Crazy Test in Finance

The two latest days have been crazy. I studied a lot for my finance test, but I thought it would be easier than most people believed it would be. I was unfortunately wrong about that.

I felt ready to take the test when I woke up yesterday morning. I reviewed the material on the train on my way to school and I was not that nervous. I realized the test was pretty big after the professor had handed it out.

There were nine questions in essay style so I got to work as fast as I could. It took me about twenty minutes to answer the first question and that was only because it was a big question and not because I did not know what to write.

One thing that bothered me a little was that the professor talked too much during the test. He answered students’ questions out loud and announced information about different class related things about ones every twenty minutes.

I finished the test right on time after about one hour and 45 minutes. Almost everyone in the classroom was still there so everyone had a problem in finishing on time. I wish that I would have had more time because I really wanted to write more for each answer.

I think I did okay though so I am excited about getting back my test. I really hope that the professor is generous about it because he has to realize that the time was not enough. This was definitely the longest test I have ever had so I do not want to know how big the final test in finance will be.

I had to start studying for my police and society test right after the test. I have basically only had one day to study for a 230 pages test, which is totally crazy. I have not had the time to read all the chapters but I have read a few pages and looked up what we talked about on the day of the review.

I am not that nervous about this test. I am still waiting for the class to start and I will look over the outline before the test starts. There is not much more I can do about the test. I have studied as much as possible. I think I studied about five hours yesterday together with two hours on the train.

I will have to try to think logically when doing the test because there is no way that I will be able to remember all the things in the book.

I took today’s picture in midtown Manhattan. I believe it is on 51st street close to 8th avenue. I was on my way to my Swedish friend’s hotel. We had not met for three years so it was nice to see him again. I will never stop loving Manhattan. Every time you take a walk in the city is amazing.

Study Time

My two coming days will be crazy. My class had a review for the test in police and society today and the test will be on Thursday.

The test covers seven chapters, which is more than 200 pages in the textbook.  The problem is not only that I have just two days to study but also that I have a test in finance tomorrow, which really limits the time I have for studying.

I thought I would have a lot of time to study yesterday. I prepared to study for finance when I came home from school and put all my books and paperwork on my desk. Five minutes later, a friend of mine called.

I had talked to him about a month ago and he told me he would come to New York from Sweden. He is going to several places in the United States so he will only stay in New York for four days.

I had promised to meet him when he came here so I had to go to see him yesterday. It really was not suitable but I had to do it because I did not want to let him down and also, we had not met for three years.

I went out to meet him and it was nice to catch up after so many years. He and his friend wanted to see Chinatown and Soho so I took them to Canal Street in Lower Manhattan. I spent about three hours with them so I really did not have that much time to study after that.

I have reviewed the finance for a few days now and I think I know most of what the teacher expects me to know. I do not think the test will be too hard but I am preparing for the worst. I really do not want to get less than an A on this test.

This is the first test I have with this professor so it is quite hard to know what his test will look like. It will feel really good after this week because I will not have much to do over the weekend when it comes to schoolwork.

I do not have any water available in the apartment today. There was a leaking pipe that had to be fixed so there are some construction workers here trying to fix it. The pipe led to the basement so I am not affected by it more than that I cannot use water at this moment 

My cat is getting pretty big now. She is growing really fast actually and she is only about six months old. I hope she will not get too big because I think they are cuter when they are small.

I took today’s picture in Times Square last year. There is always something happening there but this is actually in the subway. The woman on the picture pretended to be a statue and stood perfectly still. She was pretty good because at first, I did not know if it was a real person or not. 

Planet Hollywood

I thought I would study more this weekend but there has been a few things that have come up. I have celebrated my fiancée’s birthday and I had to go to Kings Plaza to return two pairs of shoes.

I am doing pretty well with the finance even though I have not studied that much yet. I thought I would have to review the financial statements over and over again but it is not that hard for me to learn it.

