Back in New York

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Five Days in Sweden

I have been in Sweden now for five days. I have met some friends and been with my family and it has been really great. However, I actually miss New York now and I am looking forward to come back.

I am going to my mom’s place tomorrow but I will enjoy a nice dinner before going there. My dad will cook something, which I am really looking forward to since he is a great chef.

My dad got a dog a few months ago and it has been fun to play with it. It is still young though so it has lots to learn. It is very cute and playful but I wish it could be a little calmer sometimes.

I went to meet a few good friends today. I have not seen them for years and it was good to finally meet them again. I must say they have not changed much but I really do not mind. I like to see them being themselves. That is one thing that makes it worth to come back because it makes you feel like you are home in a way.

I bought some books online yesterday. Two professors have already posted the syllabuses for those classes, which is great because then I do not risk of falling behind the first week when waiting for the books. I am still waiting for two syllabuses though so I hope the professors will post them soon.

I think it will be very easy for me to adjust to New York time again. The last few days I have not been able to sleep at night so I have fallen asleep at around 2 AM. This is actually pretty good because that means I will not suffer from severe jet lag when arriving to New York.

My blog will also be found on GoStudy’s website in the future. It is a Swedish organization that helps students apply to college abroad. I hope to be of help to the ones who need it and I urge everyone who has questions to contact me. I know that applying to college abroad can be tricky but I also know how to do it in an easy way.

My mom will celebrate her birthday party on Saturday. The guests who are invited to not know I am here so they will probably be very surprised to see me. I am really looking forward to meet all of them because it has been more than two years since last time. It is family events like that I really miss when I am in New York.

It has been pretty difficult to write my blog lately mainly because I do not feel I do many things here in Sweden. Being with friends and family is mainly why I came back. I went to a laser shooting game last weekend with my family, which was very fun. We also went bowling like I said before. Other than that, just being with family members is a great thing and it is something you learn to appreciate when you are away from them over long periods.

Sweden

I am in Sweden right now. The flight was great because I sat at the emergency exit so I had a lot of space. The person next to me was interesting and nice to talk to. Also, he did not talk too much so he was not annoying. He was from Germany and he also lived in Brooklyn and it is always nice to meet someone with common characteristics.

I felt extremely weird when arriving to Sweden. To me, everything felt regulated in a way that is difficult to describe. I guess New York has made me felt freer. In Sweden, everyone dresses the same and there are barely any overweight people. It feels life everyone aims for perfection, which I personally do not like.

It has been great to see my family. My mom has taken me too the Swedish version of Friday’s and it was really fun to try their food. They had to ask us to cut our steaks to see if they were broiled in a satisfying way, which made me feel doubtful about their food. My steak was great but it was bloody and not medium like I ordered. Luckily, I do not mind eating bloody steak.

Other than that, their food tasted great. I had fried potato skin for starter and I really liked it. Their mashed potatoes were very similar to the American version with cheddar cheese and everything in it. I would go there again if I would not live in New York, but they have to practice on how to broil the steaks.

I have also played a lot of Wii with my brothers. They really liked it and I must say I enjoyed it too. It is really fun to play golf, baseball, and boxing games because you have to really move your arms and play in an authentic way. It has become quite a challenge to play with my brothers because they are really good at it and I am not. It is fun to try to beat them though.

We also went bowling the first day I arrived. I was pretty tired that day because of the jet lag, but the bowling made me very energetic. I believe I won the last round and I ended up at third place the first round. I was impressed with my game actually since it has been so long since I played last time and because I played pretty well.

I have also been driving a lot. I have borrowed my mom’s, my dad’s, and my grand parent’s car since I came here and I really enjoy driving. I have done some shopping for my girlfriend and I really hope the shirts I bought her will fit. I am thinking about going there again to get a bigger size just in case they do not fit. I guess it is better to buy a bigger size than a size that is too small.

I am going to take a lot of pictures but so far I have not taken a single one. I have been quite busy with socializing with my family. Tomorrow might actually be a good day to take picture so I will try to do so.

I have also met my dad’s dog. He just got it actually so I have been excited to meet it. It is really energetic and it loves new people. It is hard to cuddle it because it is so excited all the time but I still think it is cute. I am going to try to meet a few friends while I am here so I really hope they are available.

Niagara Falls

I am on the bus to New York, on my way home from Niagara Falls right now. The trip has been very exciting and seeing the falls was a wonderful experience. The tour has been quite stressful because the schedule has been pretty packed. Sitting on the bus for a total of 13 hours has also been quite agonizing.

On our first day, the bus took us to Thousand Islands. The bus left at 8 AM in the morning and we arrived well in time for the departure. The bus stopped a couple of times so that people could go to the restroom and also so they could get something to eat.

We arrived to Thousand Islands at 4 PM after seven hours of driving. I did not really know what to expect before arriving there but now afterwards, I must say that I feel quite disappointed. Thousand Islands really is not much more than a small town with a few islands and with a lot of wasps.

I paid for a boat tour that lasted for about one hour. It was fun to travel by sea for about thirty minutes and then it got quite boring. I would rather stay in the small town and have a drink than taking the tour.

After the tour, the bus headed for a Chinese buffet restaurant. For $14 people could eat as much as they wanted until the bus left an hour later. The buffet included everything from salmon to Korean. I had a lot to eat including fried fish, potatoes, noodles, fried rice, Chinese chicken, biscuits and ice cream for dessert.

After dinner, we headed towards Niagara Falls. We arrived at around 10.30 PM and I was looking forward to see the falls at night. With Canada in the background, the view was absolutely fantastic. The falls were lit up with huge spotlights, which made everything look beautiful.

I was surprised of how wet I got. It literally feels like being in the middle of a storm when you are close to the falls. It gets both windy and wet. The tour guide stressed us a little and wanted to leave after only 30 minutes, which was a little frustrating. However, I felt a little tired too and I knew we would come back the next day.

I thought the hotel, which was included in the package, was going to be pretty poor. I expected pink walls and flower patterned sheets but I turned out to be wrong. The hotel was absolutely terrific and had actually just been built. Everything was very clean, the room was big, and it was very quiet.

We got up early the next day. The falls definitely looked different in the day and it was obviously much easier to see the falls. I took some great pictures there that I am really happy with. We also took the “Maid of the Mist” boat tour, which takes people extremely close to the falls. That was a fantastic experience and extremely fun. Everyone who goes to Niagara Falls should take that tour.

This trip has been exceedingly fun and exiting. It was definitely worth taking the bus even though I have spent so many hours on it. Right now, I am looking forward to come home and sleep in my own bed.

9/11/09

Today has been a very busy day. I have prepared for my trip tomorrow morning to Niagara Falls in Upstate New York. I worked the whole day today and I got a lot done. The weather was extremely stormy today with a lot of rain and wind. I guess I experienced extra severe weather today since the office is located right at the waterfront.

I had to do laundry when I came home. I certainly miss having a laundry machine at home but I simply do not have enough room for one right now. The Laundromats here in New York are perfectly fine, it is just a pain in the neck to bring 20 pounds of laundry there.

I also had to go to a supermarket to buy some detergent and cat sand. I need to prepare everything for my cat since we will be away for two days. I am going to pour up a lot of dry food and water for her so that she will not feel too hungry while we are away. Many people warm you before you get a cat because it is hard to travel. However, so far I have been able to work it out very well.

I walked past Ground Zero as usual this morning on my way to work. The day was not a usual one though since memorials were taking place in remembrance to the attacks. I felt a little choked up when walking past the site because there were a lot of people there to join the commemoration.

It is hard breaking to hear people shouting out in megaphones that family members and relatives need to go to a certain area and others have to go somewhere else. I am not saying it is bad they are separating them because that I support. However, the fact that they have so many people trying to organize everything makes you remember how many people that were affected by the attack.

I was going to watch the tribute in lights from New Jersey today but the weather did not allow it. I saw it last year but I still wanted to see it today. It is a great way of remembering the towers and it looks absolutely astonishing.

I just came to think about how long the trip to Niagara Falls will take. The ride itself will take seven to eight hours, which may be quite agonizing. I hope the bus stops more than ones but at the same time I want to arrive as soon as possible. I am sure I will be pretty exhausted after the trip but I think it will be worth it.

I started to write my report for my management simulation class today. I do not think it will take that long to write it actually because it is only three questions and I feel I have a pretty good idea of what needs to be mentioned. I have plenty of time to finish it on the bus tomorrow. I will also have to study for my final in ethics. However, I will try not to study too much since I want to enjoy my trip.

September 11

It hit me today that I will be very busy this weekend. I am going to Niagara Falls so I want to relax. However, I need to write one report and study for one final and that could turn out to be quite intense. I will do my best to relax on my trip though and I am thinking about writing my report while I am on the bus.

I was a little nervous in my management simulation class today. My team had to maintain growth for one more period for us to get five extra credits for our project. To secure growth I wanted to invest in bulletproof short-term decisions. These included promotional activities such as coupons, allowances, and trials.

