Two cards. Twenty-one days. The countdown begins!

Today is Monday. What does that mean? Nothing for most of us. Some will be working, some won't, for various reasons good and bad. This weekend means Christmas, and Christmas means family, and family means getting together, and getting together means... eating!

But back to this Monday thing. Monday is special to me, at least for now: in exactly three weeks, all my bags will be packed and I will be on my way to my new life in Japan! I can't believe it's only three weeks away! I've been busy in preparation - I sold my car, bought some yen and a whole bunch of other stuff, and I've been trying to get all the little affairs in order. I've been spending nearly every day the past two weeks involved in projects - scanning as many cards as possible, photographing/videoing my possessions (mainly for insurance purposes), etc. And I've been keeping up with blog reading and posting and eating as much can't-get-it-in-Japan food as possible. I think I've gone up a dress size. No, not really. I wouldn't know, other than my belt is still on the same notch.

But with three weeks to go, I'm thinking about what's going to happen with this blog. It won't go away, I can guarantee you that. I know I won't be able to write four blog posts a day (two here, one on the Zoo, and one on my Japan blog) while working full time and trying to explore Tokyo and the rest of the Land of the Rising Sun. We'll see how things work out once I get fully settled, but I know there will be a bit of a hiatus next month. Depending on what I accomplish in Georgia next week (yes, two weeks before moving to Japan, I'm spending five days in Georgia) I could be able to prepare some decent posts for the month. It's not like there are any new baseball card releases in January, right? (Oh, hello Panini!)

Meanwhile, thank you to all who have participated in my Blog Bat Around and those who plan to in the future. I know it's not the most exciting subject in the hobby, but I figure it is a good time to reflect on the year's cards. 

So yes, I'm excited. Three weeks. Wow. If you asked me three years ago where I would be in 2012, I wouldn't have said Japan. I'm probably going to start writing blog posts in the next few days and point those of you interested in the "Japan experience" towards that blog. And until then, I have some cards to share!

I mentioned that last weekend's card show was pretty empty, but I had some success. These aren't the two best cards I grabbed (I guess those will come tomorrow), but if I see TriStar autographs I need for the type collection at a decent price, I won't leave them on the table.

 This is the gold parallel from '08 TriStar Prospect Plus's Farm Hands autograph set, numbered to 25. Tyson is in the Oakland organization and had some major league experience the past couple years. The first batter he faced: Ken Griffey Jr, and he struck him out. Hopefully Ross will have a successful career!

This Cody Satterwhite autograph is the #/50 green parallel, and he played Rookie level ball this year after having rotator cuff issues in 2010 that left him out the entire season. If the issues are resolved, he could have a chance with the Tigers, but I have a feeling he's done.

Two more nice hits for the collection!

For those of you who lasted the entire post, here's one more video:

Videos like this are pure art. Pure. Art. Accept it!