Parched...

And impatient as I wait for the plane's wheels to hit the tarmac. Normally the plane ride goes by so fast with me checking out the back of my eye lids.. Well, after 2.5 hours, study session was over and I found myself tossing and turning (as much as you can toss and turn in an airplane seat) the last hour of the trip.

I look out over the city that is chicago, and realize that I was just here 2 weeks ago. I remember writing about the skyline and the sunrise, but those are but distant memories at this point.

This time I'm here to stay a few days, although its looking like I'm going to be so busy I won't have time to see friends or do anything I want to do.

I rub my eyes to sharpen the focus I know must be there, but has been erased for the moment by my less than stellar nap. RARA was just at my house 2 days ago, and will be waiting for me when I touch down. Its nice having so many female companions in this industry..

I see the houses, the cars, the churches, the parking lots, the buildings and even the people looming larger. At this point they're toy miniatures, wait 5 seconds, now they're like hotwheels. Another 10 and they're toddler toys...

The landing gears makes a banging noise as its introduced into the elements at the high speed that we are going... The wheels touch done, I see the painted runway approach, and bump, not too bad a landing by united or should I say, TED?

Get me off this foul metal beast. I have people awaiting and things to do!!

Welcome to O'hare the tinny voice says over the loudspeaker. Doesn't matter what airline I'm on, the announcment is the same, insert airline name here!

Gate B11, and I'm gonna be off on my adventure in chicago.. Fuck, this airport's big... Lol

-tracy

I didn't want to go....

But I had a really good time... I knew that going would mean I would lose 6+ hours of work time, but I went and had an awesome time.. It was way better to me than going to rehab; relax on memorial day weekend is always a favorite...

I got to see dj scooter for our annual sushi date after it ended... He's always concerned about my well being. I love him to death, although its funny to me how much he thinks he knows about what's going on with me; especially my love life.. Its always an entertaining time, and I think that should the DJing thing ever stop working out for him, comedy is always an option.

Its 917 and I'm pulling up to the house. I'm gonna get some work done, and think about meeting jenna and tito at JET. I'm really over going to the clubs, lol, but I love seeing my friends...

I didn't want to go....

But I had a really good time... I knew that going would mean I would lose 6+ hours of work time, but I went and had an awesome time.. It was way better to me than going to rehab; relax on memorial day weekend is always a favorite...

I got to see dj scooter for our annual sushi date after it ended... He's always concerned about my well being. I love him to death, although its funny to me how much he thinks he knows about what's going on with me; especially my love life.. Its always an entertaining time, and I think that should the DJing thing ever stop working out for him, comedy is always an option.

Its 917 and I'm pulling up to the house. I'm gonna get some work done, and think about meeting jenna and tito at JET. I'm really over going to the clubs, lol, but I love seeing my friends...

This is why I dislike flying....

Because I'm getting to vegas 2 hours later than I originally was supposed to because the planes had all kinds of issues. First one left 1.5 hours late, 2nd one had toilet issues. Now on the 3rd plane leaving houston 2 hours late.

:( ill get there some day... Not really stressing, just wanna be home...

Tracy

What a day...

I'm sitting in Ft lauderdale... The weather is absolutely gorgeous, and the breeze is offsetting the heat.. Its humid, but not unbearably so...

I'm surrounded by Brazilians. I have heard almost no English all afternoon but somehow that hasn't bothered me as much it has fascinated me... 5 of the guys here have fights coming up; 4 in the UFC alone... The name American Top Team is somewhat irony in itself. They're almost all Brazilian, save a fighter here or there..

I've sat here all afternoon and watched the fighters pluck fish from the water, needing almost no coaxing; just the clams that were taken from the lake bed to use as bait.. This was lunch/dinner. Caught in the backyard, cooked in the back yard too!

Accompanying the meal is rice, and farofa, as well as salad. I brought guacamole and chips with me, although they were nowhere near as popular as I would have expected.

I have been sitting here in this chair for about 45 minutes. The story telling has been nonstop the whole time, although I have no clue what they're saying. I stretch my ear out in the hopes that I may catch a word or two that helps me to understand the gist of the convo, but even then its been difficult.

