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Variations
#1

Variations
Good day, Beckett Community!

It has been way too long since my last post/mail thread, so here goes. I would like to start this one off by apologizing to Stephane (opcfan) for overlooking a sketch he did for me on a decoy card in our last trade. Sorry about that, and a huge thanks for the great 1/1! Here are the pics:

[Image: HockeyCards2.jpg][Image: HockeyCards1.jpg]

Awesome stuff, my friend!

Now, Marc (heaterhabs) and I have been busy trading up a storm over the past couple of months, and I was able to land some very nice stuff from him. Phil (phildo37) overcompensated on a huge level for some cards that I was able to deplete from his Want List. Rick (titan501ca) added a massive piece to my Jaroslav Halak PC. Bob (pretzelmask) sent me a couple of autos from some former star players. And Art (ahvjr)... Art put some simply AMAZING vintage RC's into my PC. He and I really enjoy taking pride in the quality and condition of our vintage collections, and he sent me cards nothing short of spectacular! Top all of this off with some brilliant vintage RC's and four boxes from the LCS, and you have yourself a stunning amount of Hobby Happiness!!! This post will get long after the pics, so if you just want to skip all of that, please feel free.

Traders:

2005-06 SP Authentic Sign of the Times-Sean Burke; 2005-06 SP Game Used Authentic Fabrics Patches/Autographs-Kris Draper #23/50; 2005-06 SP Game Used Heritage Classic Jersey Autograph-Dave "Tiger" Williams #36/100; 2011-12 Panini Rookie Anthology Rookie Treasure Patches-Robert Bortuzzo AU/Patch #11/15; 2011-12 Titanium Home Sweaters Memorabilia Autographs-Luc Robitaille #46/100

[Image: HockeyCards4.jpg][Image: HockeyCards5.jpg] [Image: HockeyCards3.jpg][Image: HockeyCards10.jpg][Image: HockeyCards20.jpg]


Jaroslav Halak:

2010-11 Between The Pipes Jerseys Autographs Black-Jaroslav Halak #/6; 2012-13 Certified Path To The Cup-Jaroslav Halak/Joe Thornton #191/399; 2012-13 Certified Path To The Cup Materials Prime-Jaroslav Halak/Joe Thornton #7/10; 2012-13 ITG Forever Rivals Between The Pipes Memorabilia Blue-Jaroslav Halak #/130

[Image: HockeyCards21.jpg][Image: HockeyCards23.jpg][Image: HockeyCards22.jpg][Image: HockeyCards24.jpg]

Now for the Vintage RC's:

From the LCS I got 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee-Adam Oates RC; 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee-Cam Neely RC; 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee-Marcel Dionne RC

[Image: HockeyCards31.jpg][Image: HockeyCards30.jpg][Image: HockeyCards25.jpg]

Now, these cards are in stellar shape. The Oates is pretty well perfect, the Neely is amazingly centered and only has a very slight touch on one corner, and the Dionne has a faint water stain on the face, with two touched corners. Other than that, they are amazing... but they pale in comparison to what Art sent me:

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee-Pelle Lindbergh RC; 1976-77 Topps-Bryan Trottier RC; 1984-84 O-Pee-Chee-Steve Yzerman RC

The Trottier has one corner that might be questionable under a magnifying glass; The Lindbergh would probably get and 8 on centering; and the Yzerman would get a lower centering grade and maybe a few points removed for printer spots. That's it!!! They are supreme!

Thank you all for the look, and I hope that you enjoyed the show. If you see something that you would like to trade for, just give me a nudge and I will let you know. I only trade through the Trade Tool, so please have your Org. ready. Thanks for sticking around this long, and I will not blame you if you have had enough. Haha!

Here is where it gets long...

There was a past thread by shezdoni that had concern for my well being written into it. It is greatly appreciated, and I kinda needed it. You see, things get very tough for me around the Christmas holidays, due to my son being a country away, and this one was particularly painful due to the migraines that have hindered me. There has been pain to deal with for the past two years, but these migraines compounded that. It was almost unbearable for me to deal with, but I did it!

