Takeout

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Year's Eve

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back In New York

I came home to New York yesterday and it feels great. My fiancée and I had planned to go to Planet Hollywood, which is a great restaurant in Times Square.

The flight went really good. My bag was overweight but the clerk told me that it was okay for this time so I did not have to pay anything or repack it into two bags.

The flight was a little less comfortable on my way back to New York because I did not fly economy extra. The differences were that there is less space and that you cannot start the movie you want to watch whenever you want to.

I was also allowed to bring my guitar as carry on, which made me really happy. I watched the new Batman movie and parts of Mama Mia.

I got through the security checks without any problems and then took the bus to New York. I met my fiancée when I arrived there and we went to Planet Hollywood to eat. I had to bring all my bags to the restaurant, which was pretty unpractical and heavy.

The restaurant is great though because it is not a fancy place but a place where you can relax and not worry whether your face is clean or not.

We ordered Texas tostadas for starter. They tasted amazingly good, especially together with our “bananarama” drinks. We then shared two main courses. I had spareribs and my fiancée had sizzling fajitas.

We usually box our food if we cannot eat it. We cleaned our plates this time though so there was nothing to box. The food was really good, especially the spareribs. My fiancée and I have eaten there several times before but the food was especially tasty this time.

I shipped my Canon camera lens today and I really hope that the damage will be covered by the warranty. There is definitely some physical damage on the lens but I never dropped it or anything and I am always very careful with it. That is why I think the warranty should cover it.

I woke up at 10 AM today so I am really happy that I am not suffering from a jetlag. I will relax in the coming days and be with my fiancée before school starts. I still have a week before all that happens so that feels good. 

Last Day In Sweden

This is my last full day in Sweden. I have had a great time over here and it has been really nice to see my family again. I am looking forward to go back to New York too though because it is a city that I have come to admire a whole lot.

The main thing that I do not like about Sweden is that all stores close really early. My sister and I went out today to buy a digital guitar tuner and a plectrum. We were there at about 2.45 PM but the store closed at 2 PM.

It was pretty annoying because I was really looking forward to use it when coming home. I also spent some extra time with my sister and family today because I do not know when I will see them again. It will not be more than a year though.

I have to pack my bag today and there is a lot of stuff that I have to bring this time. I have bought a lot of Swedish groceries. I bought a cheese that weights two kilos, three packages of cream cheese with shrimps, and one big Swedish sausage.

It is near impossible to find a big cheese like that in New York so that is why I buy a big one like that. The cream cheese is also very Swedish and so is the sausage. There are many different sausages in New York but I am not sure of what brand to buy and which ones that tastes good so I rather just bring one from Sweden.

One thing international students will have to think about every time they pack for a trip is to make sure they bring their I-20 documents and VISA. The I-20 also needs to be signed by a school official before returning home.

I will also bring a few DVD movies from Sweden because I have a few really good movies that I have not watched in a long time.

I think my bag weights about 28 kilos so I am not sure if I will have to pay overweight fees. However, you are allowed to bring two bags weighting 21 kilos each so I should be able to avoid it.

I will also bring my Swedish guitar. I have never learned how to play so I will start practicing a little in New York. It is pretty big though and I am not sure if they will let me bring it on as carry on luggage.

I definitely do not want to check it in because I only have a soft case for it and I fear that it will break if I do so. 

Swedish Pizza

It is only two days until I go back to Sweden again. Time has gone really fast but it has been nice and relaxing over here.

I stayed home the whole the yesterday and hung out with my family. I had some Swedish pizza, which I really like. The pizza over here is pretty different than the one in New York. First of all, it is smaller and second of all, there are more ingredients on it.

I had kebab on my pizza and that is also my favorite. In New York people usually only eat one or two slices and that ordinarily makes them full. In Sweden people can eat a whole pizza and they will be called women if they do not.

I had dinner at my grandmother’s house today. She had prepared smoked salmon with potatoes au gratin. It was delicious so I had to portions of it. We also had a special white chocolate cake for desert. It had never tried it before but I will definitely eat it again if I find it somewhere.

My sister and I went to IKEA today so that she could take use of her gift card. We got a bunch of stuff and I paid a part for it as a delayed Christmas gift. My sister and I agreed to buy gifts for each other a few days after Christmas when the big sales are on.

Tomorrow will be my last full day in Sweden so I need to prepare a bunch of things before my trip. I am going to buy some Swedish groceries to bring to New York, including cream cheese, ordinary cheese, and some candy.

I am also going to a music store because my sister wants to buy me a guitar tuner and a plectrum. My sister bought me a guitar a few years ago and I never learned how to play it. I am really in the mood to start learning it now though so I will bring my guitar form Sweden to New York.

I have already found a few websites that provide free lessons and tips. It will definitely be a challenge but I think I will manage it. I am a little worried about if the airline will allow me to bring the guitar as carry on because I really do not want to check it in.

The risk is too big that it brakes since I do not have a hard case for my guitar. I think I will be allowed to bring it though because I talked to the check in guy when going to Sweden and he said that it should not be a problem.

