Parks and Recreation Autos are LITERALLY Amazing!

I developed a relationship with Netflix shortly after I graduated high school back in 2011. Since then, Netflix and I have established quite a close bond. Seriously, Netflix is the ultimate investment for college students. 

One of the many numerous shows that I've grown attached to over this time has been Parks and Recreation. I've professed my love for it many times before (like here, here, and here) and I'm back at it again today. 

I've been on the lookout for this card for quite some time now, but I was never able to secure it for a price I was comfortable with. Hours before I got this one, I nearly spent twice as much for a different copy that I thankfully lost. Luckily, Greg (once again) sent me a message on twitter with a link to this card with a stellar BIN price. I jumped at the opportunity, and secured one of the more difficult autos from the set. 

I figured I might as well take a look at some of the other cards the seller had up for grabs and walked away with another much needed auto for the set. 

Surprisingly, this was one of the hardest ones to track down for a good price. I ended up spending a little bit more than I was initially anticipating for this card, but I still got it for a good price. Not to mention, I saved on combined shipping. 

With these two additions, I am quickly approaching the completion of the autograph set. I recently acquired another card from the set, so I am left with only three cards needed to finish it off. Considering one of my 2015 goals was to finish this autograph set, I am pretty excited that I have completed as much as I have in only a month. 

Narrowing My Focus

Less than a month ago, I published a post describing my desire to take a step back from the hobby. At that time, I cited a lack of money, time, and space as the reasons why I needed a reprieve.  Less than a month later, I need another reprieve.

My posting on the blog has been sparse of late. I have made 15 posts in the month of September, and 5 of those were simply for the box break. It's not like I have a lack of interest in cards, or lack of cards to post, rather a lack of time. 

And time is the reason I need to narrow my focus once again. 

No longer will I have secondary or tertiary PC's. That Topps Chrome Rainbow I have been trying to complete since I started the blog? That's done too. We can also say goodbye to the Chavez Ravining HOF, though I never really did get the chance to go anywhere with that. This list could go on and on. Let me just talk about what I plan to focus on going forward.

1. My PC Guys

No longer will they be my "primary" PC guys, but just my PC guys. Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Beltre, and Shawn Green will be the primary guys featured on this blog. I will continue my attempt to gather as many cards for these guys as possible. I'm still on the hunt for that elusive Kershaw auto. Damn college and it's expensiveness! 

However, Hyun-Jin Ryu is getting the boot. I will still have an enormous place for him in my collection, along with a few other players, like Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig, and A-Gon. I will just have a smaller focus on those guys. I would love to receive their cards in trades, but I won't actively look to purchase their cards for the time being. 

2. Non-MLB Cards

I can't really explain my infatuation with non-MLB cards as of late; all I know is that I can't get enough of them. Parks and Recreation, Archer, and The Simpsons will be much bigger parts of this blog moving forward. 

Maybe it is because they are truly one-of-a-kind cards. They aren't 1/1's, but I don't see the same laziness in these cards as I do in some of the baseball products. *cough cough* Topps *cough cough*

3. Topps Team Set Project

One thing that won't be going away anytime soon is my Topps Team Set Project. For those unsure of what this is, it is basically my pursuit of every Dodgers team set from Topps Flagship ever. 

I have a good start so far. A good chunk of the 80's is done, and I have a pretty good start on the later 2000's as well. Of course, that leaves me with a ton of expensive cards from the 50's, 60's, and 70's to buy, but this project may last a lifetime. I'm not rushing it right now. 

In addition to those three things above, I will be placing an extra importance on autographs. I love base cards, but I'm trying to collect without taking up too much space for the time being.

And that's it. I am narrowing my focus to just three things. My PC guys, my TV shows, and my Topps Team Set Project. 

It is important to mention that I am not planning on just dumping all of the cards of my secondary and tertiary collections. I still have the desire to collect those guys, but I need to narrow down my focus. If you are interested in any cards from those guys, I would be more than happy to move them, though I am not obligated to do so. 

I will take the time to adjust the layout of my blog to coincide with my new collecting habits sometime soon. For the time being, I will continue to post my recent trades and customs until I can work out a schedule that puts me in my office chair on a more frequent basis. 

Treat Yo Self

I took the advice of a character from one of my favorite television shows. With a little help from Greg, I was able to treat myself to this fabulous on card auto of Retta, better known as Donna Meagle on Parks and Rec.

It arrived only three days after I paid, which was definitely a surprise. Little did I know that the seller lives in the next city over. 

With this addition, I now have 7 out of 13 autos needed for the complete Parks and Rec auto set. I still have the bigger names to grab, but I may just buy a box and hope for the best. At the very least I will be able to trade or sell the dupes, or just send them over to Greg should he need them. I'm in no rush to complete the set, so it may be a few months before I take action and actually buy that box though. 

Lets take a look at my updated checklist. 

Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope)

Rob Lowe (Chris Traeger)

Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford)

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson)

Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate)

Jim O’Heir (Jerry Gergich)

Retta (Donna Meagle)

Jay Jackson (Perd Hapley)

Mo Collins (Joan Callmezzo)

Megan Mullally (Tammy Swanson)

Paul Rudd (Bobby Newport)

Fred Armisen (Raul)

Parker Posey (Lindsay Carlisle Shay)

Ya Heard? With Perd!

Let me begin this post by starting it.

The thing this blogger bought on eBay, is a card. That amount it set this blogger back, was a small one.

But enough Perd talk. This card cost just a few bucks shipped, and is a great addition to my Parks and Rec autograph subset. With the addition of this card, I now sit at about the halfway marker toward my goal of obtaining all 13 autos. Check out my progress below.

My Progress (6/13)

Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope)

Rob Lowe (Chris Traeger)

Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford)

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson)

Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate)

Jim O’Heir (Jerry Gergich)

Retta (Donna Meagle)

Jay Jackson (Perd Hapley)

Mo Collins (Joan Callmezzo)

Megan Mullally (Tammy Swanson)

Paul Rudd (Bobby Newport)

Fred Armisen (Raul)

Parker Posey (Lindsay Carlisle Shay)

Happy Birthday, Greg!

No, not that Greg who also celebrated his birthday yesterday. Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle gets to celebrate his birth today. What better way to celebrate a fellow blogger's birthday, than by showing off some awesome cards he passed along my way earlier this week at the Dodger game. Of course, you can celebrate by harassing Greg on Twitter or just visiting his awesome blog.

Although Greg and I have been in contact since the inception of my blog almost a year ago, this is only our second trade. And boy, the first one (so good it required two posts) was just a sign of things to come when dealing with Greg. 

The centerpiece of this deal was a swap of autographs from the Parks and Recreation set by Press Pass. Both Greg and I are attempting to put the entire autographed set, and we were able to help each other out by flipping some of our excess autographs. This time around I was able to pick up the hilarious Joan Callamezzo portrayed by Mo Collins. I now have 5 out of the 13 autos in the set, still needing the big ones like Amy Poehler and Rob Lowe. With the prices those seem to be sitting at, it may be beneficial to just buy a hobby box and hope for the best. 

Greg also tossed in my very first autograph of former Dodger, Blake DeWitt. Although he was traded for Ted Lilly back in 2010, DeWitt remained one of my favorite players. From the looks of it, DeWitt is a free agent. Ahem....you know what to do Dodgers.

Moving from a former Dodger, to a soon to be former Dodger, Greg threw in this sweet relic of Andre Ethier. Look, I love Ethier, but his production has dropped off immensely the past two seasons. With Joc Pederson knocking on the door in Triple-A, one of Ethier or Carl Crawford will most likely be moved before the start of 2015. The Dodgers will either have to give away one of the players for some mediocre prospects, or take on another albatross contract in return. Jonathan Papelbon's name was thrown around yesterday, and even though I dislike Papelbon, it would probably benefit the team in the long run. 

Hell, the Dodgers could trade either of their overpriced outfielders for dirt and sign Shawn Green and I'd be happy. We know that would never happen, but a man can dream right? Greg threw in two Green relics into this trade package, though I decided to just scan the one. This one is #'d 226/250 and joins its brothers in my box box of Greens.

