Topps Holiday Advent Calendar - Day 11

Time to open another door in the Topps Holiday Advent calendar. It's day number Eleven - shout out Millie Bobby Brown.

My 13 year old daughter has been hearing her classmates talk about Stranger Things and wanted to catch up on the series before the finale drops, since she was too young to watch the first four seasons. We've made it to season two so far. I think we can catch up by Christmas. 

Naturally, Eleven is her favorite character.

Before I reveal the five-card pack of baseball cards in the advent calendar, I have a story to share.

Today was the company Holiday party, held at a fancy hotel/banquet hall in Manhattan. 

As we entered the ballroom, the wait staff were assembling the food stations. This immediately caught my eye:

Despite this being my third year with the company, it was the first office function I attended. I had an uncanny ability to avoid them until this year, but my co-workers were so generous and supportive after D's passing that I vowed to actually participate this time. Plus, my excuse for missing this was gone. 

Once everyone found our seats, my boss introduced me to everyone at the table and offered to introduce me to anyone else I wanted to meet, as the NYC staff is 4x larger than our group in NJ. I am very socially awkward, so I did not take him up on this offer. Though I must admit there were a couple lovely ladies that caught my eye, and I humored myself with the thought of asking Bossman to wingman me. 

But no.. I am not ready for that. Definitely shouldn't try to shake off 25 years of rust at an office party. 

Unrelated, I did at one point notice a very tall blonde woman sitting by the bar. I'm not familiar with the NYC staff as I've rarely interacted with them, but she definitely did not look familiar. And that's because she was our guest speaker. 

Our CFO Sam is all about corporate slogans; "building a championship team" is a big one. And to instill that mindset in us plebs, he introduced Maren Walseth - a motivational speaker and college basketball announcer who played four years at Penn State and coached at North Dakota State (not mentioned, but I'm sports obsessed so I looked it up - she played two years in the WNBA.) 

Maren gave a 20-30 minute speech about how we can all be an MVP, and how to approach each day with a mindset that sets us up for success. I roll my eyes at corporate motivational jargon but I am always enthralled by sports stories, particularly how she was able to win over a locker room as a rookie head coach and how she managed a group of 15 players who were all used to being the stars of their high school teams. One way she did this was by referring to her role players as "game changers". 

Also, when she began her list of what makes an MVP she said Pat McAfee could give you his opinion on what the greats have in common, but "I'm not interested in what Pat McAfee has to say." Hell yeah!

Anywho, at the conclusion of her speech, Maren mentioned that she'd hang around to take questions or chit-chat with anyone. I ran into her at the candy bar and wanted to say that I enjoyed the speech and whatnot.. but instead I apologized for walking in front of her because I am a goober. 

To reinforce that point, on my way back from retrieving an official OS Holiday Event sweatshirt and a bag of candy for the girls I ran into a sales rep I'd only met through email. He introduced himself and started to pull me in for that bro hug thing, but my hands were full.. so I ended up shoving the candy in my pocket and giving him an awkward one-handed pat on the back. Do you see now why I avoid these things? 

And you wanted Bossman to be your wingman? Bruhhh

One cool thing did happen while we were playing Wheel of Fortune. My table was struggling with a Same Name puzzle, and could only figure out 'Karaoke And _____ Bar.' 

Noticing the bag of candy I'd procured from the candy bar I told my team "try Candy Bar" .. they did, and we won. "Chris has to be on our team every year" one of them declared. So that felt good. 

Anyway, it was an enjoyable day all around. I was very tired when I came home (and my latest Consignment with 4 Sharp Corners ended tonight) so this took a lot longer than normal.

Here's today's standard 5-card pack from Topps Holiday:

First Ohtani card so far. I'll probably set that aside for Night Owl. 

Dennis, does the Jack Flaherty interest you at all?

Shorter post tomorrow. Probably ;-)

Thanks for reading!


