Christmas in El Paso

I just spent my first Christmas away from home on the North East. Generally I would spend Christmas Eve with my mom & stepdad and Christmas day with my dad's family--making the same stops that I would before he passed away.

This year, since I was working the day after Christmas and figured going to New York just for a short weekend would be too exhausting, I accepted the kind invitation to spend Christmas with Raphael's family in Texas. 

Surprisingly it was freezing down there and because all my winter coats are back at my mom's in Connecticut, I was definitely not prepared for the cold. 

So this Christmas was one of many firsts for me: first time not being at home or with family, the first time I made and ate tamales,  the first time spending Christmas with a boyfriend, opening gifts at midnight and not the next morning,  going to the Mercado in Jaurez, Mexico, which is just over the border, and the first time playing Cranium, PS2's Guitar Hero and White Elephant. 

Oh and when we landed at the El Paso airport after being delayed four hours, we arrived at the same time as the Oregon and Missouri college football teams, which are playing in the local Sun Bowl. There were mariachis playing music, folklorico dancers, camera crews and local officials there to greet them, however it felt like the two of us were receiving this spectacular welcome too.  

Link: Welcome is nice surprise for Missouri 

What's in a name

I've wrote it time and time again that I'm obsessed with my name and it's origins. For instance it means The Tower in Gaelic, Star in Hindi and that there is a Hindi and Buddhist Goddess named Tara. "Goddess Tara embodies the feminine strengths of great caring and compassion, the ability to endure stressful and even terrifying moments, the acts of creation, and the source of sustenance and protection." Pretty cool.

So I took it as a good sign (literally) when I moved to Venice Beach and only two blocks away from my apt was a shop called...(you know...)

 

According to howmanyofme.com

• There are 160,483 people in the U.S. with the first name Tara.
• Statistically it is the 372nd most popular first name; tied with 6 other first names (don't worry, I'm slowly eliminating the six others)
• More than 99.9 percent of people with the first name Tara are female. (I'd hope so! That poor .1)

Unfortunately though I seem to share my name with skanks apparently, Tara Conner (who knew she was under 21?) and Tara Reid. Well definitely the latter at least.

 

Hmm Will over at FITSNews apparently thinks that the name Tara is synonymous with hot girls, who am I to argue with the man? lol

OK the Tara name love fest is now over, you can stop gagging.

LA or Denver?

Thanks to the recent rain and wind, you can actually see Los Angeles' snow capped San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. Usually they are hidden under smog and clouds and I forget that there are mountains nearby.  Unpleasant weather here is known to clear the air so to speak. 

When we were returning from volunteering we could even see the Hollywood sign from the freeway, which is rare too. Check out this photo from the Los Angeles Times. 

Tis the season of giving
On Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., my colleagues and I donated our time, hugs and muscles to One Voice’s Holiday Drive, a non profit organization helping families living at poverty level to receive what they need for a Christmas meal, as well as toys and books for the children so that they can have presents on Christmas day.

At 8 a.m. we met at the Santa Monica airport and were assigned to a center in Compton in South Central LA, where we set up the different stations for when the families arrived to get their meal supplies and gifts.

As the hundreds of families started to arrive, I was assigned to what I called “The Great Wall of Turkeys,”  where just an hour earlier we had put the 16-19 pound frozen turkeys into double wrapped plastic bags and lined them up outside in the shade. My job was to give the heavy turkeys to the volunteer “schlepers” (mostly guys) who were assisting the families through each station and carrying the items for them in big cardboard boxes. When a team of schlepers had their hands full, I’d carry the massive cold turkey out to the family’s car with them. At first it was fine, but two hours later, just lifting the turkeys to give to the other volunteers hurt. As a result, my arms were sore the next day and my hands were callused from the pressure from the plastic bags, but of course it was worth it. Nothing like manual labor and giving back to put you in the holiday spirit. I definitely left all the more thankful for what I have and happy to have helped others.

The best part of the job was giving hugs to the little kids. I’d pick up some of them up, much to their delight and swoop them around a bit in the air. When I opened my arms for one little girl, she ran from several feet away right into my arms and wrapped her legs around me. I almost kidnapped the cherub right then and there. Even the parents, were equally as happy to have a hug and exchange holiday wishes too. Some of the parents had tears in their eyes as they thanked everyone and were taking photos of their child with Santa. Some of the families had nine in total and the organizer at the center said to be classified in the poverty level means their household makes less than 7k a year!

Stevie Wonder, my cherie amour

I've always been a huge Stevie Wonder fan and have loved all of his many many hits, which is why when I was 14 and saw him dressed in his usual outrageous garbs at LAX airport while on vacation out in LA I was struck speechless. My stepdad though wasn't and asked the rock, jazz and pop star if he'd take a picture with me. I must have started to say something and he leaned down to ask what and all I could say was, "My name is Tara." He just nodded, the photo went click and that was that. I never told him that despite the generational gap that I'm a big fan and that I know every one of his songs and that every time one would play on the radio, I'd yell out "Stevie!" or how "You are the Sunshine of My Life" was my parent's wedding song, nope just my name. *sigh*

I was still excited about the photo though and eagerly called my dad from the airport to tell him the awesome news that I saw Stevie Wonder and without hesitation his response was, "I bet he didn't see you. Oh did he tell you that you were the prettiest girl he ever saw?" I hung up on him in annoyance.

So now, quite a few years later, when I heard Stevie was giving a benefit concert out here and tickets were still available, I hurried online and bought two without thinking of the price. Add in the fact that I heard the OJays ("Love Train" and "I love Music") and Al Jarreau (I have the Moonlighting soundtrack because of his songs) were performing too and I was now super psyched. My boyfriend on the other hand was pretty indifferent.

Stevie Wonder's 11th annual House Full of Toys benefit concert asks that everyone in attendance donate an unwrapped toy for underprivileged kids. I brought a Batman Hot Wheels Set and Quints dolls to donate. I had already bought a Muppets in Space video for the one at work. However, not everyone brought toys like requested but a lot did. The amphitheater was in Universal City and held 6,000 people after all. So, hopefully the organization did well.

The concert started at 7:30 and ended at 12:30, so yeah super long. I think there were just too many acts, which is why they ran an hour and a half over and were forced to cut down on Stevie's songs at the end. He did manage to sing "Living for the City," "Ribbon in the Sky," "Castle of Love," a duet with his daughter and "My Cherie Amour." And earlier during the program, comedian guest, Chris Tucker, got Stevie to come out to sing Someday at Christmas with him as Chris messed up the words, it was funny. Stevie also provided some back-up support for the different performers as he jammed with them, which was a nice treat. The show overall provided audience members into a good glimpse into his personality, since he was making jokes throughout and showing his big heart to all. Other performers included gospel singers and Brian McKnight, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jon B, Tyrese and Yolanda Adams.