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.