Going forward

As seems to be popular this time of year, I spent part of the holiday weekend reevaluating a lot of things in my life. Reflecting back on 2012, I liked a lot of what was going on. A few highlights include:

1.      Finished my associates degree at my local community college in the spring

2.      Started my bachelors degree at my local university in the fall

3.      Started this blog way back in April

4.      Ran several group box breaks with varying levels of success

5.      Made some headway on my All-time Roster Custom Set (35 to be exact)

6.      Added several hundred, if not a thousand new Cubs cards to my collection

7.      Made a few new friends/trading partners as a result of the blog

8.      Successfully started and complete a custom 2012 Cubs team set

9.      Saw at least one Cubs game live

While I can't finish my bachelors degree in 2013, I'd like to challenge myself to improve on the rest of this list by setting the following goals for the upcoming year.

1.      When I started this blog last April, I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought it would just be about my Cubs customs and players in Cubs history (hence the name Once a Cub). While 2012 wasn’t a banner year in their history, I stuck pretty close to the theme with a few tangents like the box breaks and some in-person autograph hounding experiences with the Nationals. As of this posting, I have 42 followers. Even with my narrow focus, I’d like to see that number jump to 100 this year.

2.      As mentioned, the box breaks I ran were met with varying levels of success. I don’t think I’ll do a case break again this year (not enough participants, too many duplicates for those that did participate) but I would like to try some more boxes. Maybe they won’t be group breaks, but rather boxes I buy for myself to hand collate a set and I’ll make the dupes available. We’ll see. No clear goal on this one.

3.      I’m starting 2013 with a collection 35 signed ATCRCS cards and a whole lot of unsigned ones ready to be printed out, assembled and signed. As stated in another post. I’d like to reach 200 by the end of the year. A lofty goal for sure, but since I already have the hard part done, I have high hopes.

4.      I may have added several hundred card to my Cubs collection but I’m way behind. After focusing on Topps for so long and then switching to any brand, I need to compile an accurate checklist of my collection. I’ve logged all incoming cards from the past 6 months so now it is just a matter of getting to my previous existing collection. Ugh. This will definitely be a slow and steady wins the race type of project. Maybe a snow storm or two this winter will keep me out of work for a couple of days?

5.      I made a bunch of trades over the summer but when I started at my new university in late August, I kind of fell off the planet for a few weeks. I have a pretty large box I recently sorted of cards that need better homes. I believe I have adjusted to my schedule and can hopefully continue with a regular posting schedule. Hopefully, this means scanning/listing some new cards on my defunct trade bait page.

6.      As of yesterday, I had finished my 2012 Cubs custom set. I’ve been tinkering with some new designs and hope to have a 2013 ready for debut by the end of spring training.

7.      I have already requested off the weekend the Cubs come to town in May against my hometown team, the Nationals. I’m trying to convince my wife to go to opening day in Pittsburgh or some of the games in Philly this year too. We’ll see.

8.      Along with improving on 2012, my one new goal for 2013 is to complete the 1991 Topps Desert Shield Cubs team set and add 5 of them signed.

Good luck to everybody in 2013!