Welcome to (Even) Better Know a Blogger week! Each day this week, my goal is to publish an interview with a fellow blogger. To be included, bloggers had to email me for a questionnaire, fill it out, and then email it back to me. Simple! I think many of us enjoyed getting to know fellow bloggers back when I ran a similar feature a number of years ago...and I'm happy to report that some of the same people that participated back then joined up this time around as well! Let's get to it!
1. Your name (or alias if preferred): Rod, also known as readerman, Chainreader, Chimi Chonga, Opa among other things. If I had been given a say in nicknames it would have been Rafer or Rock
2. Your blog website: Padrographs, ReadermanPDX
3. Your social media handle(s): chainreader and padrographs on twitter.
4. What are your favorite sport teams? The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Wild
5. What kind of collector do you consider yourself to be (team collector, player collector, set collector, etc.). Why do you collect that way?
I am an autographed Padres collector. back in 1985 I was collecting everything San Diego, that became too much with all the new card companies and alternate brands. I cut back to just collecting selected players but with all the parallels that became too much. Now I just try to get one signed card of people associated with the Padres, I have made customs of players who didn't have cards and gotten some of them signed.
6. What is your favorite item in your collection?
My signed picture of Tony Gwynn and I together.
7. If you could add any one card to your collection (that you don’t currently own), what card would it be and why?
1988 Fleer Tony Gwynn signed
8. Thinking back to when you first started collecting, how have your habits changed (if at all)? When I started collecting I just starting collecting all the Padres cards I could. Then I went to just certain players. Now just a signed card of Padres and people associated with them.
Any ideas why?
The sheer number of cards and the ridiculous number of parallels made the idea of getting all the Padres cards or even the cards of certain players impossible.
9. If an alien being came down from the stars and forced you to describe yourself using no more than three cards as talking points, how would you do it?
1988 Fleer Tim Flannery, Upper Deck Deadpool, and my custom.
10. If you could give any of the major sport card companies one piece of advice about something you’d like changed (or perhaps simply continued) what would it be?
I would like to see lots more players featured from each team, Topps Total or UD 40 Man, at a cheaper price than 2019's Total
11. Where do you live?
Portland, Oregon
What is your favorite local food?
Buster's BBQ
12. If someone were to visit you, what place (within an hour of travel from your residence) would you suggest someone be sure to check out?
Vista House at Crown Point.
13. What is your profession?
I run a bookstore for the County Library System.
How did you end up there?
I held multiple jobs prior to beginning at the library 1998. I have been the head cook in three restaurants, worked at three camps, worked for both B. Dalton and Waldenbooks, pulled green chain and ran a planer at a lumber mill, bouncer, worked for seven years selling trading cards, worked for a year on the ramp at the Portland Airport, spent four years in the US Navy, was a bouncer, worked at McDonalds and more. My wife encouraged me to go back to school and 25 years after I graduated high school I graduated with a degree in Business Administration (with an emphasis on marketing and advertising) Many people have said I have the perfect job for me working with books and people all day.
14. Do you have any hobbies besides card collecting?
Reading. I read between 75 and 100 books each year.
15. Tell me something interesting about yourself that hasn’t been covered in the first 14 questions!
I collect action figures of Captain America. I MC trivia contests twice a year. I self published a book of poetry.
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I think that my favorite part of the interviews that I'm doing with everyone is actually the non-baseball stuff. For instance, Rod has amazing backstory with books and reading. And to think, I've been proud of myself so far this year for staying on track in terms of reaching my goal of 12 books read in the year. While I try to do that, Rod's out there reading up to 100 different books in the same time period!
As for Rod's other answers, the three card question interested me a lot. I'd love a bit of a backstory from Rod as to why he chose those three cards in particular. I love that all three have the same general theme (dude standing by surfboard) and yet all three are definitely unique. The signatures help take it up an extra level as well.
Many thanks to Rod for taking the time to participate in my (Even) Better Know a Blogger series. I still have a bunch more interviews to go so keep tuned to my blog!
1. Your name (or alias if preferred): Rod, also known as readerman, Chainreader, Chimi Chonga, Opa among other things. If I had been given a say in nicknames it would have been Rafer or Rock
2. Your blog website: Padrographs, ReadermanPDX
3. Your social media handle(s): chainreader and padrographs on twitter.
4. What are your favorite sport teams? The San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Wild
5. What kind of collector do you consider yourself to be (team collector, player collector, set collector, etc.). Why do you collect that way?
