Saturday, March 13, 2010
Happy Birthday
I wake up on the morning of my 28th Birthday, and it feels like just another day. Certainly a pretty uneventful birthday. Other than being in another country, it won't be too exciting. The day starts with a 9:00 group meeting for leadership. I then have another group meeting after that as well as other papers to write.....
However, it is a beautiful day, so I take a study break to walk around Lappis and take some pictures. Post to come
We head to the restaurant in Lappis for a couple beers around 9 with Corne. That is the extent of my birthday celebration. 28.....old
Drew
However, it is a beautiful day, so I take a study break to walk around Lappis and take some pictures. Post to come
We head to the restaurant in Lappis for a couple beers around 9 with Corne. That is the extent of my birthday celebration. 28.....old
Drew
Weekend # 8
Weekend number 8 couldn't come fast enough as Joe and I have actually had a pretty good amount of schoolwork to do. We have a 20 page group paper in our finance class in which we are in the same group. We also have separate groups for leadership and a 20 page paper due there as well. Throw in a littany of individual assignments, and we have been quite busy.
However, when Thursday rolls around, we are ready for another pub crawl. This time, the crawl is around Ostermalm. The 2nd bar we go to is an English pub called Spitfire. Definitely right up my alley. We haven't found to many relaxed, pub style type bars here, so this is nice. I step up to the bar, grab myself a $9 Guinness, and I am in business. Next, we go to a fancy steakhouse that has a huge bar area. I have been in enough watering holes to know that this will be even more expensive than normal. However, my brain leaves me for a second, and I agree with Joe that we should order an Old Fashioned. About halfway through the bartender making this extensive cocktail, I realize that this is not going to be cheap.......200 SEK.....son of a bitch. That was ok at Collage, because it was your first week here, but you know better now; rookie mistake, unacceptable.
We finish off the crawl by going to Sturehof. Sturehof is also the place that we have met Gustav on many the Friday for happy hour after work. The happy hours at Sturehof are simply amazing. Joe and I split off from each other as we both get caught up in other conversations. Next thing I know, I have a text from Joe that he left in time to catch the metro. I look at my cell phone; 12:58....blast. Oh well, cab ride it is. Certainly a 2nd successful pub crawl.
On Friday, Joe had some friends coming into town from Barcelona. They arrive around 4:00, so we head over to their hotel to meet up with them. Amazingly, they have gotten word about the cost of booze here, and they have brought tons of it. After a drink in their hotel room, we head back to Sturehof for our normal happy hour spot. We meet up with Gustav and his new girlfriend, as well as A.C. We grab a couple drinks there, and Joe and company decide we are doing a nice dinner on this fine evening. We go to a restaurant called Prinzcen. It is very fancy. We look over the wine list to find the cheapest bottle. It is some Greece/Portugal mix, perfect. After a couple appetizers, a couple bottles of wine, and some delicious entrees, we pay up, and head out.
We meet up with Levar and Anna at Spitfire for a couple rounds after dinner. Once we have had a couple pints there, Levar and Anna split, and we hit the streets. Lauren then leads a very determined charge to get into a club at 11:30 without paying or without waiting in a line. We try to convince her that this is not possible, but the Greekport we just had is working to strengthen her resolve. 30 minutes of wandering the streets later, the wine starts to wear off and we hop in cabs and head home.
However, when Thursday rolls around, we are ready for another pub crawl. This time, the crawl is around Ostermalm. The 2nd bar we go to is an English pub called Spitfire. Definitely right up my alley. We haven't found to many relaxed, pub style type bars here, so this is nice. I step up to the bar, grab myself a $9 Guinness, and I am in business. Next, we go to a fancy steakhouse that has a huge bar area. I have been in enough watering holes to know that this will be even more expensive than normal. However, my brain leaves me for a second, and I agree with Joe that we should order an Old Fashioned. About halfway through the bartender making this extensive cocktail, I realize that this is not going to be cheap.......200 SEK.....son of a bitch. That was ok at Collage, because it was your first week here, but you know better now; rookie mistake, unacceptable.
We finish off the crawl by going to Sturehof. Sturehof is also the place that we have met Gustav on many the Friday for happy hour after work. The happy hours at Sturehof are simply amazing. Joe and I split off from each other as we both get caught up in other conversations. Next thing I know, I have a text from Joe that he left in time to catch the metro. I look at my cell phone; 12:58....blast. Oh well, cab ride it is. Certainly a 2nd successful pub crawl.
On Friday, Joe had some friends coming into town from Barcelona. They arrive around 4:00, so we head over to their hotel to meet up with them. Amazingly, they have gotten word about the cost of booze here, and they have brought tons of it. After a drink in their hotel room, we head back to Sturehof for our normal happy hour spot. We meet up with Gustav and his new girlfriend, as well as A.C. We grab a couple drinks there, and Joe and company decide we are doing a nice dinner on this fine evening. We go to a restaurant called Prinzcen. It is very fancy. We look over the wine list to find the cheapest bottle. It is some Greece/Portugal mix, perfect. After a couple appetizers, a couple bottles of wine, and some delicious entrees, we pay up, and head out.