I don't mind; the day has been awesome and the experience one of a kind... Especially since the house was filled with beautiful Brazilian women that I was worried would dislike me. They knew who I was (from my photos and blogs) the minute I walked in and were very friendly towards me.

I wasn't brave enough to eat the fish that they caught but they were a source of entertainment from the moment I arrived. They kept catching more and more and at one point lined up at least 10 on the patio.

Now I'm just relaxing; something I rarely do. Here's Thiago Silva with the fish he caught.. Followed by a pic of the ATT guys..

The only way....

The walk from gate to gate on my layover could have been longer was if my next flight was at gate 29 instead of 28. Landed at jfk and am on boarding the plane. I've got a bag that's way too big to be a carryon and just had a bitch of a time getting it to fit into the overhead compartment.. I managed to get it in by separating stuff so now i have 4 carry ons, instead of the alotted to me.

The hustle and bustle of the JFK airport is so much a reminder of what New York is like.. The gate areas are all small because the airport is old. And its like the just kept building.. "Oh we need another gate? Oh we'll just smack one down right here. Another? Here you go!!" The advertisements pop out at you like the one Tom cruise movie that read your retinas and personaled the user experience..

Its my first time flying delta today, and so far so good. Each of the seats has its own tv just like the ones to japan. I've already scoped out the movies and see a few really good ones that I may watch if I can in between working and sleeping. Its 815, and we don't land for 3 and a half hours.

They're closing the doors, so I have to turn off my phone....

PS: this is a pic I took out the plane as we were landing in NYC

PS:

It costs 6 bucks for a movie. I'm not QUITE as impressed now.... Especially if they charge for head phones... Oh well, there's always more work to be done...

-tracy

Is it bad....

That I stare oddly at the guy that just walked by?

He had a sweater vest on with a short sleeve button down underneath... As if it wasn't odd looking like that, it continuesv down to a pair of navy blue shorts a tad too short. He has extremly white legs that should NEVER be exposed to the elements, and then loafers with no socks on. Eww!

To top it all off, the guy had a wedding ring on. Hmm, love is definitely blind...

I'm waiting in the airport; jumping a flight to ft lauderdale. Not sure who's picking me up, tell you the truth. Originally supposed to be Yves, then cole, but neither let me know, so should be a surprise. I'm so excited to go to ATT as I have heard a ton about the school and have many friends that train there.

I haven't slept yet, and its 605am. About time to jump on my flight. I'd like to spend the first leg of the trip getting work done, but we'll see because without fail, I'm like a baby in a car seat and always pass out the minute I buckle my seatbelt...

-tracy

A moment of clarity...

One that hurts, but in the end will make me so much better...

Its been an interesting trip thus far and I find myself walking down a strange country road at 330am. I just left the tim horton's about 2 miles from the hotel and am walking in the cold air back to the hotel.

I walk with slow feet and a heavy heart...

Tomorrow will be a new day with a beautiful sky to make me smile...

I find beauty...

In the weirdest places sometimes.... As we land in chicago and I stare out the window of the airplane, I see downtown in the distance through the smog. The shadow of the skyline impresses me as one of my favorite in the nation and the glow of the sunrise upon it is accented by a fog that rolls in close to the ground...

Bump, the wheels touch down, not a bad landing, by any means... American is probably one of my better airline choices.

The sun glares into my eyes. Its five till 6am. I have one more flight till I arrive at my destination... Time to depart this vessel and go in search of a new chariot...

-tracy

I wish...

That I could take a photo of the sunset I see in the distance over the mountains with my camera phone and have it come out. Since it won't do it justice, I will try to describe it..

The twilight has set over most of the landscape as I make my way back to la vegas. I'm about 2 hours away still but ove the distant mountains the sky glows ruby red like I have seen so very few times in my life. The fiery colors are accented by low clouds graduating to a lighter orange color the higher you look in the sky.. There's a pale blue color that's the remnants of the day... Spread out across the evening sky is a deep indigo color that's indicative of the night to come... In the time its taken me to describe, the colors are beginning to slowly fade...

I know I can't take the time to stop and smell the flowers so seeing things like this when I'm drving or when I'm flying makes me happy and helps me to realize how small I am in the scheme of things. It also helps me when I'm feeling down, or when things just aren't going right.

