I'm on a world tour.

It seems like it has been a wild couple of weeks in my life, and it seems the sports world has been following suit. Ron Artest is changing his name to Metta World Peace, the Dodgers are filing for bankruptcy, and I gained a new found love for Nascar in a place I never thought I would...Hawaii. Who knew?

I was lucky enough to spend a few days on the North Shore of Oahu with some incredible people a couple of weeks ago. I watched Rory McIlroy win the US Open with a record setting 16 under par game. I got taken out by the waves at Pipeline. I jumped off of a really big rock into a bay (sounds petty to you, but I am terrified of anything higher than five feet off the ground). And most importantly, I learned a lot about Nascar. I learned about the rivalries, the stats, the fans. I left Hawaii with a lot of photos and a lot of cars driving in circles in my head. More to come on this.

Following my amazing weekend in the Pacific, I trekked up to Northern California to spend more time with a special person and some amazing family. I flew into Sacramento, drove up to Roseville, and then rode on the back of a Harley up to Lake Tahoe. What a trip. I had no clue I would sit on the back of a motorcycle without feeling like I might die every five seconds let alone absolutely love it. There is something so serene and zen in sitting there taking in your surroundings with the fresh air swirling around your entire body. There is an evolution happening here. I like it.

Now that I am back in Los Angeles and back to work, I have some time to get in some LA athletics. There might be some Dodgers this weekend, maybe even the Seattle Sounders/LA Galaxy game. We will see which stadium takes me in. I'm happy to be home, but longing for the mountains like I long for a rainy Sunday spent on the couch listening to my favorite records.

Danica lost in the action.

I've got to be honest when I say that I didn't watch a single lap of Danica Patrick's debut NASCAR race at Daytona last weekend. I was having a lot more fun in San Francisco. But at brunch the next morning, I was lucky enough to catch a video of the 12 car pileup she managed to mangle herself in partway through the race.

Patrick managed to stay out of the top 20 cars throughout most of the race and avoided an earlier 7 car wreck before she dropped out of the top 30.

She did remain lucky. None of the big boys plowed her into the walls, and the wreck she was involved in wasn't her fault. Her teammates stated to just be glad that she got a few laps in before she wrecked. Experience.

Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. totaled his car after going airborne later in the race. The estimated damages to replace his car and repair Patrick's are over $200,000. I'd rather have a Maserati.

NASCAR is about to get a little bit sexier.

I read a Woody Allen quote that said, "seventy percent of success is just showing up."

Not to take away from the success that Danica Patrick has seen over the years, but the fact that she has a pretty face, a pair of boobs, and that she just showed up in what seems to be the most male infested sport known in this country really takes at least seventy percent of the cake. I'm not trying to cut her down. She seems like she has a good time with herself. She's a hot chick that drives fast cars. That's downright ballsy. I drive like a grandma.

Patrick is shifting her gears a little higher this year, and taking a break from steamy internet commercials and swimsuit modeling, to make her NASCAR debut at the Daytona Speedway this weekend. Of course there are some critics (mainly the guy who she beat out for her seat in the race), but her sponsors and teammates are extremely thrilled and confident that she is ready for the drive.

I know little about NASCAR, but I will make sure to ask dad how she did. Watching cars race for any longer than a minute at a time doesn't seem too exciting to me. Regardless, NASCAR must be stoked on the buzz this is creating. And not just because she's a woman who just showed up. The other thirty percent of her success comes from being pretty badass behind a wheel.