My tactic worked. We successfully increased profits by a few million dollars, which, relatively, was not much. However, it was enough to secure the five extra credits. We had two more periods to simulate before the simulation was over. I was not nervous anymore and I wanted to focus on long-term decisions now since it would not matter grade wise if we had no or negative growth.

However, we ended up with positive growth for the last two periods, which was very encouraging. Our stock price doubled from the start of the simulation and I am overall very happy with it. It has been a great learning experience even though it may seem too optimistic to dream of running a pharmaceutical company in a similar way in real life.

We had a review for the final in my ethics class today. My professor basically gives out a sheet with topics concerning what will show up on the test. He lets all of us individually find definitions and explanations to the terms before he answers our questions about specific subjects.

I believe it is a good way to review and I do not think he gives away too much, nor too little. Students obviously still have to study for the test and it takes brain to reach an A. I will type down everything that is needed so that I end up with a consistent word documents easy to use for reviewing before the test.

My family was quite surprised when I told them I am going back to Sweden in a week because I had told them that I probably would not be able to make it until next year. I feel excited about going back because I really enjoy this time of the year. It is not too warm and not too cold.

Tomorrow is September 11. It is a day that should be remembered by everyone. I feel strongly about what happened and for the courageous people who lost their life that day. No words can describe the horror and evilness the people involved experienced that morning. I will go to see the tribute in lights from New Jersey just like I did last year. I will take a few pictures and dedicate a prayer to the firefighters, police officers, families, and other individuals involved in this tragic event. I hope you all do the same.

Sweden!

I have been working for the whole day today. There has been a lot to do at the office lately and I feel that I contribute in a meaningful way. I hope I can stay there after our agreement expires. It is astounding how much you can learn from an internship.

I had a ticket to Sweden that I booked a year ago that I thought I would have to give up. I am working at that date, which is on September 18^th and I would prefer showing up for work rather than going to Sweden since I feel that my internship is important.

However, I talked to my boss about it and he will be out of office that week. He seemed to be fine with it and I told him that I would not mind working from Sweden if needed. It feels good that I do not have to give up the ticket since it cost quite a lot and it will be nice to see my family again.

One thing that I am really looking forward to is driving a car. I will definitely try to drive as much as possible because it is something that I cannot do on a regular basis in New York. I will also tell my dad to cook Swedish meatballs and my mom to cook a certain taco dish.

I really need to catch up with some old friends too. It is unfortunate how hard it is to find good friends and how easy it is to loose them. I would not say I directly lost any friends but by moving abroad, I definitely created obstacles. However, I do not regret going to New York because it is something I have wanted to do for my whole life.

I feel pretty tired after work, which is something that is actually surprising me. I used to work in a factory as an operator and my coworkers and I always joked with the office guys since we were the ones doing all the heavy work. However, after some experience working in an office, I must say that it can be quite exhausting doing so. Instead of working physically, people have to work mentally and that can be pretty wearing. I am not complaining though because I really enjoy working.

I need to make some minor adjustments in my international trade paper for tomorrow. I listened to my professor after the presentation and he provided a few thoughtful and innovative ideas. However, I still do not want to change my advertisement plan even though my professor has a different opinion.

My ethics professor will review for the final in tomorrow’s class. The review is very helpful because it gives students an idea of what will show up on the test. I am not worried a bit about it since I got 100% on the first test. That is actually the only final I have this quarter. I also have two papers to turn in that serve as replacements for finals. I definitely prefer writing papers rather than having tests.

Affirmative Action

I got back my test in my management simulation class today. I scored a 100 out of a 100 so I feel very good about it. The simulation itself is turning around for my team. I increased profits significantly the first period but since after that period, profits have been decreasing.

This has been very worrying and I have felt very lost lately. However, in today’s class my teammate and I successfully turned decreasing profits into increasing profits. Net income went up a lot and it feels like we are on the right track. Our stock price also went up significantly. If we successfully increase profits next period, we will earn five extra credits for the class so we will really try to do our best next class.

I also had a presentation today. I was honestly not very well prepared but I believe the presentation turned out well. One of my team members did not show up. He apparently overslept and asked me after school through a text message if he could make up for it. Fortunately, the professor does not allow make-ups. I do not feel any sympathy towards him because it is not the first time he missed class.

The professor liked our presentation. He had a few comments regarding the marketing of the product. I wanted to market it to young adults but he preferred marketing it to seniors or to keep it neutral. I told me I did not have to change it since it is an opinion-based decision.

