When Tara Met Blog: January 2009

The Afro Samurai Game Premier

I've been to movie premiers as you've read about here before, but last night was my first time attending the premier of a video game and although it had a red carpet like a film premier would, I have to say, the video game party was hotter!

Held at Hollywood's expensive and chic Geisha House was the launch event for Afro Samurai, the new action video game developed by SURGE. The Xbox and Playstation 3 game is based on the Spike TV animated series voiced and produced by actor Samuel L. Jackson, who also provides the voice for the game and thus was in attendance last night along with a lot of pretty people I only sort of recognized. Sam Jackson was of course wearing one of his famous hats, this time a denim colored one, and was looking dressy casual in a blazer, yellow rimmed glasses and shirt. It was surprising seeing him with a beard and a graying one at that, but it looked good. I also spotted Donal Logue (Grounded for Life), Edi Gathegi (Twlight), Julia Ling (Studio 60 and Chuck), Eva Marcille (America's Next Top Model) and Kiely Williams and Adrienne Bailon from The Cheetah Girls, who I had to work with for another project last year.

Inside, the party was packed, open bar, sushi and appetizers being passed around, two dance floors, The RZA from Wu Tang Clan performed (he also did a track for the game and oversaw the musical score), dozens of video monitors and gaming stations set up with the hip-hop/Japanese game being played. My husband isn't a big gamer, but he played for a bit while I watched on. I also got to hang out with fellow bloggers, LA Snark, EStarLA and Pretty Sandy Feet, but I was surely the party pooper when I left at midnight since the party raged on to 1:30 a.m. I had an early morning meeting and was already buzzed, so bowed out early.

Minsky's

I just saw the new musical comedy, Minsky's at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles with Saturday Night Live's Rachel Dratch and George Wendt from Cheers. From the creators of The Drowsy Chaperone and the composer of Annie, Minsky's is a backstage musical, meaning a musical about putting on a show, but in this case vaudeville-style burlesque show. Billy Minsky runs the Lower East Side NY theater "Minsky's" during the Great Depression, but Puritan politicians are threatening to close its doors and zaniness soon ensues. Plus, there's a quirky love story mixed in too.

I especially liked the colorful costumes, sets, fun and lively songs and an old fashioned tap dance number. If you're still not convinced though, seeing Norm in drag that will surely entertain all. Minsky's runs from January 21 to March 1, 2009, but hopefully will head to Broadway soon there after. Mezzanine tickets can be purchased for $42.50 through Goldstar.

Inauguration: I was there

So my journey began with an alarm clock ringing at 5:30 a.m. and me bundling up under a Washington DC sweatshirt, which I had to buy yesterday for warmth and an Inaugural long sleeve shirt to go underneath it. I was also outfitted in Obama flare provided by Pepsi street teams. It was barely 6 a.m. and the streets were already crowded and street vendors were setting up shop. I was able to get to the Mall area easy enough, although I started feeling like an ant on it's journey with a stream of other ants.

Once on the lawn area (near the carousel and MSNBC) everyone was crowded in front of the JumboTron. At first I had a decent area of space, although I was barely at the center and couldn't even get to it if I tried. Although some did, but they soon found themselves caught not able to move forward or backward anymore. An hour later, I was squished up against three people from D.C. and had a bunch of middle-schooler's pushing from behind. I couldn't see anything, so just took shots from my camera by pointing it up and over my head. Although some lucky people were up in trees getting far superior shots.

My view:

It was easy to get overwhelmed in this mosh pit. I had brought a hotel towel to sit on, but there was no attempting that without getting toppled. After another hour of getting shoved and seeing people squeeze past me. I decided to move off to the side, where I had entered. Here I found a bit more space and could see the screen whenever someone's head moved, but I also started getting sleepy. I still had three hours ago and the area didn't seem to be getting better or worse, so I risked getting warmed up in a hotel lobby. I wasn't the only one. People were sleeping and hanging around the entire floor. Did I forget to mention that it was only 19 degrees and I could barely feel my toes? I kept asking myself, why am I here? I could hear better if I was in front of my TV. However, there was a unified excitement to be there and to say you were one of those specks in the crowd on TV for years and years to come as this day goes down in history.

Minutes before Noon, there was definitely a buzz in the air. People started moving in place, getting revved up. Everyone looked at their watches and then roared into cheers, hollers, clapping when Obama appeared on the screen. At this point the crowd sort of swarmed in again, which was kind of scary, but warming. There were a lot of echoes of encouragement when he said things like hope or mentioned the African American leaders before him. Oh and lots of singing with Aretha. No one immediately near me cried or anything, but they were surely riveted and it's at that moment when his speech started, when I was glad to say, "I was there."

