Category: Niko’s Soap Box

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10/21/2025

What did we have going on today?

Did the first “Day in the Life of Niko” or daily Soap Box, and I got to say, I might be liking it. It’s still early to tell though.

It got a little chilly and this weather is perfect. Nothing better than sweater weather if you ask me.

I had trouble with my label printer this morning. For some reason it was just printing everything extra small. Barely able to read the address on them, I was thinking about just sticking them on the packages like that, but then I thought better not. I ended up going into the printer through the laptop, and change the settings there. The question is, how did the settings change by themselves.

Decided to go see the Chicago Fire for their Wild Card match on Wednesday. Picked up some tickets, but we still haven’t told the kids about it yet. It’ll be a nice surprise for them. I told them we’ll go to a game this year, and this might be our last chance, so we’re going.

The prices weren’t that bad, about $45 a ticket, you’d think they’d be a little more considering it’s Play Off season.

Got through some more bulk, and went to pick up some team bags for the Bulk Lots, and also picked up a couple of 3200 ct boxes to put them all in. I got to get organized, and I have to go and organize the office once again. I should be doing that at least once a week, to keep everything a bit more organized. If I sent someone there to find a card, they would be there forever, but it’s a controlled chaos where I know where everything is, and that is working for me right now.

Picked up some tacos, cause my kid who doesn’t eat tacos said we had to have tacos cause it’s Taco Tuesday. I said, you want tacos, we’ll get some tacos. He had a couple and said that they were ok.

After that, we got ready for the night, and jumped into a game of 99 Nights in the Forest. And, what a game it was. we got all the way to 86 days. It would have been more, but my kid jumped into the Bear Den where the third child is and he got mauled. I tried saving him. Even took care of one of the bears, went back to camp to heal up, and the cultist attack was happening, all while the deer was chasing me down!

I tried playing it safe, but 3 cultists were following me, no bandages, no med kits, no cake either. I tried hiding behind the map and everything, but they were always on my tail. Niko’s Last Stand. And, I was done.

We’re almost there. Soon enough we’ll get past 99 Nights.

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10/20/2025

Well, I decided that instead of doing this once a week, I’ll be trying to get it down everyday, except the Weekend. I’ll do the Weekend as a whole on Monday.

Monday the beginning of the week. And what a beginning it was. A little Hectic. The morning went by fast due to what I was trying to accomplish at the restaurant. Trying to figure out what is wrong with the Ice Machine. That’s always fun. It’s like everything decides to break down at the same time, and you’re trying to extinguish the fires before anything else starts to burn.

But, that’s what business is. All the problems fall on you.

But, we’re not here to talk about that, we’re here to talk about Kardboard Korner. OR the day in the life of Niko.

What did we do card wise?

Not much, it’s Monday remember. WE did the Card of the Day, for Social Media. A week’s worth as we usually do. And, we finished our last “Week in Review”. And, that is usually all I have planned for Mondays.

There’s also that MTG bulk, and the guy that I bought it from said he has some more to send. That means I need to finish this quickly to get more bulk here. There’s a decent amount of good cards in there, and I’m excited to see what else they send me.

All we listed yesterday were singles from Dark Ascension. Time to double down on these cards, and get some bulk lots out of them. You won’t be finding anything really expensive in there, but at the price we’ll be selling them, you’ll be getting at least double your money’s worth. And, there will be no duplicates in these lots. So, if you’re looking out to try some cards you would have never thought of for Commander, these lots are for you.

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Kardboard Fantasy VI

10/13

We have plenty to do this week. And, next week and the week after that.

Journey of Discovery is right around the Korner and we need to get ready. We already started with our review. I usually don’t like doing them until after I made the first video for it, but that puts so much on our plate right on release, that we’d rather do it a little at a time over the course of Spoiler Season.

What did we do today?

The usual Social Media posts, and this post as well. For last week.

Since we finished with the first sort of our MTG bulk, we’re going on to the yearly sort, and right after that set sort. Started with the 90’s . I actually fond 1 Unlimited card in there, but it was beat up a lot. It’s still exciting.

We listed the years 93 to some of 95, and we have to reach 2025.

10/14

Finished the 90’s. For Magic that is. 3 more decades to go. 2 and a half if you want to be exact.

And, that was how the whole day was spent.

I did take the wife and kids out for Soccer, cause that is what we do now. It also helps me get some exercise. I feel it every time I try and run at full force. Out of breath in two minutes, if I’m lucky. After that I just jog, and try and keep up with the little ones.

Got the kids ready for school, and we played 99 Nights in the Forest. We reached Day 52. We’re halfway there. I bought the Brawler class, and I am liking it so far. The only thing I don’t like is not being able to use ranged weapons. I rarely use them, but sometimes you just need to.

10/15

Still sorting and listing Magic. I only got through 2000. The year that is. 25 to go, and if I do at least a year a day, I should have them all done before Journey of Discovery comes out.

It was the kids’ last Soccer Practice today before the final tournament. They are all hyped. The coach had them play a Scrimmage match through out the whole practice. Which was good, they were all running around having fun. And, at that age that is what they should be doing.

