For starters, I’m back in Katy after a year of living in Las Vegas. I enjoyed my time there, but I always missed home. I’m a guy who grew up in the middle of a tight-knit family. And I don’t just mean parents and siblings, but cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles. I think I may have been the first person in my family to actually move away, and I felt it the entire time I was gone. I always wondered what it would be like living in the hustle and bustle of another big city, and I’m glad I got to experience that. But I’m also thrilled to be back in the arms of the same small town where I grew up. I never thought I’d say that, really, but there you have it. I will miss the friends I made in Vegas and I’ll miss the good times, but I’m mostly just happy to be back home.

I’m staying involved in mixed martial arts. I can’t say how just yet, but I’m not going in a wildly different direction for my career. I love this industry too much to just give it up. I won’t be traveling as much, and that’s somewhat of a blessing, because while I love to travel and see the world, I also love staying at home. I’ve seen far more of the world in the past two years than I ever thought possible, and I’ll be eternally grateful for that opportunity.

So, yeah. It’s good to be home. And it’ll be good to see where life takes me next. Ten years ago – well, five years ago, really – I never could have envisioned myself doing what I do for a career. The uncertainty of life, that feeling of never really knowing what lies around the corner, is one of the things that makes it so nerve-wracking, hectic and beautiful, all at the same time.

I’m ready to see what happens next.

Saw this on my way to San Diego.

It’s no problem. I like New York but I also like staying at home, and I wasn’t about to go by myself if Matt and Megan were home sick. I’d get lost in that big city. The UFC will be returning to New Jersey at some point within the next five months and I’ll have plenty of time to enjoy it/get sick of it at that point.

I’m hoping to visit the new Ground Zero memorial while I’m there. I went about four years ago and toured the 9/11 exhibit. It was a powerful and moving moment, one that I wasn’t fully prepared for. I suspect the new memorial experience will be the same, and it’ll be cool to see the new World Trade Center building even though really tall buildings terrify me.

I’m also hoping to see that giant Christmas tree you always see on TV and perhaps eat at Carmine’s because it’s the best place to eat in the entire world. If I lived near Carmine’s I’d be much fatter than I already am. There’s no better Italian food than Carmine’s.

I’ll post pictures from my trip when I return on Friday. On Saturday morning, Matt and I will make the drive to San Diego for the Strikeforce card before heading back on Sunday morning. Lots of traveling lately, and I’m loving every second of it. Well, almost every second. The time spent outside in the freezing weather of Toronto wasn’t all that enjoyable.

I want one.

Myself and Michael Mardones (aka Layzie The Savage) attending the Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing on December 12. It was a blast, and by that I mean to say that it was not a blast at all.

It’s good to see those things back online. It’s fun to know that all of the writing I did for roughly six years isn’t lost in the ether. And it’s good to know that I can go back to blogging again. Let’s see what happens.

I want to get more immersed in what I do, and there’s no reason I can’t. I have nothing but time, nothing but space and freedom to get better at what I do.

It’s time to stop being lazy. Not that I’m lazy in a general sense, but in a specific, mixed martial arts-related sense.

I’m not waiting for 2012 to start, because New Year’s resolutions are ripe for the breaking. I don’t think I’ve ever made a promise to myself on January 1st that I didn’t break by January 5th.

I’m telling you right now that 2012 is going to be a banner year for me personally, and a gigantic year for HeavyMMA. We’re going to continue doing things that nobody else can do, but I’m personally going to step my own game up and start producing the kind of stuff I wanted to produce back when I spent time poring over a Notepad file on my laptop instead of going to class like I was supposed to.

It’s time to change the game. Or, to keep changing the game.