ProjeCkt ZuCkErPaLoOzA BLOG
The occasionally updated thoughts on the subject!
Updated Last on 05/25/2010
Tuesday 5/25/2010 4:00pm
Yesterday, the vultures at work consumed a few trays of leftovers, and the remainder of the big cake. I was pretty useless at work, mainly all I did was putter around on Post-Zuckerpalooza actions. Some Thank You emails and such. note taking, etc.
I've been getting a steady stream of kind comments about ZP in general. Lots of great comments about the music, food, and everyones' great time. Even the little kids loved the music.
At the end of the day, I went Mountain Biking. A great way to clea my head of all things ZP, albiet temporarily. After the ride, we had some leftover Oysters.
I continue to update the ZP website, with the credits/thanks, and the band's information. Check out Youtube and run the keyword 'zuckerpalooza" to see a whole stream of videos...
Just a few remaining chores at home, and that's the end of it.
Monday 5/24/2010 11:00am
I got a pretty good night's sleep last night, finally, and I'm feeling pretty good. I came in a few hours late this morning, just to allow me some more time for De-paloozing. Before work, I mopped the kitchen floor, got the 10 fat garbage bags to the curb (fortunately no overnight critters to spread pig all over the street). Stacked the dry coolers back into their default position. And packed a bunch of leftovers to bring to work.. I gave Karl back his keg and tap apparatus.
I have a few more hours of work to totally put the event in my rearview mirror. A few more housework type chores (clean the bathrooms, vacuum, some more laundry, and a little re-sorting and organizing). On the outside, I may deliver the recyclables to the town's recycling center, rather than wait another week for the standard pickup. I also have to wrestle the keg & recycle tubs back under the shed. I'd also like to do a better job of updating this site with photos before I forget..
I "reconciled the event", for the purposes of notes. I keep accurate records of what was purchased versus what was consumed. And I also keep some other "notes to self" on what worked and what didn't. Rough estimation... I believe we had a total of about 90-100ppl throughout the day. We consumed 210lbs of food. (Last year, I had about 120ppl). This years leftovers would've fed those 20-30ppl...
Some people made the comment that the crowds were sparser than last year. Several observations on that... The first being that both my across the street neighbor (Joe/Robyn) and the caddy corner neighbor's (Oct/Karen) allowed people to party on their lawns.. So although there were lots of people there, they weren't all crammed onto *my* 1/5 acre. Secondly, there *was* a smaller headcount, which may have very well have been my fault... I can't say I did a very good job of spreading the word. I sent email to the people that were already in my contacts list. And inevitably, lots of people may have fallen thru the cracks (and are pissed at me now). I didn't 'reach out" as much as I have in the past. Thirdly, maybe the late May timeslot had an effect. I dunno. But one thing's for sure, I don't rate the success of a party on "headcount", I rate it on "quality". I'm very happy that those who came had a great time.
Sunday 5/23/2010 8:00pm
The aftermath!!! I'm pretty fried. Can barely even form thoughts, let alone write anything...anyway, here's some ramblings...
The rain came around 9:30pm last night, so the band ended their set and packed out. A remaining 10-15 people hung out under the tent till about 11 or so. Danny, Mike, Ryan , Eric the Small and myself hung out till about 1am, watching Pink Floyd Live @Pompeii Video. Pretty quiet, considering year's past late night scenes. The low key late night scene was far more to my liking.
You'd think after all that running around, I'd sleep like a log...not so. I still managed to toss and turn all night. (all the caffeine and sugar I consumed). Maybe 2 or 3 hours of sleep, at best. I got up around 7am and started the cleanup. I usually need to "work the boxes" before they can go back to the trailer, so some alone "Eddie Time" is necessary. I save the chores that I can "farm out" for later, when the help arrives. By around 9am, all the extra help was onhand.
The cleanup went as well as can be expected. I had awesome levels of help from Eric Tretiak, Farbs, Mike Poundl, and my neighbors Oct, his Brother Jaime, and friend Chris. We did everything that could possible be done, but the huge bowel obstruction was the wet tents. The big red/white canopy lives deep inside the Trailer, so due to order of pack out, nothing else can happen till the tent goes in. i wasn't able to break it down till about 7pm. With the final vehicle shuffles, and the dragging of piles of shit back to their default positions, I was finally De-Palooza'd around 8pm. I feel like I've been shot out of a cannon. LOL. (I still have a few more hours of cleanup to do, but that'll happen when it happens).
All things considered, this was a very successful ZP. All I saw everywhere were smiling happy faces! The Music continues to get better and better. I had the right amount of help whenever I needed it. Not one single annoying person this year..Nobody was an asshole. The worst of the breakage was limited to a plastic ashtray worth 50 Cents. That's a pretty big win in my book! I was happy how the foodservice worked out, and HUGE thanks to everyone who lent a hand! Lou C on early afternoon Pizza...and the dinner crew... Karl on Stir Fry, John G. and Phil D on Pig, Rob Kim on Corn (and breakdown help), Lenny of Deep Fryer, and the multitude of dishwashers and spare sets of hands all throughout. All apologies if I forgot to thank somebody by name here. The menu worked out pretty well, with a good balance of stuff that was self-serving, and the big dishes I was responsible for. I never felt totally overwhelmed, although I remained busy for the entire ZP. I still had some quality face time with lots of people. I think I overshot the runway a little on quantities, by about 20 people's worth of food. No big deal really. Mostly the cheaper stuff, like rice and beans!! The few items that never got used went right into the freezer and will get used sooner or later. One complaint though...all the tree droppings! Man oh man, was that annoying. Note to self: May 22 is Tree Shit Week! Move ZP to a different timeslot!!