~

SLU Showcase #6 - Bought From My Boss (and bonus cards)

It's been a while since I've done a Starting Lineup post. The plans to purchase a new piece every month were put on hold when I lost my job. And then I got side-tracked with card projects and the All-Time Teams reboot.

Buying back my childhood resumed almost immediately after I got hired at my new place of employment, which happens to be a sports apparel company. No joke, I have probably sent an invoice to your favorite team's payables department.

In fact I've recently purchased a Starting Lineup set in the office.

Behold the 1992 Dream Team boxed set! All ten of the original legends are here. (The final two additions to the team - Clyde Drexler and Christian Laettner - are not included.)

Until recently, this box was in a cabinet in my manager's office. However he and his wife are expecting their first child and he's selling a huge chunk of his collection to make room for baby. 

New Boss is not a sports card or memorabilia collector. Video games are his passion (he once competed in the Nintendo World Championships). He's been selling off his collection of consoles and games to other employees since before I was hired. When I told him that I'm not much of a gamer and revealed what my hobby collection consists of, he led me to his office and opened up the cabinet.

"Now you're speaking my language!" I told him, as he handed the box to me. 

"I was gonna sell it for $30, but you can have it for $25." 

 

The box isn't in the best shape, and it isn't something I'd choose if there were more SLU options before me. That said, these sets sell for 2-3x his price on eBay (I didn't check recent sales until after I brought it home). If I decide to open the box, $2.50 per piece is still a great deal. And it's going to a good cause.

 

 

A week later, he placed this tricked-out Nintendo Wii and a bag full of accessories on my desk. He offered them to me for free just as I was getting a phone call. I almost didn't answer it; was he really giving me this? I picked out a couple games my girls would like - Mario tennis and Kirby.

No, not that Kirby :p

 
So, yeah... new boss is awesome. New job is pretty neat. And I'm making enough money to impulse buy 30+ year-old action figures along with occasional card purchases - without any objections from the Mrs.

***************

Night Owl showed us a Kevin Brown Starting Lineup card in one of his recent posts, which made me curious about my SLU card collection. I've discussed this Duke Snider card before:

It's one of about a dozen loose cards in my collection. Early SLU cards are surprisingly expensive; some collectors actually buy the figures just to get the card - a concept that would blow my mind as a kid.
 

 

I rarely open any of my figures so it shouldn't be a huge surprise to see such a small amount in my card boxes.
 

  

 These are from figures I've opened. 

So are these two. I have the Alfie on my shelf but Wilson Alvarez is long gone. 

 

Come to think of it,  I don't know what happened to the Peter Bondra card.

Programming notes: My trading card wantlist tab has been updated.

Also, my 600th post celebration is approaching. I'll be giving away some cards to one lucky reader very soon. Keep commenting for your chance to win 300 (or more?!?) free cards.

Thanks for reading!




~

 

 

Opening Day

This is how I celebrate receiving a job offer at a sports apparel company:

My local Target hasn't been this stacked in years. Prizm packs? Penny sleeves? Repack boxes? Hell yes!

The reason baseball is missing is because the only product available is 2023 Topps, and if I buy a pack of that I'll be tempted to build the set. I've got enough set projects left to complete as you can see here.

Don't worry, there will be baseball on this blog tomorrow. And the next day, and the next, and the next...

As for the job, it's right down the street. It pays more than any job my wife or I have ever had, and it's right down the street. At a sports apparel company! Did I mention it's right down the street?!??! 

The only obstacles left are my background check (no worries there) and my professional references. Hmmm. I sure hope they don't talk to the office manager at my last job. And I realllly hope they don't talk to my previous office manager, who was showing us back office boys the OnlyFans page of our administrative assistant and being very personally critical of her. Without an HR person to report it to, I was torn between defending my mentor/Best Manager Ever or the Witch Goddess I was swooning over. I'd like to think I would have done the right thing regardless, but I'll never know. 

Anyway, that's ancient history now. It blows my mind that I worked at that place as recently as 2022. You're not here for office stories, you're here for cards. So let's start cracking open some packs!

