Trading Card Recollections Part 3

    Soon after I started collecting DC trading cards, another new product came into the market. This new product was Magic:  the Gathering, the first trading card game.  Similar to trading cards in both collectability and rarity, M:tG had packs of cards of various types used to play a game between two "planes walkers" battling for superiority, using spells representing creatures, enchantments, sorceries, and others.  I had read about the game in magazines for months before I finally decided to try it out. 

    When I got to my local comic book/collectibles store, the only packs they had in stock were for the current expansion, The Dark.  You needed a core deck to get the rules and enough resources to actually play, but I didn't really understand that at the time.  Anyway, I bought several packs. I may have opened some in my car before driving home, but I might have waited. I was amazed by what I saw when I did open them, whenever that was. The concept blew my mind. The art was incredible. I couldn't believe what I had gotten into.

    It would be at least another week or so after that before the basic decks were back in stock, and I of course bought a deck. And maybe some of the core set packs. After so many decades, I can't really remember. The store had sold out of the Dark expansion packs, meaning I got something at just the right time. While I didn't know enough about the game to play yet, I was hooked. By the next year, I was buying cards by the box, just to make sure I was getting as many cards as I could. Just one box per set, as I wasn't that greedy. 

    Other TCGs would pop up, but none would interest me as much as the original. I wasn't just getting the cards, but many of the spin off products as well. There novels, comic books, guides, and even a video game. Much later on, there would be other types of products, but I mostly ignored them.

    I never played though. I just didn't think I understood the mechanics enough to play in public. Yes, I knew the rules well enough to play, but I just wasn't comfortable in public settings back in the late 90s and early 2000s. I was more interested in the back stories of the world and the characters the actual game itself.

    Then, the 2003 flood happened. I managed to save most of my collection, at least the main set and many of the accessories. I lost a lot of the junk commons that I had many repeats of. I'm not sure what else I lost, because I would be too disappointed in finding out the details, so I haven't looked over most of the collection since. Just before the flood, I had just bought a box of the latest expansion and was getting ready to transfer the cards from the packs to the general collection. I was a little lazy, and I had put off the task for a few days. I would wind up losing almost all of the packs from that box, with only a few staying dry enough to keep. That would be the last set I would ever buy by the box.

    For the first year or so after the flood, I was more set on buying replacements for other lost products over new cards. So, I skipped buying boxes for the next few expansions, getting only a new deck and a few packs instead. This would be the norm for me ever since, picking up a few cards instead of spending money on entire boxes. With an occasional exception, I haven't bought more than that in a long time. In fact, I rarely buy more than one pack unless I really, really like the theme. I still buy some of the spin-offs, mostly the comics, but that is about it. I still love the worlds that the game represents more than the actual playing, but that original thrill left long ago. As the gaming trends have changed, I have found myself less liking the playing itself. There have been public outcry over some of the changes, and I feel the game might be on the verge of collapse. I honestly don't know what to think.

    Come back next week as I go into detail about some of the places where I bought my cards and accessories.

Trading Card Recollections Part 2

    Last week, I mentioned how I finally started collecting trading cards in college.  This week, I'll talk about some of the places where I got these cards. Note, I was very cut off from many social circles in the 90s when I did most of my collecting. Therefore, I didn't trade cards with anyone; I just collected on my own. Yes, I did keep back many duplicates in case I could trade, but the opportunities never came up. Neither did the need, as I wound up getting complete base sets pretty much on my own.

    I got the overwhelming number of packs from just two places. I may have bought a random pack somewhere else, but I can't remember for sure. I won't even try to name any others. Those two stores are

• Economy Drug, Pikeville:  I got my first DC cards here. In fact, I got almost my entire collection of that first set here. I may have gotten a few latter packs of latter sets here, but I found another store. I think they still sell sports cards here, although they just could be really old ones that they would rather leave out to try and sell rather than try to get newer ones. I haven't been inside in a few months, so I can't be sure.
• Page 3 Game Zone, Pikeville:  Once I realized that they sold my card sets too, I got most of them here whenever I had extra money from my regular purchases. I even started to get my cards by the box here. Once, I opened up my box and checked packs before I bought them, only to realize that I didn't have enough money on me to pay for them. I had to shamefully come in the next day to finish paying for them. Very embarrassing. This was at their original downtown location. I bought some more at their second store as well. Well before the time they moved to their current spot, I had stopped buying trading cards. They still sell cards, mostly sports-related as other properties have faded a bit. In fact, trading cards were some of the first products that came back after they were closed for months due to the 2025 flood.

    I would also get the occasional price guide/magazine. Sometimes, they would carry free samples of upcoming sets, either a pack or just a single card. Some of my comic book and video game mags would also have the samples. I won't repeat the names of those mags, as I just mentioned them recently. I won't mention the stores either, as I can't remember every single instance of whether or not an individual issue had a sample or not.

    I got my last trading card magazine about ten or so years ago. It was a Beckett price guide for both trading cards and trading card games (TCGs). I haven't seen any on newsstands recently. I think the guides are mostly online now, although it could be that no one carries them. Either way, I don't collect them in such a way that I would want a magazine or guide anyway.

    Next week, part 3 as I cover my concurrent history of collecting TCGs.

Trading Card Recollections Part 1

    I wasn't into baseball cards as a kid.  Other guys were, but not me. I wasn't a "sports guy" back then.  Still not one, really. It wasn't just baseball cards either. Cards for other sports were also not interesting. Even other types of trading cards were not my thing, even as the market was expanding beyond sports into humor and movies as themes. 

    Things changed when I was in college. I was wandering through a local drug store, checking up on the candy aisle, when I noticed a box of trading cards based on DC Comics characters. I 'knew' Marvel had started up their own line of trading cards, so it just made sense that DC would soon follow them. The packs came in wrappers featuring one of four of DC's biggest stars:  Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Deathstroke. (You probably have some questions. First, Batman wasn't featured, as the rights to characters from his part of the comic book world were tied up with another company, due to the Tim Burton movies out at the time. Second, Deathstorke was a villain who DC was really pushing, as his popularity was great enough that he would soon get his own series. Also, the suit was mostly orange, allowing four different colors to be prominent on the wrappers. Superman-blue, Wonder Woman-red, Green Lantern-green [duh}, and Deathstroke-orange.) I got one of each wrapper. 

    I could hardly believe what I saw. There were cards featuring major characters throughout the decades in various looks. Cards reproducing important comic books covers. (One of the ways they got to include Batman, although he was hidden in the corner of that cover.) Cards summarizing major stories, including a tiny detail of a hero with a pointy cowl. And of course, checklists. It took me months, but I collected the complete set, without having to trade for anything.

    For the next few years, I would collect each set as they came out. The rights to Batman finally returned, so his universe of characters could now be included. I was soon buying sets by the box, allowing me to complete a set almost immediately. The later sets would begin to include deluxe chase cards. I didn't try to get all of the chase cards when I first started collecting, but I always tried to get as many as I could. I even managed to get some of the super-rare hologram cards for a few sets. The first one was a Sandman hologram in the first DC Vertigo set. I had to mail in a request for one very rare chase card. The card came with golden confetti stars in the package.

    As the 90s wore on, my attention drifted to other things. Buying a box a year was getting tiresome.  Also, the sets ands themes stopped being as interesting. So, I stopped collecting them. This was just before DC stopped making that many sets. I think they have started back, but I can't confirm such things.

    Unlike so many of my collections, I still have every complete set. Somehow, they escaped the 2003 flood intact. Sure, I lost many of the excess repeats, but the complete sets survived. I haven't looked at them in decades, but they are still there, fairly safe in storage.

    Next week, in part two, I will take you to some of the places where I got these cards.  See you then.

Under Resurfacing Pressure

    Last week, the manager of the shopping center where my store, Booknotes, is located had two pieces of news.  The first was that his office would be moving off-site, as well as the medical scrubs store the office was located in. It didn't seem like a good idea for the manager to be moved to somewhere else, but I didn't have any say in that. It also seemed weird that a store would be making a second move in under a year, but that news didn't involve me at all. The second bit of news was that the parking lot of the center would be resurfaced that Friday and Saturday. About half of the lot would be worked on Friday, with the rest finished on Saturday. The Saturday part would be the one that would directly involve my store, as the spaces right in front of it would be cordoned off that day, preventing anyone from parking directly in front of the businesses. People would have to park at one end, and then they would walk down to wherever they needed to go.

    This would be bad for business, so we decided to close the store for that day. I hated to take off two Saturdays in a row, as I had already taken the first Saturday off for my annual late summer/early fall shopping trip that I mentioned in last week's post, but there was no way to park that far away and carry all we needed to that far. So, I quickly started to make plans for the weekend. I changed my shopping schedule began planning for the day off. Saturdays are generally main grocery shopping days for me, so rescheduling was going to be a pain, especially having to plan until the following Tuesday.

    Friday rolls around, and the parking lot is a mess. The west entrance is cordoned off, while the east entrance is down to one lane, and it is the more dangerous one where many wrecks have happened.  Instead of parts of the lot closed off, almost the entire lot is out. The entire west end is roped off up to the spots in front of my store.  This included the open furniture store, office supply store, and Amazon hub. Well, the last one is only partially open, but still. All of the spots in the center of the lot were cautioned off.  Only the spots in front of the stores were available all the way down. Even the area where the gas station used to be was affected. The only other spot clear was the section in front of the old grocery store. I could barely make it down the narrow lane down to my store. I had to park in a spot for customers, it was so bad. Worse, some people brought a car to pick up some tech from the recently closed scrubs store, and they blocked off a few spots for a few minutes. Later, some other people came by to the same place to get some plastic bag barely containing anything. Both could have parked behind the center to pick this stuff up. All day, customers and deliveries had to wind their way in and out, some in reverse, just to come to the stores.

    I almost changed my mind to come in Saturday, since it appeared that my section of the lot would be done by them, but I stayed home instead.

    On Monday, I came in and noticed that the lot was done. Everything had the new surfacing, and the lines were all painted in.  Even some of the curbs had been painted. There were more handicapped spots, and even a dedicated spot for one store owner who had a recharger installed.  The only part not done?  The spot in front of the grocery store. Twenty percent of the entire lot was untouched. It doesn't make any sense not to resurface the one part of the lot not in use. Except, we heard some news. See, the hospital who bought the center a year ago, said that they were going to convert the grocery store to a day care center. Apparently, those plans fell through, and it now won't happen. The same thing happened the last time they said they were making a day care center. Now, there is no telling what the hospital will do with the space, although there are plenty of rumors. 

    And none of them are good. 

Edited for My Displeasure

    So, I got an email from Blogger last week.  Yes, the very site hosting this blogcast. While I had received emails from other Google sites, mostly YouTube, I don't remember ever getting one from Blogger before. Apparently, Blogger was notifying me that a video would have to be removed from a post I made back in 2018. It was one of my first attempts at making a video with my then new MacBook Pro. It was just a short of me doing some pushups. Nothing special, I don't even think I did everything right in making it. Anyway, Blogger never said why they had to remove the video, as the site still offers the option of add videos as of the day I'm writing this. Then again, there was some suspicious grammar in the email ("one videos") that made me doubt the legitimacy of the email. Regardless, I removed the old video myself, my way, and not the way the email suggested. Since the original was on my old computer that wasn't able to be saved, it is now lost forever. Probably.

    I didn't mind losing it for it was the first time that I learned that the top of my head was slightly balding. Maybe just thinning, but I still didn't like it. I've tried to hide the fact in other videos, but I'm not always successful. Worse, no one ever told me about it. Not my hairdresser of many, many years, although she might be cutting my hair to hide that fact. Definitely not my mother, although she has an excuse. I've been taller than her since high school, by over eight inches. Maybe even more so now that she has developed scoliosis. I must admit that she has been trying to make me take some hair care supplements.  I don't take them too often.  Though the hormones and such seems to help, as the hair around my forehead is less grey than it was, it could also explain my slight weight gain and a decrease in muscle mass. 

    Anyway, on another front, I may have taken my last shopping trip to the Huntington Mall. The highlight, such as they were. Left over twenty minutes late due to my guest. Had to make an unscheduled rest stop in Prestonsburg. Had to wait at a scheduled stop in Loiusa when my guest met someone they knew. Guest started to complain in the first store we both went into, after they entered a contest and got a free candy in the first store they went to. Having to wait for a second time after a rest stop before shopping in the other end of the mall. The book store had reduced their magazine rack by over half, and they weren't even carrying some titles that I know are still being published. (Sold out or just not being carried, unknown.) The gift shop's new owner got rid of most of what we liked about it, although it now had a huge display of over two dozen goose costumes, including seven or eight for Christmas. The guest started to get overheated in the one store where I thought I could get some clothes, but there was nothing. The comic book store only had two of my missing titles, although I may have overlooked one thinking it was the wrong issue. The last store, I went into alone as the guest was too tired to walk any more. I all but ran up the escalator to save time. I may have found some things, but I didn't like the price or wasn't sure of the product. (I lost the shopping list for department stores, but not others.) I burned my mouth on the chicken sandwich I had for lunch, and I accidentally added a squirt of Coke when I topped off my drink before leaving. (Strangely enough, I frequently burn my mouth on crispy chicken sandwiches.) The craft store had already sold out of the Halloween decorations I was looking for. The guest ran into someone they knew at the first grocery store, which barely had the bare minimum I was looking for, although a second one had a few things I needed, but I had to pass on a few more expensive items I may have wanted to try. Finally, the guest declined to make any rest stops on the way back, causing my back to start hurting from driving so much. 

    And I still got back home earlier than if I had gone into work that Saturday.

There's No Such Thing as Autumnal Cleaning

    Normally, Labor Day marks the time of year to change the decorations of my store, Booknotes, over to fall, with actual Halloween decor coming in October. Well, Labor Day was on the seventh this year, the latest it could possibly be, so the changeover was late. While I was able to take down the last of the spring/summer stuff fairly quickly, there was a slight problem with the new. Someone wanted to move some of the shelving and storage around to create a slightly newer look. I didn't think it was needed, but I got overruled, and I should have fought more on my decision. Anyway, I went to move out some of the spare empty boxes we have, when I noticed some damage on the bottom of one. It had been directly on the carpeting, but it had picked up something somehow. I had to go back and look at the bottoms and sides of every box I moved, checking to see if there were any more that had damage. There were many more.  All told, I had to throw about a dozen boxes away due to damage.

