December 2009 The job begins

I entered the world of corporate law humbly. The plush offices assume an intimidating position on a high floor of a Singaporean skyscraper. The view is magnificent. My first day at work I am ushered to my new work station. It probably has the second best view out of the whole office. I am unquestionably the lowest ranked lawyer in the office. Every so often the foolish things of this world get to shame the wise.

I look out east over the marina, over the bay, over the Marina Bay Sands casino complex, over the Singapore Flyer, over the ships entering and leaving the harbouring, over the plans landing at Changi, over the river that plunges into the great depths of the Pacific.

I look out north over the swanky Fullerton Hotel, the river, the bridges, Parliament, the Victoria Concert Hall, the Asian Civilizations Museum.

It is beautiful. It is magnificent. I bestride the buildings like a giant, I watch over all of Singapore like an eagle from a nest in the upper crags.

This will become my new home. My office will consume a large number of my waking hours. At least the view is unquestionably breath-taking.

The law firm has an Old World charm to it but demands Modern Day delivery. The reception makes you think you are about to visit an old English barrister. You will more than likely receive advice from a young, fresh-faced Asian who is fast-talking and fast-thinking.

I am about to enter a galaxy so foreign, so unlike, so distinct from anything I have ever known. It is a phase change of wild sublimation. Will the boy survive? Will the lad convert himself from a white pastor into an Asian lawyer?