JetSetMeister

My boss from my college internship in Tokyo emails me to say the company is opening an office in Singapore; and would I like to join? I fly out a week later and spend four months learning the ropes of real estate asset management.

My spare time is spent sipping Singapore Slings at glamorous hotel bars, befriending welcoming Singaporeans, and experiencing the expat social scene – including the Eastern European modeling contingent, and getting caught up with the hard-partying Indonesian elite.

Singapore looks like a lush jungle growing out of a sleek urban landscape. I see a 7-year old girl walking on the street alone at 9pm and freak out…until I remember how extraordinarily safe the country is.

My favorite thing about Singaporeans is their insatiable appetite and genuine love of food. You can find them eating at the local hawker malls (food courts) at 3am. We go to Malaysia for dinner and eat seafood…because we can.

After a while, I conclude that I am too young to be working so hard at something I don’t absolutely love.

So I retire at the tender age of 21.

I shelve the suits and hit the backpacker trail for 2 months. At the last minute, my dad flies out for a whirlwind father-daughter bonding trip through six countries in Southeast Asia.