good jobs because Berkeley College has a remarkable placement program.

I never felt that I would miss school before but I can imagine that I will miss college after graduation. It is incredibly fun to learn new things. I will try to stay in contact with professors afterwards because many of our teachers at Berkeley College sit with incredible knowledge and experience and it is always a true privilege to listen to them.