I had, of course, the same financial statements in my two previous accounting classes, which has been really helpful.  I thought I had forgotten about some of the accounting I had learned before but I remember most of it after just taking a quick look at it, which feels very good.

I looked at the answers the first time I reviewed the financial statements. The second time, I tried to do it without looking at the answers and I could do it without a problem. The old accounting classes really help and that is probably why they are prerequisites for the finance class.

The hardest part of the test, which is coming up on Wednesday, will probably be to explain why and how everything is used. Doing the math really is not that hard. I have not had an essay style test in a long time so I am definitely looking forward to that. I like being able to explain myself and this often leads to points you might otherwise have had diminished.

The more I review the finance, the more confident I feel about the test. It is not like the professional selling or international business test where you had to study as much as you could and then on the day of the test you hoped that you would remember everything.

I basically know what will show up on the finance midterm. Every chapter deals with a specific principle and we have, of course, talked about what we should know in class. I have three more days to study and I will talk to the professor tomorrow after class and ask him about a few things that I want clarified.

I went to Planet Hollywood with my fiancée yesterday. We were very hungry when we got there because we had only eaten breakfast that day. We ordered bananarama drinks and Texas tostadas for starters and then had pork ribs for the main course.

It tasted absolutely fantastic but we got really stuffed afterwards. We had to box some of the food because they always give you a lot and it would be a sin to throw it away.

We had gone to the Kings Plaza mall in Brooklyn earlier that day to return two pairs of shoes that my fiancée bought online. I wanted to buy a pair of shoes there because they have 50% off on some of the shoes.

However, I did not find anything in particular that I liked so I ended up empty handed. I might buy something online though because they have a greater selection on their website.

I took today’s picture a while ago when I crossed the Manhattan Bridge. The walk really gives you a nice view over Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty. 

Tax Returns

It is time to file for tax returns and I have never done it in the United States before. It is quite tricky actually, especially since this is my first time.

People can apparently do it online these days so I tried to do so today. It was not that easy so I will have to ask at the International Division at Berkeley College next week. They usually help you out with just about everything so I think they will be happy to assist me.

It feels really good to have weekend now. I really need the break. I went out with my fiancée to buy her some gifts because both her birthday and Valentine’s Day is coming up. We found a few really nice things that I probably will give her when the time is right.

Walgreens called me a couple of days ago regarding a few VHS tapes that I had turned in because I wanted them to be digitalized. They told me that I could pick them up, which made me really happy.

The tapes are really old and contain material from when I was really young. I picked them up yesterday and opened the box right away when I came home. I noticed that the DVD’s were missing after I had torn apart the boxes and envelops.

Walgreens had practically done nothing because all I had was my old tapes and there was no sign of any DVD’s. I called back to the store but they denied that they had forgot to put down the DVD’s. They told me that they had confirmed that everyone had done their job and that the DVD’s should be in the box.

It really made me upset so I called up the manager. They finally let me refund the deal and gave me a second attempt to send them in. They probably think that I am trying to get free copies and their attitudes are really bad.

I will open the box in the store next time. It is really unfortunate that I have to wait for another three weeks again before I hopefully can get the DVD’s.

So far, I have had really bad luck this year. Tickets, bad score on a test, and Walgreens. I always think positive so I cannot really understand why this is happening to me. I guess the world is just unfair sometimes.

The picture I posted today was shot at 5^th Avenue and 23^rd Street in Manhattan. The building is famous around the world and is called the Flatiron Building. It was considered to be the first skyscraper ever built and was therefore the tallest building in New York after it was completed in 1902. 

Back On Track!

I officially feel that I am back on track now. I had a quiz in international business this morning and I was a little worried that I would do badly on it. The only reason I felt like that was because I got 82 on my professional selling test.

I got back my score for the international business quiz just about an hour after I finished the test. I got 100 out of 100 on it and it came when I needed it at most. I really started to lack confidence after my test in professional selling but I feel restored from that now.

