To Be Continued

View over La Playa stadium this morning

I made it through the weekend before finals week and I am at work right now. The weekend was all about studying and resting. The doctor gave me some medecine that I have been taking this weekend and the ironic part is that those pills make me forgetful. That's a proven side effect. Isn't that great the one weekend when you need to study the most.
Well, the good news is that I'm feeling a little bit better, although I forget a lot of words and can't remember half of everything I read this weekend..

SF this summer.

But everyone; We made it through fall semester! It sure was a good one. I have so many great memories from this summer, San Diego, San Francisco, my birthday, LA, all the friends we have had visiting us, my sisters stay, all the dinners we've had, all the great parties, Halloween, Thanksgiving and so on..I could go on forever.

SF this summer.

I am ready for Sweden now though. I love this place with all my heart but nothing's like Sweden. It's my home and its where my family all super close friends are. And Christmas in Sweden is the best! It's snowing a lot there now, so I am excited to drink hot chocolate in front of our fireplace, get cozy on the couch under a blanket, listen to swedish Christmas music and eat all the Christmas candy. I love it! And it will be good for me to come home, and de-stress.

So this will be my last post for this year! Feels like it was yesterday I sat here by my desk and planned all the stuff around creating these student blogs. It has been so much fun, this is what I love doing. I am sure I will find a job that relates to social media in the future, because it really is something I enjoy doing.

Thank you for reading my posts, for commenting and for keeping me motivated this semester. I will be back in SB in mid January and I will continue blogging then.
Spring 2014 will be awesome, I'll see you all then!

Happy Holidays, Take Care and be Thankful for your loved ones!

Easy now.

freezing and feeling a bit bad for myself.

So an update on my health; I am not just imagining the symptoms that I felt, there is actually something going on inside my body that I feel like I have no control over. I went to the health center and I went to urgent care this week. I am choosing not to go in to detail about my condition but hopefully I'll be fine. Right now I just feel a bit low.

I know that stress causes health issues, and even though I haven't been feeling stressed mentally, my body sure is stressed out to a point I didn't know was possible. I need to learn how to de-stress and relax. I can't do everything and it's ok to call in sick every once in awhile when you're not feeling well and need a break. I need one now, that's proven. This weekend will be all about taking it easy, read, watch the christmas parade on state street on Friday night and try to go out for some walks. And of course, mentally prepare myself for finals.

I miss working out, I miss feeling focused. There is one thing you always learn when you loose your health, and that's the fact that you need to appreciate it when you have it. Don't take your health for granted.

my pretty pretty SB

I had my last lectures today and it feels so strange! Knowing that you will never be sitting in that classroom with those people again? It is sad actually. Because it has been a part of my everyday life for 16 weeks.
I have really enjoyed all of my classes this semester.

Well, not much has happened since my last post so I will keep on resting, and cross your fingers that i will be the same old me in no time! Thank you SBCC Health Care for taking my symptoms seriously!

And btw, I am know that I am so late on this one, but the app Bitstrips is hilarious!

"Listen to your body"

SB pier Saturday night

I have to be honest, I am not feeling very well. I have been having headaches, my heart is raising, I feel like I have trouble breathing, I am dizzy and I am extreeemly tired. Is it stress? Probably, but I can't know for sure, so my caring supervisor just said that I need to go to the health center because it is important to listen to my body, so I will do that!

Skyping with my mom and dad,
Thanksgiving night.

The health center at SBCC is located in the Student Services building on east campus and the staff is great! I have been there more than once to get medicine when I have been sick and their help is included in my insurance I get from SBCC.


Other than my physical condition, everything is great. I am getting excited about my flight back to Sweden but at the same time I feel a bit sad to leave SB. I can't get over the fact that all the best things happen at the end of every semester! So I am always bummed when I leave. But I know that I will have a great time seeing friends and family back home too, so I am all good.

At the Thanksgiving dinner

This long weekend was very, very, veeery long. Starting Wednedsay night with Hunger Games 2 which was awesome, I loved it and I can't wait for number 3! Then came Thursday and Turkey Day.
We had the most amazing dinner at the French Table, (and our graphic designer Melanie was so clever when she said that me and my friends weren't celebrating either Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, but "Frenchgiving"). Haha, very funny.
Anyways, it was delicious, and our waiter was hilarious.

