Blog Bat Around - WildWill's Version

My good buddy Gellman over at Sports Cards Uncensored proposed this unique "Bat Around" and while I wanted to partcipate right away, life suddenly got busy and I found myself with a job interview to prep for. So my entry is a bit late, but better late than never right?

What type of collector am I? Hard to define really. I collect many things, sports cards are merely one type of collectible that I hoard. I also collect comic books, various toys, original art, movies, music and books. I am passionate about a few things, the comic character "Grendel" by Matt Wagner, the UCLA Men's Basketball team, the novels of John Irving, the music of The Barenaked Ladies (among others) and all things Pirates of the Carribean (and Pirates in general). I have love/hate relationships with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Los Angeles Kings, and I have a general affinity for the San Diego Chargers and Padres. I've collected various mementos and pieces of all of the above, and have fairly nice collections to boot. For example, I have every John Irving book written, all of them since "Garp" are in Hardcover first editions. No autographed though, I just haven't gotten a chance to go to one of his signings. However, I do have a TON of autographed books because I will go out of my way to go to a public signing if I can.

So - to sum up the last very long paragraph - I collect a LOT of different things.

I have a storage unit full of crap that I need to sell on eBay. That's my major problem in life, I cannot pick one thing to focus on because my particular version of OCD is fairly mild. I flit back and forth between obsessions.

In terms of sports cards, my collections are focused on Angels, Bruins and Kings. My problem is that I love opening up packs, and I do consider that trading is a part of the hobby. I'm dismayed that I don't get the chance to trade in person anymore, but trading via the internet is pretty fun. The opening up packs part is the real issue, I'll never give up opening up packs, it's too darn fun.

And now it's too expensive.

Ah well, all things get expensive. Fortunately I've stopped buying comic books for the most part, and action figures are out for the most part (with the exception of the odd GI Joe here and there).