I'm one of those lucky people who rarely goes through those types of feelings.. Right now, I feel like I'm on top of the world. I was in san diego earlier today finishing up day two of following KJ noons around. I left his place around 4, and made began the journey back to Las Vegas. I had a few extra hours to spare, so I made a couple stops along the way.

One of the stops was to joe daddy's new gym in victorville, but I didn't stay long and am now on the road again.

I have to be at the airport by 1130... I'm flying to connecticut for the IFL... I was sure until monday if I was even going to go, but flights booked and I'm on my way..

Did I mention I love my life? There's only one thing missing and that's a special someone.. Oh well, that can always come later I guess...

:)

-tracy

An awesome day!

Today is an awesome day. It's amazing to me what the power of positive thinking will do. I'm feeling so productive and it's something that makes me happy! Not much else to say than that right now, too busy to write much, and my thoughts are whirling through my head too fast!

I feel like I write more in depth from my phone. Then again, when I'm writing from my phone, I'm usually in some exotic location, and have stimulating things to write about... Today i'm in my house all day. I hope to make it to Jujitsu at 5!

Today is one of those days...

That I know I have a shitload of stuff to do, but can't seem to get motivated to do it. Although I say it like I haven't done ANYTHING yet..

I have started 3 loads of laundry and unpacked and cleaned out my car. Thats a little bit of a start, right? I still have to hang up a ton of clothes and clean the house to get ready for my new roommate that moves in later this week.

I also have to plan out my travel and fight stuff for the next few weeks. Things are crazy and a lot of cool opportunities are coming up. I wouldn't mind going to Japan for Victory Road as I have a lot of friends fighting on the card. But there's a huge lineup of things that I can cover here in the states too.. What to do, what to do?!

I really wouldn't mind curling up in bed for a couple days.. Not because I'm depressed, I'm totally in a good mood. I just have kept an insane pace that I think I need a TINY break from... That's it, just a small one... Some time to collect my thoughts and gauge my next move...

But then the other part of me wants to keep going at 110 miles per hour... I have so many ideas, and so many things that I want to accomplish.. I will be successful, you will see!!

ok, lol... So now that you have seen the thoughts that are running through my head today, it's time for me to be off to try and make my dreams into reality...

-Tracy

Since I was a child...

I have always loved book stores. To the point that I need to have a ton of time if I want to enter one, or know exactly what it is that I want to buy and not deviate from the task at hand. Otherwise, I can find myself getting lost for hours on end, with a stack of books at least 3 feet high and a price tag of 400 dollars.

I remember as a child getting in trouble for reading books in class. The irony of it! I used to bring my nancy Drew books to school and hide them as I read behind my desk. Once I finished the entire series, it was on to the Hardy Boys. Once that was done it was the Cronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, then all of them over again. In spite of all my not paying attention in class, I was still a GATE (gifted and talented education) student at the top of my class.

I still have the desire to read, just no longer have the time... No matter what, the bookstore is always a happy place for me...

-tracy

Back to Reality...

Or my own version of it.. I'm hanging out at Scott from On the Mat's house.. I got in so early this am and he was kind enough to come get me at 630am from the airport. Fortunately he lives close...
I spent the day sleeping and working.. I slept many hours.. 6 on the plane, and then another 5 here at his house. After so many days of little to no sleep, It was time to play catch up...

Now I'm trying to decide where I go next. I know that I'm going to millenia's grand opening in Rancho Cucamongo tomorrow, but thats not till 3pm.. I'm thinking maybe I should head to big bear first thing? not really sure, lol.. I really don't have anything planned until BJ vs Sherk, unless I end up hopping a flight to Connecticut for the IFL fight. I really wanna go, just seems like a hassle to get there..

Ho hum... Gummy bears for dinner. Hopefully scott is back soon so I can eat and get my car... lol

Goodbye to hilo...

It has started to rain... Certainly hilo is sad that I'm leaving and sheds a tear in protest... Ok, lol, maybe they're tears of joy and she can't wait to be rid of me...

Its been an interesting trip; I'm happy to be heading home... If I make it there.. My steering wheel may point me in the direction of northern california or down to san diego...
Time to turn my phone off (or pretend to at least). The wheels of the plane are picking up speed and we will soon be airborne...

Another beautiful day in hilo...