I am an autographed Padres collector. back in 1985 I was collecting everything San Diego, that became too much with all the new card companies and alternate brands. I cut back to just collecting selected players but with all the parallels that became too much. Now I just try to get one signed card of people associated with the Padres, I have made customs of players who didn't have cards and gotten some of them signed.
6. What is your favorite item in your collection?
My signed picture of Tony Gwynn and I together.
7. If you could add any one card to your collection (that you don’t currently own), what card would it be and why?
1988 Fleer Tony Gwynn signed
8. Thinking back to when you first started collecting, how have your habits changed (if at all)? When I started collecting I just starting collecting all the Padres cards I could. Then I went to just certain players. Now just a signed card of Padres and people associated with them.
Any ideas why?
The sheer number of cards and the ridiculous number of parallels made the idea of getting all the Padres cards or even the cards of certain players impossible.
9. If an alien being came down from the stars and forced you to describe yourself using no more than three cards as talking points, how would you do it?
1988 Fleer Tim Flannery, Upper Deck Deadpool, and my custom.
10. If you could give any of the major sport card companies one piece of advice about something you’d like changed (or perhaps simply continued) what would it be?
I would like to see lots more players featured from each team, Topps Total or UD 40 Man, at a cheaper price than 2019's Total
11. Where do you live?
Portland, Oregon
What is your favorite local food?
Buster's BBQ
12. If someone were to visit you, what place (within an hour of travel from your residence) would you suggest someone be sure to check out?
Vista House at Crown Point.
13. What is your profession?
I run a bookstore for the County Library System.
How did you end up there?
I held multiple jobs prior to beginning at the library 1998. I have been the head cook in three restaurants, worked at three camps, worked for both B. Dalton and Waldenbooks, pulled green chain and ran a planer at a lumber mill, bouncer, worked for seven years selling trading cards, worked for a year on the ramp at the Portland Airport, spent four years in the US Navy, was a bouncer, worked at McDonalds and more. My wife encouraged me to go back to school and 25 years after I graduated high school I graduated with a degree in Business Administration (with an emphasis on marketing and advertising) Many people have said I have the perfect job for me working with books and people all day.
14. Do you have any hobbies besides card collecting?
Reading. I read between 75 and 100 books each year.
15. Tell me something interesting about yourself that hasn’t been covered in the first 14 questions!
I collect action figures of Captain America. I MC trivia contests twice a year. I self published a book of poetry.
------
I think that my favorite part of the interviews that I'm doing with everyone is actually the non-baseball stuff. For instance, Rod has amazing backstory with books and reading. And to think, I've been proud of myself so far this year for staying on track in terms of reaching my goal of 12 books read in the year. While I try to do that, Rod's out there reading up to 100 different books in the same time period!
As for Rod's other answers, the three card question interested me a lot. I'd love a bit of a backstory from Rod as to why he chose those three cards in particular. I love that all three have the same general theme (dude standing by surfboard) and yet all three are definitely unique. The signatures help take it up an extra level as well.
Many thanks to Rod for taking the time to participate in my (Even) Better Know a Blogger series. I still have a bunch more interviews to go so keep tuned to my blog!
Tim Flannery has become a friend of mine over the years. We are the same age, his birthday is just two weeks after mine. I have always loved surfing, so when I found a card that combined the Padres, Tim Flannery and surfing I was hooked. I am also a big Marvel comics fan and have seen most of the Marvel movies, so when the Deadpool card came out I got some from Gavin and sent some to Tim to sign and some to keep. I have managed the bookstore for 18 years and have had the volunteers sign my surfboard. I am the only employee and have 65 Volunteers. One day it clicked, Tim was in his place of work with a surfboard so I though I would have someone take a picture of me with a surfboard in my place of work. The back of the card has my stats from reading since 1978. I will send you one when I send the Reds cards. The bookstore is the library Cuba Gooding, Jr visits in the movie Men of Honor.
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing this series. It's great to find a baseball card blogger with an interest in books. The surfboard custom is so cool, especially with all the signatures.
ReplyDeleteTiming for this is perfect given that Rod just pulled off that Ron Cey birthday card...an epic moment in card blogging and generally one of the nicest things I’ve ever seen someone do. Plus, I’m heading home tonight and should have prize winnings from Rod awaiting me! Can’t wait!
ReplyDeleteRod has one of the coolest custom cards in the blogosphere. Plus he's one of the most generous bloggers I've encountered. I've corresponded with him a few times and read his blog religiously, so I feel like I know him pretty well... but I definitely learned a few new things from this post.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself lucky if I get in a book/month, so consider me impressed with your yearly totals! Those are some great answers you gave!
ReplyDelete