I have not worked out in a few weeks now so I really need to go to a gym when I come back to New York. It takes about two weeks to lose your stamina so I guess the first few times there will be pretty tough. 

Merry Christmas

Today is Christmas and my family and I are preparing for dinner and drinks. We will be nine people celebrating here and I really think we will have a great time together.

I have a few more gifts to wrap in but I have one more hour before the guests start to show up. We will eat a lot for Christmas. A few of the dishes we will have are ham, eggs, salmon, herring, and potatoes.

People get tired of the food right after Christmas but they are also looking forward to it before each Christmas. I really love the food and I always eat too much.

I went to buy fish with my grandmother yesterday. I had to drive her and it took about an hour to go there. It is a place close to a lake called Ringsjon so their fish are very fresh and tastes absolutely delicious.

I am a little disappointed because of my camera, which broke a couple of days ago. I can only take pictures on a really close distance because it is the focus on the lens that is not working.

My warranty expires January 8^th so I will have to send the camera to Canon right after I come back to New York. Until then, I will have to use my dad’s camera so that I can take a few Christmas photos.

The weather is pretty bad. It was raining earlier this morning and I really miss the snow. It ruins the Christmas spirit a little but the food and the nice environment, here at home, will most likely make this Christmas wonderful.

Donald Duck is broadcasted every Christmas in Sweden and I will watch it this year as usual. It lasts for about an hour I think and it is a very Swedish tradition to watch it.

Before we eat the main course in Sweden during Christmas everyone drinks something called Glogg. People only drink it for Christmas and it is definitely a part of the holiday. There are many different kinds of Glogg, with or without alcohol but the most famous brand is Blossa.

I am starting to miss New York and my fiancée so it will be nice to go back there again. It is still nice to be with my family in Sweden however.

Driving

I did a lot yesterday. My sister and I had to buy the last of the Christmas gifts so we drove to Lund. There were a lot of people but it was not too much of a hassle because I am used to the crazy tourists in New York.

I bought some Swedish breakfast in the morning and I enjoyed it as much as the day before that. I was really looking forward to drive because it had been one year since I did that.

I thought it would be hard to drive after so long but I got used to it really fast. The car I drove is automatic too so it is pretty easy to drive it.

We found all our Christmas gifts pretty fast. I actually think we waited in line longer than actually looking for what items to buy.

I got my baggage later that day. It felt really good actually. I had called them in the morning to ask them where it was and they told me they had found it and would drive it to me in the afternoon.

Nothing was missing in the bag so that feels really good. We ate some Swedish “Kalopps” for dinner. My dad cooks one that tastes really good and this one was no exception.

My sister and I decorated my grandmothers Christmas tree that same evening. I had some whiskey for the first time in maybe a year so that was very nice. I really like the warm feeling you get when drinking it.

The tree came out great. I whished there could be some more lights in it though but that is okay. The weather has been pretty grey so far so I really hope for some snow for Christmas. I am not sure that is going to happen though.

My camera stopped working today. I was taking some pictures and I suddenly could not zoom with it. It is a digital SLR camera so the lens is removable. It is only the lens that is not working actually but that one alone costs over $1500.

I called Canon today and they said I could send it in. I will have to wait until I come back to New York though. I think I bought it in January last year so I only have a few more weeks until the warranty expires.

I drove a truck with a manual stick. It was really fun actually. I have never driven a big truck like that but it was actually quite fast. Driven is something I really miss in New York so I try to drive a lot when here.

I need to buy some more Christmas gifts tomorrow and I need to give my grandparents a ride because they need to buy some food. I am already looking forward to it.  

First Day In Sweden

I have spent my first day in Sweden now and it feels great. I am jetlagged but it is nice to be home other than that.  

My family and I had Swedish breakfast when we came home and that was wonderful. We had biscuits with cheese, ham, cream cheese with shrimps, and marmalade. I have really missed that in New York actually so I will eat a lot of it these coming days.

I also went out to take pictures. My sister wanted to take a long walk so we walked for about one hour. I actually used to run that certain way before, which I cannot believe these days. I got some pretty nice picture of the Swedish countryside but it was, unfortunately, raining.

I did not decorate the Christmas tree today. I felt a little too tired to do that but I went to see my grand parents anyway. They live about ten minutes away if you drive a car so it is easy to get there.

It has been about a year ago since I saw them so it was very nice to meet them again. I will decorate the tree tomorrow, which I am looking forward to. It is kind of a tradition for my sister and I to do so.

It feels like Sweden has changed a little since I was here last time. It might be just that I have not been here for a year, but I am not sure. One thing that it very different from New York is that there are so few people here.

It is nice because it is so much quieter and calmer. It is easy to get bored from it though. I will go out to buy the last Christmas gifts tomorrow. I am still waiting for my bag to come, and it will not arrive tonight.

I called the airline and they do not know where my bag is, which is pretty worrying. They told me that they got a lot of bags lately though so they have not registered all of them yet. I really hope that they will find it. It would be really annoying to have to deal with insurances and things like that.

I will post a lot of blogs these days because I want to talk about my time in Sweden. I will also put up a lot of pictures here so that all of you can get an insight in my daily life.