My 2009 Topps Conundrum

I've got a problem and it's all the internet's fault. As word spread that retail packs of 2009 Topps had hit the shelves of Targets here and there, I set out to look for a few packs of my own. Of course being on the west coast, it seems like everything arrives here a couple of days later than it does to the east. Or maybe that's just my paranoid view as I sit stewing and wondering if I should hit up Target again today when I leave work.

So what does this have to do with the internet and my anger towards it? There are a number of collectors who have come across these packs and started posting the cards on their blogs. I'm intrigued, I want to experience this as well, but ultimately I want to have the cards in my hand. There's something about seeing a card for the first time in your possesion. I want to shuffle through the pack and see an Angels logo, reveal the rest of the card and marvel at the details. I want the experience to be tactile, not just me staring at someone else's scans.

So I sit here on a Monday morning, waiting for my classes to start, itching to click over to a few blogs and check out their cards, but I'm scared. I don't want to ruin the experience for myself, even though I'll probably have no idea what the Yuniesky Betancourt card looked like when I saw it on blog X, it's just the feeling that I won't be able to truly enjoy my own experience that has me conflicted.

For now I will resist the urge and hope to find my own packs soon. I'm just not sure what I'll do though if I look over at my blog roll and see that a Howie Kendrick Topps mega screw-up gimmick card has been released.

Go Halos!