Afterwards, when walking back (it felt like I was being carried back due to the quick streaming of people flowing past me) everyone was happy again, happy to be getting warm and happy with the future of the country and of course happy with President Obama's speech. The D.C. woman next to me in her fur lined hat had said, "he said it all!" I couldn't agree more.

You can also read my Twitter updates during the morning here. I sadly lost internet connection later in the day from my blackberry and cell, so the tweets stop around 11 a.m.

Mrs. Ocampo Goes To Washington

(that's my married name)

Now where do I start? I've been here in D.C. since Saturday (Delta lost my baggage for a day) and I've been tagging along with 24 fifth and sixth graders from Chicago--the D.C. 24--as they explore the capital for the first time. It's been a lot of fun although tiring. All the kids are super sweet and very polite. As I visited the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Air and Space Museum with them, I felt like I was on my 8th grade class trip again. My job is to help them blog their stories about their trip and capture video to upload at ShareMyInauguration.com. You can briefly see me in a gold jacket helping one of the girls use her Flip camcorder in this NBC news story about the students. We also ran into Good Morning America's Robin Roberts and the kid's took the opportunity to interview her (see it here).

Anyway, it's amazing being here. Everyone is so happy and smiling at strangers. Every stand and shop is capitalizing on the 4 million people in town though and selling Obama gear from hats, sweatshirts, pins to trading cards and breath mints. The crowds are already massive, so I can't imagine how it will be on Inauguration day tomorrow. I'll soon find out though as I'll be out on that lawn from 6 a.m. I'm dreading waiting in the cold, but know in hindsight I'll be happy to say that I was there to witness history first hand. Wish me luck and do follow me on Twitter and shoot me a note to keep me sane.

Working Girl

That's me! This week I'm working in Westchester, New York (where I was born) at Pepsi headquarters. I'm staying at my Nanny's and commuting in a rental car, Chevy Malibu (holla!). And lucky me, it's the coldest it has been here in several years, goodie. It's nice being back in my old hood though and the snow that's on the ground is pretty despite the cold.

Next up, I'm heading to Washington, D.C. and will be there till Thursday for the Inauguration and local events and activities going on. The main purpose of my trip though is to be there to help 24 grade school students from Chicago blog about their experience at www.sharemyinauguration.com courtesy of the McCormick Foundation.

My friends who live in the area are leaving town in order to escape the crazyness that is expected in the city. I'm excited and not sure what to expect though. I haven't been to the city for almost 10 years now, back when I was looking at colleges. I'm excited and hope to report back with some interesting news.

Despite the opportunity, I'm going to be missing my babies, but hopefully I'll be getting some good blog fodder for you all and of course, witness history!

The company I keep

I had the pleasure of actually knowing my great, great, grandmother, who passed away on my 10th birthday during a lunar eclipse. She was 97 years old.
The above grandmother marched in the women's right to vote protest of 1919. She left a note for her husband that read, "gone shopping" and came back three days later.
My mom's dad hitchhiked across the country with Janis Joplin and was the person who did her light shows during her concerts, as well as sold pot to UC Berkley students. He died of a brain tumor before I was born.
My great uncle Sabato (Saturday) Settembre married a woman from another city in Italy who's name was Domenica, thus making them Saturday and Sunday September in English. I was the flower girl for their youngest daughter's wedding, she did not have a calendar-related name.
My mom almost named me April May Settembre, citing that April was her favorite name, my dad said it sounds like a stripper and begged her not to, but she still laments that my last name ruined her plans for naming me.
My dad was born in Italy and came to this country when he was a young child. He had a "Made In Italy" tattoo on his ass, not unlike the scribbles found on the fabric butts of Cabbage Patch dolls.
I also have a tattoo on the same cheek, a different saying though. Reason for my tatoo was in honor of my dad who was suppose to put this particular saying on his other cheek, but passed away before he had the chance.
My dad owned his first pizza place at age 19
My mom used to dance at Studio 54 and was once asked out on a date by Richard Gere, post American Gigilo, pre Officer and a Gentleman.
Although my sister and I had the same parents, we received the opposite physical traits. She had black hair, I had blonde, she was tall, I wasn't, she was dark skinned, I was light, brown eyes, blue eyes. What a pair we would have made if she had only lived past three-years-old.
My mother felt something was going to happen to my sister when she was born. Two hours before she was hit and killed by a car at age 3, my mom said to my Dad, what would we do if Serina dies and started crying.
Years before it actually happened, I had a dream regarding my father's death and how I'd find out about the news. When I was 17, I found out about his death in the EXACT same way as my dream (at school). When it happened in real life, it was like I was sleep walking.
Sometimes I fear that I made it happen by dreaming it.
He passed away the same year as my husband's mom did, so we were both hurting and mourning the loss of a parent at the same time.
I met my husband on the subway platform on the E train at 51st street in NYC, I had just gone on a bad date with someone else.