I was too tired to do anything when I went home. I just had the kids do their homework, and that was it for all of us. They fell asleep quick, and then so did I.

10/16

Just focused on the MTG Bulk once again. We got to get through it, as quickly as possible.

Other than that, slowly getting ready for Journey of Discovery. It’s coming sooner than you all think. And, so far these cards are looking great. Lot’s of fun stuff to play.

Got orders ready to ship, and played 99 Nights in the Forest with the kids.

That was about it for today.

10/17

It’s going to be all about Magic Bulk again. Finished listing the 2000s. And started sorting the 10s. These were the most in the whole bulk lot I got, and I figured they will probably just take all day. And, I was right. I didn’t even get a chance to finish, when I had to leave to go to the Fall Fest at the kids school.

It wasn’t too bad, the pizza was decent, and the mac and cheese needed salt. Yeah, I’m not too big on public events. I did see a couple of friends there and that was about it.

Went home, played 99 Nights in the Forest, and put the kids to sleep because tomorrow was their tournament.

10/18

It’s today, the tournament we’ve been waiting for all year.

We got up early, and off we went.

We lost both games and didn’t make it to the Play Offs. My kids forgot to turn it on today. They both seemed out of it, but they did have fun, there was a whole party for everyone involved with AYSO. Free Food, and drinks! Can’t say no to that.

The rest of the day was off. It started when I went to get things for the restaurant and I forgot the card at home. That’s always smart.

I just had to get through the rest of the day, my eyes were burning, my brain was fried, I was just ready to go home and close my eyes.

10/19

Finished up sorting the 10s today. And, it’s giving me a headache. All the cards from 2009-2014. Why? Because of how they printed the year. I thought this whole time it was cause my eyes were going bad. Turns out it’s not my eyes, cause even with my glasses on I can barely see the year. Especially with Red cards. Those are just terrible, I have to look at the set symbol to figure it out.

Started listing them as well.

Had to do some running around. Got orders ready to be shipped.

I tried to go play some Soccer with my kids, but one of them was sick, so we scratched that idea, and played 99 Nights in the Forest.

I’ve been looking online at it, and I’ve noticed that a lot of parents are playing this game with their kids. I can’t blame them, it’s a fun game. Probably the best Roblox game out there. And I’ve played a few that my kids say are good games, but they aren’t.

This is where it’s at.

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A Week in Kardboard

10/06

Started off the day like any other Monday. Took the kids to school, came to the restaurant, and started on the Week in Review, and Card of the Week Posts for Instagram and Facebook.

Started working on Spoiler Season. Still need to finish up the Starters to post them. Those will be up by Friday. The Latest.

Took the whole family out for practice today. Mostly worked on passing, and a little bit of dribbling.

Yeah, Monday’s are a bit slow around here, but it sets up our week.

10/07

I just realized that our Sticker Machine was out of Pokemon cards! So, I had to look for cards to restock it. I usually fill it up with Japanese cards, as the kids that get them always get excited. Always Holos, and always at least Double Rares. That’s what keeps them coming back.

Still trying to figure out what I got to do with the Jeep. It seems like lately all of my cars have problems in one way or another.

10/08

Busy day today. The Starter Sets are selling consistently.

The kids had Soccer Practice today. Picked them up from school, and we headed straight over there. The Coach said if anyone scores a goal from the other side of the field, all of the coaches will run a lap around the field. Guess who put it in? Yep, my kid. My kid had the coaches running.

Did a restock for Resurgence of Power on TCG Player and eBay.

Night time was 99 Nights in the Forest time. My daughter didn’t want to play, and me and my son beat our record by a couple of days. She was so mad that she wasn’t playing. Oh well. We can all play again tomorrow.

10/09

Had a whole bunch of Bulk come in today. 13,500 MTG cards. And, now they all need to be sorted. I usually do it in few stages. First I sort by Decade, then Year, then Set, then Alphabetically. I got through about 4,500 today. Then I ran out of time and had to go get the little ones from school.

The lights went out in the Bathroom. Instead of just changing a bulb, I decided to change the whole fixture. Or at least try to. I got it all hooked up, and for some reason the light stayed on. Couldn’t turn it off. So, I just took it down and tried to figure out what I did wrong.

A little bit of Roblox with the kids, and I was off to bed early.

10/10

It’s time to tackle that Mountain of MTG Bulk.

But, first we posted our review for the Starter Sets that came out last Friday.

It was a busy day at the restaurant and didn’t get a chance to get much done. Lot’s of running around. Driving around actually. But, it’s all right. I have to keep myself busy, if I don’t, I get lazy.

10/11

Today is the last game before the tournament next week. My daughter was sick today, so she didn’t come to the game. Just my son. He was feeling a bit sick last night as well, but I woke him up in the morning and he said he was feeling good, and wanted to go play.

So, off we went. We got there a bit early. There wasn’t too much traffic this morning. Our team had just enough kids to play today. I knew one other kid wasn’t going to come today, and my daughter was sick, but there were 2 more kids that didn’t show up.

Doesn’t matter, that just means my kid will play the whole game.

