My Card Room

We are a country of self-improvers. A search on Amazon books for "Self-Improvement" tells me that there are 64,077 results in the category, including 48,660 "self-help" books, 10,971 "Motivational Management & Leadership" Books, and 6,557 "Personal Transformation Self-Help" books. 

Practically every facet of our lives is subject to this self-improvement industry. Websites have proliferated as well. Nearly every business website must have an article about good work environments. On Google, a staggering 269 million results for "good work environment" (without the quotes) are returned. The first one gives 5 characteristics of a positive work environment, the next gives 7 keys to creating the best work environment, and then the third result provides 23 ways to create a better work environment.

It's positively astounding to me. But it doesn't stop there. When I search for "good work room," Google provides me with over 1 billion results in under a half a second and gives me "30 ideas for [my] crafts room, home office, or workroom."

I wonder if any of those ideas include Starting Lineup Figures?

Judson over at My Cardboard Habit recently ran a contest that I completely spaced out on and missed in the midst of my red mist over ToppsNow ignoring the Brewers and cutting up bases and selling them for $1,000 inside a card. P-Town Tom was the deserving winner of the contest, though I was disappointed that his man/card room did not include his mole trap.

But, since I have been in a bit of a dry spell in terms of getting new cards, I thought I'd give a look at my card room/home office. I'm very lucky in that I have a large, well-lit room with a decent amount of outside light that comes in as well as having its own full bathroom and closet. 

But, rather than try to describe it, let's go to the photos:



Here's the view as you walk in. I have two computers because I had to buy a Mac for work when I went out on my own as an attorney, and then I didn't need it for work because I joined a firm. So, it's two computers for me. The couch used to be in my wife's house that she rented before we met, and I got it because it's comfortable, has recliner sides, and frankly I like it.



It's also two monitors for me. Ever since I got two at work, I feel lost without a second one. Call me spoiled. #FirstWorldProblems

You will get a better look at these book shelves in a bit.



Here's the view from behind the desk. Those of you with cats will recognize the cat tree on the right side of the room. My buddy Gus sleeps in the upper level when I am home on the weekends. My old Sony plasma TV is still my TV of choice -- 12 years old and still works like a charm.



Here's a better view of the TV, with Gus on the floor hanging out. You can see the bathroom entry at the left and the closet at the right. Yes, I have a lot of books too. 

Inside the closet, you can see my monster boxes set aside for each team. Sadly, they are mostly filled with junk wax/early 1980s cards and a bunch of 2013 series 2 cards (since I bought and broke a case of that back in 2014). Seriously, if you need anything from the 1980s, let me know.

The bookshelf in the corner next to the closet houses most of my soccer books, my pro football and college football books, and a fair number of my baseball books as well. The metal "Play Ball" sign was a $10 purchase at Hobby Lobby, if I recall correctly. That middle row of glassware came mostly from my local Taco Mac restaurant back about 7-8 years ago. They would have glassware giveaways of their featured beer every Thursday night, so I picked up a few.

This photo: The bathroom door, the TV, the Vince Lombardi Successories wall-hanging that I got as a groomsman's gift, the three four boxes of junk wax from my Christmas Haul that I have yet to sort, another Hobby Lobby special in the ESPN College Gameday metal wall hanging, a couple of Georgia football wall items (one of which is a print from the first Blackout against Auburn in 2007, when Verne Lundquist danced to Soulja Boy on national TV) and my three programs from attending three English Premier League games back in 2006 around London (Tottenham, Chelsea, and Charlton, in case you're interested).

The two main book shelves. The one on the top has my team collections in binders sorted by card issuer along with my Robin Yount and Ryan Braun collection. The one on the bottom has my other player collections. Next to this bottom one you can see the stacks of sheets that I still have remaining after my Christmas haul. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

The little bookshelf peaking out next to that bottom one holds my bobbleheads, my Starting Lineup Figures, and other odd stuff that couldn't be stored anywhere else. The signed football features Georgia Football legends David Greene and David Pollack. The black thing on the shelf is my Sonos speaker, which I use almost all the time that I'm in my office to listen to music.

Above my couch. The Brewers pennant was signed by Don Sutton just before he pitched in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in 1982 against the California Angels. My mom let me skip school that day and took me and my older brother to watch that game because, well, the Brewers had lost the first two games and we had no idea whether we'd get to see any more playoff baseball in Milwaukee that year.

The one in the middle is Brett Favre, of course. It's a certified autograph displayed with two facsimile tickets from the two Super Bowls that he went to with the Packers.

The Milwaukee Braves pennant was my mom's when she was under the age of 10 in the mid-1950s. I used to have it in my work office, but I decided I'd rather have it at home.

And finally, the other corner. There's the Nestle uncut sheet from 1984, and it's next to two Topps-issued items from 2014 that I bought and really like. I guess this is why I complain when Topps leaves the Brewers out -- I mean, I've tried to buy the stuff up when I can!

I hope that you have at least endured the quick tour through my card room/home office. I suppose I should really try to put more stuff on my walls since I have those posters now, but I kind of like the clean, minimalist look I've got going on. 

Thanks, Judson, for the post idea. Too bad I didn't remember to join the contest!

And because this post needs a little music, here's a song I think I've heard every day in the morning for the past week and a half: