- The 200th Post -

Wow.  I'm at 200 posts already.  I went back and read my 100th post, and luckily I'm still feeling as energized and, more importantly, creative, to continue to do this site.  I like round numbers - most people do.  The best thing I can do for this site will be writing the 201st post.  But like most people, I feel the need to make number 200 a little extra special.

And that kind of stresses me out. 

I don't really have any extra funds to buy a box for the 200th post.  I can't go out and bring down a Murad haul to mark the occasion either.  So what does that leave me?

Well, let me just say that people ask me from my personal life how I can possibly find the time or the subject matter to write on this site every day.  It's not easy.  I'm continually trying to incorporate new stuff and new ideas into the site.  But like I said, it's not easy.  And some ideas just don't pan out.

So I'll tell a story here for my 200th post - a true story, by the way.

About a month ago, a Nicolas Batum Bowman Chrome printing plate came up for sale on ebay.  I wanted it badly to say the least.  The main problem with the card though was that it was in Taiwan.  But I was willing to look past that as any super-fan should do.  But I had next to nothing for extra funds to go out and get that card.

The card was ending in auction about two days after my payday.  And being the responsible adult that I am, I paid all my bills, set aside money for food and gas and looked at what I had left.  It wasn't much.  I had about 30 dollars for entertainment left for the month - and that's pretty typical for me.  And I usually take about 30 bucks and spread it out over the month for Murad relics or autos.  But I knew that this 30 dollars wouldn't come close to pulling a printing plate from the Bay.

So I had to formulate a plan.  How does a person turn 30 dollars into....more than 30 dollars.  They gamble.  It's pretty simple really.  But my dilema here is that I've tried to keep this as family-friendly as possible around this site.  So how do I go about advocating gambling to achieve one's goals?  It's hard to do.  But I realized that it's as much about quantities as anything else.  It's not like I was going to gamble my entire paycheck on a whim to buy a case of Exquisite or something.  I was just going to take my 30 dollar a month card budget and try to do something more with it.

And if you've read this site, you know that I'm a fan of horse racing.  I always have been actually.  So my plan was to turn a meager 30 dollars into a larger sum by betting on the ponies and video documenting me shouting at the TV and subsequently taking any winnings to ebay and buying that damn card.  That was the plan.

So I went to my local OTB (off track betting) location and bought a program and studied the hell out of that program for a whole day.  And I figured the best way to do my wager would be to bet on a Pick 4.  That's where you have to pick the winners of 4 consecutive races (and the pots are usually pretty generous).  So I picked the horses I thought stood a good chance of turning this ticket - and the racing was on. 

I hit the first race.  I believe I picked a single horse for the first race, an overwhelming favorite.  And then the second race came.  I had a pair of horses that could win the race in the second to keep my ticket alive.  And I'll never forget what happened.  I remember the 4 horse (though I can't remember his name) was the favorite.  He had the class, the winnings and  the workouts - the whole deal.  The second race was a lock in my opinion.

So the race starts and my favorite horse was running just behind the pace in 3rd.  My second pick in the race was running a couple of lengths behind him.  The race was playing out as scripted in my mind.  The speed-setters were in front but were probably going to lose their pace quickly and let my horses come around with their late kicks.....until the unthinkable happened.  My horse, the number 4, fell the hell out.  I mean my horse, out of nowhere, took a nose dive and just caused this massive collision with my other horse who was right behind him.  Little jockeys were flying everywhere.  The horses were in bad shape and most assuredly on their way to being euthanized - it was a horrible wreck.

And just like that - my ticket was done.  My 30 dollars for cards were used up, lost in a tangle of equine brutality.  I could hardly feel sorry for myself.  The jockeys were badly injured and two horses just met a horrible end.  So what could I do?  I certaintly couldn't even post that stuff - not even in jest.  It was too brutal.

So no printing plate either.  And to add insult to injury - a Bowman Chrome Gold /50 came up later that week as well.  I couldn't get either of them.  The Printing Plate sold for 60 dollars.  Much lower than it should've, but it was listed from Taiwan, so it did scare some people off.  Had it been sold domestically, it would've gone for around 150-200 dollars easily. 

So you live and you learn.  I just have to content myself with the cards I already have for the moment.  There will be other chances to get great cards.  And that printing plate may end up being resold - you never know.

Either way, here's my favorite 4 Batum cards for you to look at.  4 Blue Chrome's /99.  Much prettier than the gold version anyway (though I reserve the right to change that opinion if I ever get a gold refractor in my hands)