Speaking of former Dodgers I'd like to see make a return to LA, here is a sweet swatch of Russell Martin. Considering it is a fairly low numbered relic of one of Greg's favorite players, I am assuming he had a spare. If so, I don't blame him for having more than one of these spectacular cards. 

It seems like this post has turned into me clamoring for former Dodgers to make their return to the magic castle that is Dodger Stadium. However, I don't only want former Dodgers to return. It would be nice to have Withrow at the back of the Dodgers bullpen, but he is just one of many Tommy John victims this year. 

Of course, relievers tend to be expendable and with the Dodgers depth, they aren't horribly effected by Withrow's loss. The Dodgers showed off how expendable relievers can be by shipping off Josh Lindblom to Philly in the deal for Shane Victorino in 2012. In a strange sequence of events, the Phillies then traded Lindblom to the Rangers for Michael Young after the 2012 season. The Dodgers then traded for Young in August of last season to bring the trade full circle. 

Moving away from the hits that Greg exchanged with me, we have three new Matt Kemp cards for my #BEASTMODE PC. There is just something about those Triple Play cards that grabs my attention. They are wonderful. 

Triple Play is one of the low-end products, so Greg made sure to include a new Matty Ice card from one of the high-end sets. This Kemp marks four new cards Greg added to my collection, which now sits at 165 unique cards. 

Greg was also kind enough to toss in a couple of Shawn Green cards, one better than the other. I'll let you guess which one don't like. 

Though I tend to hate cards of Shawn Green featured as a D-Back, I'll take any card of Jonathan Broxton. I have always been a big fan of the big man, even after Joe Torre killed him back in the Yankees series in 2010. Broxton was one of the most dominant relievers in the game during a four year stretch from 2006-2009. After that ill-fated series against the Yankees, in which Broxton pitched in 4 out of 5 games, and warmed up in the other one, Broxton was never the same. By the way, Broxton (a closer mind you) threw 99 pitches in a span of five days. As Mike Petriello, then of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness pointed out, Jonathan Broxton is a starting pitcher now, I guess. I need to get all of my Broxton cards together and officially add him to my tertiary PC's, but that means I actually have to do something when I'm not at work.

A vertical card next to a horizontal one is not very pleasing to the eyes, but this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. All joking aside, Greg managed to throw in a pair of sweet Bryce Harper cards that I did not have somehow. 

Greg also threw in a ton of other great cards, including a ton of mini collection hits, other hits, and some Dodgers. Unfortunately, I forgot Greg's side of the deal when I took my trip to LA over the weekend, but Greg will be happy to know that his cards are en route. He probably won't get them today, but a belated birthday gift tomorrow should be expected.

Thanks again for all of the wonderful cards Greg! Be sure to enjoy your birthday amigo!

Re-evalutaing My Collection

I have been putting this post of for a while. I guess I have been trying to hide from the madness that cards have been causing me.

A a full-time student, a part-time worker, a blogger, and the manager/editor of the MLB Section at Pro Sports Extra, I have been overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed at some point in your life is completely normal, but eventually it becomes too much to handle. Things start to get pushed back, other things start to slip the mind, and there is a constant feeling of being behind. 

That is why I am re-evaluating my collection and my goals. 

Let's take a look at some of the things I plan on continuing first.

1. My Main PC Guys

Of course I wasn't going to stop collecting my main guys. I will still be on the hunt for anything from Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Beltre, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Shawn Green.

2. Dodger Autos and Relics

I am a Dodger fan first, and a card collector second. It has always been that way and the Dodgers play a large role in my collection. I plan on acquiring more hits from my boys in blue as time passes by.

3. Secondary PC's

I will take advantage of every opportunity I get to post a scan of this fabulous card.  The Secondary PC guys will still be a part of my collection. That means anything from David Ortiz, Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Corey Seager, and Andre Ethier will still be welcome here. 

4. Tertiary PC's

This is new to most of you. I have decided to actually expand my collection in one particular area. I will not actively be on the hunt for these players, but I will attempt to add their cards through trades.

• Russell Martin
• Paco Rodriguez
• Kerry Wood
• Jose Fernandez
• Zack Greinke
• Manny Ramirez 

5. Topps Team Set Project/Topps Chrome Rainbow

I will continue these two "lifetime" goals until the dawn of time. You can check the progress of these in the title bar up top. 