Through the rainy morning, I spent hours telling everyone how beautiful today was going to be. I was right.. I wish my mood matched it at this point. I feel like I work so hard sometimes and then its all for naught...

I really can't explain at this point what the problem is but its something that makes me want to give up; and I'm not a quitter by nature.. I keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason, and I know that in my heart. Why else would I have spent the morning convincing others of the gorgeous weather that they were going to see?

I have to get past it, like I know I can... Can't wait to go home and spend some time in MY bed, with MY cat.. Maybe I'm just being in a depressed mood and that's why I speak like this.

I can talk myself out of this negativity. I just don't know that I'm ready to...

Morning in hilo..

There's definitely something to be said about morning time in Hilo. There's just been a new rain. The air is thick with the dampness, and you can smell the blossoms as if pouring water on them made their fragrances emanate from their petals.

This morning as I washed my face in the bathroom, I noticed a coin leaning against the wall on a shelf. It had a familiar look to it so I stepped closer to inspect it. 100¥.. It made me smile and brought back great memories.. from last week, lol... God japan already seems so far away.

Fast forward. I'm sitting in the gym. Its just me, and jesse hitting a bag in the background. Its weird that its so empty; the place is normally teeming with life. The guys have all gone for a run. The day is turning beautiful, as I knew it would. I have been thinking blue skies all morning. It was nice that they graced us with their presence, although waking up to the morning rain was equally as satisfying...

In the cage...

BJ's getting his hands wrapped and I'm walking around the cage.. There's a different canvas on the floor since the last time I was here. It says UFC in the center and Spike on the sides so I'm guessing this is from one of The Ultimate Fighter shows. I just wonder which one... Who has fought on the very surface that I stand on at this moment? Who has drawn first blood, and who has been the first to bleed??

Bj penn...

So bj's got this huge fight. And I'm in hilo to cover him.

I'm a bit frustrated because I would like to get tons of content but this photo is the first time I saw BJ since I got here. He doesn't train until 7pm..

Right now, I'm sitting beside Hoyt on the front porch working on my laptop. He is pitter pattering the keys next to me. I am trying to promote the blogs I have posted in the last couple days as well as get the ads taken care of...

The weather has gotten nicer since this morning. It was raining cats and dogs this morning. The birds are chirping, tons of them all around, and the sun is shining upon the wet leaves on the trees. I see plumeria blossoms strewn all over the ground. Their beautiful petals litter the lawn like snow.. The temperature is comfortable, but the humidity is more than I care to endure.

I just got back from the market. Tomorrow is the big farmers market, but there were still some vendors selling fresh fruit, vegtables and crafts. I bought avocados, apple bananas, papaya, and a pineapple. I'm really wanting to watch what I eat; my diet hasn't been the best lately. I was in search of a dragonfruit. I have been craving one since Denis first introduced it to me a few weeks ago. Alas, none were to be found..

Time to get back to work...

Morning..

It seems so odd to me how warm the sun feels on my shoulders. The air is cool, and the sky is overcast, but the sun feels like its aggressively kissing my skin.

I walk down the street to bj's house. We missed him by moments..

Bj's back And the urijah blog is finally done.. Time to go see kendall. Training at 5!

Tracy

Hotel california...

I got picked up at the airport by my drunk friends and have since appropriated the car keys..

I start writing again from the bar called Emeralds in downtown Hilo... Reason being is hotel california came on in the pool room.. Its an awesome song, any way you slice it, but what struck me was standing in a hotel in japan exactly a week ago, singing the same song, and coming across with the same happy feeling.

I can recall associating different parts of my life with different pieces of music, and by that logic remember the year a song came out, or recall a year something memorable happened. Weird thing is I'm not a diehard music person; I don't always have to have it on...

Anyways, I got picked up and rode in the back of the truck straight to the bar.. Its cinco de mayo and hilo is the last place I expected to find people celebrating it... I was hungry, definitely not tired, so was down, although mexican food is not my first choice ever.

I stand here now, recording my memories as one of the guys is standing here trying to hand out shots to everyone. I decline politely although most should know by now my non drinking habit.. I get interrupted by the brazilian, rafael who askes If I'm texting my boyfriend. I think he's taken a liking to me; we danced a little bit and have hung out, but I'm not interested in him. For many reasons really, but a huge one being I'm out here on business. He's cute I guess, but I'm not sold..

