I’ve been tagged by both Ed Lau and Jon Lee to continue a blogified version of a chain letter. As per their request, I am to list five of my greatest obsessions and describe them a bit to you. I guess this is designed to prove that I am, in fact, human and not just a freelance writing machine that churns out top notch articles at reasonable prices (sorry for the shameless self plug). It’s also a fun link-baiting scheme (there’s a lot of that going around… the whole My Name is My Domain thing has sent me a little bit of traffic).

What is Michael Kwan obsessed with? I’ll tell ya! (In no particular order)

  • Money: While I may not be a dot com mogul like John Chow just yet, I am working on it. All of my income is made over the internet, and being self-employed, I am necessarily involved with all my finances. Accurate records are important, so I obsess over all the money coming in, all the expenses going out, and all the other processes along the way. Susanne knows that I talk about money all day long. And the things that money can buy, which brings me to…

  • Cell Phones and Portable Electronics: On the one hand, I enjoy writing for Mobile Magazine, because it gives me an opportunity to fiddle with some gadgets (most recently, I got some Bluetooth gear from Kyocera), but on the other hand, it makes me lust after all the latest gadgetry that I can’t possibly get my hands on. Japan and Korea get some crazy cell phones and other portable electronics and either a) I can’t get it because they don’t sell it here, or b) I don’t get it because I think it’s too expensive for my own good. But yeah, ask me anything about cell phones and there’s a good chance I have an answer for you.

  • Poker: It’s funny, really, because I’ve never played poker at a casino. In this way, poker is not a money-making (or losing) venture for me as much as it is just a hobby or an area of interest. I watch a lot of it on TV, but mostly only when I know the people sitting at the table. Guys like Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, and so on. I used to play online for fun, but I don’t really do that anymore. I do play just about every weekend with my friends in our modest home game though. Poker: It’s taking the world by storm.

  • The Canucks: Especially now that it’s playoff time, I just can’t get enough hockey. I joined a pool, busted out my playoff predictions and made some key hockey pool picks. I’m not really all that obsessed with hockey as I am with the Canucks (even when the bandwagon is pretty empty).

  • Moving Out: With the insane housing market in Vancouver, it’s becoming more and more difficult for anyone to buy a house, unless you already have one to flip and profit from. What’s more, many people are taking out mortgages and secured loans that they simply cannot afford. I watch the housing market quite a bit to see where prices are going, so that I can see when (and if) I can afford to move out on my own. The way things are going in Vancouver, it might be a while.

Now it’s time for me to pay it forward and tag five other bloggers to do the same. Stephen Fung, Kumiko Suzuki, Carl Nelson, Gdog, and Dylan Duarte, you’re up to bat!

A portion of this post was sponsored by ThriftyScot