Robert at $30 a Week pulled this Fernando Tatis Jr. variation RC refractor thingy from a factory set of 2019 Topps and I asked if it was available. It was and we soon whipped up a quick trade. Neat shot of Fernando taping up his wrist. Like all Padres fans, I'm so happy we've got him and hope he leads us into respectability, maybe even the postseason at some point. But I'm a little concerned with his durability. Injuries have slowed his promising MLB career so far (and now the virus is slowing everyone's career), but hopefully he matures into an ironman.
Another photo variation RC was also along for the ride. Looks great! This pair of cards really kicked my Tatis PC up a notch.
Robert surprised me with a couple 78s I could use. I've now cracked 80% complete with 1978 Topps thanks to these.
Thank you so much, Robert!
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How's everybody doing during this pandemic? The rest of this post is not card related, so if you read card blogs as a way to escape the news and Corona chatter, you should stop here.
I'm a homebody. Staying home for a long time isn't that big of a deal for me. I spent stretches of my 20s where I'd only leave the house maybe once every couple weeks for groceries. I was unemployed (living alone rent-free in a condo owned by my mom). My close friends had gotten married and didn't have much time for me anymore. Never had much luck with the ladies. Spent my time watching TV, messing around online, and writing/recording music. It was lonely, but otherwise a perfectly acceptable lifestyle for me.
So the whole self-isolation thing is right up my alley. Now I have a wife, thankfully, so it's not so lonely. Wish I had a dog too, but unfortunately this all hit just as we were about to start getting serious about finding a new puppy to adopt.
While the company my wife and I both work for has technically closed the office and has directed everyone to work from home, I'm among the small handful of folks deemed "essential employees" who still need to trek into the office. My job isn't very important, but it involves burning and shipping about a thousand data DVDs per month. It's not something I could do from home under the current set-up, though I'm trying to formulate a plan to bring what I need home so I can increase the amount of work I'm able to do from home.
I was able to talk my way out of working last week, but part of that deal was I had to agree to come in this week. I'm typing this up Monday morning from home moments before I have to leave. Kinda scary! There are 2 other people in my department in the office, but otherwise I hear it's pretty quiet.
The last time I was at work was Thursday 3/12. I haven't really left my house since then except to drop the PWE in the mail for my trade with Robert (which was my first time riding a bike in years). So it's gonna be weird out there, I'm sure.
[...]
Ok, now it's Monday evening and I'm back home. Man, such a stressful day! WiFi was down most of the day, so I couldn't do much work anyways. My boss agonizingly left me hanging on whether I could work from home going forward. He had to check with his boss, who had to check with his boss.. eventually I had to leave for the day without an answer. And I'm still waiting for an answer, so at the very least I'll need to go back in Tuesday. The only question is will I be gathering things to take with me and work from home, or will I have to work a regular day/week in the office.
My two co-workers got sent home midday, but lucky me got to be the last employee standing. They made me nervous talking about all the times they've been going out for lunch the past week. And one of them takes the bus to work everyday. They seem to be ok so far, but it's like russian roulette. With the economy collapsing, I'm thankful for having a decent job, but this shit is really stressing me out right now! My wife was nice enough to offer to give me a ride so I wouldn't have to take public transportation, but even that is stressful. I'd rather she not be driving. A car accident could mean a trip to the hospital.. and now is definitely not a good time to be going to the hospital if you can help it!
Man, oh, man. Crazy times. Hope I didn't catch it. And if I did catch it, hope it doesn't hit me hard.. and that goes double for anyone I may unknowingly infect if I do get it.
But yeah.. Gotta take it day by day, keep positive.. etc.
Thanks for reading. How are you all doing? I hope you're staying safe and doing well.
I haven't been to the office since 3/16, and it was already kind of a ghost town. I'm working from home until further notice, but in sort of an awkward state of not being mandated to do anything one way or another. They did finally close our building to the public today, but our office space will never shut down because there are portions of it that are critical to our global business as well as our parent company's national operations. I usually use public transit to commute to work, though, and while I haven't taken it since last Tuesday (I think?) the complete lack of other passengers makes it strangely safe if there's a true need. I heard they're cutting service soon, though.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, cards... uh... Tatis is exciting! Or he was. I miss baseball!
Yeah, I wouldn't mind taking public transportation. I'd just be sure to wash my hands when I got to my destination, but I pretty much do that anyways. lol
ReplyDeleteAdding to my stress levels was we watched Uncut Gems on Sunday afternoon. Good movie, but very stressful, so it was probably the worst possible time for me to watch it as I was already on edge.