 The hockey repack promised seven packs, one sealed fat pack, and one "bonus item"...

A loose common with a corner ding. Grr. And I didn't get one sealed fat pack in this box. I got two.

To save time/space, here's the rundown of packs and pulls:

2017-18 Upper Deck Series One 5-card pack: Henrik Sedin, Ryan Kesler UD Canvas
2020-21 O-Pee-Chee 8-card pack: P.K.! Connecticut Cam! McAvoy! Ethan Bear retro
2020-21 Upper Deck MVP 5-card pack: some old Russian "rookie" on Winnipeg
2021-22 O-Pee-Chee 8-card pack: some Finnish backup goalie rookie for Trannah
2021-22 Upper Deck Series One 8-card pack: a Young Guns RC I could get for 45 cents on COMC
2021-22 Upper Deck MVP 6-card pack: Hedman, Bread Man, CT Cam again, Carey Price
2021-22 O-Pee-cheek 28-card fat pack: Pastrnak, Makar, Tanner Jeannot RC, two Winnipeg retros
2021-22 Upper Deck Extended 26-card fat pack: a Devils card, four Kraken, and an actual decent Young Guns RC that I can't get for two quarters on COMC.

the whole hundred-dollar haul

The hand-picked 2022-23 packs were not even worth mentioning. Nice cards though.

My football boxes are full, so I only picked up one pack of 2022 Donruss. I didn't pull a Packer or a notable rookie. 

Thud. Should I have picked a Panini Prestige pack instead? This is beginning to feel like a bad idea.

That only leaves the big prize - basketball. I sure hope that Optic or Prizm can save the day...

I sure hope that Prizm can save the day...

I pull one current superstar out of these packs and it's Ja Morant. Figures.

The patriotic 'bonus pack' parallels were underwhelming:

At least Tim Duncan pops up again. 

 

Good news! I pulled two different Prizm parallels of an active player with an MVP award on his resume.

Bad news? It's Derrick Rose:

Did you know that Cam Thomas was born in Yokosuka, Japan? Has he repped the rising sun in international competition? (googling....) Nope. He does not appear to have Japanese citizenship.

Welp, that was $100 spent. I guess my good luck went as far as getting a good job within walking distance. At least I've got some new stuff for trades and giveaways.

Could I have done better at the card shop two blocks away? Perhaps, but his hobby pack prices are higher than Target's fat pack prices. I would probably have ended up with significantly fewer cards and few (if any) significant 'hits'. 

Oh and the shopkeep just went on vacation anyhow. Store's closed for the next five days.

Tomorrow.... baseball!


Thanks for reading!




~

Finished and Unfinished

Quick post today... the sequel to "Not Quite Finished"

John from Johnny's Trading Spot offered to send me the last two 2022 Topps cards I needed to complete the set. 

He also sent me a prize for commenting on his posts:

A couple of A.A.Rons, some '98 Finest Red Sox, and some vintage Yaz, plus my first Eric Hosmer Red Sox single. I don't expect to add another one since the Sox cut him and he caught on with the Cubs. 

Joan Adon and Juan Yepez are waiting for me once I win another prize. Thank you John!


Gregory from Nine Pockets has been busy putting together two cards I need to complete another set.

It's the last two players I needed for my All-Time Teams project! I can finally show off the entire collection, complete with updated rosters. Look for that series starting in April.

Here are the backs. They may be hard to read because I write way too much, lol.

Gregory also included a vinyl sticker I'd claimed a couple months ago.

A vintage Nintendo-inspired 8-bit Packer sticker! Thank you Gregory :)

My manager is running the office Super Bowl squares pool. I did not participate, which was a wise decision because she fired me yesterday.

I knew it was coming. Got called into the office 15 minutes before close, and after training my replacement for a week. On my way into her office I sang "I'm gonna get fired!" all cheerfully. 

One of my co-worker friends said "Ha! You wish!" Imagine her shock when I returned from the manager's chambers. 

