A lot of bloggers out there seem to hate writing their New Year Collecting Goals. It is sometimes viewed as an obligation or mandatory....something they have to do. Not me. I love setting hobby goals and this post isn't as much for my readers as it is for me...although I definitely enjoy the loyal readers who are sharing in this adventure with me. Let's hope 2020 was as fruitful and enjoyable collecting sumo wrestling menko and cards as was last year. Here are my 10 collecting goals this year:
Goal #1: Blog at least once a week - 52 posts this year!
I had a lot of stuff to blog about last year, but not enough time and bandwidth to do it all. This year, I am going to set a goal of publishing a blog post at least once a week which should be easy to achieve. Hopefully I'll be able to add a few extra blogs in the middle of the week here and there to knock this one out of the park. Thanks to my loyal readers for making this blog fun!
Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist.
Gah, I really need to get this book out the door. There are a ton of new checklists that I have catalogued or that are in the queue. Lots of new information and several corrections. Not to mention that this I have revamped some of the sections to make it even more comprehensive and historically accurate. This is the year to do this!
Goal #3: Add 5 more Sumo World magazines from 1973-1999 to my collection.
This will be a tough one for sure as these Sumo World magazines are harder and harder to find on the secondary market. Now that I am down to basically filling in holes with my collection, finding affordable copies will be hard. Luck will have to be a factor here. For those that haven't read any Sumo World magazines, they were once the only English-language source of sumo wrestling information. People from all over the English-speaking world had subscriptions and it was the go-to guide for sumo enthusiasts. With the advent of the internet, the publication quickly became outdated, but the historical value captured inside these is second to none. A true treasure trove of information that is contained nowhere else.
Goal #4: Attend three card shows this year.
It is no secret that card shows are a dying event across the U.S. Even with a rich sports market out here in California, we can't muster up much in the way of some local shows. But I still love going and even more excited for the nostalgic euphoria that I get from the thrill of the hunt and the browsing. My goal is to make three shows this year...and hopefully one or two with
Fuji with a celebratory
Del Taco feast afterwards.
Goal #5: Add three more 1973 Calbee cards to my set.
If I can snag three reasonably priced cards for this set this year, it will definitely be a miracle. Acheivable, but still difficult. I need to save my dollars and yen for the really expensive cards later on....if they are around. If I can knock out 10% of the set every year, I should be done by the time 2026 rolls around. Here, just take my money now, it is not going to be cheap!
Goal #6: Keep rounding out my Japanese yukata fabric bolt & card collection.
Most of you are like, WTH? Yeah, this is one of the quirks in my collection. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese cloth makers would add photo cards to bolts of indigo
yukata material to help entice the buyer into buying the material to take home to make their own yukata. Say what? Yeah, hard to explain, but here are a few pictures to help give you a visual. The problem with these is not so much the price, but they are heavy and expensive to import to the U.S. Not sure what I am going to do with them all, but I'll figure it out at some point. I am assuming it will just come to me on why I have them at some point. Weird, huh?
Goal #7: Publish at least 6 BBM Card Set reviews.
I used to do a better job at this, but with limited time this one has fallen to the wayside. However, I'd like to continue with blog reviews (ideally YouTube box break reviews). I should be able to cover all the sumo wrestling releases as well as the
B.League basketball sets leaving me with doing a few of the non-sport and other "fun" releases that BBM does every year. Wish me luck!
Goal #8: Add 20 more cards to my Non-Sport Collection
I am very particular with my non-sumo wrestling sets and only have a few sets that I am actively collecting:
1980s Japanese Myojo Noodle Cards, 2002-2005 Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards, 1980s Famikon (NES) Amada Cards, Airport Trading Cards, & 1970s Yamakatsu Bruce Lee Cards. Since I am whittling my sets down to singles now, large lots are hard to come by so achieving 20 cards in this category will be quite challenging.
Goal #9: Send out 10 care packages.
For those that know me, I love to give random stuff. Much like Kenny's Zaps, it feels good to give. Enough said....
Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko
For a third year in a row, I want to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko. Last year I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1-#6 on Google. This is a fun one to chase and trying to beat the search engines algorithms is always a challenge. Plus, I want to be at the top of the list so I am easy to find for all you future readers out there.
Well, there you have it again. Thanks for stopping by and sticking with this post to the end and thanks for sticking with this blog all these years. Happy New Year and best of luck collecting!