ALSO, an expensive card I bought (way back on 2/28) was shipped from Australia.. arrived in Portland recently.. then for some f*&%ing reason it went to Ohio, where it is currently. Fingers crossed it eventually makes its way to my mailbox.
I’ve played that game watching cards go to Alaska and back. Before tracking nobody would’ve known but now you can watching routing screwups.
DeleteFeel like we’re all ready for this to be over. But beats the alternative with tons of people getting it like in Italy. Summer can’t come soon enough.
I’m ready for this crap to be over with. My wife has asthma pretty bad and her immune system is shot from all of the steroids she’s had to take. She works at an assisted living facility and I work at a grocery store, so we’re in it for the long haul. It’s nice to have jobs, but yeah, I don’t want to put myself in a position where I’m exposed to people, but unfortunately, seems like the grocery stores are where everyone wants to come when they get stir crazy at the house.
ReplyDeleteThe off days are a little more stressful as well with a 3-year old off from school. Reading the blogs is a nice way to take the focus off of everything going on. You take for granted being able to go to a shop and buy some cards or catching a game in person or going out to eat and eating the food right then so it doesn’t go bad by the time you make it home.
Hope you guys stay safe and are able to avoid taking public transportation.
I worry about my wife going to work as a nurse at a nursing home. It's not easy to think about especially what she may possibly bring home with her. But at least she has a job still that provides income for us to live. It's just a risky one.
ReplyDeleteI am getting a little tired of all of this and feel like there is no end in sight. I have had a head cold on and off for three weeks but luckily nothing too serious has come of it other than laryngitis once.
3/9 was my last day in the office. Working in NYC, I'm not upset not going in, especially using public transportation. I'm going a bit stir crazy at home, but also know it's important to right now. The hardest part is the kids and their education. They've been home schooling since last week and it hasn't been super easy. But we're managing!
ReplyDeleteStay safe man, best of luck to you and your wife as we all try to navigate through these weird times.
ReplyDeleteI've been pretty lucky in that I'm in a field where I can work from home and continue to get work done on my home setup. Though because it deals with the IRS who are having a hell of a time trying to make sense of the on-going tax season it's been kinda all over the place.
I’ve found the blogs to be a really nice escape. Pretty much the only internet-based medium that isn’t raising my anxiety. I’m working from home, I’m healthy, I’m safe. I’m practicing social distancing. Only leaving the house for necessary groceries, maybe once a week.
ReplyDeleteIt’s when I turn on the news or hop on Twitter that I start to feel like crap. So I’m really trying to avoid that. I have a Twitter account that I use strictly for sports card stuff (mostly news and to look at cool cards) - and even that has somehow become “infected” with virus stuff.
Just trying to stick to things that make me happy and keep my mind of the hysteria. Work, cards, video games, walks outside.
Hope all is well with you Gavin. LOVE that Tatis Chrome Variation by the way!
My state now has a shelter-in-place order, so my work's closed for the time being. I'm getting paid this week but after that it's still up in the air. I'm a homebody too, so I admit I'm kinda excited about being able to stay around the house for a while -- but of course I hope this all goes away sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear this thing is right up your alley. I enjoy "me" time as much as anyone... but I've gotta admit it feels like time is moving in slow motion. My principal let me go to my classroom to grab my work laptop... and it was like a vacation. I was so excited to be out of the house. But I understand the seriousness of this whole thing and am willing to do my part so hopefully we can beat this thing in the fastest way possible. Hope you and your wife stay healthy... and positive.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Both of those Tatis cards are awesome! I was so bummed that I pulled the Guerrero refractor out of my set instead of the Tatis.
I understand completely. I'm considered essential though our plant is closed. Three of us are expected in the office every day. The boss deemed us essential but it's a crock. He just wants someone in the office but doesn't want one person there alone for safety reasons. I'm isolated at home, keeping my distance from the other two at work. Both think it's ok to go to Target today and Walmart this weekend because they're bored at home. Make smart, unselfish choices people! I hope you and Mrs. Gavin remain in good health. There's a puppy out there that will be so fortunate to have a new home!
ReplyDeleteI've been jealous of all the people with time off. I'm like you guys in that after they canceled my weekly pool matches, my leisure life didn't change much otherwise. But work has been as sressful as it's ever been. We spent last week gathering technology from empty schools and then Friday passed it out to the public, so I was probably exposed to several hundred people. This weekend I feel wiped out but it's probably just from the stress that I never had otherwise. Will probably go back for round 2 this week and more phone support from home, which is a pain.
ReplyDelete