We meet up with Levar and Anna at Spitfire for a couple rounds after dinner. Once we have had a couple pints there, Levar and Anna split, and we hit the streets. Lauren then leads a very determined charge to get into a club at 11:30 without paying or without waiting in a line. We try to convince her that this is not possible, but the Greekport we just had is working to strengthen her resolve. 30 minutes of wandering the streets later, the wine starts to wear off and we hop in cabs and head home.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Levar
Joe and I headed over to Anna's place on Saturday to meet up with Levar. Levar has texted me earlier in the day to let me know that he bought Knob's Creek at the duty free shop. This means that Joe and I are off the hook for drinking Lord Calvert tonight....you cannot imagine the relief.
We meet up with Levar and immediately form a threesome to catchup in which I am a foot shorter than the average person. Awesome....I remember why I love Corne and crew. Joe is the giant in our exchange crew, I am the midget in this one. After a couple drinks, we decide to play some Swedish karaoke. After working Joe in a couple english songs, I dominate a Swedish one. My pronunciation would make Frida blush......
We try to head out but there are queues everywhere.......oh well, gold medal hockey game tomorrow night :)
Levar meets us at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday evening for the Gold Medal hockey game!! We are very excited. We have been here for the football games and a soccer game, so the pigtailed Swedish girl knows that she loves me.....this makes it easier for me to get $10 beers :). While she might work on commission, I know this is different. We are also watching the game with about 11 Canadians. They are up 2-1 with about 40 seconds left when the USA calls a timeout. It is hilarious to watch how tense they are. It is like Red Sox fans pre 2004, they are just waiting for the guillotine to drop. Sure enough, Zach Parise (chicken parm) score with 24 seconds left. Levar, Joe, and I three way five while the Canadians cry. Crosby ends up making them all happy, but it was worth it just to watch their faces when we scored the equalizer. Marijuana dealers cleaning up in Vancouver tonight......
Catch the bus by about 3 seconds and get home to weep
Drew
We meet up with Levar and immediately form a threesome to catchup in which I am a foot shorter than the average person. Awesome....I remember why I love Corne and crew. Joe is the giant in our exchange crew, I am the midget in this one. After a couple drinks, we decide to play some Swedish karaoke. After working Joe in a couple english songs, I dominate a Swedish one. My pronunciation would make Frida blush......
We try to head out but there are queues everywhere.......oh well, gold medal hockey game tomorrow night :)
Levar meets us at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday evening for the Gold Medal hockey game!! We are very excited. We have been here for the football games and a soccer game, so the pigtailed Swedish girl knows that she loves me.....this makes it easier for me to get $10 beers :). While she might work on commission, I know this is different. We are also watching the game with about 11 Canadians. They are up 2-1 with about 40 seconds left when the USA calls a timeout. It is hilarious to watch how tense they are. It is like Red Sox fans pre 2004, they are just waiting for the guillotine to drop. Sure enough, Zach Parise (chicken parm) score with 24 seconds left. Levar, Joe, and I three way five while the Canadians cry. Crosby ends up making them all happy, but it was worth it just to watch their faces when we scored the equalizer. Marijuana dealers cleaning up in Vancouver tonight......
Catch the bus by about 3 seconds and get home to weep
Drew
Do You Win In Swedish Casinos??
Joe and I decided on Friday that we would test to see if Swedish casinos pay better than American ones. We start the night by heading to O'Leary's to watch the USA Olympic semifinal game against the hated Finnish. We get to the bar about 5 minutes before game time and every single TV is dedicated to the biathlon. This is a sport that combines cross country skiing with....shooting a guy: how many alpine snipers are into this? Now not to steal too much material from Jerry Seinfeld, but come on....already a man has died participating in a sport that would be the exact same if people competed against their will. Come on buddy, you're in the luge......
We ask the bartender, and she tells us that the hockey game will be put on half the TVs once it starts. We are happy about this, so I order a 66 SEK Guinness. As soon as the hockey game starts, half the TVs switch over, and the whole bar erupts. I have never heard a group of people so pissed about having the TVs switched away from cross country skiing. Joe and I have a moment of panic as we see the waitress point towards us and say some words in Swedish. We assume this means "if you want to kill anybody over this issue, kill those two Americans." As it turns out, she was just explaining that they could still watch the boring biathlon on the TVs around the bar. As it turned out, not a very exciting game. The US scored before we could even sit down. They then made it 2-0, so I texted Oskar. 3 min later it was 4-0. I texted Oskar to let him know the score, and before i finished the text, it was 5-0.....needless to say, the US took those damn dirty Finns down.