Pumpkin soup

Pumpkin pie

Traditional Thanksgiving meal

The rest of the weekend was very laid-back I have to say. I have been sleeping, napping, resting, and trying to eat iron rich food to get my focus back, but nothing really helps. I even stopped drinking coffee and I can really feel that, my body feels so heavy and I have a slight headache constantly.
I really hope I can figure out what I need to get the energized me back! I need it, for sure.

Fun fact; Me and Louise went to a christmas party last night at a friends house and one of the guests was the guy who holds the world record in longest motorcycle jump, 425 feet. That's awesome. We had some wine and chatted for a few hours before we went home and I fell asleep around 10 pm. Told you I'm tired..

2 weeks!

2 weeks left! One week of lectures! What happened? Seriously?
This semester just started and then it ended. And I am off to Sweden soon to see my family. I am sooo excited! Especially since I have a nephew who turned one in November, so I can't wait to see him and hug him for hours!

Sunrise at 6 am, west campus

I feel like this semester is probably the best one yet. They just keep getting better and better. I know a lot of people who say that actually. I guess it has to do with the fact that you feel more at home here for every semester that passes. You meet more friends, you know the city super well, the city knows you super well. Haha. It is funny how that happens, one day you just wake up and feel like you belong. I know I belong here, if not in Santa Barbara then California for sure.

I just found out some great news btw. One of my closest friends will spend one semester in NY to study! I got super excited, because I know what it will do to her. She will open up to a new world she never knew existed.
One of my absolute favorite quotes is: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." It is so true. If you never challenge yourself, you will never grow! We all know that, because we all had that amazing feeling when we finished something that we were nervous, or even scared about. It's awesome.

Well, this Wednesday is a great day. I have a meeting with a few of the bloggers, and I'm excited about that. I like seeing them and just talk for a while. And this is probably the last one we will have time for!
Later today, we're heading down to Metro 4 to see Hunger Games 2, like I mentioned in my previous post.

And I have some other exciting, kind of random news. One of my very good friends from Sweden has a friend who lives in SB who I happened to run in to a few months back. He is going to teach me how to ride a motocross! I am way beyond excited about that, since I have a thing for motocross.
My friend in Sweden is an amazing fmx rider who travels the world to do shows, and I was actually fortunate enough to go with him to one of them, which was in London 2011. Great times.
I'll let you guys know how my riding goes, if I turn out to be a natural or not...

Have a wonderful weekend and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving week

This is a busy time for us students at SBCC, since it is only 3 weeks left of this semester. Actually just 2 weeks of lectures, since the last week is all about the finals.
I am kind of lucky this semester because I only have 2 in class finals; Philosophy, 100 question scantron and History, 50 question scantron plus bluebook written assignments. In my english 110 class, I need to revise one of my former essays and turn it in by the end of finals week. And in yoga, there's one essay about my fitness improvements that is due the week before finals. So it is not to bad actually!

This week is Thanksgiving week, so we have Thursday off! Many of the American students are leaving SB to go celebrate with their families, and us international students gather up with friends and make our own Thanksgiving celebration, which we prefer to call Friendsgiving, isn't that a cute name. This year we're going to dinner at The French Table on E Anapamu. I love that restaurant, it is super cozy. They will have a Thanksgiving menu in a "candle light atmosphere" as they choose to call it. I'm excited!

And since we have Thursday off and don't have to study, me and my wonderful friends Louise and Kirstine are going to see the new Hunger Games movie on Wednesday night. I love the first one I have probably seen it about 6 times or something, so I can't wait to see the second one.
Movie theaters are different here than back in Sweden too. The seats are way more comfortable, they are bigger, and you get to choose your own seat as you walk in. (In Sweden, you get reserved seats)

At the gym.

This past week was a good one, I got a lot of things done and I had plenty of time doing what I love the most, Work Out! Since I partnered up with Kirstine who also works out at 24 hour fitness, I've really stepped up in building more muscles. We are doing Body pump, Body Combat and Bootcamp classes and I am pretty much sore in my muscles every single day, and I love it! My body feels great.
We did measurements in my yoga class this morning too and omg, I am so much stronger now than in the beginning of the semester! And my balance improved from below standard to above standard. That's awesome.

