Green On Green

Tell us a bit about what you do for work, and what brings you to Singapore.
I’m a Corporate Real Estate Programme Manager for Netflix, and I’m here on a short work trip to have an offsite meeting with the team across the Asia-Pacific region.

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten the chance to see much of Singapore yet, but I’m hoping to see all of the architecture because that’s what I got my degree in. I actually managed the buildout of the studio spaces for Netflix.

When did this interest in architecture begin?
My dad was an engineer, so he kind of introduced it to me very early on, and I’ve always wanted to do it. What I like most about architecture is seeing people actually experience the spaces once it’s built.

Do you have a favourite building or architectural work that you’ve seen in person?
It’s a great question, because I was just talking about it with my colleague Adam, who’s here on the work trip with me.

As much as I love architecture, I love nature even more. That’s why I was in amazement of this courtyard at Marina One (laughs). All the greenery! So yeah, that’s what makes Singapore so beautiful—there’s so much greenery, which I absolutely love.

And as expected, I have a lot of plants at home. 16 to be exact. Yes, I counted! (laughs)

Have you gotten the chance to try any local foods yet then?
We did the past two nights, but I have no idea what it is that we ate (laughs). The food just kept coming, but it was delicious. I’m kind of a picky eater though, so if I ask what it is, it might deter me from eating, so I just enter with an open mind mostly.

What’s your favourite cuisine?
Ooh, my favourite cuisine would probably be a tossup between Italian and Creole.

I cook a lot at home, and have quite a number of signature dishes. If we’re talking Creole, it’s crawfish étouffée, which is something like a stew, and then if we’re on the Italian side, it’s either a pasta salad or an Alfredo.

I learnt how to cook from my mother and grandfather, so some of these are family recipes, but others I’ve tweaked to my liking (laughs).

What do you do in your time off back home?
I play with my three dogs, and I sleep (laughs).

But yeah, I have two Doodles, so a Burmese mixed with a Poodle, and a Golden Retriever mixed with a Poodle, and then I have a Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix. So two 80-pound dogs and a four-pound dog, but she doesn’t know that she’s four pounds (laughs).

I love animals, and grew up with pets, but I haven’t seen a lot of them in Singapore. Not as much as we do in Los Angeles at least. In LA, it’s like everyone has a dog, but I’ve only seen like three here this whole week! (laughs)

Have you always lived in LA? What do you like most about it?
I grew up in Georgia, but I’ve been living in LA for about 10 years. I like the weather most in LA, because it’s like 68-73 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. And I’m near the beach, so we love that.

That said, I do miss the seasons in Georgia though. I miss winter and wearing winter clothes, and getting sprayed with the rain. We don’t get a lot of that in LA, but I get to go back and forth whenever I wanna see my family, so I still have the best of both coasts (laughs).