A very good thing happened when I asked my girl's father if I could marry her, though. I tried to keep things covered, and was doing very well until he started calling her Mum's house and asking for me. And also posting stuff on Facebook. Haha! He set us up with a very nice dinner in a three-star restaurant here in Halifax, and I proposed to her. Thanks to Hugh, we all know what came of that!

Christmas was upon us and we were all set to start our travels to see family and friends... and then tragedy struck. A very fine family member had been diagnosed with lukemia and was struggling for his life. Treatment was going well, and he looked to be on the positive side for a while. He was in great spirits (never wasn't, actually) and looked brilliant for a man who was very ill.

Just before the Christmas Season was upon us, his favorite time of year, he was notified that he only had months left. It hurt him, his partner and the rest of our family. We made sure to do what we could to see to his comfort, and were told to give him the best quality of life that we could. This was done without thought or hesitation, but it did not last. He passed less than two weeks after this diagnosis, and the world became a little quieter and mourned. He was very well known, very well respected and very well loved. He passed all of his qualities on to those he met, and we were all better people for having him in our lives, thoughts and memories. This happened only a week before Christmas Day. It took a lot from us.

Previous to this, I had been trying to contact my ex-wife to see when I would be able to watch our son open his gifts that we had sent him. No replies, and I started getting worried. I sent him a very nice, big gift that would make things easier for us. Imagine my surprise when a gentleman from UPS came knocking on my door with a C.O.D. package for me. I looked at the return address, with obvious spelling mistakes to the name and street, and knew exactly what was in the parcel. Not wanting it to be returned to the warehouse for a future auction as an undelivered parcel, I paid the C.O.D. and opened it. Within was a very incriminating letter, the gift which had been re-wrapped and an obvious account of mail-fraud. So I called Canadian Border Services and let them know what was going on.

The person I spoke to was very nice, helpful and polite. They let me know to address the evidence straight to them and they would get me a refund of the taxes in no time. This happened very easily, as I keep all paperwork and documents related to my son. What would most likely not happen is the mail-fraud charges (yep... we are all pooched when it comes to the rookieaholic2nd issue), due to the fact that they have "with all due respect... bigger fish to fry!" But I am not worried about that, because it does add to my case.

So with my Son's big gift in hand, the issues started rolling in. I expected at least the courtesy to get a bit of Skype time with him, due to the fact that it was Christmas time, but that was not afforded to either of us. There was a voice message left on my cell phone on the 23rd, letting me know that he opened his gifts from us and loved them. I am still very upset about that one.

The travel to the Valley was a tiring one, and the stay is always a long one. Too many people in a small house makes for a lack of comfort. Still, it was an amazing Christmas and I was very happy to be there with my family and friends. Pretty well everyone gave me items for my kitchen (the best chefs on the PLANET are men, Hugh, so eat it!!!), and I am expected to make some killer meals in the near future. I will be more than happy to oblige! My fiancee loves what I got for her, and our daughter was more than excited by all of her loot! Christmas day was very hard for me, but very happy at the same time.

Now, most of you don't know that my father and I are not the best of friends. We have had major differences and it has strained us both of anything towards a good relationship. My younger brother and I went to visit him and our youngest siblings a few days before Christmas, and it was a decent time. They live in a very poor state, and I wish that I could do more for them. My family has to come first for me, and my brother's for him, but we do wish.

Our younger siblings are 16 and 17, have very poor mannerisms and do not have the best outlook for themselves. This is due to the condition that they live in and the life that has been handed to them. I lived it and came out pretty decent. I went without a lot more than they did, had less guidance and less structure. They have to deal with a father that is in a depression and near unwilling to do anything for himself.

Things looked bleak when we left the house, and my brother and I had to fight back tears when we saw the living conditions. Another bought of toughness and difficulty to deal with, but it is not ours and we have tried for a very long time to make things better. When you don't see results, you have to stop or you just hurt yourself.