    The real question was how did the boxes get damaged in the first place. Last year, a small leak developed in the ceiling, but it was repaired soon after it was discovered. The floor didn't get that wet, and the damaged boxes were nowhere near where the leak was. Someone had spilled various liquids near the affected carpet, but nothing leaked that could have spread as far as it did. The weirdest theory involve the unit next door. An Amazon delivery hub opened up some time ago in the unit to the right. Last month, a clog developed in our shared sewer pipe, far enough down that was affecting both units. Soon after that was fixed, the hub had another problem, possibly involving a leaking fire retardment system. We saw them dumping buckets of liquid out, but no one said what exactly had happened there. Maybe some water, or whatever, seeped under the shared wall. All I now is that there was an odd odor in that area earlier in the summer, possibly from the boxes.

    After getting rid of the bad boxes, the carpet needed cleaning. We were had to wait to bring over the vacuum and other equipment immediately, since there was the probability for heavy rain in the forecast. (It ended up that we barely got a quarter of an inch over the period.) Waiting meant that there were piles of boxes around the store that I had to keep moving around while searching for damages and rearranging the other supplies that were kept in some of them. I also meant that decorating had to be put on hold until the carpet could be cleaned. Yesterday, we finally finished the cleaning and putting the remaining boxes away. Today, the last few decorations are being put up, and I can finally take pictures of the store to post on social media.  Over a week late, but it will be done.

    Even by putting my own spin on some of the design changes, I still don't think it was worth it. At least we got rid of some bad boxes.

Very Delayed Gratification

    I ordered a book as part of my regular order for my bookstore back in July. Unfortunately, they were out of stock, but expected the title to be back in stock relatively soon. I backordered the book, but it came in just after the rest of the order was processed. So, instead of having the book as part of that order, the title would be held until the next regular order. Strangely enough, when this happened at other times, the book was added to the order even as it was being processed. I finally placed a new order in the middle of August. Instead of the order being shipped immediately, it was held in processing for two weeks. After a week, we called the distributor to see what the hold up was. It turns out, someone other than me had ordered a book that was print-on-demand.  Although the inventory check said that the book was already available, we had to wait over a week for the actual book to be printed before the rest of the order could be sent. (Okay, there was a second book as well, but there was nothing overt about it that suggested it was POD as well.) Finally, this weekend, I checked in on the order, and I found out it was getting ready to be shipped. Well, the packing label was printed, but the actual order wouldn't be sent out until yesterday, Tuesday, due to the three-day weekend. The order is supposed to be delivered sometime tomorrow morning, and I will finally get my book. Technically, it is the only special order with it. A woman had asked for a book on medicinal plants, but she hasn't been back since to look in upon it. We needed the book for the store anyway.

    That's not the only thing I have been waiting on. Back in early August, my local comic book store had another one of its missed shipments. Actually, make that two, as it didn't receive any comics of mine for the first two weeks of the month.  So, I went and placed on online order with one of the places I had been dealing with for the past year. I also ordered a comic I missed from back in June that had been missed from both my local store and the other online store I deal with. However, the online store took so long to get to my order that two of the comics had already sold out. One, the missed one from June, had already been reordered for the store as a second printing (I think) and that asked if I wanted to hold my order until in came in.  I said yes. This weekend, I finally got the email saying the comic was in, after three weeks of waiting. The next issues of many of the comics are coming out this week. I've even put off reading other comics that are part of a crossover until these come in. Like the book order above, they should be in tomorrow.  The worst part though is that my local shop, although it has been improving lately, frequently doesn't get their regular order for the second week of the month, which is this week. It also has problems getting deliveries after a federal holiday, like Monday was. So, I might have to place another online order almost immediately after I get this one.

    Finally, I mentioned back in June about a special limited-edition flavor of ice cream that involved blueberries that I wanted to try. While it was available around here, it was out at times where it was either too hot to try and take something frozen that far, or I didn't have the extra money, or it was at a store where I couldn't get it from due to a lack of room at my own store's mini-fridge. When all the conditions were finally right, it was all sold out. I thought my one chance had been blown. But wait. Last night, a store that hadn't gotten the flavor before had some. While I couldn't buy it last night, due to a long stop I was going to make after shopping and before getting home, I am planning on getting it this evening. Sure, it's hotter today, but I will have a freezer bag with me this time. I just hope they don't sell out this time. I want my blueberry ice cream.