Navigating an Intersection in Central Stockholm

(Click to Enlarge)

Sweden, like a good handful of European countries, is generally pretty bike-friendly, pedestrian-friendly, and has good public transport. To outsiders, the intersection might look like a jumbled mess of everyone going everywhere, but within the chaos there's dictated organization. It took me a few minutes of watching to completely figure out what's going on at this intersection. Some interesting things showed up, though. If you wanted to get from the left side of the picture to the bottom (by car), you had to go through the intersection and then take a left turn around the building in the top right to end up at the top of the intersection.

I did forget to draw a green arrow from the buses up top to the bottom (and I misspelled buses in the picture...). I'm too lazy to change it, but I'm sure you get the idea :)

Scandinavia: Snap Judgements

Internet has been really spotty out here and the connections are pretty sporadic, but here it goes.

So far I've been here almost five days, and it's been a good bit of time.

Stockholm:
-The people are really nice (and helpful as well, which is really awesome).
-Also, almost everyone knows Swedish and English. Most people seem to know a third language as well (about as well as we study a secondary language in the States).
-The city is really bike-friendly. There are bike lanes along most roads and intersections.
-Things seem a little expensive here, but I'm not a very good judge of what Swedes consider expensive
-I've had a ridiculous amount of smokes salmon and meats, though from I've heard that's not an everyday occasion
-The city itself is really beautiful and public transit works
Edit: The girls here are also very beautiful ;)

Helsinki:
-A ridiculous number of people smoke here, especially in places where there are "no smoking" signs.
-The city tends to smell really bad. Even after it rains, it doesn't have that characteristic clean smell. It still smells like crap all the time.
-The layout of the city is really organized and looks really nice.

I'd definitely have to say Stockholm is the better city :P Granted, I only spent one day in Helsinki and most of the rest of the time was spent in Stockholm.

Saying Goodbye

It's never easy to say goodbye; it tugs on the heartstrings like no other. It's the connections we value; that which makes the experiences special.

Life is full of many goodbyes, but it doesn't get easier with time. It almost seems harder to part ways these days. As we grow, we are better able to make connections.

It's time for another goodbye. Goodbye, Tech; at least for now.

I Don't Usually Do This...

...means you are exploitable and weak.

Saying that makes it seem like you're trying to cover your tracks; that you have something to hide. You're trying to make yourself look better because you "usually" don't do something, but the fact that you are making an exception means you are doing something, which makes you just as good as someone who does it anyways.

Four Years

[Note: This is more or less going to be a stream of conscious post. No edits/revisions/proofreading, except for mis-spellings-otherwise I feel it makes the feelings less organic]

On the motivation levels of undergraduate students:

"...if we haven't beaten it out of them already"

Someone who I greatly admire told me this recently. It seems to be a common sentiment among us undergrads. When we arrive as freshman, it seems like we are destined to do great things, to go and change the world. Many of us were the crown jewels of our high schools, to be paraded around by those who knew us.

Capitol Steps! Year 4!

A couple weekends ago I went to see Capitol Steps for the last time as an undergraduate, and I'd have to say it was the best performance yet. It seemed that this year there were more new songs, and the old ones generally had new spins to them. It's also a good sign that the show is good when the performers are laughing so hard that they have to pause during the middle of a song. I'd definitely recommend anyone who keeps up with news and political scandals go watch Capitol Steps at some point, since their news is much better than any you can get from a news agency. Visit them at www.capsteps.com!

Oblivion

This past weekend was the first time I had seen a movie in theaters since Fantastic Four (2005) and that one mistake of an M Night Shamylamamamalan movie Lady in the Water (2006), and I'd have to say Oblivion wasn't half bad. I'd have to say the plot was at least compelling, but there were definitely some things that were a little creepy. You almost wonder how the agents never ran into each other more than once (how do you not notice these huge things floating around the planet?), and how certain memories still exist after "memory wipes". Granted, I don't remember too much from the film anymore, but it was definitely nice to get into a theater again for the first time in forever.

Beef Stock - Roasting or No Roasting?

Lately, since I've had a ridiculous amount of free time, I've been making my own stock for noodle soup. I've heard from here and there that roasting the neck bones (and meat) makes a difference in the flavor of the stock, but I haven't noticed any difference. The only different I've seen is that not roasting leads to a more clear soup that solidifies at higher temperatures. The two basically seem to taste the same in my opinion.

Perhaps I need to find some other more productive things to do outside of eating...

Apparently I'm Slow

Last week I learned I'm slower than Mantei Teo, which is a very sad thing. Granted, I also don't resemble a football player.

BRB

Getting owned :(