Please Mr. Postman (A trade post) -- "O" Yeah!

I came home from a seemingly-endless math class this afternoon to find a bunch of packages waiting for me.

I couldn't have been happier to see all these glorious pieces of cardboard.

One of the packages was from Ryan, author of "'O' No! Another Orioles Blog". Ryan is a fantastic blogger, and as I found out in our first-ever swap, a great trader as well.

In return for some extra Orioles cards I had, he hit a bunch of wants listed on my "set needs" page.

One of those "hits" was the Geovany Soto card you see above. I feel that Opening Day's "Superstar Celebrations" inserts are criminally underrated.

Every shot is a masterpiece.

Ryan also added a few 2012 Topps "Golden Greats" inserts I needed.

I'm half-hearteadly chasing these down. I can't help that I have a soft spot for any HOFer-related cards. But I really don't need five Jackie Robinson cards from the same insert set. But he's a Hall of Famer.

Therein lies the paradox.

I hope Topps does away with these when Series 2 comes along.

The majority of the cards Ryan sent my way were some Gypsy Queen needs. Our trade got started when he inquired about the Ripken mini I posted in my GQ post.

I've already managed to acquire all the base cards I needed from this year's Gypsy Queen (more on that in a later post). The cards Ryan sent basically put the finishing touches on it.

One thing I did enjoy about this year's GQ set was the inclusion of HOFers like Orlando Cepeda, Eddie Mathews, and Ralph Kiner in the checklist.

I can't even remember the last Eddie Mathews card Topps produced.

While I'm not a fan of the numerous amounts of mini parallels, I'll still grab what I can.

Ryan was nice enough to send along a few GQ minis, including the two above. I have to admit, the black bordered ones are pretty cool.

More Gypsy Queen, this time of the insert variety.

Whether it was on purpose or by accident, the blue border around the "Future Stars" inserts works perfectly with Starlin Castro's "Cubbie Blue" jersey on that card.

Awesome.

I'm still trying to track down the last few inserts I need from last year's Gypsy Queen set. Ryan got me a couple steps closer with the above cards.

I'm all for cards of George Sisler, but a good half of the cards I have of him feature that exact same picture. Surely you've got more than just the one photo of his, Topps.

I can't wait until my next trade with this guy after sifting through the contents of this package.

Thanks, Ryan!