My first week in Singapore has flown by, but oh my gosh, are the days looooong. I just started the show Severance, and my life literally feels like that. The workday ends, and after dinner, it’s basically time to go to bed, not because it’s late, but because I’m exhausted. Luckily, my boss has shortened my workday from 9-6 to 9-5, which made the latter half of the workweek more manageable. My nights feel substantially longer.
On Wednesday, my bosses, Alex and Lucy, took me to lunch and bought me a drink! I felt like I was back in Dublin for a hot second, and then it was right back to work. I am currently in the midst of preparing a pitch deck for a private investment firm to convince them to sell a property while simultaneously creating a pitch book of all properties that may go up for sale for potential buyers. It’s been interesting playing both sides of the coin, depending on the audience. For the pitch deck, I work with various teams, such as valuations, leasing, sales, due diligence, and research, so I am at the mercy of each of their schedules. I’ve enjoyed getting to know so many other people in the office, and I like how my team operates—clear instructions, outlines, and then free rein aside from our once-a-week meetings. I was afraid that since my hand wasn’t being held, I would mess things up and not do things right, but after positive feedback on Friday, I feel confident in my work for the next few weeks.
On Thursday, I turned 20 on the 20th, the day I’ve been looking forward to for the past few weeks. I’m not a big birthday celebrator, but something about a golden birthday felt extra special. The company of my roommates made the day even more memorable. My boss, Lucy, even bought me a cupcake from her favorite café, Plain Vanilla. Alexa met with me and my other coworkers for lunch, which I really appreciated! After work, Alexa came over to Colliers for an office tour, and to kill time before our dinner reservation, we spent time at the bar in our office lobby.
Dinner was at Fortuna, and it had to be the best pizza of my life. Ariana agreed, and Alexa said she had the best pasta of her life. All in all, dinner was amazing, but the service was even better. The waiters sang happy birthday with tambourines, and our waiter diligently served us water constantly. Rasheed was amazing; I could tell he wanted us to get our $3 worth of water.
On Friday, it was Ariana’s golden birthday as she turned 21 on the 21st, It’s been fun planning an entire birthday weekend together! By the time I was let out of work, I could definitely tell that I had been there for five whole days. I was thrilled to get out. We can’t agree on who ditched who (they ditched us), but Alexa, Maddie, and I ended up at Ariana’s birthday dinner without her and Lauren. We went to Din Tai Fung, and after much anticipation, it wasn’t as good as people say. I’ve had much better soup dumplings for half the price in Sydney’s Chinatown. Alexa HAD to ask for a birthday candle, which resulted in the poor waiter trying to balance a candle between two chocolate soup dumplings. It worked, but it took a hot second. We ended the night with drinks while watching Crazy Rich Asians, as apparently, it’s a crime that I went a whole 20 years without watching it.
Saturday was a sleep-in kind of day. I didn’t set an alarm and went straight to bed. I had plans to skip the bus tour the next day, but I naturally woke up at 10 with enough energy to get ready. I actually really enjoyed the bus tour as if it weren’t for it, I probably would’ve never gone to Little India or Malay Town. After the tour, Lauren, Alexa, Maddie, and I met Ariana at Fat Belly, apparently one of the best steakhouses in Singapore. The truffle fries were to die for, but the steak was lackluster for $70.
The one thing we had been looking forward to all day was cake. Ariana informed us that a cake had been delivered to the apartment from the hotel, which we remembered from Professor Alexander. The second we got home, we eagerly grabbed our spoons and dug in (minus Alexa). In Owen’s words, “We butchered that thing.” Then we were informed by Lauren that it was Chip’s birthday cake, a student from another school, that our new roommate Jocelyn had bought. While Ariana and Maddie scrambled to find a replacement cake, I had to explain to Jocelyn why we ate her friend’s cake. It was a long, long day that ended with no cake. Each of our bites ended up costing us all $7 each…
Today, work was like every other day, me in front of my laptop and desktop, doing research and finishing up presentations. I love the last hour of each day after Alex goes home and it’s just me and Lucy. Lucy is truly a boss lady, and I look up to her a lot. She never holds her tongue around me, so I love getting to hear both the good and the bad about the industry and particular clients! I also love that she “forces” me to go home early. She is an absolute joy to learn from, and I can’t wait for more of our talks.
Anyway, Alexa and I restarted our Bridgerton watching. We’re finally on Season 2, and I am thrilled!
Finally, this picture is especially for Professor Alexander whom I miss dearly and can’t wait to see in the fall!
