Now I can do what it is that I still don't know that I'm going to do

Today, finally, I completed the Allen & Ginter set for a fourth straight year.

The 2011 A&G set took much, much longer to complete than any of the previous three years. Here are the calendar dates on when I completed each set to illustrate it:

2008 A&G completion: Nov. 20, 2008
2009 A&G completion: Dec. 10, 2009
2010 A&G completion: Nov. 22, 2010
2011 A&G completion: June 15, 2012

Only about six months difference there.

One of the reasons for this I think is that I don't buy nearly as many blasters as I once did. I still buy a lot of A&G, but I go about my completion quest through loose packs and rack packs. Probably not as productive, but a lot easier on the budget.

The other bigger reason is that I'm pretty sure not as many people are collecting A&G as they did in previous years. I'm not Topps, so I don't have the sales sheets, but just based on how seldom I see A&G cards in trade packages the last year or so, I'm fairly certain that's true.

Adam of ARPSmith's Sports Obsession was one of the few people with an A&G Manny Ramirez card and he sent it to me.

Now that I have the entire 2011 A&G base set (I include the short-prints in the base set), I don't have to worry myself with the "why."

Instead, now I have to worry myself with the "will I?"

As in, "will I try to complete A&G for a fifth straight year?"

Even with the arrival of this card, I still don't know.

This past year's battle to complete the set has made me pause. Plus money is more of an issue this year.

I'm actually overdue a bonus at work (yes, my boss knows about this), so if that needed cash should arrive before Gint-a-Cuffs hits, then chances are good that I'll be back for Year #5.

But without that money, I could be back to just random packs, which probably won't be as much fun. But nobody said having less cash was more fun.

At any rate, completing this set four times in a row is pretty good. And A&G complete sets are more fun to look at than any other modern day sets. It's been a good run if it's over.

I'll add Manny to the blank spot in the binder, and then update my completed sets page.

But first I got to do more work.

Got to prove I still deserve that bonus.