We talked about business ethics in my ethics class today. The main topic was affirmative action, which I feel strongly against. I definitely do not believe the government should regulate who should be hired or promoted. I feel that it is counterproductive and devalues workers’ accomplishments.

My theory is that diversity is good and it leads to greater business practices. I feel that affirmative action is unnecessary because great businesses will understand that diversity leads to greater profits and the ones who do not will fail. The most qualified people should be hired and there should be no quota.

I went to shop some cloths at Old Navy today. They actually had a Labor Day sale yesterday but I never bought anything. The prices were the same today though so I did not make a bad deal. I bought a pair of shorts, pants, and a polo shirt. Everything only cost $40 so I feel happy about the purchase.

This is the last week of school before the final week. It feels like time has gone extremely fast the last month. I definitely have to hurry up with the simulation in my management class because I want to finish it before writing the report. Other than that, I only have one final, which is in ethics. It should not be too much of an issue.

Verizon

I went to Uno Chicago Grill today to have lunch with my fiancée. The food was excellent and I really liked the environment. They offer an “all-you-can-eat” soup together with the lunch special that is delicious. The bill ended up at approximately $20, the same as at Jersey Gardens. This made me realize that I should never again go to Jersey Gardens.

I put together a PowerPoint document today to use for my presentation tomorrow in international trade. I feel okay about it but I wish I had done it earlier because I hate finishing everything the last day. I do not feel stressed or anything, I just prefer to relax the day before.

I have had issues with my Internet connection lately. I called Verizon yesterday to see if they could help me but they did not find anything wrong with it. It continued today so I wanted to call them again. I did not save the phone number so I had to look it up on their website. To find the phone number for customer support is harder than to find the blueprints for Alcatraz.

After trying to find it for ten minutes I finally got in contact with someone using Live Chat. I had one simple question, which was what the phone number to customer support was. However, because of protocol, the person I chatted with asked me to provide her with my name, address, email address etc. I had to go through all this for just a phone number, annoying.

I am urging everyone who is thinking about getting Internet not to get Verizon. Their customer support is the worst support I have every experienced. It is not the first time I have had problems with them. I have also experienced issues with billing, which caused me several hours of headache.

I am going to read the last chapter for my professional selling class today. The discussion board assignment this week asks everyone two answer two questions from one of the cases in the book. I am not sure what next week will look like because there is not much more to cover in the class.

I was planning to go to Sweden this break but I had to cancel my plans because of my internship. I have a ticket for September 18^th and there is a risk that I cannot use it. It is also too late for me to rebook or get a refund for it. It is quite painful to see this happen but I am going to see what I can do.

I miss Sweden a little because I have not been there since last Christmas. It is always nice to see family and friends but I also miss the calmness and the fresh air. The funny thing is that these feeling go away rather quickly after arriving to Sweden. It usually only takes about three days for me to start missing New York again.

Jersey Gardens

I went to IKEA and Jersey Gardens today. Actually, I took the IKEA bus to New Jersey and walk from there to Jersey Gardens, which took approximately 25 minutes. It is quite inconvenient to walk there because there are no sidewalks and the traffic is heavy. However, saving $20 makes the whole thing worth it.

I had high expectations of Jersey Gardens because I went there last year and I remember that I found great deals that time. However, this time was not as good as last time I went there. The food court pretty much upset me and I did not find any extraordinary deals.

Jersey Gardens is an outlet mall so prices should be lower there than everywhere else. However, I went to Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, and many other stores and prices were actually higher than in some other stores here in Brooklyn. For example, Old Navy sell shorts for $10 right now but at Jersey Gardens they cost $20.

Also, when my girlfriend and I arrived we were really hungry so we went straight to the food court. Burger King has advertised that they sell two Whoppers for $4, which they do just not at Jersey Gardens. I also overheard a gentleman who was denied using a coupon he had brought. Apparently, the Burger King at Jersey Garden has its own rules and policies.

Instead of eating at Burger King, we went to a Chinese-American restaurant, also located at the food court. I ended up paying $20 for a soda and two main courses. It may not sound much but trust me, here in Brooklyn I can get four lunch specials and four sodas for that price, and the portions would be a lot bigger and the food a lot tastier.

I specifically disgust the attitude of the cashiers and staff at the restaurants. They never smile, say thank you, or offer people a positive attitude. If there is one thing the managers have to teach their employees it is how to smile, and yet all of them seem to fail.

I went to a store called Burlington Coat Factory, which we also have here in Brooklyn. It is a great store actually that sells cloths, shoes, and accessories of well-known brands such as Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, and Nike. I got two great pieces of cloths for just $40 and I will definitely start going to the store in Brooklyn more often.