Joe and I then headed to the casino to try our luck. Coat check was free.....already up 20 SEK....booyah. I get dealt 11, of course you double down. Although in Swedish casinos, the dealer only deals their up card, and they dont get a down card until after you have played. The dealer has an Ace showing, and I have no idea if she is going to get a blackjack or not.....so I double down, get 21, only to watch her deal herself a ten and take double my original bet. I am not happy about this, so I run out of the casino and get 7/11 pasta. Fun to see how serious people are at casinos outside the US. However, I still celebrated wins. And.....the doors to the bathroom were amazing....you had to be there
Levar gets in town tomorrow, booyah
Drew
We ask the bartender, and she tells us that the hockey game will be put on half the TVs once it starts. We are happy about this, so I order a 66 SEK Guinness. As soon as the hockey game starts, half the TVs switch over, and the whole bar erupts. I have never heard a group of people so pissed about having the TVs switched away from cross country skiing. Joe and I have a moment of panic as we see the waitress point towards us and say some words in Swedish. We assume this means "if you want to kill anybody over this issue, kill those two Americans." As it turns out, she was just explaining that they could still watch the boring biathlon on the TVs around the bar. As it turned out, not a very exciting game. The US scored before we could even sit down. They then made it 2-0, so I texted Oskar. 3 min later it was 4-0. I texted Oskar to let him know the score, and before i finished the text, it was 5-0.....needless to say, the US took those damn dirty Finns down.
Joe and I then headed to the casino to try our luck. Coat check was free.....already up 20 SEK....booyah. I get dealt 11, of course you double down. Although in Swedish casinos, the dealer only deals their up card, and they dont get a down card until after you have played. The dealer has an Ace showing, and I have no idea if she is going to get a blackjack or not.....so I double down, get 21, only to watch her deal herself a ten and take double my original bet. I am not happy about this, so I run out of the casino and get 7/11 pasta. Fun to see how serious people are at casinos outside the US. However, I still celebrated wins. And.....the doors to the bathroom were amazing....you had to be there
Levar gets in town tomorrow, booyah
Drew
Sweden Presents Us With.....Work
Joe and I found ourselves in an interesting predicament the last seven days.....there were exams to be studied for and work to be done. While I thought this was a cruel snow filled joke at first, it was indeed true, I must study. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for our psychology of financial markets exam. One of the things we had covered was the idea of the "hot hand fallacy." In relation to sports, this meant that a guy that was 10-10 for the night was not necessarily better to take the last shot than a guy that was 2-10 for the night. The decision was based on career FG %. I thought basketball to be a poor example, so I send the professor a long email about the z-test regarding......well, long dorky story short, he posted his response the my personal email on the class website....luckily there are only hot girls in that class....
So I finish the exam and head off to McDonalds. The night ahead has our first Swedish pub crawl. We start this "pub crawl" at a French restaurant. Joe and I order a couple beers and wade into the crowd. We are talking to a couple people when in walks the french girl in our exchange program. I say hello as she walks towards me, and all of a sudden, I am in the movie Ghost Dad.....she literally passes through me. The young french ladies are truly mannerific.
Corne and company meet us at the second bar. This bar is oddly located in the middle of what looks to be an elementary school. After a couple drinks there, we walk to the last bar before our final destination, Sturecompanient. At this bar, we meet up with AC and company, and shots seem to be on the menu. In addition to that, popcorn comes in bags and is for free. Yes sir, these $10 drinks are actually $10 - the marginal utility of a bag of popcorn......
As Corne and I head to Sturecompanient, we hope that Joe has also made it there. Once there, dancing ensues.....I hope to say that this is the first time I have ever dance to MMMBop.....I don't know if this is a Swedish thing, but recycling shitty American songs 10 years after the fact with weird beats added in doesnt' make them good. However, the girls somehow love Hansen all of a sudden....maybe it is cause they all look like girls...
So I finish the exam and head off to McDonalds. The night ahead has our first Swedish pub crawl. We start this "pub crawl" at a French restaurant. Joe and I order a couple beers and wade into the crowd. We are talking to a couple people when in walks the french girl in our exchange program. I say hello as she walks towards me, and all of a sudden, I am in the movie Ghost Dad.....she literally passes through me. The young french ladies are truly mannerific.
Corne and company meet us at the second bar. This bar is oddly located in the middle of what looks to be an elementary school. After a couple drinks there, we walk to the last bar before our final destination, Sturecompanient. At this bar, we meet up with AC and company, and shots seem to be on the menu. In addition to that, popcorn comes in bags and is for free. Yes sir, these $10 drinks are actually $10 - the marginal utility of a bag of popcorn......
As Corne and I head to Sturecompanient, we hope that Joe has also made it there. Once there, dancing ensues.....I hope to say that this is the first time I have ever dance to MMMBop.....I don't know if this is a Swedish thing, but recycling shitty American songs 10 years after the fact with weird beats added in doesnt' make them good. However, the girls somehow love Hansen all of a sudden....maybe it is cause they all look like girls...
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