New Year's Resolution: replace plastic bags

Over 500 billion plastic bags are used annually, that's almost 1 million per minute! The average family meanwhile accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store. Besides the accumulation of excess plastic in landfills, over 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year worldwide.

However, for every reusable shopping bag used, it has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime, which is why my resolution for 2009 is to use reusable bags when shopping. I'm not an overly green person, but I feel this is a step that I can take to do my part for this earth.

I had received a few free bags from stores and conferences over the years and I've since tried some stylish eco-friendly reusable shopping bag kits, all of which are now in the trunk of my car for future shopping visits. Saving the planet with style folks!

My first outing was easier than I thought. I even felt kind of proud and well, smug, walking around the store, armed with my bags. I actually ended up bringing in more than I even needed, but no matter. I simply handed them over to the bagger right as she was doubling up a plastic bag in prep for my items. I proudly told her that it was my new resolution to use the bags, no comment back from her, just a glare, but no matter. When I then carried my bags out to the car, it was easier since they comfortably rested on my shoulders instead of cutting off the circulation on my fingers like before.

I still needed to use the mini-plastic bags for packing separate vegetables and fruits though since the checkout counter needs them separated to scan/weigh, although not all produce needs to be bagged (bananas, cantaloupe, etc.). Another problem is that I find myself easily remembering to bring my reusable bags when going to the grocery store, but not when going clothes shopping or doing the smaller shopping errands like when I just ran to 7/11 for gummy bears and ice cream bars. "It's about forming a habit" reads the tagline from iTySE reusable bags, which I just used on my latest foray to the grocer.

I tried the exact iTySE handbag kit above, which is not only pretty and cute, but holds several mesh reusable shopping bags. Each bag holds up to three times what a traditional shopping bag holds and entire sets can be purchased for $50-80, ityse.com. All of the mesh bags can then be stuffed in the little round holder, which comes in different styles.

Another collapsible, reusable grocery bag set that I used on my recent trip, comes from BlueAvocado, which has a starter kit starting at $29.99 and a "cool kit" for $49.99 available in blueberry, raspberry and lime colors, blueavocado.com. I of course have the pink raspberry color.

Still not convinced? Some stores offer incentives for using your own bags and according to itYSE through retailer rewards shoppers can recover up to $50 per year. For example, at Trader Joe's if you bring your own reusable bags (any brand of bags), you are eligible to win free groceries in their store. I just found out that a coworker of mine won.

Blog flashback: Looking back on 2005 - Looks like my resolutions were a lot more fun that year and there sure were many.

Live from Times Square

For me New Year’s Eve has always been full of high expectations that never live up to the ideal. However, this year was pretty great.

I spent New Year’s Eve celebrating in Times Square at the ABC Good Morning America Studio party courtesy of Pepsi and their RefreshEverything campaign. The party was held in the Good Morning America studio on 44th only a block away from the infamous ball drop and overlooked the crowds, hoopla and snow, while we were warmly nestled inside with Dick Clark’s Rockin Eve going on just above us. There were free drinks, appetizers and entertainment, plus access to a bathroom, which is hard to come by outside. Despite being a native New Yorker, I’ve avoided the Times Square New Year’s scene like the plague, but once I had the offer to go VIP, that was a different story.

The temperature was about 0 degrees, when counting the wind chill and occasional snow fall, yet people were staking their spots outside as early as 11:00 a.m. I don’t know how they did it. Just walking to and from last night was painful, I honestly don’t ever remember being that cold in New York. Of course it didn’t help that I was wearing pumps, stocking like pleather pants and am now used to the warm LA weather.

You might remember awhile ago I was lucky enough to be part of the lucky Pepsi 25 to see their new logo first, however, since then (just a couple of weeks ago) my company started working for Pepsi for online activation, which is why I got this special invite. The only hitch to the celebrations was that my husband couldn’t be with me (flights cost $900), but luckily I wasn’t alone but with a few bloggers from Gothamist (Jen Chung and @neilepstein) and Los Angeles' Ether of EStarLA.

The entertainment inside included professional salsa dancers, hip hop dancers, a statue of liberty look-a-like and lots of party favors (top hats, noise makers, Pepsi scarves).

15 minutes to New Year's we all bundled up and headed outside in the crowd to witness the 1,000 3-foot Pepsi balloons fall down on the crowd while Imagine played and everyone sang together in the crowded mess. Soon enough the screens were counting down from 60 and everyone counted along and when it was New Year's tons and tons of confetti dropped on all of us. It was amazing, I couldn't believe I was there and with such a great view.

See my video of the night and countdown:

Esther and I didn't leave the party until closing at 1 a.m. and that's when I snapped this sad photo of the real after party--the clean up of all the mess that befell the area.

More photos are up on Flickr

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