Marilyn Monroe would only wear the legendary fragrance Chanel No. 5 to bed while footballer David Beckham has admitted that he actually has so many tattoos on his famous body because he enjoys the physical pain of the needle piercing through his skin! Determined or insane?

Perhaps it’s best not to judge others on the depths they go to for the object of their obsession, lest we ourselves be judged. For in some way or another, we all have that one thing (or two) we’re so hung up about, be it Star Wars, racer bikes, stilettoes or thrice-daily workouts. Besides, pursuing one’s passion with fervour shows a relentless spirit, no doubt an enviable quality.

What’s your secret obsession?

There are two things at this point in my life:

a) My wife, Shuyi.

b) I am anally obsessed about details, processes, keeping things neat, orderly, clean... 

Why are you obsessed about it?
a) The sight of Shuyi never fails to make my heart jump. She brings a smile to my face on those long, dark days, and she fills my head with dizziness from our couple-still-love struck banter. 

b) On the flip side, my second obsession keeps my life in order. It helps me make sense of a lot of things and has simply become a necessity in my life rather than a burden. 

When did it start and for how long has it been going on?

a) We crossed eyes for the first time sometime in May 2009. Since then, it has been a never-ending whirlwind of every possible emotion you can imagine. We always come out of it all the more in love and more in tune with one another.

b) I can't remember when this started but I can vaguely remember compartmentalising my cupboard and having a fixed place for everything even when I was younger.

To what depths have you gone to get the object of your obsession?

a) Dealing with fender-benders to the point of surviving a head-on car collision, having friends and family members intimately involved in our numerous squabbles when they spiralled out of control, investing tens of thousands of both dollars and hours into making us work, leaning on our church pastor and several others for intensive counselling... going against the grain, against our parents’ wishes and sanity at times... all to keep the fire burning bright.

b) This is one of my wife's biggest bane because of the time I devote to it. Some examples of how I spend more time than necessary on certain things: I never fail to wipe away all the excess water in the bathroom after taking a shower and I absolutely must fish out any leaves I see in my fish pond even if I'm rushing out of the house to go somewhere. And when I’m working on my financial models for work and personal portfolio management, I am extremely particular about making every cell error-free and I am obsessively detailed about formatting, colour-coding, linking of cells, automating and so on.

How do your passions influence your work?

a) Most days she is my right hand; she enables us to achieve way more together than we would if we each went about on our own. At the same time, she can be a welcome distraction from the seriousness of work; her liveliness gets us into all kinds of fun and even trouble.

b) My innate need to be extremely thorough, meticulous and detail-oriented helps me to make very sound investment analyses. 

A day without it is like … not knowing who I am, how to walk or breathe, total paralysis....