Fair Warning: for those with ADD and/or Journal Fatigue... this is going to be a long one! For anyone else willing to put up with my tedious ...

...In this journal, I will "gift" two things: The reveal of the aforementioned Holy Grail, and, because of the personal impact and what this purchase of said "Holy Grail" really means to me, it has given me some time to reflect on some life lessons or hard roads traveled, or what I like to term, "Comic Book Collecting Wisdom", which is my second and most profound gift to you all.

So let's start with my, "Comic Book Collecting Wisdom"...

...Next month will be my first anniversary posting journals on these boards. Allow me a moment to express a long and overdue "thank you" to all you guys and gals who have read and supported my journal addictions and who have put up with my oft times ridiculous opinions (there's another coming in these very pages, so hang on to your hats and cling tightly to your seats!). And since that time, many of you have read what I love to collect, for rarely do I keep anything a secret. I enjoy sharing my passions with you, simply because, as I texted Tnerb the other night, "We share the same DNA". It's in our blood!

Yeah... I think Panelologists, Pannapictagraphists, Comic Book Collectors (or whatever the heck we call ourselves), throughout the world, inherently share the same DNA. We are brothers of a unique fraternal order, a special bond, given a special "Calling" and are awaken and electrified by it. Our needs are paradoxically simple yet equally complicated:

"We are driven to collect the funny books we love to read, but our voracious appetite for them is insatiable, sometimes leading to a point of obsession." Once our latent "Comic Book Collecting DNA" is actuated, it is nearly impossible to pull the plug. Oh, there are moments we take a break or hiatus, but eventually the "calling" becomes too great and we follow our hearts desire... especially when we reach a point in our lives when we enjoy disposable income.

And it's at this point in life where things can get further complicated. We suddenly have access to cash and a credit line we never really enjoyed before as children or young adults. And because we enjoy this hobby so much, we can get a little ahead of ourselves, sometimes driven blindly by the desire for material things that disposable income can get us. And a perceived "affordability" is birthed in our minds, which tempts us to satiate our comic book desires, which can lead many (like myself), to target some "Holy Grails" we always marveled as children which we couldn't afford then, and sometimes, can't afford as adults.

But just because you have access to cash or a credit line, can you honestly say you could afford such a purchase? Honestly, most of us cannot. Why? Because firstly, one should never borrow money for purchases one cannot already afford, and secondly, any disposable money one does have should, quite frankly, be put towards better use: Paying off All Debt, Emergency Fund, Savings, IRA, liquid Equity, your Education, or a College Education Trust Fund for your Sons and Daughters, etc.

And I will admit, I am a victim of my own stupidity, where I have experienced making a purchase that my brain and rationale screamed out loud, "Don't Do It! You Don't Have the Money! You'll Regret It!", yet I did it anyway. Why? Comic Book Collecting DNA! It's in my blood! "I need to have it!"

And once we make the determination to buy a "Holy Grail", and get a taste for it, it can lead to a precarious and dangerous financial situation. This is a red flag, and it often marks the beginning of a "Comic Book Buying Addiction". "Comic Book Buying Addiction's" are perilous grounds where one must tread lightly not to step on a land mine, and really put things in perspective before going any further. But how often do we as collectors temper our collecting habits? Probably more often than we think, however, there are certain situations we face when the temptation to get what we want hands-down proves too great and defeats sound logic and reasoning, and we end-up making poor buying decisions with detrimental financial consequences.

Throughout most of my comic book collecting life, I bought comic books like most everyone else: from a Newsstand or Local Comic Book Shop. And I bought raw, ungraded comics with the money in my pocket: I didn't carry credit cards nor did I have someone lend me the money. So, in essence, I bought only what I could afford. It wasn't until 2006, when I was 37, married, and directionless (admittedly so; still am to a certain degree), that by chance, while surfing the internet, I discovered the CGC and a Third Party Graded Comic Book. This was to be a pivotal point in my life, the "re-awakening" of a slow and latent yearning that had been churning and building in my soul for some quite some time: "The need for a Holy Grail!"

In those early heydays of the CGC, how did one find graded comics? Not at a local comic store, flea market or convention, but on the internet through eBay and other auctions houses. And how does one usually resort to paying for such comics on the internet? Most of us use credit cards. Like anything else, when it comes to buying things, resorting to a credit card can become a very, very, dangerous practice.

From 2006 to the middle of 2012, I bought third party graded comics, little-by-little, but I didn't go "balls out obsessed" with it... not just yet at least. Why? Good Question.

Flash forward to December 2012, and I was still the same guy, just a little bit older and now divorced, but still admittedly, directionless. But like a moth to the flame, when I discovered the CGC Journals and found this big beautiful thriving community of third party graded comic book collectors, I found a new home. And it has been a great home, and I feel I am here for as long as my residency allows me (or whenever the journal rent is due, and I can no longer pay it, and the eviction notice gets slipped under my door). Throughout the end of 2012 and 2013, a switch was thrown, and I obsessively sought and purchased many CGC graded comics I desired because they were keys featuring my favorite four-color heroes. Others I bought because the collecting bug can make you do stupid things, like buying multiple copies of the same issue thinking this may end up being a windfall. But I bought just about all of those graded comics with credit cards. I eventually racked up a sizable bill, where I had 5 credit card statements nearly at their limits with high APR's. Whoa! Not a good thing for your Credit Rating. And I looked at my Financial House and realized that at any moment, if I made the wrong move, I could be in big trouble. Thankfully I have a job. But I do not have an emergency fund, nor any savings, nor an IRA, nor any equities, or liquid investments I can rely on if the sh*t should hit the proverbial fan.

But why did I make such purchases knowing I really couldn't afford them? I believe the syndrome is called, "Keeping Up with the Joneses"... or maybe I should tweak it to read, "Keeping Up with the CGC Joneses".

Now I take full responsibilities for my actions. I am not blaming the CGC, the CGC Community, Stan Lee, Comic Book Men, The Walking Dead, or anyone el

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