Pokémon Cards, Blood Donations, and Planning Holly's Birthday

This week around Atlanta brought a mix of meaningful moments, fun stops, and personal memories. From donating blood and checking out a Pokémon card show to looking back on Dragon Con and getting ready to celebrate Holly’s birthday, it was the kind of week that blended everyday life with a little nostalgia and excitement.

A Week Close to Home

This week was a pretty normal one for us. We stayed around Atlanta for most of it, which honestly was a nice change of pace after all the traveling we've been doing lately.

We're always looking for different things to do around town, especially in the evenings. I came across an event at the Masquerade that looked interesting. They're having a K-pop DJ night in early July. Holly has been a big fan of K-pop for the last several years, so it immediately caught my attention.

Now, whether we'll actually make it over there is another story. It starts a little later than we usually stay out these days, so we'll have to see. A few years ago, we probably wouldn't have thought twice about it, but these days a late night has a different meaning than it used to.

Still, it's fun finding events around Atlanta that are a little different than the usual dinner and a movie.

Back to Giving Blood

One thing I did this week was donate blood.

I've gotten into the habit of donating about every eight weeks, or whenever they tell me I'm eligible again. It's funny because years ago I really didn't like needles at all. Having blood drawn wasn't something I looked forward to, and I certainly wasn't volunteering to do it.

Somewhere along the way that changed.

Now it's become part of my routine, and honestly it's one of the easier things I do.

The local donation centers have become incredibly efficient. You schedule your appointment, show up, and most of the time you're in and out much quicker than you'd expect. I remember years ago when you'd simply walk in and hope the line wasn't too long. Now everything runs on appointments, and the whole process moves pretty smoothly.

There was one visit where they got backed up because several staff members had called in sick, but aside from that, they've always done a great job.

If you've ever thought about donating blood but just haven't gotten around to it, I'd definitely encourage it. It doesn't take long, and you never know whose life it might help.

A Surprise Trip into the Pokémon World

Saturday turned into something I wasn't expecting.

We drove up to Atlanta for Charlie's Collectible Show, where the theme that weekend happened to be Pokémon cards.

I knew Pokémon had become popular again, but I had absolutely no idea how big the hobby had gotten.

The warehouse was packed with vendors. Table after table after table of cards, collectibles, grading companies, display cases, and people buying, selling, and trading.

The crowd was much larger than I expected.

Pokémon Is Bigger Than Ever

Part of the reason we went is because Sam and Holly have both gotten back into collecting Pokémon cards.

While cleaning out some boxes recently, they found a number of our older cards from when the boys were little. That naturally led them down the rabbit hole of seeing what newer sets were available.

What surprised me most is how difficult it is to actually buy Pokémon cards at retail now.

Apparently stores like Target and Walmart still get shipments, but people line up, buy everything almost immediately, and then resell the products online for higher prices.

It's an entirely different world than I remember.

Years ago, if the boys wanted a pack of cards, we'd just stop by Target and pick one up while we were there. Now it almost feels like you're competing for concert tickets every time new inventory comes out.

Some Cards Cost More Than Cars

Walking around the show was fascinating.

Most people were buying individual cards in the ten to twenty dollar range, and there was constant activity at almost every booth.

But then you'd come across display cases holding cards worth thousands.

One vendor had several graded cards priced between eight and ten thousand dollars.

Then there was one sitting in the middle of the display case with a fifty-thousand-dollar price tag.

I have no idea if it ever sells for that, but it certainly caught everyone's attention.

For anyone unfamiliar with the hobby, many valuable cards are sent away to be professionally graded. They come back sealed inside a protective plastic holder, commonly called a slab, that verifies both authenticity and condition.

It's amazing how much value some of these collectibles can hold.

The One Card Holly Couldn't Find

Ironically, after looking through hundreds of thousands of cards, Holly was searching for one fairly specific card.

It featured two Cubones sitting together on a bridge.

She had seen it online and thought it looked really neat.

Vendor after vendor told us the same thing.

Apparently, it's a card released in China, and there simply aren't many copies floating around in the United States.

One dealer mentioned having a few available on Friday evening, but by Saturday morning, they had all sold.

So the search continues.

Maybe one of these days we'll stumble across it somewhere else.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Walking around the show also reminded me of something else.

Years ago, when the boys were younger, we dressed up as Team Rocket for Dragon Con.

Seeing all the Pokémon displays immediately brought those memories back.

We dug up one of the old pictures afterward.

I honestly don't know exactly how old it is anymore, but it's probably ten or twelve years old.

It was funny seeing how much everyone has changed since then.

The kids have grown up.

The conventions have changed.

But some of those interests seem to have a way of coming back around.

Looking Ahead to July

Overall, it was a pretty calm week.

Nothing too crazy, which was actually nice.

Now our attention is starting to shift toward the next thing on the calendar, Holly's birthday.

Her birthday falls on the Fourth of July every year, which always makes it feel like a bigger celebration.

The entire country already has fireworks, cookouts, and celebrations going on, so it's always a fun weekend to celebrate both the holiday and her birthday.

We're still figuring out exactly what she wants to do this year, but that's part of the fun.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes the quieter weeks end up being the most enjoyable.

There wasn't one huge event this week, but there were plenty of little moments that made it memorable.

Donating blood, discovering just how enormous the Pokémon market has become, reminiscing about old Dragon Con costumes, and starting to make birthday plans for Holly made for a pretty good week.

Now we're looking forward to July, celebrating Holly's birthday, and seeing what the next few weeks have in store.

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