Night Owl Cards

The January card show has been a pain in my ass since 2008. Finally able to attend after being MIA the last two years, I was determined to enjoy it even with very little cash. But then something happened ... I scrounged up some more money. I don't know how I did it. I think I have to forgo lunch and haircuts for the next two months. But I managed to go to the card show with more than 20 bucks in my pocket. It still wasn't as much as I usually bring and the card stack was lower than normal. Plus, I got off to a horribly late start. I arrived at the show two hours before shutdown time. And you know what some dealers do one hour before shutdown time. They fold up their tables. I hate that. Dealers who don't fold up their tables one hour before shutdown time get business from me. But that was one of the few things that I noticed because I was too busy rushing around in a near panic trying to cover as much as I could within the limited window. A few key things that did

I'm a little worn out by the drive to and from the card show yesterday. Two-and-a-half hours in a car for an hour-and-a-half in a convention hall doesn't seem like a fair ... oh what am I saying? Of course it's a fair trade if it involves cards! But I'm not up to an involved write-up on night cards, even though I've finally gotten to the semifinals of this thing. After whittling down 100 night cards, it's come down to the final four (please don't sue me, NCAA). The last card to reach the semifinals is the Triple Play card of Wrigley Field that you see here. It outlasted Nolan Ryan, believe it or not. Here are the vote totals: 1. 1992 Triple Play Wrigley Field: 19 votes 2. 1990 Score Nolan Ryan: 14 votes 3. 1978 Topps Rich Chiles: 10 votes 4. 2001 Upper Deck '70s Decade Ozzie Smith: 5 votes So, Wrigley Field can relax and kick up its feet for a week while two other night cards duke it out for a spot in the final. You're probably very fam

A tale of Unrealistic Expectations. Overheard at the card show: Mother and son approach dealer's table. Son appears to be about 10. Mother: What kind of cards are you looking for? Son: Autographs. Mother: What kind of autographs? Son: I don't know. Just autographs. Son spots autographed Ken Griffey card. Son ( unrealistic expectation #1): Griffey!! Can I have that one? Mother (unrealistic expectation #2): How much is the Griffey card? Dealer (unrealistic expectation #3): You can have it for 100 dollars. Mother stares at dealer blankly. Son (unrealistic expectation #4): Mom ... Mother: You're not getting a 100 dollar card. Dealer (unrealistic expectation #5): Not today, huh? You been a good kid today? And so we see our three disappointed heroes walk off into the sunset, cardless and cashless. At least one of them is a bit the wiser. Full card show report tomorrow.

I will be requesting my final shipment of Million Card Giveaway cards from the Million Card Giveaway slot machine this week. This will be the third time I've ordered up some cards. It may be cheaper to order all of the cards at once, but I need to pay my shipping costs in installments.That's how poor I am. In fact, I have just come to the conclusion that I probably won't request all 13 of the cards I have left in the portfolio -- even though I arranged it so all 13 cards were ones that I lacked in my collection. You read right, I am banishing cards that I NEED to MCG limbo. Or maybe they're going to repack hell. At any rate, I don't anticipate those cards haunting my sleep. Much. So here are the cards that I have and whether or not they will be coming home to daddy. You may plead for clemency for your respective card of choice in the comments. If I'm in a good mood -- which is rare these days -- I may alter my decision based on the sincerity of the ple

I have a card show to go to this weekend. It is the same show that I haven't been able to go to for the last two Januarys because of the monumentally crappy weather that we receive every first month of the year. (You people who have weekly card shows in Florida just remember that, and let the guilt wash over you as you flip through cards in your Hawaiian shorts). But this time, unbelievably, the weather is supposed to be passable. And wouldn't you know it, this time, I also happen to be broke. I will be going to this card show with the least amount of money that I have taken to a show since I returned to the hobby. Also, a portion of the little cash that I have will be going toward purchasing items for a couple of super generous people who have showered me with terrific card packages recently (stay tuned for those. They're crazy good). That leaves me with this thought: I may end up going to this show only to come away with two or three cards, or even one card, fo

It has been a crazy couple of weeks for card packages. I swear that everyone's New Year's resolution involved sending out cards. I am surrounded by them. My usual cabinet top that houses incoming cards quite nicely, is woefully inadequate right now. There is going to be a tragedy in which a pile of cards falls on the floor when I'm not around and the dog turns it into a horrible scene of canine carnage. Newly arriving card packages have been such a regular occurrence that I'm doing things that I've never done before. For example, yesterday, I received two card packages in the mail ... and set them aside. Unopened. This NEVER happens. It's not that I didn't care. It's just that I was headed out to work, and I had a feeling I would need some cheering up when I returned home. The work shift wasn't too bad, even though my boss had a starring role. Still, I couldn't wait to get home and open my two patient packages. I'm not going to revea

Remember when you received cards and that was enough? Remember when you weren't opening the package hoping that a blog post was contained therein? Not to sound ungrateful -- I like all my card packages equally -- but it is terrific when I can turn a package into a post or two. Pictures of Men has exceeded expectations though. This is now the third straight post involving cards from POM. Call the record-breaking people. This post has to do with where POM originates. Its headquarters are in the proud province of Ontario, Canada. Having lived near the Canadian border more than half my life -- residing near Maple Leafs territory first and then Senators territory -- I'm somewhat familiar with how things operate there and have had very enjoyable times in Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston (not so much in Cornwall). But I still get confused by the O-Pee-Chee. I just can't condition myself to thinking the card I'm looking at may not be what it seems. For 1988 cards, OPC