I have moved!

After blogging here for so long, I have decided to move on to WordPress to better integrate all my different blogs!

You will be redirected to the new blog in 5 secs! If you are not redirected yet, click on this link! http://mrsuan.wordpress.com/

Liege.

If you were my friend on Facebook, you would realize that I characterized Liege as underwhelming. Totally under my expectations would be a more apt description, I suppose. When we first came to Maastricht, a professor describe this little French city as "scenic" and "pretty". What we found were dilapidated monuments left to the harsh hands of weather, and dirty streets. Possibly the most impressive sight was a simple staircase that stretched on forever.

What a convenient way of creating a tourist attraction! Maybe STB should consider building a staircase all the way up Mt Faber and call it a new attraction.

In all fairness, there are some things that were nice in Liege. Like this retro Suzuki that I saw there...

Selling for a total of EUR 5400. It's quite a steal! Almost as beautiful as the MINI Coopers that I like. And possibly the cleanest thing that I saw in Liege!

And you know what's really ironic? There aren't even any Liege Waffles in Liege!

The Mute Mimi

I have taken to listening to Jay Chou's magnificient music since it's my free day today. There are so many thoughts running through my head now, but I shall attempt to put down what has been dominating my mind lately...

The foremost in my mind would have to be the realization that our short time in exchange is coming to an end. Besides spending time to plan the last month of travelling, I am also beginning to be quite scared of the unknowns that home might bring. After all, I would have been abroad for almost 6 months. Friends in college have lasted a semester without me, my family has also lasted the same amount of time, Singapore has had an election, even MM and SM are stepping down. It's just not the same Singapore anymore. How do I face the new pressures of being a year 3, how do I even cope with the workload? These are questions that keep popping up in my head these days.

Then of course, there's the present to worry about. My modules this block are hellish because I can't seem to click with any of my classmates, not to mention my groupmates. The content is hardly as interesting as the mods I've had for the previous block. All these make studying dry as a bark.

And at the back of my head is always the money that's quickly diminishing in my bank and the places we still have to plan for for the last month. Seems like I am the only one here without a blank cheque to base my exchange on. And it's really starting to get me worried that I might overspend and not be able to go home or something.

And perhaps the most depressing is the fact that I have no one to talk to at all. Beyond the people who are here, of course. I feel like I need to have some place to decompress a little, but no such place exists here. Haix. I guess I am ready to go home after all.

P.S.: If you were wondering about the title, it's 不能说的秘密

Delores from 7-Eleven

It can become easy for concepts to become abstract when we are studying it in class, especially when studying in Maastricht where the focus is on the text and readings so much of the time. Sometimes, it's great to see examples at work, like what we see here in Delores. Customer relationships at the core of service!

I thought it would be good to share this article too by the Harvard Business Review, where I got this video from...

It's My Birthday!

Yes, as you might know, it's my birthday today! I got two surprises today from email. One from my dearest Mother, and another from the International Relations Office in Maastricht University.

My mother sent me this really cute e-Card from 123greetings.com. I didn't know that these things still existed! In a time of social networks and "Happy Birthdays" on Walls, it was heartwarming to see an actual e-Card that she picked out for me. It had these little elephants and bears holding balloons and cakes. CUTE TTM!

Another pleasant surprise was from the IRO office in Maastricht. I didn't think that they would have bothered sending me a birthday greeting, but they did! It was something from Hallmark with a customized message as shown below:

On behalf of the whole staff of the International Relations Office of Maastricht University, we wish you a Happy Birthday! Enjoy your day!

Kind Regards,

International Relations Office

Truly warming, even though it might have been pre-programmed. NUS should have this too if we don't already!