6. Parks and Rec Auto Quest

No way I'm stopping this. I haven't been able to watch this show lately because they haven't uploaded the newest season to Netflix yet, but as soon as they do I am looking at an all day marathon. 

7. Topps Flagship/Topps Heritage/Topps Chrome

Finally we get to the end of the list.  I was previously collecting nearly every set that was realized for Topps/Bowman  in 2013 but that is just too stupid and expensive for my taste. I decided to cut back to just my favorite 3 sets of the year. Topps Flagship, Topps Heritage, and Topps Chrome. I will look to complete the master set for 2014 Flagship, but that will change to the base set only next year. As far as the other two sets go, I am just going to complete the base sets, including the SP's on Heritage. Otherwise, I will only be looking for Dodgers/PC people with the other sets. 

As far as everything else goes, its out the window for the time being. That includes my mini collections like Pimping Dingers, Celebrating on the Mound, and the rest. I will keep the cards I already have with the intention of starting those up again when I am out of college with a real job and an apartment of my own, but as of now they don't fit. 

Hopefully this will relieve some of the stress associated with the hobby and it will allow me to get things under a bit more control. I will be contacting a few people with some cards that I no longer have interest in and there will be a mega Trade Bait Tuesday next week. If there is anything you are interested in let me know,  and we can work something out. This will also allow me to continue with contests again. In fact, expect a new contest tonight!

I Know What I'm About, Nick Offerman

I am a big fan of Parks and Recreation. I started watching it after noticing the Ron Swanson autographed 8X10 Greg has featured on his blog. I was able to pick up a couple of hobby boxes of the Parks and Recreation cards a few weeks ago, and was lucky enough to be able to put together the entire team set. I also received the complete foil set from a seller on eBay after there was a shipping problem with a purchase. 

I highlighted the hits I received from those Parks and Rec boxes a couple of weeks ago, but I have been on a mission ever since. I am attempting to get an auto from all 13 cast members that signed for the set.

Here is my up to date set needs (Updated 7/18/14)

(6/13) 

Amy Poehler (Leslie Knope)

Rob Lowe (Chris Traeger)

Aziz Ansari (Tom Haverford)

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson)

Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate)

Jim O’Heir (Jerry Gergich)

Retta (Donna Meagle)

Jay Jackson (Perd Hapley)

Mo Collins (Joan Callmezzo)

Megan Mullally (Tammy Swanson)

Paul Rudd (Bobby Newport)

Fred Armisen (Raul)

Parker Posey (Lindsay Carlisle Shay)

As you can see, I already have autos from Jim O'Heir, Paul Rudd, and Megan Mullally. I actually have two Mullaly autos, with one being the inscription variant. 

So when I came across an auto from another cast member for a more than fair price, I was sure to be the final bidder. For just under the price of a blaster box, I was able to walk away with my first Nick Offerman auto.

This happens to be the gold parallel of the card, making it limited to just 95 copies. Nick, who portrays Ron Swanson in the hit show, has a beautiful autograph, one that I hope to purchase again. With this addition, I am left with 9 autos to attain. Amy Poehler's figures to be the most expensive, but luckily it wouldn't break the budget if I ran into one. If anybody out there has some Parks and Rec hits laying around, let me know. I will trade heavily for any auto, whether or not I already have it. 

Just Give Me All the Parks and Rec Cards You Have

I got a call from my friend Dikran the other night saying he had a surprise for me. For those of you who don't know who Dikran is I guess we could call him my "Sugar Daddy". (Thanks Greg) Dikran and I started collecting together, but are interests are polar opposites. I enjoy putting together team sets, collecting cards from my PC guys, and adding generally awesome cards to my collection. He treats collecting as gambling. He only collects crazy colored relics, or big name autos. He spends hundreds on hobby boxes, hoping to get the "big hit". He has done so a few times, once pulling a $735.00 Ronda Rousey Gold Auto, but as you can see we are collect for different reasons. 

Well, he called and told me he bought some boxes online, but wouldn't tell me what he bought. He told me he failed to get anything he liked and I would be inheriting some boxes. 

