ArtisticallyChill

Serena has this X-mas tradition from her childhood of filling up our stockings with candy and one orange. The orange is to open up the sock toe for more candy as well as to have something nutritious to eat after all that candy. And the last thing she adds is one present that’s small enough to fit in the stocking that the recipient can open on X-mas Eve. This is the first X-mas she’s introduced me to this tradition only because we actually bought ourselves stockings this year. So for my first X-mas Eve Stocking present she really surprised me and got me the following:

Pure Silver (not plated) Green Lantern Ring

Serena has always had a problem of really surprising me at X-mas because I always find out what she gets me. Whether it’s by checking the bank statements or credit card statements or simply finding a bag in the closet when I’m cleaning, I find out. This year, she had this present delivered to her friend, co-worker, and now co-conspirator, Vanessa, who then brought to work. Serena then had it engraved with My Hero, Jeff.

The fact that she went out of her way to get the ring an keep it a surprise is one of those many signs of how much she loves me. Wearing the ring will probably turn some heads and maybe get a few snickers and laughs out of a few because of my geekiness. But in the end, the ring will always symbolize how much she loves me and how grateful I am to receive that love.

~ LoneWolf, aka Green Lantern 2814.5

A while back I wrote about my first experience with the CGC. This past Saturday, I got a package from UPS and in the box were two comics I decided to submit to get graded on the last day of this year’s Chicago Comic-Con. After going through all my older issues, the two I decided to get graded were The Uncanny X-Men # 201, published in January of 1986; and The Might Thor # 412 published in December of 1989. Using the knowledge I had obtained from the CGC representative I spoke to at the convention, I carefully inspected both comics and guessed that they could score in the high 8s or low 9s. Another reason I chose these comics was because they are both first appearance issues. Uncanny X-men # 201 is the first appearance of Cable (Nathan Summers) as a baby while The Mighty Thor issue # 412 is the first appearance of The New Warriors.

After nearly two months of waiting, the comics have safely arrived at my doorstep and I was extremely surprised at the results:

Again I’m truly surprised how I was able to keep these comics in great condition growing up. I was a few months shy of the age at 9 when Uncanny X-men # 201 came out! I’m pretty sure that comic was one of those I ordered in the mail and it came bagged and boarded. Years later when I was reorganizing my collection for my parents to store while I was away in the Marines, I re-bagged and boarded it and it was placed in a magazine box with all my other comics. Only after finding a place to live after college did I retrieve the box from my parents’ garage. I guess I developed my geek OCD earlier than I thought. LOL

Though the wait was a bit longer than I expected, the packing of the books was nicely done. I think I’ll make an attempt to get at least one of my older comic books graded every year at the Chicago Comic-Con or even at the San Diego Comic-Con. I’m pretty sure I’ll have a few more 9.0 or higher graded comics that would be great to display!

~ LoneWolf