Jurassic World - Helsinki

"It's 9000 miles..back to you...I still feel like home is in...your arms".

Home sweet home. Or was I already at home in Finland minun Carita?

I am back in Sweden. I just arrived this morning after a tiresome trip that involved loads of buses, sleeping on radiators and eating kanelbullars. My biological clock is disorganized totally since i slept during the day and then woke up just to eat and join a weird Halloween party for 2 hours. And i guess i want to share the other part of my adventure in Helsinki and satisfy you 4000 monthly readers that love my sarcastic tone!

Approaching home around 9 am with heavy legs and frozen hands, eyes ready to close and no real food for a day or so i found the energy to take one more picture. Every season looks to be even more beautiful in Sweden. Dress well, winter is coming.

Right outside my house..

What about Finland? Until Wednesday it involved quiet things, mostly staying inside, watching silly movies, cooking loads of different food, eating a lot of garlic bread and taking Ippu to the dog park. I like this life. I felt relaxed and not in a rush to do anything else, to go to clubs and drink until dawn. Sometimes the world needs a little old-fashioned.

Then we moved to Espoo, a fairly large area near Helsinki. It was a 1.5 hour drive and we listened to horrible music on the radio that made us want to gouge our eyes out. We stayed at her parents house since my flight was really early in the morning and the airport was about 30 minutes from there. Her parents were on vacation though and we only had the little sister in the house. Our dialogue was amazing and involved me talking about dogs and her nodding.

So we watched even more movies as i prepared for the last exciting day in Helsinki. Should i make a list of what we watched? Yea sure why not. If you are a fan of bad movies that are so bad that they are good yay!

Airplane! (1980): 10/10 They just don't make movies like these anymore. Ridiculous dialogues, epic fails, shit that hit the fan, inflatable drivers, alcoholics and idiots coupled with rotten fish. A must watch.

Bad Granpa (2013): 9/10 This made us laugh so hard sometimes that the whole building must have shook from it. Over the top farces and gags coupled with cheesy lines and ending make it a nice movie.

Shutter Island (2010): 5/10 Hmmm this movie had a decent enough concept and a lot of plot twists, but the acting was weak at some points. It seemed that they were trying too hard.

Equilibrium (2002): 3/10 A Matrix wannabe. It tackles some interesting points that were better pictured in V for Vendetta but the special effects are weak and the fighting ridiculous anno 2014.

Warrior (2011): 8.5/10 A great movie for MMA lovers and one with a strong background story regarding the importance of family, bonding and struggles.

Bruno (2009): Either 0/10 or 10/10 If you are a fun of really ridiculous movies, racist jokes, sexism, rednecks and public mayhem then this movie is for you. If not and you find that offensive...ehm better stay far far away. It does make a mockery though out of stupid concepts like gay conversion or psychics.

Jumanji (1995): 8/10 The special effects show their age but it is a pretty entertaining movie. A classic.

Jurassic Park 1 (1993): 8/10 The special effects are incredible for a movie that is 20 years old. Some of the actors were horrible and i don't think i even remember who is the lead actor. Good movie.

Jurassic Park 2 (1997): 1/10 What do you get when you have a movie with 3 of the actors i hate the most, shitty plot full of holes and a lust for money? I guess a sequel. I despise Vince Vaun, the guy that plays the dinosaur guy and Julian Moore.

Jurassic Park 3 (2001) We didn't finish that one but it was way better than the second one. Also why does every movie have to have an annoying screaming kid? Oh and that wife there, i wanted to punch her in the throat. Unknown lead actor from first film returns.

As you can see i spent my time as a family man. And i loved every second of it. And this is how the post switches direction and will be more of a photo-show again to better illustrate my day in Helsinki. I cannot show all the 300 pictures i took, but feel free to visit here, like, leave a comment or tell me to go to hell :D

I also had a try on the sauna. Being in 55 Celsius made me so sweaty and wanting to kill myself for a cold shower. I thought my contact lenses would melt into my eyes and crabs would eat my flesh and make me look. The cold shower after was priceless.

We took the scenic route as usual and took bus 165 from Espoo to Helsinki main station. The ride was pretty expensive at 5 euros per ticket for a 40 minute ride. It actually was cheaper than Uppsala-Arlanda which clocked at 60 crowns.

At a big central square.

The day was lovely. Sun and clear sky everywhere and around 10 Celsius which is great weather for Finnish standards. First we walked a bit towards the Finnish Museum of Natural History. If you visit Helsinki and not go there, i will hunt you down and force you to do it. The entry is 5 euros for students and 10 euros if you are a mongrel like me and brought no student ID.

Entrance to the museum. Big moose and giraffes.

Getting inside we paid the ticket, got ourselves a map and then the adventure started! We were greeted by a massive elephant that reminded me of the jumanji movie and we headed up the stairs. I wish i could show you all the pictures!

Do not poke the elephant. Wildboar cameo too.

Oh this paper guy too.

I really need a haircut.

The first floor was full of history stuff, from rocks and fossils to animals and the big bang. It was the next floor that i wanted to see!

They actually had live fossilized stuff in the jars.

