Cardboard Meditation

I've got to admit... I have a pretty good life.  I have quality friends and family that are always there when I need them.  I love my job.  The Oakland A's are headed to the playoffs.  I'm relatively healthy (knock on wood)... although, according to my doctor... I need to lose a few pounds.  And I really enjoy collecting cards and writing about it.  Overall... I don't have too many complaints.

But my life isn't perfect.  Some weeks are more hectic than others.  And last week was one of them.

Thankfully... the Serramonte Mall Sports Cards, Toys, and Collectibles Show is this weekend and yesterday I spent a better part of my Saturday hanging out there.  Which means that I had the opportunity to enjoy some quality Cardboard Meditation.

What the heck is that?

It's when you stand or sit in front of dime boxes... sifting through cards... and you enter the zone.  Visions of base cards (that still smell like bubblegum), inserts, oddballs, and parallels take over your mind and drown out the world around you.  Most importantly... it takes your mind off of your problems and you find yourself in a deep state of relaxation.

And when my meditation session was over, I walked away with this:

2 Ernie Banks Cards
1 Johnny Bench Card
7 Yogi Berra Cards
5 Barry Bonds Cards
27 Ken Griffey Jr. Cards
27 Tony Gwynn Cards

30 Greg Maddux Cards

1 Stan Musial Card

11 Kirby Puckett Cards
22 Cal Ripken Jr. Cards
5 Jackie Robinson Cards
11 Alex Rodriguez Cards
4 Pete Rose Cards

1 Nolan Ryan Card

6 Mike Schmidt Cards
1 Tom Seaver Cards
11 Ichiro Suzuki Cards

56 Frank Thomas Cards
3 Ted Williams Cards

The damage?  These 231 inserts and oddballs set me back a total of $15.  If you're ever in the area, I encourage you to stop by Leon's dime boxes, because they are organized, well maintained, and very, very loaded.  And don't let the 25¢ sign scare you off.  He definitely offers bulk discounts.

There are a few other guys with cheap card bins at the show.  I found a few cards for my vintage card binder...

The top five cards were 50¢ each and the bottom three were 3 for 50¢... so the eight cards cost me $3.00.  I planned on going back and digging through his dime box, but ended up running out of time.

My final purchase were these two Legends magazines from the early 90's:

I'm always on the lookout for old sports card magazines and one dealer had a bunch.  Most of them were in the $2 to $3 range... but he had these two marked at 50¢ each, so I grabbed them.  

Last... but certainly not least are these two Russell Wilsons that found their way into my collection:

Card shows are excellent places for Cardboard Meditation... but they also give collectors the opportunity to catch up with friends within our cardboard community.  Yesterday, I ran into my buddy Ryan who is not only a regular vendor at Serramonte, but he's also a prominent member of the YouTube community.  His username is im140 and his 49ers collection is one of the nicest I've seen.

He hasn't made videos in awhile, but if you're bored... I definitely recommend you checking  his channel out.  Anyways... his display cases were loaded with high end cards.  I asked him if he had any Russell Wilson autographs.  Unfortunately he didn't.  But he had these two rookie cards that I needed for my Seahawks PC.  I offered to buy them, but he insisted I take them.  Thanks Ryan!  Your generosity is much appreciated.

Well... that wraps up my latest card show experience.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!