Are You Ready for 2014 Yet??!

Where did the year go???

It really was a blur, wasn't it?

Didn't seem like a year has already come and gone, does it?

I mean, it couldn't have been that long when I posted last year's New Year's Eve post, was it?

Yet here I am again, taking a bit of time before heading out into the cold, snow, and other conditions to celebrate the remaining moments of 2013 and look forward to a brighter 2014.

I know for sure that 2013 didn't start off very well. I mean, I was out of a job and all, and the unemployment checks barely kept us afloat. I do not know how we managed to survive the first six months, but we pulled through. My family (that would be my kids, my wife, and me) somehow managed to save enough money to take a well deserved trip to St. Louis. Just getting away from it all, not worrying about all the struggles that we were going through for three days was wonderful, even if we were just across the Mississippi River.

Along the way, we became one of those "Dance Families" making treks to Aurora, Oakbrook, St. Charles, and Elgin, to watch my daughter and her dance troupe perform and become award winning dancers. We were able to do things that we otherwise would never have done (like camp outside the haunted Paramount Theatre in Aurora in sub-zero temps because the dance competition started at 7:30 and since we never drove down there, left at 4:30 in the morning, arrived just after 5, and waited...and waited...and waited for other people to show up). We had to travel from Elgin, to Chicago, and back to Elgin in one day because my daughter's confirmation was on the same day as the dance competition. That's a lot of driving.

But in June, I was able to go back to work, albeit on a temp basis. When the run at one job ended, another one soon followed. And after four months at a job that I wound up enjoying, I am now back where I truly belong, managing contracts and pricing for a specialty food company.

AND NOW I GET TO WORK FROM HOME!!!

It has been one incredible journey. It's cliche to say it, but I did really learn a lot about myself this year. I knew I grew as a person when I got married and started a family. But this year, I learned a lot more about responsibility that comes with being a person. I learned how to persevere when times were tough. I learned how to make those really tough choices when it comes to prioritizing the things I do in life.I even started to think about

Which now comes to the point of this post.

I am not naive to the fact that I lost a lot of regular readers from this humble, little blog. I mean, short of the Random Cards of the Day (which once again, I am falling behind on), I really haven't been posting too much or focusing on the Sports Card Blogroll. I know my lack of original posts here has kept people away. It's a shame. I have made promises on here that I have not been able to keep. And I will own up to it. I hate it. I knew going in that maintaining a blog, especially one that is so specially themed, takes commitment and I have been lacking in that. That's where the lessons in priorities come in. Heck, I've actually thought about if I should stop collecting all together. I mean, heck, I have a pretty good sized collection now. And for the first time in a long time, I was able to acquire all of the sets that I wanted from the 2013 product calendar:

• The eponymous Topps sets (and the Update Series)
• Allen & Ginter
• Gypsy Queen
• Archives
• Pro Debut
• Retail Team Sets

which added to my collection. I may reach 50,000 cards by the end of next year.

But let's make something crystal clear...

I have not given up on collecting Topps baseball cards. And I am certainly not giving up on this blog.

Not yet.

I am not going to make any promises about what I'm going to write about in the coming year. That always leads me to disappoint myself when I look back and realize that I didn't even do any of what I said I'd set out to do. The blog has evolved. Just like Dr. Who (that's the first time I think I've mentioned this), the blog is going through another transformation. It will still be, first and foremost, a blog about Topps baseball cards. There is a lot of history to this Hobby, and I am still learning about it as I get older. So maybe I'll cover that. Maybe I'll start looking at other sets I have. After all, there is more to my collection than basic Topps sets. There are other cards and sets waiting to see the light of day somewhere in my bookshelves.

Topps has been covering baseball for more than 64 years now. Even with advances in media and the ability to access information instantly, the cards Topps has produced, and continue to produce, still provide a sense of comfort and nostalgia. The designs become iconic, ingrained in our memories. The sets, and their subjects, offer a sense of how the game was played back then and you can see how the games have evolved as the years go by through them.

So let's get to it now.

Goodbye 2013!!!

Hello 2014!!!

Goodbye 2013 Topps Design!!!

Hello 2014 Topps Design!!!

May all your collections grow to new heights. Let's hope Topps makes it a bit easier on us insane set collectors (they probably won't but it's nice to dream.) Thank you for letting me into your computers this past year. I hope to be able to share more of my collection with you in 2014!!!

Topps' slogan for this year is "The Future is Now." I do not know where this next journey will take me. All I know is that I am going to enjoy the ride. Let's make it a good one. Join me, will you?

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama