I had lots of hobbies growing up. I liked making things, from holiday
cards to model boats. I liked growing things, from sun flowers to
silk worms. I liked doing things, from skating to wrestling. I liked
to dabble in everything.

But I was always told to focus on one thing. As soon as I picked up a
new hobby, my grandma would cite the ten hobbies
that I’ve since forgotten. She would say “if you keep on being a
quitter, you will never amount to anything.” Sometimes she did it as
a justification to not buy me that new recorder or enroll me in an art
class, but mostly she did it because she sincerely cares about me and
feels that it is her duty to set me on the right path.

Whatever she did must have worked. Because many years later, I find
myself finishing up my PhD even though I had lost interest five
years into the program. I had to prove to the world that I’m no
quitter.

Now, I find myself at cross roads. I can go on to get a respectable
job as a computer scientist, trapped 9-8 in a cubicle somewhere,
or… I can embrace my dabbling nature and make a living on my own
terms. After careful consideration, I decided to give the latter a
shot.

I’m about to embark on a career as a professional hobbyist. I know,
it won’t be easy. In order to keep myself accountable in the pursuit
of my new career, I’ve decided to start this blog. I hope it will
also serve as a vehicle to meet more like-minded people, to build a
community of obbyists. Check out my obby wishlist and see if there is
anything on it that piques your interest. I’m always up for new ideas.
My email is obby123@gmail.com. I hope we
will hobnob together some time down the future.