Forecast: cloudy with a chance of Paulies

For some reason, I am still using Zistle. Which is dumb of me because at any moment, Beckett will just pull the plug and all my hard work will be done. But with the 5k+ cards I have entered, scanned and cataloged, it's hard to just stop. I export data to be ready, but I can't just run my collection with a spread sheet. It's so much easier to see an image of a card to know if I own it or not. And yes - there are other sites I can move to, but I need to tighten my belt and just shift all my cards there.

The process will not be simple.

Who's got a hammer handy?

But from my currently entered collection, I can see I recently broke the 400 card amount on my Paul Konerko collection. Zistle lists it at 399, but I know there are a few autos that are not in the database, and as such, not tracked. In the past couple months, the Paulies have been coming in fast and furious.

First up is this super sweet duo of autographs from Matt over at Bob Walk The Plank. A while back, I went crazy, bought a pack of Topps Museum and pulled a 1/1 laundry tag of Gerrit Cole. Over the years, Matt has sent me some really amazing cards, so I was more than happy to return the favor with that pull. Now Matt thinks he owes me. I have two Abreu autos in my collection - both sent to my by Matt - along with TONS of other hits, and some how a single 1/1 makes the guy think he is in debt to me. I question his sanity.

<photo courtesy: hacked webcam on Matt's PC>

But seriously, the generosity of so many bloggers just blows me away. Thanks a ton, Matt.

Two really cool things happen from group breaks. One, you get great cards and two, you are reminded to check the want lists of the breakers and end up pulling a stack of cards for the blogger. That is true for a recent group break run by Colby at Cardboard Collections. He ran an affordable group break on a couple older products, and being as those mid 2000s are shy in my Sox box, I jumped at my team. After the random, I ended up with the Sox and Mets. Then the boxes broke in my favor.

Recent Topps releases are way too heavy with a certain other Chicago team, so it's nice that we are better represented in the older products. This nice pull came out of a box of 2005 Fleer Showcase. I like that Konerko added his number. He really should always sign it as it will never been worn again on the south side. I did really well with the boxes.

Fleer Focus was the other box ripped. These Paulies are dupes, but the Crede was a new add, as is the DP card of Alomar. In fact, the Mets did well in the break too.

Because of the luck of the team randomizer, and the box, I ended up with both hits from the Showcase, snagging a black swatch of Piazza. When I got the Mets, I decided to keep them for the fact that I know a certain Canadian hoser I can ship the cards to. And those should go out when I ship the stack to Colby.

Which at my rate, will be after the change of a few seasons.

Sunday SIL: Pinup!

This week's SIL brings me back to the wall of my office. The office (ok - technically bedroom #4) is where the computer sits, and it's the one room that is all mine, in a decorating sense. I chose the paint color and what's on the walls is what I want. And what I want is sports stuff. I have talked about the pictures on the walls, and the baseball cards. Let's talk now about a framed set of pins. But first, some honesty - this frame is not actually on the wall. See, the office is a work in progress, which means I never, EVER do anything in it besides work, sort cards and fart around on the innerweb tubes. There is far too much bare wall space, and also far too much crap on the floors. But it's a work in progress. That's what I say so I don't admit I have truly given up all hope on doing anything in here. I tried a week ago to get some shelves up. Damned if I cannot find one of the wall studs.

But all that is neither here nor there. Stuff I Like is why you are reading, so let's get to it.

I talked before how I was a professional mascot (alright - paid idiot). Back in 1987 (if you look close enough at the pin on the right), a team from the USSR did a tour of the states against a few MISL teams. At the time of this tour, Dynamo Moscow was the football equivalent of the Red Army hockey team. That is - the BEST. So they came over to the US for a few indoor games against the MISL teams, and lost all 6. Granted, the Soviets were not used to the indoor game at this time, and actually took one of the games to overtime. Against the Sting, though, they lost 10-4.

So the story of the pin on the left? When I saw this game on the schedule, I put in to "work it" as Stanley, and did in fact get to be mascot. After the game, I grabbed a pennant, went into the Dynamo Moscow locker room (when the press was allowed in) and scored autographs of every player but one if I recall. I was in my shorts and a sweat soaked t-shirt, with very unkempt hair. The players were very nice and all I approached signed without any issues. But the keeper figured something out when he saw me. After looking me up and down, in broken English he asked if I was the big bee he saw. I fessed up. He then asked if I could get him a pennant like he was signing for himself. I dashed back to the room I changed in and grabbed an extra pennant that was in the room. When I returned, I handed over the pennant and he traded me with the above pin, and this really cool carved wooden pen that looked like a thin Russian nesting doll. The girl I was dating at the time took the pen, so it's long gone. But I have the pin, and it's a pretty cool reminder of that game, and a great memory for when I was 21 and got to interact with a world class goalkeeper. I was very much in awe in that locker room.

Sunday SIL: revealing a dark secret

Before I start, I was hoping to get more on my little tease from a couple days ago. Nothing yet, but I am working at it and should talk more about my ideas and plan later in this week. All dependent on one person - I hope they don't screw it up! :)

So instead, let's talk about our past. We are who we are based on what we have experienced, what we have done (or failed to do) and how we have interacted with people, and the planet for that matter, along the way. We have the ones we love, that know all about us - the ups and downs, the bright and the dark. We have our friends, who know much, but may not know the whole story, if they even knew the tale. And we all have that hidden secret. For it to be revealed could be the end of us.

In that same token, the dark secret could be a "really, you hyped this post up for a paragraph and that is your big frigging secret? What site's next on the blog roll?" confession. And I guess, that's actually what this is. I can play it all I want, it's really just a great, proud part of my life that looked really awesome on my resùme for a few years.

That little piece of laminated paper is about the exact size of a baseball card. It is just what it reads - it's an official's pass into the old Chicago Stadium.  The date is accurate; it is 27 years old. And no, they did not misspell my name. See, for 7 1/2 years, I was a mascot for a professional sports team. I was Stanley Sting.

Stanley was a 6' 6" tall bumble bee that supported the 1981 and 1984 Soccer Bowl champion Chicago Sting. I was paid $35 bucks for a game or a public appearance. When I think about it, though, I was paid to act like an idiot. It was the greatest 7.5 years of my LIFE! The professional players I met and hung with. The celebrities that I had my picture with. The autographs I signed. Interviews in paper and magazine. Love from fans old and young. Season tickets, as well as comp tickets if I wanted a couple. It was the life of Riley. BTW - that isn't me in the suit above. No, this is 16 year old me with the suit (hey - that hairstyle was in.....shut up!!!)

Hey baby....let's pollinate!

There you have it - my big secret. What's yours?