Reagan and naomi are next to me in their own world. They're so in love. Its weird to me; an almost foreign concept. I would love to experience it, its been a long time.... I catch reagan squeezing her boob. He looks over at me like a guilty kid whose hand just got caught in the cookie jar. Lol

The conversations are hilarious at this point.
Everyone's drunk and can't hear each other. Parillo is swaying near me so I stop him to talk about BJs training schedule. He slurrs to me about how great the training will be tomorrow...

Fast forward to the ride home. I'm driving, everyone's sloshed. Reagan crawls out the window of the truck to the bed to shotgun a beer and make a speech to shauna and jason. He crawls back to the front seat and sits backwards and says, I feel sick.. We convince him to turn forward and I look and he's hanging out the front window as I drive, and naomi is dragging him in by his shirt.

Fast forward again. I'm in the basement of the Penn's mansion. This is where hoyt lives, but he's in LA right now. I spot a laptop charger that fits my comp and I plug it in. My eyelids are drooping..

Jason stumbles in.. Looking for the rest of the crew. Reagan comes in and starts pointing out the stains on his shirt and naming off what each one is. "An avacado. That's what it is.. " He sways, and giggles...

"Holy shit!" He laughs... He pulls a book out of hoyt's stuff. "Are you the one for me." He reads. Laughing, jason takes a camera phone pic and sends it to hoyt.

I'm ready to take a nap.. And then wake up and work on the blog...

Heading to hilo...

I often write in my head as I'm traveling to my different destinations and if I were to be writing about what I'm seeing right now, It would go a little something like this...

As I look out the window of the small airplane to hilo hawaii from honolulu, I can see the beautiful sunset fading behind me. The colors are reminiscent of a rainbow that has been spread out like a tablecloth on a picnic table across the sky. I gather that we're heading east, but I really don't know the geography of the hawaiian islands well. There are puffy clouds well below me, but another cloud layer above.. I can see tons of lights along the coast of the island that we are flying over, and small patches here and there farther inland.

The engines on the plane have slowed. We must be flying over the Big Island because it feels like we're doing a slight descent. My ears pop. My nose itches and I hear the captain on the loud speaker. I really have no clue what he's saying but I'm guessing what it is based on prior experience flying. Deat backs, tray tables. Blah blah blah. I haven't been on this plane long enough to even touch any of that stuff.

My friends are to pick me up from the aiport, but I'm rather worried as the last text I got from them mentioned something about them being wasted. Uh, what? Crossing my fingers that I make it to BJ's alive.

I'm hungry. All I had in the last few hours was the snack mix I had left in my purse from my flight home from Japan last week. I hope I can somewhat stick to my diet while I'm here. I'm craving a dragonfruit...

Ah japan. So close, yet so far. Do u know that its cheaper to fly from la to japan than from hawaii to japan? Retarded! It was an amazing experience being there, and I can't wait to go again. I have 2 opportunities to go again soon. Waiting to get confirmation.

This is my life. Airport to airport. I sympathize with tyler durden (before he knew he was tyler durden). Single serving life, single serving friends. Never stability, always here and there. But I haven't made up an imaginary me yet, or have I?

I look out the window and its pitch black now. I can almost see some stars in the sky, but almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades..

My ears pop again, and I begin to get impatient. I would like to work on my laptop but the battery is dead. I have a never ending workload, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Myspace.com, mma.tv, combatlifestyle, napkinnights.com, mmajunkie.com, sherdog.com, mmamania.com. The websites that dominate my life. I can't sleep, eat, or breathe without them.

My eyes burn. Are we there yet? The stewardess annouces just now that we're about to land. Oops, here she comes, gotta hide my phone. Crap, she caught me, didn't say anything though. Turbulence as we make our approach.. All I can see out the window now is the plane's wing...

Need food... To... Survive... Lol... Landing gear just made a horrible noise coming out. The guys in front of me are jokingly writing their wills ouloud.. Our approach has become more aggressive.. I can see the lights reflecting on the water from the businesses and homes on the shore. We're over the freeway now; looks like we may land there. We continue over and touch down. Pretty rough landing although not the worst I have experienced...

Time to go find my luggage and my adventure. Wish me luck!