I received a message on my cell phone on Jan. 3 from my father's friend. She was in near hysterics because my father was very ill, and had been for a few days. He refused to go to the hospital, even with an police officer coaxing him, and no food in his system for four days. This was the first that I had heard of it, so I called. My baby sister answered and agreed that we should all come down. I was fed-up. My brother was fed-up. Our girls were fed-up with this situation, and watching us beat ourselves up over it. We had to go down, but with a firm hand and a severe ultimatum. Get out of the house (rental, for those of you wondering), that was contaminated with black mold, for good; go to the hospital to get the very much needed help; start taking care of yourself and do better for all of the households' members. It was either this, or the district would be involved. It was a hard decision to make, but it was needed.

We arrived and my youngest brother was there. I found out that out father had not filled out the health card information for the renewal for himself or my sister, and their cards were not valid right now. For those of you in the USA, our healthcare is an amazing thing and only requires us to fill out a change of address or renewal every five years for coverage. Please do not overlook this, as it has saved many people I know and really does work. This made things difficult for us, but I forced him to fill out the forms.He signed them and I pocketed them.

Now came the most difficult part... convincing him that he needed to go. We played the "nice guy" act with it, and I threw a few pointers his way. They were in his face, but they were valid and not harsh. Much to our surprise, it worked! He agreed to be loaded into an ambulance and to go to the hospital. He then told me that I was the only one that never gave up on him, and that he was proud of me. Only the second time that I had ever heard that in my life!

We all took action and got a bus to his house. They treated him very kindly and with a lot of respect, even with the conditions that they were standing in. Now, you have to understand that he is a conspiracy theorist, and has convinced himself that the world has it out for him. This, in my opinion, is a diversionary tactic he uses to hide his fears. He was once a powerful and very scary man. I mean that in a bad way, too. He spent nearly ten year behind prison bars, and it messed him up bad! He got carted off to the hospital, and my new fiancee and I were not far behind. My brother and his girl took our youngest siblings to spend the weekend with them, in order for them to be around family for the time that he was in the hospital. They were torn, but they agreed.

The authorities were called about the house anyways, and the push for them to move was put into place. For those of you wondering, the house had black mold in it before my father rented, but the landlord is a slummer and does not care!

We went to the hospital to see how he was, and I asked the receptionist if she would oblige me a couple of faxes so that my father and sister could renew their health cards. She was more than happy to do it, and I let him know this. It was a very simple task that had been offset since the beginning of November. Depression takes so much away from so many. This is what was happening here. When I got to see him they told me that he had pneumonia and emphysema from smoking way too much! Not cool in any way. They kept him on oxygen for a few days so that his lungs could recuperate. He was only at 88% oxygen capacity, which is extremely low. Essentially, he was very slowly suffocating.

The stay in the hospital would be a very difficult one for him, and I knew this. I am happy to say that he did do his entire stint, and I am very proud of him for that progress. I also contacted a superintendent for an apartment building in his town, and they were willing to help out! I got him into a new place (moving date is very soon!) and they even afforded him a half-month without rent due. He is home now, has no cigarettes, has not smoked in eleven days and is in better health and spirits than ever before. This made me happy.

Another issue that arose from this was our other brother that put our father into a worse situation by leeching from him and the kids, and then walking out without a word or notice. He did this because he landed himself a decent career and was able to afford his own place. My younger brother and I were upset at him when he first lied to our father in order to stay with him, and irate when he walked out after furthering our father's depression by challenging him for control over his house and the kids. He and I had multiple arguments over this, and all he could do is blame our father. I don't like him. He may be my brother, but I don't like him!

The situation that arose with him was due to the fact that one of his friends drove by the house when the ambulance was there and alerted him to this fact. He called up the person that informed me of my father's condition and yelled at her for not contacting him first. You have to understand that nobody has his numbers or address, and he has walked away from all of his family, here and back in Ontario, over the past year. He is a pathological liar, and cannot be wrong. Ever. No matter what proof you have. I let her know that he could contact me directly and we would discuss thing. No call was ever made. No discussion. Our youngest brother put up a status on Facebook about our father and how he was doing. In a response to this, our younger brother decided to call us out for not including him in the care of our father. Boy did he get it!!!

