Second Nature

Nights like tonight remind me why I love this business… and it couldn't have come at a better time. 

The day started out like most this week. Typical fight goofiness. Who gets wristbands for the green room? Where do we put 'Joe Schmo' celebrity's security who doesn't have a ticket for the fight? So-and-so needs to be added to the credential list. We need to hold 20 more seats @ the weigh in for the casino. Can we add a banner here? Where's my FedEx shipment? Who gets billed for this? We need a space to do a breakfast meeting. Can you hook me up with parking? I need a bout sheet. Who put the ring cards in my office? I need this CAD and manifest asap. Can you do a map for 'show x'? I need directions to the arena for the VIP party. Can you email me the updated budget for 'convention x'? Blah blah blah. 

Around 4.00p I head up to the fight media center to go meet up with the VP of Public Affairs. Today we have a gaming and tourism tour set up. We do these once or twice a year to give the peeps who promote tourism in Vegas a behind the scenes, comprehensive look at what goes into a major event here at the MGM Grand & the MGM Grand Garden Arena. There are about 40 of them. I give them the schpeel on the fight ops. I've given the speech a million times before. I do walkthrus with clients all the time but rarely are the groups this large. We head to the arena so they can get a glimpse of the boxing ring. That's a big hit. I don't think the HBO lighting crew appreciated us too much because I busted in on them raising the light rig. But they got over it. I took a couple of group pics of them on the ring apron with their iPhones and we were outa there. I did screw up big time though. Floyd Mayweather was doing an interview for HBO along with some press in the stands. I was pretty loud (me? naaa…) when speaking to the group. I'm usually very good about being aware of my surroundings but this time I missed it. Major faux pas. Put it on my karma tab. It's 10 miles long.

We finish up the tour out back by the TV trucks with the senior VP of HBO production telling the group about HBO Boxing ops. He's one of my favorite people on earth. I just love this man - smart, tough, funny, charming & has impeccable taste in food, wine and travel. If I could have anyone's life, his would be high on my list. 

I head back to my office and it's 5.00p. I have no idea where my day went. It's funny. People ask me all the time, "So what do you do?" Recently I had to update my job description and it was such a ridiculous exercise. And I had to put percentages to it. There's no way to accurately come close to doing this unless I put "And other duties as necessary" as 90%. What do I do all day? Troubleshoot, maintain relationships & problem solve. Some days I'm better at it than others. 

Hopcraft & Zopfi

So why do I love this business? Because tonight I had dinner with my girls from HBO @ STK at the Cosmopolitan. Not only did I get to hang with women who are at the top of their game I also laughed my ass off! So fun and funny these gals are to be around. Swapping stories - love it. These relationships make all the idiotic people, stupid situations, douchebag clients, irritating exercises in futility worthwhile. My friend Steve Hopcraft is the executive chef @ STK but I didn't call him to let him know I was coming. I didn't want to bug him. After we order, low and behold over pops Hopcraft. He looked at me like, "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were here." He popped over a couple of times to check on us.

3 deserts, in addition to the cake!

One of the girl's had a birthday today so Chef hooked us up with ridiculous deserts and a cake with sparklers coming out the top. Actually they were more like road flares. They were HUGE! Dinner was a total success all the way around. Hopcraft entertained - as he does. Tonight I tweeted: I love this man. I miss this man. And it's true. I never had more fun than the time I spent @ Seablue when he was the chef there. We finished up what we could and chef asked if we wanted the cake. "Naa, just give it to your guys here." I am still on my health kick but even if I weren't, I'm not a sweets fan and the girls are all staying @ hotels so it worked out well. No cake went to waste. And Tyra the Director of Marketing was so sweet to pick up the champagne.

I've spent the greater part of the past 20 years building professional relationships. It's one of my strengths and luckily it's Second Nature to me; I don't have to work at it. If only I could carry that over into my love life.

You Are Not Alone

Tomorrow is the official start of fight week. Mayweather vs. Cotto. Tuesday we start with the media circus also known as the arrivals. Because the name of the fight is Ring Kings, apparently, there's going to be a throne in the lobby of the MGM Grand. Great. What a treat.

Normally I love fight weeks. I know all the players, I get to have lots of fun dinners & convos with my pals in the industry. I'm a schmoozing machine. But this time I'm really not looking forward to it. I am going to dinner with my friend Cindy from HBO @ STK on Thursday. Now THAT I am looking forward to. There aren't many females I like working with and even fewer I call friends in this business. Too much drama and idiocy with many of them. But she's one of the best. We're like sisters from another mother. She handles all the big parties and celebs for HBO. Much like me people don't understand that while we work on big events, our jobs aren't glamourous - we don't hang out with George Clooney (well, she might) and we don't get paid big bucks (well, she prob does). Shit, I should go work for HBO. (Note to self, talk to Cindy about this.)

For this fight we're doing 2 press conferences, because one just isn't exciting enough. Wednesday @ Hollywood Theatre is the presser for Mayweather & Cotto and Canelo & Mosley and Thursday they'll do the rest of the undercard. Friday is the weigh in @ the MGM Grand Garden Arena. And Saturday is the fight. Hopefully by Wednesday my attitude picks up. Fight weeks should be fun, not a pain in the ass. People coming to me for help should be flattering, not irritating. Problem solving should be satisfying, not torturous. Staff who just want someone to talk to should be my opportunity for generosity, not a moment to wish for a Steinway to drop on me or them (whichever is more convenient for God). All this no-drinking-no-red-meat-daily-exercise-crap has made me more bitter, less fulfilled and increasingly introverted. Great. So I'll live to be 100 years old, but alone because I've alienated myself. Tremendous job Amy. Bravo. Well done. But You Are Not Alone yet, so hang in there. There's light at the end of the tunnel you're in. Just be patient...

A Long Walk

Today is a day to do absolutely nothing. After 2 long (but great) days of 311 I'm pooped. My agenda: wake up, eat some pumpkin seeds, watch whatever's on HBO, nap, take the dog for A Long Walk, shower, grab some Pellegrino, pick up sushi @ Sumo 2. Mission accomplished. 

03.11.12 311 @ MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV

311 rocking out

Day 2 of 311. By now everything was on cruise control so I didn't make an appearance until about 3.00p. Given the hour we lost to Daylight Savings it really felt like 2.00p. And like clockwork my boy Dave was there so I knew everything was oky doky. I text him earlier in the morning to make sure the place hadn't burned down. I think he responded, "Just trying to stay awake" or something to that effect. 

I didn't make it to church today. When my alarm went off at 9.00a I was so tired. When I got home last night I made the mistake of staying up until 4.00a watching HBO's Game Change. It was fantastic but I paid the price the next morning. Church would have to wait until next Sunday.

Front of the GA section

The afternoon flew by. Before I knew it I was doing another security briefing with my team - basically said, "Remember what you did last night? Do it again tonight. End of meeting." My team is so amazing. If it weren't for them I never would have taken the job 6+ years ago. I used to handle operations and credentials for boxing before I started at the MGM but one of my clients was the Grand Garden Arena so I knew many of them for many years before I worked there. In fact, that's why I got the job, because I had a previous relationship with the arena and the folks there knew me and how I operated. It was win/win and the perfect fit. 

Stage left

Before I knew it I was standing in front of the stage with the production manager Daniel waiting for the ok for early entry doors again. Here we go. The kids come rushing in. Probably about 400 of them. Then the throngs of general public. The initial crowd tonight was significantly thinner than last night. We had a bet going that most of them forgot about Daylight Savings and losing the hour so they'd all come around 9.00p, thinking it was 8.00p - and we were right. Around 9.00p the turnstiles were jam packed. We got them in quickly and most didn't miss a beat. 

Good night!

Once again, when the band hit the stage I headed up to Seablue for a bite. It was pretty dead which was fine by me. I'm not a big fan of crowds - which is kind of silly given I work on shows with crowds in excess of 16,000 sometimes. I don't like loud music either, unless I'm in my car, working out or cleaning my house. Goofy. I ordered a simple hamburger, sans bun, condiments, fries & vegis. Only shredded lettuce. Chef Tony came out to check & make sure that's actually what I wanted. "Yep,"I told him with my sincere apologies. I just bastardized his hamburger. Honestly, he didn't seem to mind. Mike, one of the cooks came over to double check my order with me too. "You've never ordered this before," he said. Yeah, sometimes a girl just wants a hunk of beef. 

Around 10ish I head back to the arena and check out a couple songs. I tried to look for Bill, bartender @ Seablue but couldn't remember where I got them seats. I hooked him up with tics so he could take his girlfriend and my other friends Premo & Anna. Premo used to be a bartender @ Seablue too. They Facebooked me later saying they had a good time. 

Confetti cannons 

Before I knew it, it was midnight. I headed back out to the floor and did a couple walkthroughs. On GA floors we create 'moats' on each side of the floor for emergency egress. I head down the house right moat and snap a couple pics of the band from stage left. Jake, 311 venue security guy gives me a tap on the shoulder and a smile. We talk a little about the band's transportation out on Monday but it's so loud the convo doesn't last long. I head back up the moat and to the other side. The band's on their last song and I know the confetti cannons are about ready to fire so I stand back and watch. 

Another great night of 311. The concert is over but the VIP room has lots of people milling about. One of the guitar players is in the room but it still clears out quite quickly. By 1.00a everyone is clear. By 2.00a I'm headed home. Monday is my day to rest. To do laundry. To run errands. To order sushi. To drink Pellegrino. To hang with the dog. To live a normal life - at least for 1 day.

311 Set List - Sunday

Set 3
Down
Rock On
Grass Roots
Hive
Sever
Off Beat Bare Ass
Amber
Firewater
You Wouldn't Believe
And A Ways To Go
Applied Science
Jupiter
There's Always An Excuse
Brodels
Trouble
Still Dreaming
Beyond The Gray Sky
Creatures

Set 4
Cali Soca
Speak Easy
Stealing Happy Hours
Life's Not A Race
Use Of Time
Too Much Too Fast
Lucky
DLMD
8:16am
Beautiful Disaster
Uncalm
Juan Bond
Eons
I Told Myself
All Mixed Up
Gap
Homebrew
Who's Got The Herb
Livin' N Rockin'
Random
Sometimes Jacks
Feels So Good

Freedom

A long time ago my friend Dena recommended a book to me. Before I tell you about it you need to know I absolutely LOATHE reading books. I'll read a Steve Martini courtroom thriller on a long plane ride or articles online but I'm not the kind of person who enjoys reading for pleasure. Oprah will not be calling me for her book club.

Dena and I were talking one day and how we were both going thru something with the current men in our lives. She said, "Amy. You HAVE to get this book. It's called Why Men Love Bitches (by Sherry Argov)." I'm not really into self-help or blame-it-on-yourself-or-someone-else books but this one sounded fun. I read an excerpt from Amazon and thought, what the hell, and bought it. It's a comical read - pretty much what you'd expect from the title. Don't be so available. Don't let him think you're too interested. Don't nag. Don't give him too much power. Let him rescue you occasionally. Make him feel needed. Let him miss you. Be a challenge, not easy. Don't be afraid to not be without him. All that shit. The funny thing is, I actually go back to this book occasionally and re-read chapters. Some of them contain gems. It's like watching a Nancy Meyers movie for the 10th time on HBO just because you want to be reminded of what you should do.

In stark comparison Why Men Love Bitches is lying next to my Bible in my nightstand. Yeah, lately I've been blogging some God-ish stuff and yes, I recently joined Green Valley Presbyterian Church but I assure you I'm not a bible-thumper or a religious nut, I'm not a born-again Christian and I'm not going to try to convert anyone. I'm far to selfish to give a fat rat's ass about what you believe. Anyone who's read more than 2 of my posts knows I'm much more sinner than saint. About a year ago I wanted to go to church for Easter and Counselor decided to go with me. Ever since then we've both been going - first together, then alone, now separately. The pastor is just so fucking good at speaking - THAT'S what keeps me coming back. If my soul gets saved in the meantime and if God decides to move me in ways I'm not conscious of, well all the better. Sometimes just showing up is enough, for now. 

So for the 2nd Friday in a row I'm home alone with George Bennett, and not out. Of course I went to Seablue to pick up a to-go bag but was there for less than an hour, enough time for a salad and couple glasses of fizzy-water while my steak cooked. It feels good to just hang out at home. I like the privacy, the Freedom, the independence. I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

04.09.01 Morales vs. Maidana @ MGM Grand Garden Arena - Las Vegas, NV

The arena before doors

7.30p. Katsidis is in the ring. It's round 4 of 12. It's the 1st time I've had a chance to actually come into the arena to catch a fight since doors @ 3.00p. Normally I've got plenty of time and hang around during the undercard fights but tonight I had to handle all the essential tasks for next week since I'll be out of town. I've been holed up in my office for the past 4 hours. Like a caged animal it's time for me to escape. 

MGM stagehands putting on
rope spacers

No major dramas today. Pretty smooth really. Anthem singers are always a cluster. The promoter of the event secures them and usually handles their credentials, access & guides them on where to go and what to do - but invariably I end up babysitting some part of it. Luckily today Raul with GBP handled it. The woman singing it is like 10' tall. It will be interesting to see how she does.

Tecate girls, for your enjoyment

The arena is on it's feet cheering for Guerrero the guy pummeling Katsidis. The Arena isn't very full. It's always a bad thing when you can see green chairs. That means there are no butts in them. 

There's also this weird thing that the boxing promoters have been doing in our building lately - they put up a stage for a band. Yes, that's right. A band. I'm not sure what that's all about and it's even more strange given they also have a DJ. I'm not a fan of the band but whatever. It fills up space & dead air. 

