Rambling On... A Little Bit About a Lot of Stuff...

Greetings Trollites!

It seems I am slapping together a post once a month to claim that I am still alive and will be posting soon…

Well, its February, I am still alive and I will be posting soon, ha!

Things have been good in Trollville… The Legendary Esther Gin N Juice, AKA la espousa, started her new job last week and she loves it…

I have been a part of the day shift at my job for nearly six months now. Although I hate the alarm clock at 5 AM, things are going pretty well and I LOVE having my nights free. I am back in school again after taking a semester off. It’s Statistics for now and I got a high B on my first exam. I think I can pass this thing. Statistics is pretty much perfect for a baseball stat nerd like me…

I just finished reading “Odd Man Out”.

I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it as an enjoyable read. I was going to offer it up to Rod from Padrographs. Rod, if you are reading, I would be glad to send it your way. If you have already read it, well, who wants it???

I have not yet purchased any 2012 Topps. I actually went to Target today to get some puppy food and they didn’t have it on the shelves yet. They DO have 2011 Allen and Ginter marked down 20%. I didn’t buy any, but I was excited to see it marked down. I didn’t buy it mainly because I am broke, but also because I only need 3 more cards to finish off the set… I know I am not the Night Owl, but if you wanna send me cards numbered 119,120 and

130, I won’t try to stop you…

If you want to ship them to me, you might run into a roadblock, though… You see, I pay for my Post Office box every 6 months. Well, I am supposed to… The Box fees seem to go up as often as the price of stamps. In July, when I renewed last, it was $38. This January, the renewal was $47. The wifey and I got this Box while we were still dating (and we celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss next month) and it was $18.Yeah, it has nearly tripled in cost in less than a decade. Either way, I am kicking myself for not paying it on time. Now, not only do I have to cough up the 47 bucks, but they are getting me for a $25. Late fee… Blurgh. Not happy about this, but I gotta have my PO Box. I hope to havethe $$$ to get this current before the end of the month. Stay tuned and I will keep y’all up to date. If you are desperately eager to send me a package – shoot me an e-mail and I can give you my home address.

Okay, so several of you have e-mailed me to ask about my pending Trade Me Anything extravaganza. This WILL still happen. Basically the delay is solely because of the PO Box issue. As soon as I have that current again, TMA will happen! I promise…

The original reason we got the PO Box was for our record label – Bacon Towne Records. Some of you may not be aware, but aside from being a totally obsessed baseball card nerd, I am also a record collector geek.

The Wifey and I have been running Bacon Towne Rex for seven years. We release exclusively on vinyl and have had 9 releases (eight 7 inches and one 12”LP) since 2005. We have sold records to people in each one of the fifty states and over 20 different countries. It is a labor of love and is also tons of fun for us. We LOVE hardcore, thrash and punk rock music, we love our bands, we love going to shows, being on tour and we love doing mail-order. I don’t discuss the label (often at least) here on Troll Might Rule, but every now and then the paths do cross. I bring it up now because earlier this week I finalized a trade with my new friend Jesse from

Minneapolis. He wanted 3 of our releases and offered up some sweet Allen and

Ginter minis as trade bait.

Long story short, we worked out a deal that both sides are happy with and I now have 294 of the 350 minis needed for my Frankenset!!! That is 84% completion! I am thrilled and a little surprised. When I decided to chase this a few months ago I thought it would be a season long (at least) quest. The season hasn’t even started and I am down to 56 cards!! You can find my list HERE. Let’s make a deal!!!

Okay, so that covers it, I guess… Trade Me Anything will happen when I get my Post Office Box unlocked. My PO Box is temporarily unavailable. If you NEED to send me cards, shoot me an email and I will send you an alternative address.

I AM still alive. I do still lurk around the blog-o-sphere… I still read the Night Owl on a nightly basis. I still check Play at the Plate while I sip on my morning coffee and I had a beer (or seven) to celebrate The Cardboard Don’s 3rd Blog Birthday. I still have cards all over the house. There are binders on the coffee table, the dining room table and next to the bed. I still plan on ripping and chasing Topps as well as Allen and Ginter in 2012. I still plan on taking my “Little Brothers” to spring training. Now that I don’t work the night shift anymore, I plan on being a fixture at Tropicana Field in 2012. The Misses and I have been spending a lot of time on our monthly budget and we have determined that we can def fit 2 games a month (at least) into the budget.

Oh… Una Cosa Mas…

Before I sign off, I need to mention that Side of Bacon lives and I will remain the voice of the Bradentucky Bombers roller derby league. Still recovering from her knee reconstruction – Esther Gin N Juice is starting the season on the injured reserve, but I haven’t lost my voice yet and I will be there for Opening Night. We kick the season off THIS SUNDAY night at Astro Skate in Bradenton, Florida. It will be: The Bradentucky Bombers Present the Nuclear Bombshells VS, The Miami Vice City Dolls.

For more info, check out our website… If you don’t live in Florida, do yourself a favor and look up and check out your town’s own roller derby leagues…

As always, thanks for reading! I truly appreciate all of you! For everyone that has been patient with me declaring that I am back each month right before I disappear for another 29 days, I thank you!

Pitchers and catchers will be invading my town VERY soon. I can’t wait! Thanks to all! I love this game, I love this hobby and I love this forum! Baseball IQ starts in a few minutes and that is MY SHOW, so I gotta go. All of my want lists are up to date, so check em out… GO RAYS!!! We are going all the way in 2012 and I will be there to cheer y’all on in person!

Oh, before I sign off - The ever elusive black bordered 2011 Ben Zobrist card is now in my collection and at the top of this post. I have the base, the blue and the black, but still need the gold, puke, sparkle, hope, red... Help a Zorilla fan out, okay? Once again, Go Rays! To my wife, I love you! You are beautiful, thanks for decorating my blog! Go Bombers! Troll out.