It's been one of those weeks where I can't achieve anything that I want. Everywhere there's a road block. False family crises. Car issues. Allergies. Computer meltdowns. Busy work. And, oh yeah, let's throw the baseball playoffs in the middle of it all.
If I were to redesign the calendar, the first two months that I would crumple up into a ball, throw in the waste basket, and redo would be March and October. They are undoubtedly defective.
So with the little time that I have today, I thought I'd show off the remnants of my belated birthday spree. I pretty much showed all the good stuff already. But I had a handful of dollars leftover and went to ebay to see what I could scrounge up cheaply.
Yes, this was cheap and better damn well be. You can see some of the foil has worn off. But I don't really care about such things. This is plenty of shiny for me. And with this card I am down to needing a single sparkly for the whole diamond parallel Dodger set. If you have a Rod Barajas diamond card -- yes, Rod Barajas -- let me know.
The Kevin Gross card at the top of the post -- which I believe I have already -- was a throw-in with this card.
I did not own a single hope diamond parallel of a Dodger and it had haunted me for too long. While the Dee Gordon card still eludes me, I went for one of the better Dodger cards in that set. Casey Blake has just shattered the universe with his slide.
A tennis card? Yes, a tennis card. When I received some tennis cards from The Chronicles of Fuji almost a year ago, I realized that I should have some cards of the sport I like to watch the most outside of baseball.
Then I became sad because I didn't have any cards of my favorite female tennis player of all-time, Martina Hingis. I finally do. And I miss seeing her on the court.
The remainder of the cards here are from the best set of all-time (this is what I say when I remove all bias, otherwise you'd get another ode to '75 Topps). I don't focus nearly as much attention on the '56 Topps set as I should. And I'm still plodding along picking up cheap singles here and there when the mood strikes.
The Mayo Smith card I believe was obtained by my brother when we split up that grocery bag of 1950s cards back in the early '80s. The comical, cartoonish Smith waving his arms like he's trying to fly always amused us. At last, it can amuse me for all-time in my collection.
I grabbed this one solely for the fielding play and Roy Sievers' X-ray specs. Just a fantastic card. And I wish there were outfield seats that low to the field in every ballpark.
Final card. This is another '56 Topps that my brother had, because he's a Red Sox fan and the Red Sox automatically went to him. I was always envious that he owned this one. The juxtaposition of the beaming smile and the violent play at the plate is what appealed and appeals to me.
All of these '56s are just the way I like them. A little bit worn but unblemished. Perfect additions to my collection.
So that closes out all of the birthday goodies for another year -- almost three whole months after my birthday.
That's an example of how chaotic things have been around here in 2013. Where once I was efficient, now everything comes with an "I'll get to it when I get to it" reminder.
So if you're expecting a package or a post from me, that's about all I can say now.
I'll get to it when I get to it.
Blame October.
Or, like, the whole year.
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