I can understand why some people never get good grades. Having confidence in what you do is of great importance and you cannot succeed if you do not believe in yourself. I really had to fight to get back on the road of success when it comes to my testing results and it is very easy to fall behind.

If students get one bad grade and never succeed to build on their confidence and convince themselves that they can do better, they simply will not be able to improve. I really did not think of this before and thought that everything had to do with hard work. Hard work is definitely important too but knowing and feeling that you can do something may be proved to be of greater significance.

I will have two tests next week. I will try to relax this weekend but I will definitely have to study too. I will also celebrate my fiancée’s birthday by going to Planet Hollywood, which I am greatly looking forward to.

I paid the $100 fine today at the Transit Adjudication Bureau. It feels good to have that done and I hope with all my heart that I will never have to set my foot in there again. One thing that I really do not like about that place is that they do not accept credit cards. People have to pay with cash or money order.

I had to wait to pay until today since I do not like to walk around with $100 bills in my pocket in Brooklyn. However, it is finally over and I will continue to enjoy every single day.

I have not gone out to take photographs in a long time. I found out that B&H in Manhattan develops large prints for people for a pretty good price. They charge around $9 for a large poster so I am definitely thinking about developing some of my pictures and put them up on my walls in my new apartment.

I am thinking about giving my cat a shower. It is an indoor cat so she is not dirty but I think it would be healthy to give her a shower at least every six month. I need to go to a pet store and ask them about it first though. I am sure they will recommend me to buy a $100 shampoo and to give the cat a shower every week. We will see what happens.

I will probably write a little more about the pictures that I post on the blog. It has been pretty randomly so far but I will try to explain them and let you know where I took it etcetera. Some of the pictures are shot by digital cameras and some of them with my IPhone. That is why they differ in quality.

This picture was shot in Chinatown in Brooklyn. A bunch of fire trucks responded to an alarm but I am not sure of what had happened there. I had been shopping for groceries and was on my way home.

Puzzle

I have a test in international business tomorrow. We had a review yesterday and I think the teacher covered most of what will be on the test.

I have typed down a few notes since we are allowed to bring a reference sheet to class. It is hard to know what to put on it but I think I know most of the things. The test will cover four chapters so it is not a huge exam.

The subjects vary from historical events such as the Bretton Woods agreement to current investments being made in the United States and other places around the world. I think I will do fine since this subject really interests me.

I have not gone to work out for a week now. I am not tired of it, I just have not had the time to go there. The last two weeks have been very busy. I have done a lot of things regarding my new apartment but most of all; I have had tons of homework.

I think this quarter is one of my busiest so far. I remember a few other quarters that were really busy, especially when I took accounting, but this one feels really intense.

Verizon called me today regarding my high speed Internet. Today is the day when everything should be ready. Apparently, Verizon had booked an appointment with me for today so a service guy was waiting outside my home when I was in Manhattan.

I could luckily come home in an hour so I did not have to book another appointment. The tech guy was really friendly and helped me set up everything. I now have Internet and will not have to worry about the ability to post pictures on my blog anymore.

The Internet is really fast actually but what I like most is the wireless connection. I am using a modem that has a built in wireless router so I do not need two different devices for that. I can finally move around in my apartment and use Internet wherever I need it.

My fiancée got a puzzle from her friend for Christmas. It is a 1000 pieces puzzle with a panoramic view of New York. We had nothing to do last weekend and I needed a break from my studies so we started to put the pieces together.

We got the frame done and has started to move closer to the center now. It is actually pretty fun, especially if you are two people doing it. I did not think I was going to like it but I am a person who really needs to finish what I am doing before moving on to the next thing so I find it really hard to give up.

I do not know what to do after we have finished it. People always say they are going to put it up on the wall, unfortunately, most people saying that end up putting it back in the box. There is some special tape to buy that will help keeping the pieces together but you have to put it on the back of the puzzle, which can be pretty tough.

I might put the puzzle up on the wall if I succeed doing that, otherwise I guess it will go back down in the box. 