We made our way to the top to see the finnish and global fauna and flora, a sight that was absolutely astounding. I was running around like a little boy taking pictures everywhere i could!

Getting ready to snap the pray.

A little boar family.

All my favorite animals in one building. I am so excited just to think about it!

Majestic creatures.

What, did you think there would not be snakes?

Not everything involved flesh eating beasts.

And then my favorite part. A childhood dream coming true. Dinosaurs!

I think i just jizzed in my pants.

I think i can die happy now!

A triceratops too!

Just look at the size of the megalodon!

Then there was a common finnish household that gave me the creeps.

No thank you.

We moved to a room full of skulls and bones.

These actually reminded me of the skeleton monkeys in The Mummy Returns.

Carita also decided to poke a man in the eye.

She actually tried to remove his jaw and brains.

Closing in a nice picture i took in the local fauna room.

Feeling foxy today?

Oh we are hungry so we try to GPS our way to a place called Fafa's that serves fallafel. We fail so hard and when we finally make it there it looks horrible. So we do the right thing to do in times like these and we enter a candy shop where i fill a bag with tons of tutti frutti.

We try to find a pizza place and we end up in Pizza Hut. For 11.40 i got the worlds most depressing pizza. Like really depressing. So small i wanted to dance and do the chacha in front of everyone. And the view was amazing as a van parked right next to the window. So i ate way too much candy.

Then we walked and walked around the city until the sky consumed the sun and the cold was penetrating our coats. We headed for an Irish pub and drank even more beer. That+candies=bad combo.

The most famous cathedral there.

It's time to go back. We run to catch the last train and we barely make it in. I am probably going to vomit candies, pizza and beer. But it's alright. We get the train ticket inside and everyone is looking at me like i am a maniac, since i keep laughing, smiling and having a good time. My friend has a blast as she is not used to this and we get off the train and walk back home. In every neighborhood apparently there was a murder and we made it to the playground where we sat on the swings like little kids.

Back home we ate more, drank more, watched the horrible Jurassic Park movies and we did not sleep. At all, because we were afraid we would miss the flight.

At around 4 am we started our journey to the airport. We arrived at 4:40 and my flight left at 6:55. Carita spent over an hour to keep me company and i was really worried for her safety when she drove back home. She is safe now :*

We made a mayhem in the airport, or better say, i did and she laughed at it. I just sat there in a seat playing Assassin's Creed: Pirates on my tablet and entered the airplane. Apparently it is also easy to leave Finland as you need just a boarding pass, no identification.

What is it with me, planes and strange people? The flight was good, the air hostess tried to ask me 3 euros for a bottle of water and when it was time to leave i turned around and saw the worlds most angry man glaring at something. I made a quick escape to the bus stop, where i took bus 801 back to the city center.

There i devoured 2 kanelbullars and rode bus 7 home. And then i died for 12 hours. And i am going to do the same now since i am so tired and bored.

Leave a comment, like, share and follow me through the widget in the right! We will talk soon as it is Halloween and something interesting will surely show up!

Goodnight Sweden! Goodnight my Carita!

Secrets of college success, tips for getting good grades in college

Back then at my bachelor days, or even earlier, during my time in high school i was known as a nerd, a geek that was always studying instead of having fun (i may as well have been all that). Then the exams came, and people would look at me and say:

"You take NO CANDLE"

Oh wait, wrong line from another era. They would say:

• How do you do that?
• Tell us your secret?
• You must be a genius.
• Get a life?
• You will end up unemployed anyways.

And here comes the punchline. I got stung today by some self-realization. I never studied a lot. In fact, up until the last two years of my bachelor's degree i was lazy, prefering to play World of Warcraft or spend endless hours with my girlfriend. But i had great grades. They could have been even better but i always managed to outperform better or smarter students. How did i do that? Is there some magic formula or just being good at it? Being able to guess exams? Being lucky or simply being able to digest massive amounts of information and knowledge overnight?

Rubbish.

The list of people that can actually do any of those things is rather small.

 

You get the point.

In a previous post i said i would talk about how a fool with a plan is likely to outsmart a genius without a plan. I was a fool for doing a million things wrong, but where it mattered i had a plan. This applies here though you don't have to be a fool. There are certain things, tips if you prefer, that can help you pave the way to success, stardom and that really high GPA you crave and think is unreachable. Let's get to it.

1) Before the semester starts.

Preparation is everything. Time management as well. Read the academic calendar, it will help you notice the important dates and spring/summer breaks. Have a journal or a calendar to mark the future assigned papers and essays so you don't miss a deadline and have them handy.

Moving in another country? Dust off your language skills. I played a lot of online games so i kept my english skills sharp, it will definately help if you are moving somewhere else that the language is not your native one. Reading the news or even better, talking with a native person will work wonders for your language skills and confidence.

Get the required "hardware" so you don't have to run at the last moment and shout "У меня нет времени" (i don't have time). That consists: notepads, laptop, netbook, pens, etc. Will get back to that later. 

