Updating the official, you're never going to REALLY know tally

About 2 1/2 years ago, I decided to figure out how many Dodgers cards I had in my collection.

I didn't have the time or the patience to do a thorough job on this, so I calculated the total the quick-and-dirty way -- multiplying pages in a binder, not worrying too much whether the item was a card or a sticker, that type of thing.

Well, I have even less time and patience now, but I wanted to know how far I've come in 30 months' time.

I also want to know how far I've come while actively discouraging Dodger cards from coming my way.

What's that you say?

Yes. Mr. "I Want Every Dodger You Or I Find" frequently rejects ways to acquire more Dodgers.

I thought I'd explore that, and then also arrive at my total official, you're never going to REALLY know tally, at the same time.

And I'll do it with some Dodger cards I received from Kyle, who runs Nolan's Dugout. He also sent me some other cards, but these ones are Dodgers and fit in with the exercise. I'll show the others later.

OK, so as you know, I want all of your Dodger cards. I can't stress that enough. I really do. Give them to me. Do I have to hold up a watch and hypnotize everyone? Give ............... It.

But the truth is, I do so many things that are counterproductive to obtaining more Dodgers.

Let's go through them while we look at the pretty cards.

Eric Anthony was a DODGER?

Well, first I ignore things that I shouldn't. Group breaks, for example. There are lots of ways for team collectors to get cards through group breaks, both on the blogs and other places online, but with just a few exceptions I ignore them.

This is partly a factor of no time and no money. The time part means I'll notice a group break about 4 days after it's announced and the Dodgers are already taken. More frequently, it's the money part. I'll see a group break and think immediately "there's no way I have cash for that."

And needed Dodgers go floating away.

That's right, I made the vertical card pose horizontally. Why should the horizontal cards do all the work all the time?

Another counterproductive thing I do is refusing to be competitive on ebay.

For a long time I shunned ebay, and, now, although I peruse once in awhile and even purchase cards from time-to-time, I will not get caught up in time-consuming bidding or snipping.

I face plenty of competition in my life, I don't need any more of it. If somebody REALLY wants that card, I'm not going to get it. Because I just don't care that much. It's not worth it. Believe or not, something like that can affect your health if you're not the right personality. And I'm not.

So, fine, you can HAVE that card. I'll just take this one over here that nobody wants and is not some insane price that can't be justified. And I won't think about that card I didn't get again ... most of the time anyway.

All of the above completed team sets for me. Yes, even the nasty one with Brown and Schmidt.

My want lists are in pretty good shape -- so I'm told -- but they could be better. When the new cards come out each year, I always fall behind with updating the list. Months and months behind. And then I try to catch up, but I can never get to everything. And before you know, it's 2014 and I don't care anymore. Cards are forgotten because of all the glorious newness.

This isn't anything that nobody else has experienced, but I've figured out after the fact several times that somebody would have sent me something if I had a want list up. But they didn't. And now I don't have the Dodgers.

Fantastic card

Then there are the times when I update a want list and I come across a set and I say to myself -- yeah, I'm not putting up a want list for THAT. Why I do this, I don't know. I tend to be a lot more selective than a lot of other collectors. And while this is a good thing, it leads to not getting Dodgers cards sometimes.

I've done this more often with Bowman. I just can't be bothered with whether I have or don't have all the Dodgers from a certain Bowman set. It's too confusing. I have a life. You know the drill.

So, maybe this Hu card is the last one I need from Bowman Chrome ... um, 2008? But chances are, I'll never know. Another opportunity lost.

Regular Pacific

Pacific when it went crazy. ... You like crazy? Yeah, me, too.

But let's go back to being selective.

Selective works for me, in lots of areas in my life.

Do you ever go into "throw out mode?" This is when you go on a rampage of discarding anything that you've been holding on to for too long and means nothing to you anymore. This rarely has to do with cards for me, but my cards KNOW that if they don't keep the emotions going, that they could be out on the streets. They've been witnesses.

Throw-out mode is a kind of high that you can't describe if you haven't done it. It feels great to start fresh and sometimes it's what you need to reclaim what means the most to you.

And if it's some pointless trinket from your favorite team, so be it. Yeah, it means one less Dodger card, but throw-out mode works for the greater good.

(And don't you worry, I trade 99.9999999999999% of Dodgers that mean nothing to me).

Happy National Left-Handers Day!

I'm not a neat freak (my desk at home and work is testament to that), but being selective cuts down on the clutter even if it prevents me from getting MOAR DODGERS!

1994. The year I walked away from cards. And it wasn't totally due to the strike either.

Selective means preserving the peace in the house. Do you think I'd be doing this blog if I had cards in every room of the house out where PEOPLE CAN SEE??????

No, I would not. The guilt-meter and the friction-meter would be too high.

So there are times when I say "no, I don't think I'll take that Dodger card today." I say this out loud. Directly to people. Who are trying to send me cards.

No. I don't want that card of a team that I collect avidly.

You have to understand, it's not really ME saying that. But there are sacrifices that you must make in many relationships in life. I'm just not willing to put cardboard over that.

I have plenty of Dodger cards. And I'll just remind you even though you already know -- they ain't all that life's about.

Happy Lefties' Day again!

And this brings me to another thing regarding my Dodger collection.

When I was compiling the total, I counted 18 binders filled with Dodger cards. And there really should be more binders because I've overloaded some and that's not healthy to a collection as I have experienced (I will tell you a sad, sad story someday when it's not so tragic).

That's 18 binders plus I'm in the market for a new one. I can't fit all the Dodgers in and they're sitting out in the elements shivering.

I have room in the select few places that I can store cards for a few more binders. I'm not sure how much that is, but let's say it's under 10.

I don't know what I'm going to do after that.

One of the better mid-90s Stadium Club sets.

The very realistic answer is "downsizing."

Right now, there is no other way.

So with that looming in the future, how can I go on a rampant acquisition fest? It's not going to work.

Stuff I'd never know if it wasn't for the want list

I do realize that even what I am saying right now can cut down on the Dodgers I receive.

Anything other than saying actively on the blogs "TRADE ME YOUR CARDS" and nothing else, will cause some people to step back and even unconsciously say "wait a minute, he doesn't want cards anymore."

I'm not saying that.

I'm trying to be as honest as I can with this thing.

I'm not going to make this blog a list of non-stop acquisition. It's boring to me and it's not the reason I created this blog.

My collecting experience is about a lot of things and acquiring is just one of them. But even though I might say "where am I going to put my cards?" I still want your Dodgers cards. Just as much as the next guy.

WOW. Two FANTASTIC Broder cards! I love these things.

So, the other day, someone that I had never transacted with contacted me about a card I might want.

I told him -- honestly -- that I couldn't do the deal. Money is tight at this time of year and even though it wasn't very much cash, I have to watch it. For a lot of reasons.

I took a chance that this person will never come to me with a Dodger card again -- especially when I pointed him in the direction of other Dodger collectors.

These are the things that I do to interfere with my accumulating of wanted Dodgers.

But it's something I think I must do.

Random '90sness

That's a lot of words and cards to get to the numbers in this post, but the process is important here.

And after my mistake-ridden calculations, I have determined that I now have:

15,144

distinct Dodger cards.

That's almost 5,000 more than the last time.

So I've done pretty good with acquiring despite all that stuff that I mentioned earlier, huh?

You see, I really DO want all your Dodger cards.

No matter what I say.

Just don't tell certain people.

Whoops! I forgot this fantastic thing.

15,145