Louise and the car.

Oh, and some good news for us; we have a car now! We got to take care of Louises friend Anas car. She is out traveling the world and won't be back until April so we are super lucky!

Have a great week everyone, and don't forget to be grateful!

As our lives change.

Cabrillo blvd, Santa Barbara

All of the people I meet at this college always react the same way when I tell them my age. "No, you're not 28." "Stop lying." "Are you kidding me?!" etc. A lot of them say that I look so much younger, but I would say the main reason to why no one believes me when I tell them I was born in 1985, is that it's so rare to meet someone who is about 5-10 years older than the majority of this school.

It bothered me a lot in the beginning, and I didn't want people to ask how old I was. But I couldn't care less now. I am doing my own thing and if there is anything I've learned in life, it's that age is just a number. Such a cliche right, but think about it. I have gotten to know a lot of people during my time at SBCC; 20 year olds who act like they're 30 and vice versa. It's just a matter of what stage you are at in life, and I have close friends now that are from 22 and up. And I never ever think about their age. This is not because I am immature or they are overly mature, it's because we have found each other on similar stages in life.

Last picture I took of myself, early
 morning, before I went on the
 plane that took me to LA in Jan 2012.
This is from the hotel I spent that night in,
completely sleepless night..

When I lived in Sweden, I had my closest friends who I love dearly, and at one point I remember thinking that I didn't need more friends in my life. How weird is that? I rarely opened up to new people because I didn't consider myself in need of more people in my life.
And then I moved to Santa Barbara, entered SBCC and created a whole new life for myself with a bunch of new friends and a new city to get settled in. Talk about opening up to a whole new life huh..

Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara

One thing that I always used to have anxiety about in the past was all the goodbyes you have to say in life. I used to think a lot about people that I met while traveling, and about the fact that I would never ever see them again in my life. That made me feel so sad. I have learned to cope with that now, because of the simple fact that: It's a part of life. I have met wonderful people since I moved here, who no longer are in my life. Either because they moved to other cities or moved back to Sweden. The thing is, that I have learned to value the memories I've had with them, and remember what each and everyone taught me. Because you know what, you learn something from Everyone.

I guess what I want to say with this blog post is, don't be afraid of opening up to new experiences in life. You have so much to gain! And the most important part; It is NEVER too late to start over. I went back to school at 26, and I turned my life around to the better.

Ending this post with a great picture that I like to look at when I feel uninspired:

Who's stressing?!

I would like to think that I stress less nowadays than I use to do when I first got back to school, but this past week I have been noticing my usual "stress signs". These signals that my body is sending me when I am stressed are not psychological, but physical. My stomach starts cramping when I eat, I wake up several times in the middle of the night, and I feel super tense. It's only 4 weeks left of school but this is usually the time when you stress the most. It's like when you have been on a road trip and you're on your way home, and you have been in the car for like 6 hours and been totally fine but when there's 30 minutes left you almost panic because you just want to get home Right Now. Am I the only one who feels like that?

Coachella 2013

Well, since I only have so much time left in SB this year (can't believe it's almost 2014) I want to be able to do some fun stuff too, not just study. One of the things I need to do is go to Camarillo Outlets, which is about a 45 minute drive south. They have so many stores with reduced prices. I need to get some new workout stuff, a new pair of UGGs, christmas gifts for my family and just some shopping in general. I have only been there once actually, and that was in April this year when me and my friend Elvira was on our way to Coachella. I realized that I had forgotten to pack a bikini so we made a quick stop at Camarillo and got me one at Forever 21. Lifesaver.

Coachella 2013

Speaking of Coachella, I need to go there next year as well. It was the most amazing weekend! We saw about 30 different bands and DJs I think and we were just high on life. 

I think living in Santa Barbara makes it easy to go places. If you are driving, you have about 6 hours to San Francisco, 6 hours to Las Vegas, 1 1/2 hour to LA, 3 1/2 hour away from San Diego and about 4 hours away from Palm Springs and Coachella. Considering traffic of course.

I have been on many road trips since I moved here, all of the above included. California is truly amazing! 

Oh, and before I have to run off to a meeting with my Philosophy professor, I need to tell you about one of the best movies I have ever seen: About Time. I am not going to spoil the movie by trying to explain what it's about, just see it. I cried for about an hour afterwards because of how much I missed my family back in Sweden. Luckily, when I got home around 12.30 am Saturday night after seeing it, my mom was awake in Sweden so we could Skype. There is nothing you want more then talking to your mom or a loved one when you are crying, right?

Have a great week everyone!

This is what I do.

Me, feeling slightly unmotivated today.

It happens to everyone and it just happened to me; Writers Block! For once, I feel like I have nothing that might interest all of you to share. I am trying to think about all the things that might be running around in all prospecting students pretty heads, but it's hard today! 

So, I thought I'd tell you about our blog meetings that we have twice a month. We meet up at my desk and we grab a few chairs from the offices close by. We talk about the blogs, we laugh, and we eat candy. I really enjoy these meetings, because it's always fun to see the bloggers and to hear about their experiences. This project has been a lot of fun! And if there is anyone of you who would be interested in blogging next semester, send me an email! Lkirs@pipeline.sbcc.edu

From last Wednesdays blog meeting.

And what else is going on..well, my throat is not entirely well yet, so I am staying away from the gym which is torture when all I want to do is run for miles.

But I have to listen to my body and rest. 

Like I've mentioned before, I am working out at the school gym this semester but I do actually have a gym membership at 24 hour fitness down at State Street. I just froze it this semester because I don't have time to hit two gyms a week, but I miss that place a lot! 

They have such great classes there too, that all the members can attend. I love the yoga and pilates classes, and one of my good friends says she always attend the bootcamp and body pump classes. There is something for everyone.

This gym is awesome, so I recommend all students who wants a gym membership to check it out! 

http://www.24hourfitness.com/FindClubDetail.mvc?clubid=00054&sessionId=

Oh, and this Friday, I will take some time to go and see the "real life hero" from the movie Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina. He will be speaking for about an hour and there will be a book signing afterwards. I am really looking forward to it! 

Have a great week everyone! I will be enjoying the Fig Burger at Eureka this Saturday, FYI. #Addicted.

November fun

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween, I did! Although, going out in my costume without a jacket on got me really sick. I started to feel a sore throat on Thursday that got worse, so I have been in bed almost the entire weekend. So unfortunately I missed Open Streets on Saturday, but I think it was really successful from what I have heard and seen.

But our Halloween party was so much fun this Thursday. A lot of people showed up and everyone was dressed up. We had a great time. Me and Louise wore matching outfits, we were angel and devil, and everyone loved our costumes. (That we got from Amazon.com btw, for $30 each. Good deal)

Anyway, it is November and I am starting to get Christmas feelings! I know I'm super early, but I love Christmas!  I can't wait to see State Street covered in lights and Christmas trees. But before all that, we have Veterans Day and Thanksgiving to look forward to.  The Thanksgiving food is amazing. I love mashed potatoes and gravy. And last year, we had a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. Cheesecake is my absolute favorite dessert in the entire world so I was in heaven. I know that Trader Joe's on Milpas has a pumpkin cheesecake, so I'm thinking about getting one. Or five.


Back to Christmas for a second, I remember last year when I told my very good friend who is from Hawaii about the Christmas food we have in Sweden. He laughed at me and said "Malena, there is no such thing as a specific Christmas food". Well, there is in Sweden. We eat so much random stuff on Christmas Eve, it's insane. We mix everything from potatoes, sour cream, salmon, eggs cut in half with mayonnaise on top, to a big ham with mustard, swedish meatballs

 (of course), "beats salad" and potatoes, onions, cream and anchovies in a pan turned in to "Jansons Frestelse". Yummie, don't you wish you were swedish?! Haha. Oh, and the pictures show the train station in my hometown during December and the traditional "ginger bread house" my mom made last year, that all of us Swedes make for christmas!

Veterans Day is on Nov 11th, so we have next Monday off and last year there was a parade on State Street, and there will be one this year too, on Sunday the 10th at noon. Then around 12.45, 18 vintage and modern aircrafts will be flying over Cabrillo Blvd. Sounds really cool, I want to see it!