We went to IKEA to buy some food on our way home. They are apparently closing for renovation because they barely had any Swedish food left in the store and the place was a mess. I was still able to find the famous fifty-cent hot dogs though.

Also, I just realized that I could buy the Gillette Mach 3 razors much cheaper on eBay than anywhere else. I usually pay around $20 for eight blades. On eBay I could get twenty blades for $25. I will definitely buy them on eBay in the future because I have always thought they were too expensive.

PowerPoint

Next Monday is Labor Day, which means there are no school and no work. I do not have classes on Monday’s but I usually work so it is nice with an extra day off. I will travel to New Jersey tomorrow for some shopping because the Labor Day sale has already begun.

Taking the bus there from Manhattan usually costs $20 for a round-trip ticket. However, there are free IKEA buses that stop pretty close to the mall. I believe it takes about 20 minutes to walk from IKEA, but it is absolutely worth the walk.

I was planning to make my presentation next Tuesday without the use of PowerPoint slides. Unfortunately, all my friends in that class plan to use slides when making their presentations, which put pressure on me to do as best I can. I will therefore prepare my slides tomorrow.

The weather has been much better the last weeks. It is not that hot anymore but still hot enough for shorts and t-shirts. It really bothers me when the weathermen say that it is fortunate that we will see warmer weather soon when it is 80 degrees outside already. Who decided that the hotter the temperature the better it is?

I cleaned my apartment today, which was well needed. I have been extremely busy with school and work lately so I really have not had the time to clean in the last few weeks. I feel really good now when everything is clean and organized. It is amazing what difference a shoebox and a few binders can do.

My eyelid is also getting much better. I have seen it going form very swollen to slightly swollen in just about eight hours and it feels much better too. I still do not know why it happened but who cares. I still feel lucky that it happened while I was enjoying my weekend so that I would not have to face questioning people.

I am watching college football right now on ABC. I really enjoy it actually because it is faster and more eventful than NFL. I am wondering why Berkeley College does not have its own football team. We do have a basketball team though but I have no idea of whether they are doing well or not. Basketball has never been my kind of sport.

I am waiting for my professor in professional selling to update blackboard. He always does it at 12 AM every Saturday and I usually do the weekly test right after it is posted. I just realized that we only have one more chapter left in the book to cover. That basically means that we were tested on the whole book. That is actually a first timer for me and not common at Berkeley College since we have quarters and not semesters.

I am not very surprised because I have dedicated a lot of time on that class, much more than on other classes. I have learned a lot though so I am not complaining. Also, why should I complain? I paid for it and I am getting a lot for the money. It will be interesting to see if my two online classes next quarter will be similar in intensity.

Swollen Eyelid

I was planning to go to Niagara Falls this weekend but I cancelled my plans. My eyelid swelled up yesterday for an unknown reason but I suspect it may be because my cat scratched me. I actually feel somewhat lucky that it happened yesterday and not on a day where I had to go to work or school. I now have until Tuesday before school starts and I am positive that it will be better at that time.

I have a few things to do this weekend including preparing for a presentation that I have on Tuesday. I am not nervous about it because I feel that I know everything I need to know about my product. I will try to get my group members engaged in the presentation too because I would make everything easier.

There are only two more weeks left in school before the break. I only have a week after that before the next quarter starts so I will not travel during the break. However, I will probably travel to Niagara Falls next weekend for two days and I am really looking forward to that.

The pharmaceutical business simulation for my management class has started. It is a lot more complex than the car dealership simulation I did before. There are actually not many decisions to make before moving on to the next period but there are numerous of reports to study.

I made a huge profit the first period but it is slowly decreasing. I am not sure how to turn around my business yet but I will study the material this weekend and I will hopefully find something that will help me come up with new ideas. My teammate promised me she would do her best to study the material and I am counting on her to come up with some ideas.

I am really looking forward to the fall and winter. I would like it to get a little colder outside so that I can wear a few of my new jackets and I love to walk in Manhattan when the Christmas decoration has started. There is something reassuring and soothing about the winter that I really enjoy.

There was an interesting discussion taking place in my ethics class this week. My professor talked about PETA and the arguments against eating meat. I love steak and beef and have never seen anything ethically wrong about eating it. However, my professor presented us all to a new perspective of everything involving whether it is right to kill animals for our own good when we can survive eating vegetables and other non-animal food.

It was a very interesting class but it was also frustrating because I could not come up with a good argument to why eating meat was right. Saying that human beings are superior simply is not a good enough argument. However, I still do not care what anyone says about me eating meat and I never will.