Spread the love!

One of the things I really love about SBCC is the view.

I am high on life right now. I feel so good about my classes, my internship, my roommates, my friends, this town..etc etc. Even though I sometimes feel like I am overwhelmed by all the studying and working that I need to do this semester, I notice that staying occupied with learning and develop through my internship is what I LOVE. Honestly, I love learning! I already got to use one of my ideas that I got in my Public Relations class for my internship, and we are doing a little social media contest for Valentines Day. I am so excited.

The contest will be on Instagram, and you will post "What I love about SBCC" and use the hashtag #sbcclove . We will choose a winning picture on Thursday February 13th and the winners picture will be posted on our official facebook page on Valentines Day! The SBCC facebook page currently has almost 17 000 followers so the winning picture will be seen by a lot of people!

This is the end of week two by the way, and this week went by faster than ever. It's weird thinking that Spring Break is only 6 weeks away, and I can't wait for it because my mom in visiting me from Sweden during that break!
I decided I didn't want to leave SB for spring break like most of the students do, because I need to hold on to my money. So me and my mom will have our own vacation here in SB which is perfect.


What else is going on..Me and my roommates are going to IKEA in Burbank on Sunday, and that will be fun. Although I will not be getting stuff for myself, I should actually try to get rid of stuff instead since I am leaving SB pretty soon. But, I look forward to eat meatballs and buy some other swedish food in their store.

And I just wanna throw in a little tip, if you want to work out at a gym that is not too expensive, you should really check out 24 hour fitness down on State Street. It's not super fancy or anything but it has all the stuff you need, and I am in love with their yoga and pilates classes!

Have a great weekend!

Super Bowl, studying and eating

This weekend started off with a dinner DT at Enterprise Fish located on lower state. It was me, Louise, Kirstine and her roommate Stephanie. I'm not a big fan of seafood, so I had the chicken, but the girls all tried different things and we were all very happy with our food! We had some wine too before we went down to Cadiz to just sit down and talk for a bit before we went home.
Friday was really all about studying for me, since I had a lot to read for both my marketing classes. I love it though, because it's what I'm interested in.

Saturday was gym and studying, and then came Super Bowl Sunday! The original plan was to go DT and hang out at one of the bars but then we decided to stay at our place instead, and just get some food, snacks and wine. We made the right decision since it was raining yesterday! We had a great time, even though the game wasn't all that exciting...and we all got a stomach ache from all the tortilla chips and guacamole.



So, basically this weekend was all about good food and studying. We usually go and study at Roco, also on lower state, next to Backyard Bowls. I actually tried my very first bowl this weekend (!) I know, I'm so late, but I absolutely fell in love with it. So good!
I tried the Brasil Bowl, with acai and bananas, because bananas are my favorite fruit! I eat like 20 bananas in one week, ask my roommates..

I have to run off to class now, but have a great week everyone!

End of week one

This is my street. Unreal.

So school has officially started and it is the end of week one for me. This week did not go by as fast as the weeks usually do at SBCC, because of all the new impressions, classes and all the new students you meet. These 4 days feels like 3 weeks to me! But it's fun, I like the first week of school because of all the new people you meet.

All of my classes are great and it feels really good to be back at work. I have met with almost all of the other bloggers and they are all about to get started on their blogs! It feels really good to see everyone again. I am truly grateful for this internship that I've got, I really love it.

my frittata

And other than all of the school related stuff, I've settled in at home in my room but I am doing some things a little bit different this semester! During my time in SB I have been terrible in the kitchen. I haven't been cooking AT ALL! Which results in a lot of eating out, that leads to spending a lot of money. So this semester I have decided to do all of my cooking at home. Well, most of it anyways. It's going great! A few nights ago I made frittata with turkey, shrimp, tomatoes and spinach and it was delicious! And so easy to make. I am proud :)



Oh, and this weekend we will probably hang a lot DT around the Arlington Theatre to try and spot some of the movie stars (starstruck?) and mingle with the crowd. You haven't missed that the Santa Barbara Film Festival is starting today right?
I think it will be a crazy weekend DT since school started and all. It will be fun!

And next weekend we are taking the car to IKEA to get some stuff for the apartment. I will eat meatballs for sure!

Have a great weekend everyone!

I'm Back!

Hi everyone!

I'm back! Back in the U.S., back in Santa Barbara, back in school and now finally back at my desk working as an intern at SBCC's Marketing Department.
And for all you new readers;

I'm Malena. 28 years old, Swedish, Marketing major, and this is my 5th semester at SBCC.
Through my internship I was a part of building these student blogs and I am also (obviously) blogging myself, and loving it! So welcome back to all my readers, and a big welcome to all the new ones! Hope you all had an awesome winter break. I did.

First day of spring semester, gorgeous day.

Some big news that I have to share with you is that this will be my very last semester at SBCC and also my last months living in California. Just recently, I decided I want to move back to Sweden after this semester. Although leaving Santa Barbara will be the absolute hardest thing that I will have to do, I feel very excited about the next stage in my life back home, where I'm close to my family and friends.

Beautiful winter wonderland, my hometown Vasteras

Don't worry though, I will make the most of my time this spring and I already have a NY trip booked in February (to visit one of my closest friends who's studying there this semester) and a ticket to Coachella in April. I'm sure I will take a few trips down to LA and up to SF as well, and I am confident that this will be the best semester yet!

Just to mention a few things about my break in Sweden; I celebrated Christmas with my amazing family, New Years with great friends, I worked in retail at MQ (where I was store manager before I moved here) I spent time with all my best friends, I played in the snow, I had many breakfast dates at Espresso House and I spent all my spare time with a very special someone.

one of many scones breakfasts 

And to the classes I'm taking now: Since I'm a marketing major, I already have all the required marketing classes but I decided to refresh my memory a little bit so I'm taking 2 marketing classes this semester; Public Relations and Relationship Selling. I am excited about both, I think they will be very useful!
Other than those I'm taking english 111 and environmental studies with lab.

Please let me know if there's anything in particular that you want me to blog about or if you have any questions at all!

Malena

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..