First to respond was my brother's girl, who basically told him that he was a burden, childish and was unreachable due to the fact that he walked away. He tried to defend himself by saying that he was pushed, but she saw what happened and knows better. He forgets that. Next was my fiancee who sent him a PM about his very poor conduct. His response to either of them was a blatant lie and very demeaning to us and our father. My turn.

I am a very nice guy. I like to let bygones be bygones. I am subtle and caring, with a very moral standing... until you cross my family. My aggression comes out in full force and is extremely surprising. Even if you have witnessed it before, it catches you off guard. He felt that. All of it! I sent him a reply on his "I am a sinner among saints" post, which called him out on all of his disrespectful transgressions. He lied as a reply, and I called him on that. Lets just say that it ended with him short of three brothers, a sister, two sisters-in-law, a niece, a nephew, two on the way and a father. He was asked to own up to his mistakes, but pride stepped in the way.

Things are looking up, as I have some good fortune heading my way, have a beautiful girl that I am going to marry, a baby on the way and a wonderful family to stand with. The difficulties are still there, and are very difficult. But I have to push them aside and take care of my issues. The biggest one is going to be resolved in a little while, and it looks like it can only get better.

I thank you for you time in reading this one. It is a lot, but this community has always been a good point in my days since joining, and I know that there was a lot of concern for me. Please know that it is greatly appreciated by me and my family. I only wrote this because I did not want to have anything left to concern.

Best wishes, Beckett Community! I will be more active now that I have a bit of my time back!

Randi
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#2

RE: Variations
Wow. Glad you came out of all that still smiling.
That Neely is a beaut. You can check my org for it.


what did I just say?????
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#3

RE: Variations
[Image: HockeyCards27.jpg][Image: HockeyCards26.jpg][Image: HockeyCards29.jpg]

So here are the cards that Art sent me. Don't know why they did not post, but they are here now.

Thanks for the comment, Tyson, but the Neely is PC for my Vintage collection. Tongue Best wishes!

Randi
Reply
#4

RE: Variations
I figured. I also figured you'd miss the actual point.

Figures...
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#5

RE: Variations
(01-10-2013, 06:01 PM)wickabee Wrote: Wow. Glad you came out of all that still smiling.
That Neely is a beaut. You can check my org for it.


what did I just say?????
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! Tyson has his Org. up and running, folks!!! Jump on it!

Randi
Reply
#6

RE: Variations
Apparently my principles can be bought for 25% off
Seriously though, does it look like I'm doing it right? It's been too flippin' long.
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#7

RE: Variations
Glad to know you made it out ok. Depression is a terrible thing. I wish you and your family the best. Congrats on the engagement!!!

-Ashley
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#8

RE: Variations
(01-10-2013, 06:24 PM)wickabee Wrote: Apparently my principles can be bought for 25% off
Seriously though, does it look like I'm doing it right? It's been too flippin' long.
I would say no, because you only have 24 cards available For Trade. You have to make sure to have a 1 marked in the Have column, as well as in the Trade Away column. Forgive me if I overshot it and you only have the 24 available now. Glad to see you back in the trading game!

Randi
(01-10-2013, 06:40 PM)alto4life Wrote: Glad to know you made it out ok. Depression is a terrible thing. I wish you and your family the best. Congrats on the engagement!!!

-Ashley
Thanks Ash! I am so glad to see you back around! Hopefully you will be able to stick around for a while.

Randi
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#9

RE: Variations
Check my org for the Bortuzzo...you got it off heaterhabs before I could!

Reply
#10

RE: Variations
Okay, I'm doing it right. Haven't put much in there yet. Does it look like all I want is Canucks OPC cards from the 90s?
It's not hijacking a thread when you're as important as me.
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