I felt a little bit better this morning, so I went out for a morning walk this morning and saw the beautiful sunrise. I will never get tired of that view, ever. I am so lucky I found this place and after two years in Santa Barbara, I feel more at home here than I do in Sweden.

Busy weekend coming up!

Today is Wednesday and for me this is kind of like the calm before the storm. This weekend will be packed with so much fun stuff, I can't wait! I will be busy from tomorrow morning at 9.35 until Sunday morning, and then I have to study all day Sunday. One entire 6-7 page research paper needs to be done that day, and even though I feel like there is a lot to do for school right now, it's just 5 weeks left! That is  c r a z y. I say it every semester, but this one has to be the fastest one ever. I mean, we just started?! Well, this is a good thing because I am actually really looking forward to my visit in Sweden over Christmas now.

Starting tomorrow, we are going to host a Halloween Party at our place and then go DT to see all the dressed up people and have a good time. We have to choose wisely were we choose to go tomorrow night because that place is going to be where we have to stay all night, since all of the bars will fill up at 10 pm.
We have decorated our place with Halloween stuff and we are super excited! I love Halloween. I will take pictures of me and my matching roommate Louise in our pretty costumes and put up after the weekend.

Now to something I just heard about, it's "Open Streets" in Santa Barbara! This Saturday, Cabrillo Blvd will close down all the traffic and put up all kinds of fun activities! This will go on from 10 am to 4 pm and I will definitely be there. Some of the activities are; yoga, pilates, kickboxing, art exhibits, health screenings, music performances, street performers and much more. It's a perfect thing to attend on a Saturday.

www.sbopenstreets.org


And one thing that I thought about that i want to share with you all is; Look for activities, clubs and organizations to get involved with at SBCC! I remember what a teacher told me last semester, he said: "Universities and Employers don't look at your GPA and Degree anymore, since there are so many people with college educations nowadays. What they look at are internships that you have completed while in college." He recommended us all to get an internship while still in school.
And it is a known fact that it really boosts your resume to have any kind of volunteer work, memberships in school clubs and to be a part of the Student Ambassadors etc. That is something to think about that will benefit you.

It is really getting colder here in SB now btw! And the other day when me and Louise had been to Starbucks and studied, we stepped out and it was raining! And we got all excited and happy! How crazy is that. It's just that we miss the fall feelings you get in Sweden, where it's dark and chilly and you can stay inside under a blanket, drinking tea and light some candles.

Sunrise, from one of my early morning walks. Beautiful!

It's Monday alright

I woke up this morning and I felt a bit low. Santa Barbara must have had a little storm visiting last night because my window made banging sounds like it was about to break, and that woke me up several times. Anyways, when I woke up I took my morning walk as usual and I always meet the same people in Shoreline Park, so we always greet each other by saying Good Morning or just exchange smiles. That instantly makes me happier. My yoga class at 8 am contributed to more energy as well and by 10 am I was feeling really good.

I don't know where the low feeling came from this morning but I guess it's just a mix of tiredness, school stress and my over thinking that's haunting my head. The trick to always waking upp happy though, is to go to bed with happy thoughts! It really works, believe me. I must have had some pretty bad thoughts in my head before I fell asleep last night. Not making that mistake tonight!

The weekend was good, and I had a lot of time to think about what I want to do in the future and we cruised around a lot in the car that I rented.
I have to tell you about the coolest breakfast and lunch place in Santa Barbara; We went to The Shop Cafe  located on Milpas St on Friday. You order from a counter and there are tables where you can sit inside or outside. You kind off get the feeling that you are in someone's house, not at a restaurant or cafe. I had the best damn oatmeal (that's the actual name of the oatmeal) and it was delicious. Their prices are super good too! This is a must go for all of you. I loved it. http://www.shopcafesb.com/

Saturday night started at Arch Rock at Anacapa St, to have dinner and celebrate Erika's 25th birthday. I had chicken with mashed potatoes and mushrooms and it was sooo good! It was me Erika, Louise and Kirstine. We had conversations about crazy hilarious dreams and we laughed a lot. The night continued at Cadiz and then Tonic. Good night overall!