Didn't get to say goodbye to my favorite manager, who had left 20 minutes prior. It should be noted that G was not My manager. If she were... I might still be there.

Anywho, I'm going to my daughter's soccer game and then perhaps to the local movie theater to see Knock at the Cabin. Haven't been out to see a movie in four years. 

Expect more comments and more posts for me while I enjoy a much needed break from office BS. Then it's off to Indeed in a week or two...

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the Superb Owl!


~

Looking Ahead

I thought this day would never come, but it is finally here. Tomorrow will be my first day at the new job. I've been wondering what the work will be like, what my co-workers will be like, and other incidental things such as dress code, mask policy.. and how I'm going to pass time on my lunch hour. I haven't had a designated lunch break in 12 years!

My work day will end at 5:30 p.m. which means I won't get home until about 6 p.m. That will be an adjustment.

 

During my day off yesterday I published my 50th (and probably final) post at The 1993. I'll have less free time to blog starting tomorrow, and there are some other topics I want to explore here. I won't rule out returning to the 1993 as I just added a new follower - Cardboard Jones. Steven reached out and offered to send me three cards I need for the 1993 Donruss Diamond Kings insert set. Wally Joyner here isn't one of them; this arrived in a small PWE trade from TCDB user MattnMiller.

Today is the 5 year anniversary of my 5-box break of 2017 Topps Heritage, one of the most exciting days I've had as an adult card collector. I celebrated the anniversary by selling the Aaron Judge photo variation RC I'd pulled that day.

I've become much more of a set builder and less of a high-end card collector. If I'm ever going to finish the 1956 Topps set I have to scrounge up the cash somehow. And while I will be making more money in my new job it's not 'spend hundreds of bucks on vintage baseball cards' money. A decision regarding this undertaking will be discussed here in the coming months. 

My set building wantlist is now updated, as of yesterday. Also I bought two more 1956 Topps cards (not listed on my set building tab) with a $50 bill I received as a late Christmas present because I had Covid and couldn't see the in-laws. 

I'm also going to try and complete my base card checklists for the Hartford Whalers project. The spreadsheet is complete through 1990-91 and I hope to have the full run (up to 1997-98) done by the end of the NHL season. This project will be far less costly - though Gordie Howe's sunset card isn't cheap (especially the O-Pee-Chee version).

Hopefully the MLB lockout will be settled soon and we'll have a full baseball season, or close to it. Once that kicks off I'm planning to relaunch my All-Time Teams series. The redux will focus on which cards I have chosen for each player, and which players might be added/dropped from their franchise's All-Time roster in the near future. (And again, I might need to commission a custom card or two so that the frankenset can be completed.)

Aside from the pair of '56 singles (Eddie Yost and Bobby Avilia) I've got an order from COMC and six TCDB trades set to arrive in the next couple of weeks. One small trade arrived today, along with the Roy Campanella card I mentioned in a previous post.

2010 Topps is not on my list of set building projects. I simply grabbed a handful of semi-stars and scenery from user Zughiaq in exchange for some Red Sox dupes and a couple of 1993 Upper Deck extras. (Not pictured: Alex Gordon).

 

These 2014 Topps singles arrived in two different trades. I'm just 15 cards away from completing the set, but it looks like I'll have to buy the rest on Sportlots or COMC. Three consecutive trade offers I made on TCDB were rejected - for personal preference reasons, not because I was trying to "win" a trade. Thankfully Matt from Diamond Jesters broke my career-worst slump and agreed to a Time Travel Trade. It won't bring in any set fillers but it gets me closer to 400 completed transactions.

This 9-pocket page of 2015 Panini Prizm football cards arrived courtesy of TCDB user Talanhugh. It's been tough to trade for these singles and Blowout Cards still hasn't lowered the price of fat packs.

I'm excited and nervous about starting a new chapter in my professional life, but I am so ready to leave the old drama behind for good. I'll be sure to keep you all updated even if I can't be around the blogs as often as I'd like. Last spring was special. What will this spring bring?

Thanks for reading!



~