Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Preview of things to come.

Before Christmas, my boss gave out gift cards. Mine was for Target. So, this is what I bought with my "gift." I'll bust it open later, maybe even playing a little "Tribe or no Tribe" in the process!


Saturday, April 30, 2011

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

My own "Jackie Robinson" day


Today marks a milestone in my life.  Oh sure, for most folks, their 42nd birthday is just another birthday.  For me, it is a magical time.  After all, in baseball the Number 42 holds a special place in the hearts of fans everywhere (or it should!).  Forty-Two represents the dawning of things not thought possible before it.  It is of dreams and of breaking barriers.  It is of legends to be made and legends that live on forever.  Forty-Two means standing up for what's right, even though it may not be popular.  It means standing out and standing up for what you believe in.  It means showing your doubters that you have the stuff they can't see, or they refuse to see until they have no choice but to see.  Forty-two is not the middle of life, but the start of things to come.  It is the answer to "Life, the Universe and Everything." It is my own "Jackie Robinson" day!

*For those missing the "Life, Universe, and Everything" reference - Google it.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

My Massive Mess - A Reply to the Sunday Question

Marie, over at A Cardboard Problem, posed this week's question (er, questions, rather):

Do you find yourself behind on putting cards for your personal collection away? What do you do with all the inserts, parallels, and cards of the teams and guys you don't collect?

Rather than just reply, I thought I would write about it here.  In fact, I think I have written about it before, though I can't remember just when or what the circumstances were that prompted it.

Am I behind on putting cards for my personal collection away?  Oh, my, yes!  As I've talked about here before, I put my cards into "The Card Collector" card program.  Adding cards to my collection is a three-step process.  First, I have cards that have not been entered into the database.  These are cards that are from recent (and, honestly, from not-so-recent) trades and gifts.  I would have to guess that I have 3000+ cards that fall into this category.  They are in 800-count boxes, envelopes and loose on my computer desk.  Then, I have cards in 800-count boxes that have been put into the database but have not been put into pocket pages and binders.  I would say I have 5 or 6 of those easily (so, that's about 4800 cards in that category).  Then, I have cards in dated binders.

I don't know how other collectors feel about this, but I just have a hard time finding the "want to" when it comes to sorting through the cards to enter into my database.  It's even harder to find the desire to move the cards from the 800-count boxes into binder pages.  Actually, I have been throwing around the idea of putting my entire collection into 800-count boxes.  I have two of the BCS 32-box shelf units and those boxes (800-count each) would make for easy storage for most of my collection.  Then I could keep binders for the oversized stuff.  It just feels wrong to keep my personal collection cards in boxes instead of binders.  I know there is no one out there who will show up at my doorstep, asking to look through my collection only to be disappointed that they are stored in boxes (should I go that route).  But, binders provide an easy way to look at the cards.  I can flip through pages, organized by brand and date.  Sticking them in boxes, even organized by brand and date, just seems so... wrong. 

What's funny is that I know there are collectors with way more cards than I have, and I know there is no way they have a million cards in binders. Well, I suppose they *could,* but I doubt it.  So, why should I feel bad about considering putting mine in boxes with 10,000+ Indians cards?  I dunno.

The short answer to the original question: Yes. I'm behind.

The next question: What do I do with cards of teams I don't collect?  This is a bit more complicated.  See, I have two collections: Indians cards and non-Indians cards.  It is well-known that I collect all kinds of Jim Thome cards, but I also have things like Eddie Murray's rookie card along with a slew of others (by slew, I mean roughly 3000).  As for the rest of the cards, I have those in non-organized boxes that build and build until I have enough to do a Tribecards Giveaway.  I haven't done one since my "final" one some time ago, but I have building cards up to have another at some point.  Probably for Christmas.  Meanwhile, I set some aside for sending to folks that I've been trading with for many years now.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Mail Call from Max!

I found an envelope waiting on me when I got home the other day. It was from Max M! This was out of the blue, so you know I had to get that puppy opened up, and what a great treasure trove inside!

First up, a Shin-Soo Choo prospect card! Very cool!

Next, I found a Frank Robinson postcard! This is quite amazing in perfect condition. There aren't even writings on the back!

The next two items are a collector's (or long-time fan's, or both in my case!) dream: team schedules from past! We've got one from 1978 and one from 1980.


THANK YOU very much, Max!! These were a great surprise!