Oh, and last Thursday me and my teammates did great on our debate! I would never have thought it would be so much fun debating. I really got in to it and almost got mad at the other team for real, haha. We won the debate though and I am looking forward to seeing a new debate tomorrow in class.

Have a great day everyone! I am spending my afternoon at the big Starbucks on State Street to finish one paper and start another one.

Sweater Weather!

Fall made it to Santa Barbara, for real, yesterday. The fact that I can now walk around in jeans and a sweater without dying of heat is amazing.  I really love fall, it's a great period for new beginnings. 

The one negative thing about fall, is that it's flu season. My throat is a bit sore right now so I am resting from my usual workouts today. 

I just came from a very interesting meeting a few hours ago, that really set my mind in to motion. I wish I could tell you more about it but I can't right now. The picture is me in front of the Moreton Bay Fig Tree which is located by the train station is SB. It is the biggest, coolest tree I have ever seen. Apparently it is number 20 on the list of top attractions in Santa Barbara. 

I am discovering as an intern in social media that it is not about completing the tasks you are handed at work, it is about going above and beyond the task you are given. Honestly, I just realized this like a month ago. Since then, I try to put that little bit of extra effort in to everything I do. Put a thought in to what I do. What do I want to accomplish by doing this? And I also use a lot of my free time researching  new things.

And this time of the semester I'm starting to plan for the upcoming spring semester, what classes I will take. I only have one class plus lab that I need to complete my AA degree so I have 9 units to fill with 3 classes that I think will be good for me. I have already decided to take Public Speaking with Cameron Sublett, who is one of the best professors I have been fortunate to have. Prof Sublett is one of the few who's lectures I have felt truly inspired by every single class. I took his Communication 101 class last semester and I learned so so much about my self and about how to understand others. 

I went down to Chapala street to rent a car at Enterprise yesterday. I needed a car to be able to go to my meeting this morning at 7.30 am, and also because Louise and Erika are driving down to LA tomorrow, so they can use it. I absolutely LOVE driving. I could easily drive for hours with my favorite music on really loud and just think about life. So if you know someone who is selling a car in the SB area, let me know!

I would like to try something for this blog post. I want YOU to comment (anonymous if you'd like) and just type one sentence or just one word about why you read my blog. You could be one of my family members, one of my friends, acquaintances, or someone that just found this blog through SBCC's website or the Blog website, it doesn't matter, I want YOU to leave a mark. That would make my day!

Oh, and we are preparing for Halloween at our apartment right now. We are buying decorations and planning a fun party..

The value of Education

Hey guys,

It's a very energetic, happy and excited Malena sitting at her desk today! Who would have known that you can feel so good about yourself just by learning new things and experience something new.

Before I started at SBCC, I wasn't to excited about the idea of going back to school. I believed in the power of working your way up to higher positions and I still do, although, the value of education according to me, is not just the degree and your GPA on a piece of paper, it is the changes that happen within you.




An education does not mean sitting through classes and manage to get an OK grade, it is all about your attitude towards it. I have grown and learned a lot not just from my classes but from inspiring teachers and classmates too. I have met so many people at this college that have touched me in some way and that I have learned from. Think about it, you are fortunate enough to go to a school where over 20.000 completely different people with totally different lives come every day with the same goal as you, to get an education, and to grow as a human being. Use the opportunity you have to talk to new people and learn from them.

I am really taking advantage of every opportunity I get, and right now I am so excited because things are really starting to happen for me!



This weekend that is coming up, we are welcoming our friend Erika who will arrive from San Francisco on Thursday morning! I really look forward to spending time with her, she is hilarious. My roommate Louise and Erika are going to Universal Studios on Thursday night for a "horror night" where you get chased by zombies and ghosts and all kinds of scary things. I am honestly too scared to go, but I think it could be a lot of fun for the ones who actually like that stuff! There will be horror nights at Universal until November 2nd.

This week in school is a pretty stressful one where I have had one midterm in Philosophy , I have one paper draft due for History, a debate in my English class and I have an important personal meeting tomorrow morning. And even though I feel stressed right now, I know that no feeling is better than the one I will have inside on Thursday afternoon when this week is over!

Have a great week everyone!