Mick Katsidis in the ring

7.36p there's a fight in the stands. Metro & security go running to section 13. That garners as much attention and cheers from the audience as the fight in the ring. Crowd brawls always do. 

Straight men who might be reading this: pay attention now. We have new ring card girls and brand-spanking-new outfits. The girls are ridiculously tall, thin and boob-a-licious... and sweet. There are usually 3 of them. They take turns during the rounds. I guess men get bored looking at the same hot bods for 50+ rounds and require some variety. If you only knew what a production it is to select them, get them approved, outfit them, do hair & makeup, get them ringside and in & out of the ropes, you'd be shocked. Yes, I realize many of you men (and prob some women) would love to have that job. But alas it's taken by a superb team here @ MGM. If you watch the PPV or HBO broadcasts you might catch a glimpse of Bo. He's the little dude in the tux who holds the rings for the girls. Great man. 

Like a well manicured lawn

7.45p It's round 8 of 12 and people are booing the ref for calling Katsidis on low blows and taking off a point. Boxing pundits have tagged this as the best fight of the night. 

One of the cool things about boxing is the 10 second warning. It's a very distinct sound that not all ringside referees use. The Nevada State Athletic Commission uses, quite simply, 2 wooden blocks - and knocks them together wide side. It's remarkably loud. I've been in boxing for almost 15 years & I've seen and heard other commissions use other methods. None are as effective as the blocks. There's a lesson in that. Sometimes simple is better.

Maidana walks to ring

8.00p The final round of Katsidis & Guerrero. God, Katsidis' face looks like hell. Unrecognizable. He is getting beat to a pulp. Both men are at war. Their bodies are tired but they don't stop. When one gets hit you can see the spray of sweat and blood fly like a sprinkler out into the air. It disgusting yet poetic. You might think it's cool to be a photographer on the apron but lemme tell you. It's gross. You get all kinds of bodily fluids on you. It happened to me once. Once.  That's all it took. I've never been back since.

Robert Guerrero wins by unanimous decision. It was never in question.

Ring clears and we're getting prepped for the main event.

Andres Reyna rehearsing
Mexican Anthem

It's 8.19p Anthems are being sung. HBO getting ready to do the main event ring walks. I'm in the locker room hallway trying to catch a Twitpic. It's not easy with my crappy CrackBerry.

Just finished capturing Maidana & Morales ring walks as they go from the dressing rooms and to the ring. It's all carefully timed and choreographed by HBO. Like a dance only with sweaty men who put vaseline on their faces and kick the shit out of each other. Once they round the corner by me they are stopped by security and Metro so that only 5 cornermen do the ring walk with the fighter. That's all we and the NSAC allow. They always try and push the envelope but we do a good job of stopping it. Having men with guns helps.

Hijo del Santo aka Freaky Mask Guy

There's this scary little man with a silver mask on. One of my tweeps told me he's "Hijo del Santo" a legendary Mexican wrestler. He's about 4' tall with a full mask on a la Pulp Fiction s&m. It's beyond creepy. I may not go to bed tonight for fear of nightmares. 

Morales getting ready to walk

Once again I'm sitting in a chair with DQ standing next to me while I type on my Air. He's watching the fight. I'm watching the audience. They're definitely into it. There are prob close to 6,000 people in here. It doesn't look to bad actually.

8.44p people are chanting Meh-he-co and stomping on the seats. Lots of moans & groans. Good stuff. The atmosphere is electric. This is what fight fans come to see and feel. This is what the MGM Grand Garden Arena is known for.

8.53p Crowd loves these two. They're putting on a great fight. They're little dudes too. It's always surprising to me that the fighters are so small. And when you see them up close you think, "I could take you." Morales has a big bump on his eye. That's gonna mean a trip to the hospital. (Note: it did. Morales went to the hospital after the fight. According to Golden Boy Promotions, he's ok.)

Oscar @ the post fight presser

One great thing about boxing - and I've probably mentioned it in my blogs & tweets - they end early. Unlike a concert where the main act doesn't hit the stage until 9.00p sometimes. And if the fight ends in a KO we close up shop even earlier. It's a fun atmosphere but I'm never sad when they end. I try not to take the benefits of my job for granted but like everyone, after a long day I just want to go home and chill.

Favorite part of the night - chair racks

I still have about an hour of stuff to wrap up before I leave for a week so I'm going back to my office and leaving the arena bowl. I'll hear who won on my walkie. (Maidana by majority decision 116-112, 116-112, 114-114.)

If you were here I hope you had a great time. If you weren't here, come to the MGM Grand Garden Arena sometime and experience a fight live. You won't regret it. And let me know if you do. I'll hook you up with some goodies.

Zopfi. Out.