What I Expect From Me...+ Thank You All!

We all know it is now 2013, many of my fellow bloggers have already done their posts reflecting and looking forward.to how they blog.  It is now going on 7 days since the new year and I really don't have have any answers about anything yet.  I know one thing, if I wait any longer to post what I expect in the new year, it technically may not be the new year any more.  I want to first look back at my 2012 both as a person, collector, and blogger.  Just after 2012 rang in the new year my health went down hill very fast.  I was now stuck being sick sitting in the house 24/7.  In the summer my four children during summer break ran any remaining energy out of me, causing me to get even sicker.  My doctor asked me, do you have a hobby, or a zen place you can go to get away from everything?  On August 13, 2012 the blog titled "Joe Average Collector" was born and has 201 posts to date.  Since beginning blogging I have been able to "get out" with out truly getting out.  I post just about every night, I post if I feel good, and I even try to post if I feel like I may not make it through the night.  Each one of us blog for some reason, and there may not be two bloggers who are totally the same.  Before I got into blogging, when I thought of the word blogger, the image that popped up was this:

Now that I blog, I couldn't be the more wrong.  I also thought about going into forums, but when I go in and read, they seem always be blasting each other, hooked on book value, and too many idiots.  Before blogging, I have "real life" friends who couldn't care the difference between a baseball or a football card, and could care less that Topps in 2012 put 2B in the 3B spot in Series 1 baseball cards.  So now I seem to have a some sort of voice that maybe heard by others who know what I am talking about.  I have been able to make over 30 trades, have 50 followers, and near 10,000 reads since August 13, 2012.  In 3 years before blogging, I maybe was able to talk cards with one or two people.  So I went from talking cards 2 times in 3 years to talking in some way to nearly 10,000 people in just over four months.  WOW!

I designed this blog mostly as a way to write what I think in my head, because there is nobody around me that would want to listen to me ramble about baseball cards.  In the process I have made several trade partners, and there are many more bloggers who have yet to trade with, but I will make it a point to get trades in to them too! 

I wanted to also go into my name: "Joe Average Collector".  The term "Joe Collector" in baseball cards means, a person who buys a lot of cards in hopes to flip them and make money.  I wanted to make a name that is easy to remember, and means something to me.  I looked at myself, I love cards, but I would rather trade my cards than sell them, plus wants people to notice them online and youtube.  So I feel I am kind of the "anti" Joe Collector, so I coined the "average".  Thus, Joe Average Collector was born! 

Since I didn't go into 2012 with any cardboard goals, I feel I have been very successful with how 2012 turned out.  Though my health is still not great, without blogging I could be even worse from being so bored. I did want to actually make some goals for the first time ever for my collection.

BLOG GOALS:

1. I wanted to create monthly card breaks.  My reason is to feel like I am in some sort of way getting together with "the guys" and breaking some wax together.  I tried my first break in December, and I feel it was very successful.  I really wanted to have an interactive live video feed but all year I have been battling Shingles (the old folks illness) and near the December break I had a massive outbreak on my face that made me not want to be on video.  Being 33, having Kidney and Bladder Disease, then getting Shingles monthly is just another slap in my face.  Hopefully my doctors can come up with a solution because just Shingles by itself is horrible!
2. A Trade Tab to better document my trades.  Sometimes I get trade packages when I am really sick so I forget to document or photo the cards.  
3. Scanning.  One thing that sucks about blogging about cards is having to scan for best images.  My network scanner is 2,000 feet and a few flights of stairs away from my bed room.  So in order for me to scan from my computer in my room, I would have to go place the card on the scanner, walk back to my computer, scan, then walk all the way back and change the card.  Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.  All my health and back pains...I usually choose to take pictures. 
4. Better writing is a must.  Again, I don't like to keep saying "health", but I write better when I feel better.
5. 125 followers by the end of the 2013, so tell your friends! ;)
6. Better content and actually set up schedule on my writings.

COLLECTING GOALS:

1. Finish my A-B-C order of my cards.  In 2011 I had near 750,000 cards, and this year I donated nearly 400,000 cards to area hospitals and children's centers.  What is left are around 300,000 cards (+/- a few).  I want to finish putting EVERY card in a penny sleeve and putting them in A-B-C order.  Yes this sounds like a LOT of work, but when you never leave the house, trust me it kills the time!  
2. Every Colorado Rockie Collection.  I need to start putting together a list of my every Colorado Rockies Collection from 1993 to present.
3. Relics/Auto collection.  Many of you bloggers I know HATE getting those common autos or relics, but I love them!  It is impossible to make an "every" relic/auto list, but for anyone who has those pesky autos and relics collecting dust, hit me up for a trade, keep that in mind before posting them on Ebay!  I started 2012 with around 350 autos/relics, and I started 2013 with nearly 2,000!  I have many of you all to thank!  Keep this in mind, I do NOT sell any one of my cards.  I do one of three things with every card I get, I trade, keep, or donate!  I traded a 2011 Bowman Chrome Bryce Harper Auto a few months ago, I could have gotten $400 on Ebay, but I enjoyed the trade much more than the money.  

HEALTH GOALS:

1. Lose 30 pounds.  I started 2013 at 250, 50 pounds more than I left the army in 2008, it would be awesome if I could lose 30!  

To conclude, I thank every one of you all who follow me, comment, trade, and read my ramblings about what I love so much, cardboard!  Here is to a happy and healthy 2013!