Sunday, June 24, 2018

So.

As is fairly evident, my postings have been few, far between and really, not that great. I have post series that have been ignored (Throwback Thursday, Hidden Gems, etc...), post thoughts that currently resides in a text document in a document folder, as well as stacks of cards that need to be scanned, thanked and organized. I work in my card room/office daily, so I see stacks upon stacks of card, mostly meant to be outbound, and a simple question comes to mind

What happened?


It's actually a fairly difficult question to break down into a concise and coherent answer, but let's have at it. For starters, I'm active in my attempts to bring income into the household. From the regular job, Uber, LetGo/OfferUp, eBay (soon, but nothing of my collection) - goal #1 is always finances. And quite frankly, I frigging hate it. I hate how survival is based on these green pieces of paper. The analogy of finding a deer so the family can eat becomes short lived when half the deer meat is spoiled. It zaps your motivation. Your pleasure. Your sense of accomplishment. Your self worth. Since failure is not an option though (thanks Gene Kranz), I plug away.

Ceri is......well, Ceri. Doctor after doctor, medication after medication, diagnosis after diagnosis - we still don't have a firm answer. Mayo said fibromyalgia, which is just a BS response when they have no answers. It's not fibromyalgia. This whole household knows it's not that, but we'll play the game for now. I know her anxiety complicates the issue, but there is truly something that starts the pain. We are working to better treat her fears and other mental needs in the hope that until we get a good solution, her life is manageable.

My regular job is unfulfilling, which I am sure the rest of you feel about your careers. Some days we are overworked, with the same mind numbing calls each day that cause you, at least myself, to question why am I in the job, or even this field. Pile a heaping dollop of micromanagement into the mix and the day ends with the mind taxed to the limit and needing inane activity to wind down for the day. Thank you Destiny 2. (side note: if anyone plays that and wants to hang out, shoot me a message with your tag. PS4 only).

And there in lies the rub. I like to blog. As I have said in the past, I write for me more than for you. It keeps my mind sharp and my sarcasm sharper. But when you are worn down, it's hard to work out what you want to say and construct it into something somewhat interesting to read. Greg - have no idea how you write a newspaper article daily. Thank goodness that is not my career. I put a lot of energy into my posts. I like working them out, constructing the sentences and the flow of the post and then releasing it to the world. I hate "dialing it in". I have done a few like that, and, back up to the self worth statement, I don't want to hit my psyche doing something half ass. I take pride in all I do, with 101% effort being the goal at all times. And I'm my harshest critic. It's important I strive for the best I can do.

There's a little of the personal life. I tend to be fairly private, so if any of you use it against me I will destroy you. For a more focused update on the blog and other card related things, I am hoping to get rid of the last of the Tis The Seasons mailing by the end of July. I will put a focused effort on those, as there is really not much card wise to buy, and I don't have the cash for what I want anyhow. Plus I have a fair amount of "owes" mailings along with "here, you should have these" mailings to get packaged and sent out. Soon. As I mentioned, organization is dreadful right now, though I think it's really bad because of the backlog of of incoming mailings. Maybe I need to just cut myself a break of being perfect when I post.

HAHAHAHA......"perfect".
Oh, and before I get to some scan folder cleaning, I have a goal for myself. Not a promise to any of you, cuz I suck at them, but a goal: post 7 days in a row. I have done this before, and I can do it again. The hope if if I take the time to focus on content, I get break out of the funk, get the mind working as it should and show some appreciation for the generosity I have received. I can get Throwback Thursday back on track, which is a no brainer post. And knock out a Hidden Gem, which requires some effort to pair up the card with the song, and be somewhat entertaining in the process. Goals....

How about three quick thanks over 6 images?


Jeff Pederson (non blogger) snagged up the bags of 2016 Topps in TTS (they are mailing soon, Jeff). He dropped a well stuffed PWE back in thanks )not needed, but appreciated). I love the blue border Bazooka. In fact, that whole set was fun. Hey Topps - maybe Bazooka as a replacement for Opening Day?


Jeff really dropped the colors on me. Always felt that blue sparkle redemption card from Update was the best looking sparkly thing Topps released. It's a good color choice. Much better than the green or that red abomination.


John from Johnny's Trading Spot dropped a healthy lot of bunting cards. I think I have a 2nd mailer here from him I need to organize, but let's enjoy this stack showing the art of the lay down. Some better than others.


I said it was a fat lot of bunts. And a single double play card. I have no idea who that player was on the south side.


Brian Simpson (do you blog?) also grabbed a stack in TTS and felt the need to mail something back. That's not how this works!!!! But thanks. Some rookie ChiSox hit the headquarters. May is back in the minors. Anderson is doing fairly well in the show, but needs to stop striking out so much. Puckett is on the 7 day DL (since April), so I have no idea what the Sox plan are with him.


A newer minor leaguer with  Basabe, who is still in the minor getting his skills up. Such the difference in years when you see what was released as a minor league card 20+ years ago. Fernandez had an ok career, but I think more was expected from him. Missed a no hitter by two outs. Merullo had an uneventful 6 years in the pros.

There we have it. Day 1 of 7 posts (or more hopefully).  So.......

14 comments:

  1. Jeff, get your s..t together, LOL. Seriously, I am laughing out loud. LOL, again.

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  2. Hope things turn for the better for you and the family. I'll be looking forward to the next 6 days.

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  3. Sometimes I’m so mentally burned out by the weekends it’s tough to even enjoy time off. Hope to see the upcoming posts and some well wishes to you and your family

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  4. 7-for-7, wooooo! Someone's gotta do it, as I'm sure as hell not up for it this month.

    My writing-a-story-per-day days are over.

    P.S.: Great song.

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  5. I wish the best to you and your family. Life comes before blogging. I look forward to new posts but going things slow down for you first

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  6. With all that you have going on around you, it's kind of amazing that you're even able to get in one post a month! I very much hope that your daughter gets some relief, and a definitive diagnosis, sometime sooner than later.

    The blue sparkle parallels were cool, but I prefer the emerald green's.

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  7. Best to you and your family. I've been seeing similar things in my wife's case - even really well-rated doctors, when faced with a situation that isn't cut-and-dry, become complete BS artists (no different than any other job, I guess). Extremely frustrating and like you said there is a mental as well as a physical burden.

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  8. Best of luck with everything! My blogging time has severely decreased as well (though my reasons are seemingly much happier reasons so I'm not about to complain)!

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  9. Great song. Haven't listened to Peter Gabriel in awhile. Gonna have to see if he's on Spotify. If so... I'll be getting my steps in tomorrow listening to Solsbury Hill and Biko.

    Hope tomorrow is a little brighter... and the day after that too. One step at a time. There were several things you wrote that I can totally relate too. One of them is blogging more for me... than my readers.

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  10. Jeff...I really miss your posts so I'm looking forward to this week coming up. But if life gets in the way don't fret over it. Family always comes first.

    We are dealing with medical issues within our family (or rather my wife is...her father has a bunch of them at age 92) and we've discovered as you have that doctors can really tapdance when they want to. I hope things work out for you and your family.

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  11. Sorry to hear this. One shouldn't have to fight so hard to be happy. Take control of things you can manage yourself and hopefully you will find a little comfort there.

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  12. continued best wishes on obtaining a proper diagnosis for your daughter, and on getting some down time to breathe. no blogging for me, but I'm glad you enjoyed the cards. too bad alex fernandez just couldn't keep healthy...

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  13. Kinda glad I'm not the only one who thinks 2018 sucks so far. Hope next day is a better one and that you fond out what's wrong with your daughter.

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