Quick-check the courses and the syllabus and do not miss orientation day. Do not pick courses blindly. Learn the facilities, settle at home, find out where you will eat, work out. Get a place where you can study, that inspires you. It does not have to be your home, everyone has his own preference or study style.

Relax, have some fun with your friends, let off some steam and take a breath, it's is going to be a long journey in pastures new.

2) During the first weeks/months of the semester.

Assess your situation. Set up a goal and have a plan to achieve it. Also eat healthy and sleep well, a tired brain will work against you. Picked up the wrong class or decided you could handle an extra subject but it pressurizes you? Is the professor bad, boring, or does not give a damn about his students?

Don't be a fool and drop the class, what good will it do if you are going to fail/pass with a mediocre degree or just scrape through if it has unecessary workload that interferes with you real priorities? It will just affect them and derail your plan, as well as it will have a massive effect on your confidence and your stamina. Being physically sick is not a good thing. College is a marathon, not a sprint.

3) The Professor is your friend, not your enemy.

Well, i know many people that are willing to bet against me in Greek universities, but in a country like Sweden where the teachers are young, thirsty to pass their knowledge and don't bring their political beliefs into class, they can be a powerful ally. College is not just attending lectures and reading books. Interaction with the professor can be the difference between an A and a B, or turning that B/A+ into an A.

Had a rough time or could not understand a part of a complex lecture? A simple question or just 5 minutes with him can maybe clear things out and steer you in the right direction. All of them have office hours especially for the students to attend. Hell sometimes they may even feel lonely. What is better for them than a student that is actually interested in learning something, a chance for them to pass all those years of experience. And we are talking about students with valid questions, not 

"Hey bro what class are you teaching?"

 Yes. That's a no go. Set up a meeting with your professor then. Show him a draft of your paper, maybe you got the topic wrong or you are stuck in a part that you need clarification. He can help. 

Ask constructive questions on the subject at hand in classroom, you can get bonus points if your question demonstrates some understanding of the material that he is presenting that day or in a previous lecture. Be combative and passionate, get into an arguement if you can, demonstrate those strong personality traits you know you have. It will break the monotony. But don't overdo it.

4) Read those red marker comments in exams/essays.

You think teachers correct your mistakes in order for you to feel ashamed and hide your paper from your friends or mother? This is a key part, one of the few times that you can get 1-1 feedback on your topic/essay/exam/mistakes from the professor. Study and analyse your mistakes, it will help you prevent them in the future.

5) Do not procrastinate.

• You can run out of time.
• Unless you are a born writer, it takes some time to put an idea together and turn a draft into a fully-fledged essay.
• Something unexpected might happen and you will be into loads of trouble. The prof won't appreciate you begging for extra time.
• A paper done overnight before the deadline will not be good enough.
• No time to polish your work. Remember that slight line between a B and an A?
• You sabotage yourself and your other courses.
• It's not going to get easier if time passes.

6) Have a time-management plan.

Time management is KEY, i cannot stress this enough. Set up your courses well through the week and start working on those assignments early. You could be hit by 10 different deadlines and 3 exams in the same month and you will probably lose your sanity and go hunt white sharks in the baltic sea.

 

Sometimes i just can't help myself. Megalodon easter egg in BF4

7) Divide and conquer.

Large projects, assignments, papers, essays, can be broken into smaller pieces. That will give your ideas time to gel and the extra brainstorming might give you a breakthrough if you are stuck. While you sleep your brain processes the problem and can find a solution. Tip courtecy of The Secrets of College Success (Lynn Jacobs and Jeremy Hyman).

8) Save often, save early.

Not much to say here, but you would hate it if your hard drive crashes or there is a power outage. Go explain that to the prof.

9) Anticipate the exam material. 

The most important parts of the lecture are the first and last 5-10 minutes. The professor delves into the subject he is going to discuss over the next few hours. At first he is making an introduction, giving you quickfire tips about what is going to follow. Then in the end he is going to summarise what he said, helping you if you missed or misunderstood a part. Great.

Do not miss classes. Say that the course has 50 lectures per semester and you decide to skip 10. That's 20% of lost material that you cannot make up for.

Exam coming? Start early. Like a week or so before. The prof is leaving hints on what is going to show up all the time. If he stresses a point a lot, or he repeats it multiple times during the lecture, it's bound to be important. Understand the material, don't just memorize and do not read every lecture so focused that you forget about everything. There are time constraints. If you attended the classes you should have a clear idea about the topic, and if you studied efficiently you will have a firm grasp on the subject. Prepare a pre-test, or attent the professor's office, he might even drop a hint or two.

10) Eat and sleep well.

Last tip because i am a bit tired. You don't eat well? You better start now. You don't sleep well or enough? You WILL start now. The brain needs energy and a good reboot in order to function correctly and at maximum capacity. You will feel invigorated and it will show. NEVER do a last night reading marathon or you will degrade your performance and come up with many many excuses.

Sounds familiar? Not like this.

Well that concludes 10 tips on improving your college experience and your grades. Next post will be about Sweden probably, or something that irritates me, or some random thought i will have that day. Anyway time to study some Russian! Feel free to add some comments or suggestions!

Have a great weekend lads and lasses.