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Patience is a virtue


I went out of town for a couple of days and while I was there received a bit of bad news with regard to family.

I'm not comfortable discussing it here, in small part because I don't entirely know what the news means, whether it's a little bad, a lot bad or some sort of false alarm. But the key thing I'm taking from this news is how important patience is.

In general, I'm a patient person, probably much more patient than most people, going as far as it being a detriment in that I can be too patient.

But there are times when I don't exercise enough patience. Surprise, surprise, often those times involve cards.

Recently, I received a bunch of 2018 Topps Opening Day Dodgers from Matt at Once a Cub. He has busted an entire case of Opening Day, started an OD blog, and had promised to distribute lots of extras to fellow collectors.

I wasn't exactly thinking about that though when I was at a card show a couple of weeks ago and started pulling as many Dodgers cards that I could find from the 2018 Opening Day binder.

I pulled this many cards:


Then a week or so later, Matt sent these cards:


Go ahead and double-check, those are the exact same cards that I picked out at the card show (it's kind of neat how every player is in a different spot without me planning it out).

If I was a little more patient and less dazzled by a dealer's card wares, I could have saved myself a couple of dollars.

But dealers, being the way that dealers can be, tend to charge a premium for rookie cards. Fortunately, bloggers don't do the same.



Matt sent the two Dodgers OD base cards that I wasn't able to obtain when I went to the card show. The team set is now complete.

Also, Matt sent a few more Opening Day Dodgers needs to help diminish my regret over the impatient purchase.




I can't say I've been following 2018 cards all that closely, so excuse me if some of the "Before Opening Day" and "Opening Day" insert cards are above average. But these three certainly aren't doing the job. Neither Bellinger nor Puig looks like they're at a spring training game and the poor crop job on the bottom card eliminates any sign that this ceremony happened at Dodger Stadium.



Matt also sent a bunch of parallels and inserts of the Dodger persuasion. I needed all of the above.



And here's a base card need plus a shout-out to starting pitchers who can complete what they began so that the bullpen doesn't turn a victory into a loss.

I realize that those starting pitchers kind of died out in the '80s but it's too bad because I'm starting to feel sorry for fans who invest themselves in games like last night's Dodgers-Marlins game and see a team unravel after the starting pitcher had done so well. It makes me wonder why I stick games out to the end.

If only today's managers had a bit more patience. Or maybe I should be more patient with the bullpen. Or the team in general.

Patience is a virtue.

I will be repeating this to myself over and over again.


Comments

Old Cards said…
Hoping your bad news turns out to be a false alarm and turns out to be good news instead.
Great song, coincides with DefGav's post tonight. If you ain't hanging on to that extra OD Bellinger Cup, I could use it.
Billy Kingsley said…
Hope the news is a false alarm!

I make it a point to not buy current year cards as singles, something I've been doing since around 2002. Got burned buying them and then getting them out of packs later. I will buy singles from the current year if they are SN or significantly rare- or if I've purchased a hobby box and a blaster, not intending to buy more, but that doesn't happen very often, on average less than once per season.
Zippy Zappy said…
Wish you and your family the best with whatever you're going through.
Commishbob said…
I can relate. I'm normally a relaxed, patient laid-back guy (my wife has other terms for it) but when it comes to the hobby I'm VERY short on patience. When I decide to chase a set I go all-out in hopes of finishing it ASAP. I end up buying dupes because I fail to take the time to update my lists and I overpay for lesser conditioned cards that I need to upgrade later. I actually have lost cards that I've failed to file away in my binder only to find them after I've bought a second copy. It's pathetic really.

Oh, and I really hope your family situation turns out to be very minor.
BobWalkthePlank said…
My wife says I'm way too calm and patient. She is the opposite so I guess it works out.

Card patience is a whole other thing which I'm always trying to work on. One thing that helped me was that I stopped collecting sets. When I would start I always tried to rush things to get them complete instead of enjoying the process.
Fuji said…
I truly hope the news is a false alarm. As for patience... I could practice using it more myself. And it's a special treat these days to see a pitcher throw a complete game.
Bo said…
Good luck with the family situation.
defgav said…
Nice to see you join in the unofficial blog bat around of working in Guns N' Roses songs to posts!
Hoping the best for you during this dicey time.
Wishing you the best during this time. Hope everything turns out well.
Once a Cub said…
Thanks for the plugs on both blogs and I'm glad you were able to use some of what I sent. I echo everybody's sentiments about hoping all ends up ok.