And, he made me proud just like always. He started out on Defense. Made a clean sliding tackle. Then he played goalie today. No one scored on him. After that he was in the Midfield and finally Forward. He didn’t score, but he created chances. We did lose, 4-1. And that’s ok. It’s next week that we have to worry about.

But, the referees suck. One kid on the other team had 4 blatant hand balls, and they never got called once for it. One was even in the penalty box, and nothing. But, my kid does a header, and he gets called.

After the game, we got a snack, and went to play a bit more soccer.

10/12

I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I am tired.

Finished up the first sort for all of the MTG bulk that came in.

Took a nap.

Got the orders ready to be shipped out, even though I think the Post Office is closed tomorrow.

Played 99 Nights in the Forest, with Naki and we’ve all been trying to get my wife to play with us. Hopefully she will. It’s a fun game when we’re playing all together.

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Kardboard Fantasy – Crystal Korners

09/29
Today as always is get ready for this week. First things first, finish up the week in review, and Card of the Days for Instagram and Facebook.

Next we have a release this week. Actually a few releases. We have the 2025 Starter Sets Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Plus there are a bunch of sleeves that are coming out this week. Called up my distributor, and they said that the Starters still didn’t arrive yet, but they arrived at a few of their other locations, so they should be showing up any day now. We’ll just take care of all that tomorrow.

I wish that was all for Monday, but it’s not.

My Jeep broke down on my way home. That wasted a couple of hours waiting for Triple A to show up. I asked for a tow, and they sent someone to check my battery. Go. figure. The car started up again, and I drove the rest of the way, slowly. I had the Triple A guy follow me, cause I didn’t want to get stranded again. Parked the car and now I got to figure out the warranty and what it covers. And, then I need to find a place to take it to.

09/30

The last part of this month has been slow. Orders just trickled in. We can’t have that. So what do we do? We buy more Bulk. Well we’re always buying bulk, but now it seems like we ran out of cards. I’ll leave a reminder here that we will buy your bulk that you don’t want. $10 per 1,000 cards

Called my distributor early, and the Starter Sets are at their warehouse. Along with some Card Sleeves that I forgot all about! Sounds like a good way to kick it into high gear again.

I was pretending to be an electrician tonight. If you remember, I was trying to install a ceiling fan last week and kept tripping the breaker. This time I turned it off before hand, this way I can’t trip it. It was easier than I thought it would be. So, if you need an Electrician, for something simple, give is a call. We’re Electrifying!

Installed some more lights in the Kitchen and called it a night.

10/01

Waiting on UPS.

Still Waiting.

It’s getting late now, let me check the tracking. It never left the warehouse. And, I was planning on doing the Unboxing tonight. Guess we’ll have to leave that for tomorrow.

Soccer Practice at night, but now they started Greek Dance and it’s on Wednesdays, that means we got to rush straight from the School to the soccer fields.

10/02

Our Starter Sets arrived today, we started getting everyone’s orders together and sending them out. Also got a bunch of sleeves in, check them out if you haven’t already.

It was one of our daughters birthday today, so we had a small party at the house.

What’s left?

Time to make a video, we checked out the Starter Sets, that is on YouTube if you want to check it out.

10/03

Spoiler Season is here, and that means that we’re going to be getting ready for Journey of Discovery. That means we’re going to start working on our opinion articles on the set, and since the Starter Sets are already out, we will be getting those done first. Expect those to drop sometime next week.

Worked on some listings today. From both Starter Sets they are both on TCG Player and eBay. And, I’ve go to say those went fast.

10/04

It’s game day, we got a couple more games to go before the tournament starts on October 18th.

I’ve got to say these kids make me proud, my son plays his heart out, and my daughter needs a little push, but she tries. We lost 2-1 today. It’s the first time we’ve scored a goal in a couple of weeks. Needless to say, my son scored the goal, off a Free Kick, from behind the half line. It was probably 30 yards away from the goal, but at his age that is pretty far. Sure, it might have been cause the other goalie wasn’t the greatest. But the ball went in. Even though it stopped rolling once it passed the line.

The coach has him doing all of the Free Kicks, Goal Kicks Corners, they are all on him now.

My daughter on the other hand, she is a bit reserved. She’s a little scared to get into it with the other kids, but she was hustling. I did tell her that if she tried I would get them a some Italian Ice after. I think that did the trick for her. She started chasing the ball down. She likes cats, so I told her to be a tiger on the field. She made some stops. And, she was trying to stay focused, she gets easily distracted and likes to day dream.

10/05

Early morning at the restaurant, and everyone was late today. And, of course that’s when everybody decides they want some Gyros. They all came in, and I had to take care of the rush. Luckily it only lasted an hour.

Got home, and I told my son that we will be going out to practice soccer everyday. He was trying to do a bicycle kick. He nearly has it. We started working on his foot work, that’s probably what he needs the most. But it’s mostly about having fun, so we don’t really focus on drills or anything, maybe I’ll show him something and we’ll do it for 5 minutes. After that it’s all fun and games. Sometimes he wants to be the goalie, he enjoys that when I shoot it at him.

Took care of all of the Weekends orders. And, now it’s time to get ready for the upcoming week.

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