Four boxes in total, two of my favorite of show on TV. I recently started to watch Parks and Rec on Netflix, but finished up all 5 seasons last week. I had been trying to get my hands on some of the cards, but since I have had bad luck with a seller on eBay, these boxes came at a great time. 

The NBA box was "lame" according to Dikran, and I will be listing one of the cards from that on eBay for him shortly. The UFC box was from 2010, and of course contained 2 redemptions. The redemptions expired in August, so I will be calling Topps tomorrow to see what they can do. I have not heard a lot of good come from the Topps redemption department, so wish me luck. 

The excitement lay inside the Parks and Rec boxes however, and I soon got cracking. After sorting for about 25 mins, I managed to put together the entire base set. This is officially my first complete set (yay!), and I have no idea what to do with the cards. I will be doing some serious organizing this weekend, in anticipation for 2014 cards and I'm sure I'll figure out where to store the set. 

I also got about a third of the foil set, but I may be receiving that in the mail soon. I bought the base set on eBay on New Year's Eve but as of a week and a half ago I still did not have it in hand. I messaged the seller and he told me the post office must have lost it. He told me he would send over the entire foil set instead. Needless to say, this was a big improvement. Well, flash forward to yesterday, I still haven't received anything. I messaged him last night and he replied this morning. He said he had to try and buy the rest of the foil cards so he would be able to send me the complete set. However, he did say he got them all and they are on their way to me now. I have a hard time believing this, but I guess I'll find out in the next few days whether or not he was lying.

The two boxes of Parks and Rec promised a total of 6 hits, and that's what I got. I'll start with the relics.

I love that these cards show the character wearing the actual relic. I happened to get a tri-colored relic, though it is obviously different than a tri-colored relic from an MLB or NFL card. Not a bad way to start of the box.

Thinking about it, you can't really go wrong with any of the hits in this product. It's not like opening a box of Topps and pulling a card from some AAAA guy from the Phillies. I genuinely want every card that comes from this set. This was no exception, and I was happy to add this to my collection.

The first auto was of office laughing stock, Jerry/Gary Gergich. I love the simplicity of the autos that come from the set. I also love the cards are designed after the intro to the show. 

Next up is Tammy 2. The hated ex-wife of the great Ron Swanson. She also happens to be Ron's wife in real life, so that's cool. More on Tammy 2 later.

This is one of the cards I was hoping to get off eBay this year, right behind a Ron Swanson auto and a Leslie Knope auto. In fact, I will try to get my hands on every base auto out there. Paul Rudd is one of my favorite funny guy actors, and he killed it in his time in the show. 

I told you I would bring up Tammy again, and for good reason. This was the "big hit" of the box, and a damned good one at that. I was hoping to finish of the box with a Swanson auto, but this will do. It is #'d 14/25, and is inscribed with "Tammy". I am currently checking ou the set checklist and I MUST GET A RON SWANSON INSCRIPTION AUTO. Take a look at his inscriptions here, and tell me you don't want an autographed card inscribed with "I have the toes I have". 

I am again extremely grateful to get my hands on these cards, and I owe Dikran even more cards now. If anybody out there has any of the other Parks and Rec autos or relics, or needs anything from the base set just let me know. I am also looking to move the UFC cards. They have no business in my collection. I have UFC cards from different years, so if you are a UFC person let me know.

Woohoo! Funding for 2014 Topps Series 1

Since I started blogging, I have started selling less and less on eBay. I throw some cards up there with inflated prices, hoping someone may bite, but people usually don't. Now that is completely fine with me, but extra money for cards is always nice. Which brings me to the auction I posted last night....

Such a crappy scan.....

I have had this card in my collection for a few months now. I was hoping he would sign with the Dodgers, but we all know what happened by now. Tanaka now plays for the Evil Empire, which means I had no real desire to keep this card. 

I posted it last night as a one day auction, and the results were good. It ended a few minutes ago, and I am now a cool 25 bucks richer. I guess I will use that money to buy some Series 1 this week, though I may go into impulse mode this weekend and pick an auto up online. Matt Kemp or Nick Offerman perhaps. Though my Parks and Rec card needs may be set for a little while, but more on that tomorrow.