MTA Adjudication Bureau

I went to the Transit Adjudication Bureau today to have a hearing. I did not want to feel optimistic of having the ticket terminated but I have to admit that I felt hopeful.

I had finance this morning and it was, like always, very interesting. We are talking about the risk return tradeoff right now. This chapter covers securities and some calculations. I always told people that the only thing that I felt was missing at Berkeley College were a class covering securities and how to invest.

I will have to take that back now because Finance 300 covers everything I was looking for and more. The professor is, like I have said before, very experienced and interesting to listen to. He has a good sense of humor too but is at the same time serious about the subject.

I went to the Transit Adjudication Bureau after the class. I had to wait about an hour before they let me in. I was prepared for that though so I was not very surprised. I told the interviewer exactly what happened and added a few remarks of me being a good student and an honest guy.

I was asked to sit down for 20 minutes after the hearing to wait for a decision to be made. I was called after approximately one hour. The MTA decided, ones again, to deny me any reduction of the ticket and stands by their decision of giving me a $100 fine.

It really upsets me to be honest. There is nothing that I can do but to pay the charge and it is just sad that they give tickets to honest hard working people. I decided to not have it ruin my day so I went home and tried to study a little.

This zero-tolerance policy has been really good for New York. Crime rates have been dropping significantly and I really believe it has made a huge impact on reducing crimes in the city. However, it is time to find a new strategy because from what I see, people are getting more and more upset about rude police officers that strictly refuses to discuss the situation with them.

I actually think they are trying a new strategy somewhere in New York. I believe I read about it in The Economist. I hope that it will be a success because I cannot afford getting more tickets.

I will hopefully get Internet for my apartment in two days. I have the modem plugged in and I am waiting for the DSL light to become steady green. Right now it is blinking, indicating that there is no connection.

The technical support told me that they might fix it before the 4th so I am really hopeful in getting it tomorrow. The blog is missing a few pictures and I really need to do some homework from home. Having no Internet is hard for a student.

I admit that I can go to Starbucks or any other restaurant to find Internet. I just do not really like bringing all my stuff there and squeeze in somewhere. I also have my IPhone so I can still go online to check my email and do small things like that. I can also get Internet at Berkeley, of course.

Bad Test

Last weekend was really comfortable. I was pretty exhausted after a lot of studying and a tough week. Actually, I still am but it is not that bad.

I got back my test in Professional Selling and I am really disappointed by the score. I got 82/100 so this would be one of the worst test I have ever had. There is only one reason to why I did not do well on this one and that is because it was a true or false test.

I analyze problems and I really like to go deep and question myself and ask why things are the way they are. True or false tests are too opinionated and I do not think it is a good way of testing students. Luckily, it does not happen often at Berkeley College.

I had a bunch of junk food this weekend. I usually do not eat that unhealthy but I felt like it this time. My fiancée and I ordered pizza from Domino’s last Friday. I really like their pizzas and the ordering system is fantastic.

People can order online and have the pizza delivered in 30 minutes. They can also track the pizza so that they will know exactly what is happening with their order. There are four steps: preparing, baking, boxing, and delivering. You have to try it if you have not done that already.

I also went to KFC this weekend. I found out that you can order only thighs or legs this time. I picked thighs because they are bigger and contain more meat. At first I really did not like KFC because I thought it was too greasy. I am used to it now though and I go there about ones every second month.

I also had to study this weekend. The low score I got on the test kind of put me in a bad mood but I was able to do some work. I had to do some finance, like always, but I also had to prepare myself for a test in international business.

Students are allowed to bring two reference sheets in class on the test day. That is new to me but I will try to put down key terms on the sheets. I will actually increase the margins and decrease the text size and really squeeze in as much as possible.

Most of the things in the book make sense to me. I really like business and I am quite familiar with several things in the chapters.

We will have a review for the test two days before the class and I think I will bring my laptop so that I will be able to type faster. Sometimes it can be hard to catch up with professors on the review day. It is a lot to write and I am not that fast with a pen.