|
|
|
Home
View Inventory
"Do You Buy?"
About/FAQ
Show Schedule
Links
|
07-15-2013 Hey everyone, what's shakin? I've had a fun couple of days, and I thought I'd quickly share them with you. For the second month in a row, I've had a very strong show in St Louis. The Orlando Gardens location (near 270/55 - see my show calendar for a map) seems to be gaining traction with customers, as the room was buzzing with activity most of the day. Thanks to my loyal customers, sometimes I'm the only dealer who has a good show, but reviews were positive from all dealers this time around. But I'll go rather chronologically through my weekend. Saturday night I stopped by to see my good friend and his wife for a heck of a nice feast. Between the gorgeous weather, Bud Light Limes, grilled meats, sides, and dessert, it was a tasty and relaxing time. I'm ashmed to say that I contributed nothing to the meal except my good looks and witty bantor. It was fun to see their daughter sprouting up. She was very polite, and I was pleased to learn that she is utilizing the "it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" rule at such a young age. After checking in to my hotel, that didn't leave much time for work to be done, so I settled into bed and fell asleep watching "Ted," which is a pretty darn funny movie. But backing up a second, even though I Priceline my hotels, they all still make you flash a credit card for incidentals when checking-in. (Not a bad idea for houseguests either.) I'm a loyal Discover user, and a few months ago when my card expired, they sent me a link to all their card designs. In case you don't know me or haven't read anything I've written over the last 10 years, I flipped when I saw the following design offered: 
Awesome! I wonder how many tapes I made copying friends' tapes or recording stuff off the radio back in the day? It does get a response from the clerk about one-third of the time. Unfortunately, that response is usually, "You're showing your age." Yeah, as if my hairline isn't doing a good enough job of that already... So while I fell asleep happily chuckling along to Ted, I woke up wondering why it was so light outside, even considering it's summertime. A quick consultation with my trusty phone revealed the time to be 6:28AM. Not good! I had set my alarm for 5:30. So, the only way I could interrogate my phone was to pop open the alarm clock feature and see what had gone awry. Uh, it was me. I had set it for 5:30PM! Luckily, I do not sleep in, or I probably wouldn't have woken up until the maid wanted to clean the room and also kick my ass out. This wasn't entirely too late, so I didn't have a frantic pace, but I was further annoyed when I realized I forgot my toothbrush at home. Again, a saving grace was that I remembered my toothpaste, and was armed with an index finger and a washcloth. I figured if a washcloth is good enough for your face/body, it should certainly suffice for my teeth for a day. Turns out, it did a pretty good job. I mean, I didn't feel like I was on Survivor or anything. In another gaffe, I forgot mousse for my hair, so I had to wear my Cubs hat to the show. No big deal, you might think, but I'd rather go without brushing my teeth than wear a Cubs hat in St Louis. This is the first time in ten years of shows in St Louis that I've stood behind a table in any kind of Cubs gear. That's not pandering; it's out of respect for the loyalty of the Cardinal fans. Do they ever show their support for their team! Anyway, I really had to take stock of my years of goodwill, fair deals, nice selection, and everything else I've literally brought to the table in that town to see if the collecting world would accept my fandom. Turns out, they did. But it probably helps that the Cards are riding high and the Cubs are the class of the rebuilding franchises this season. The only real oddity from the show that was fun was a time when I had three Mikes at my tables all at the same time! Mike O, Mike A, and Mike F - I swear, we need to get you guys some nicknames! Good times though; that triumvirate of Mikes accounted for over one-third of my sales on the day. This happened to be another show where I was too busy to eat lunch; all I munched on was an apple. So I had to wolf down my sandwich and Dr. Pepper and a few Cheetos on the drive home. And about that drive home: I have a couple things to mention, specifically about the stretch of 55/70 running east through downtown StL into Illinois. First, what is the deal with the "express" lanes versus "local" lanes? The express lanes are always slower for some reason, and that totally defeats the purpose. Why even have a divider? Instead of splitting the roads into (2) two-lane pieces, just roll out more beautiful, flat, open road so me and the minivan can, in the words of Doc Brown, hit 88 and see some serious shit. Case in point, Sarah and I were coming back from Chicago earlier this week and coming south on 90-94. (Dan Ryan or Kennedy? Can a Chicago local please explain to me why the interstates up there are known more by names than numbers? I'm confused.) But the two lanes of the "express" side were down to one due to construction, thus fucking everything up. Same with that stretch in St Louis; the express lanes are always loaded with semis and general slowpokes and it's usually quicker to swing through the lanes with exits. Grrrr. Next - and this one still has a hold of me - somewhere along that area leaving St Louis where all the interstates merge, I beg you locals to check for billboards on the north side of the road (while traveling east). I made my own version of it below, but made one edit. It is for Busch, and thus has your typical frosty mountain range with a couple cold ones sitting there. What gets me is the tagline - the only words on the whole sign - "You've earned it." Say what?!?! Is that supposed to be a good thing? I'm picturing this scenario: I've just helped a friend move. It's a hot day. We've made a few trips between what are now known as "the old place" and "the new place." And maybe we've even had to pause and set down a couch on the front patio to figure out how to angle it through the front door to fit correctly. We're sweaty and beat. We've joked about how moving sucks and this will be the last time he ever moves. As I'm sitting, resting, aching, he hands me a cold Busch Light and says, "Thanks for your help today; you've earned it." I think my jaw would drop. "This is what I've earned??!! I just busted my ass for you!" "Oh wait, did I accidentally drop your 50" flat-screen on your 2-year-old?!" If not, I would heartily feel like I deserved a finer brew. What can I say? It's a ballsy ad campaign. Something that Don Draper and Co. should put together for Jaguar. But not for Busch. Below is the simple change I would make in the punctuation: 
Outside of that, I was displeased while doing some laundry last night to find my wallet in the washer with some freshly cleaned clothes. Luckily, nothing had disintegrated. Hey, I enjoy laundering money as much as the next guy, but I found that episode to be a bit literal. Wrapping up, this morning I finalized a deal to acquire about 1000 commons from 1953, 1955, and 1956 Topps, so look for those at coming shows. Condition ranges from Vg to NrMt+, so after I sort out the lower-grade stuff, the rest will be integrated into my inventory. I suppose that's it for now. I would like to write more, and more often, but I've been staying quite busy lately. Have fun! -T You can now find me all over the web:  Like Monster Cards on Facebook (Frequent updates and scans of new inventory - graded and ungraded!)
 Twitter: http://twitter.com/monstercards (Sorry, less frequent updates...) |
Inside My Brain