A HUGE thanks goes out to everyone who made Zuckerpalooza Special. To all the help. To Jeff Ray, Todd's Porch, and all the musicians who played. You were just so awesome! To all my neighbors who "got into it". Joe/Robyn for allowing parking and hosting the Horsehoe tourny. Oct/Karen for hosting the kids zone. CJ/Caroline Kern for once again allowing us to use the driveway/electric. To everyone who brought something. To everyone who threw money into the tip jar... (The jar was fat with donations, I was very happy in that regard). To everyone who brought their positive vibes and positive energies. It really was a honor to do this.
Alrighty then... enough babble for one day.
I'll try to get some pictures going...
Saturday 5/22/2010 7:30am
Here We Go!!!!
I actually got some sleep last night. 6 hours. Unusually more than I normally get before ZP. I'll take it.
g2g...lots of shit going on, as you can imagine.
Friday 5/21/2010 10:00pm
I'm pretty much drooling on myself. Been kicking butt all day, and am completely spent. I'm happy to report that I had plenty of help when I needed it. Joe and Dawn came over to help put up the tents and do the lighting. They also helped me move all sorts of equipment around. They're earlier than normal arrival put me far ahead of the game too. My across the street neighbor, Octavio and James (his bro) helped me string up the band tent lighting. And Joe, my other neighbor popped in here and there too. Earlier in the day, Hunter/Danny came over and helped me move a couple of smaller things. I'm in excellent shape for this evening. But there's a long list of stuff to do tomorrow too, before showtime. And of course, a multitude of tasks during ZP. Lots of prep and cooking chores and whatnot.
Friday 5/21/2010 11:00am
Lunch Break. Just got back from the shopping spree. The only shopping remaining is tomorrow's beer run, and bread run. Projected ZP costs are tracking at about $1100, which is approximately what it was last year. As usual, my stressing continues over headcount. Granted, even if only 20 people showed up, we'd still have a good time. But from a foodservice perspective, it's a frickin' disaster. 100ppl would do a good job on all this food. .
Next step is the trailer move, and more yard cleanup. And of course, more cooking. ttyl
Friday 5/21/2010 7:00am
Just checked the weather report, and now both Saturday and Sunday are reporting as "Partly Cloudy" and about 70-75. I'll take it!! In fact, I couldn't ask for anything better. No precipitation (wet tents, small headcount) and no heat wave. Green lights all around. A 2 hour run to the vendors today, then we move the trailer, then around 3pm, Joe/Dawn arrive for the tent erection/electric/general setup help. If you're free, come over! OK, better get my ass moving. ttyl.
Thursday 5/20/2010 9:00pm
Pretty productive day on all fronts. I hit the Costco, Produce Place, Restaurant Depot. I did some more yard work and some inside work. Some shuffling around of things. And started the cooking process (the "panned" foods). Around 6pm, I took off on a 24 mile/1:40hr road bike ride, sort of a standard loop north into Boonton/Kinnelon I've been doing frequently. I'm feeling good about things, although tomorrow's a crusher day. Lots to get accomplished. The menu is looking pretty good, but I already know...a bit too laborious during ZP. I'm hoping various people step up to do stuff. LOL. I sure hope I get a good headcount, because there's a fuckload of food coming. I always get scared in the final 2 days, scared that I have food for 110 and 40ppl actually show up. It's a nightmare I'll never quite shake. Only some people RSVP, and I didn't bother keeping track of it this year. I sense it's business as usual, however I'll just never know until showtime.
Anyway, I'm shot. need to crash so I can get a good head of steam for tomorrow...
Thursday 5/20/2010 7:30am
The paper is now calling for "Increasing clouds" on Saturday. And "Chance of Showers" on Sunday. That's an improvement over yesterday's prediction. Maybe we'll be OK. But to avoid being stuck with wet tents, I'll have to keep my eyes on the radar and break down things when it makes sense.
Today, I'm in full Zuckerpalooza Mode! .
Wednesday 5/19/2010 8:30pm
My trip to Aberdeen Proving Ground came and went. Got home late Tuesday night. I was expecting to be home much earlier. Oh well. I also worked a full day today. And did my normal Wed Nite Mt. Biking after work. I really needed to get that in, since all I did on Travel was eat. Plus it'll be the last bike ride I have time for till the Monday after Zuckerpalooza.
This morning's newspaper made me roll my eyes. Called for "Chance of Rain" on Saturday and Sunday. I'm not too happy about that. Not sure what it means just yet, but I'll have to keep my eye on the forecast. There's a direct link between the weather and attendance. I have to be careful to factor that into the shopping spree, as there nothing more demoralizing than being stuck with expensive leftovers for 70ppl. I'll have to be able to slash quantities on the fly. The other aspect of it that really sucks is having all my tents out that can't be put away wet. It's feasible that my EZ-UP tents and canopy may have to be up till Monday or something, which would totally fuck me up. Especially due to lack of manpower to put it away. Bottom line, rain is not my friend. But I'm gonna stay positive. Rain Happens. I can't tell you how many catering gigs I've been rained on, so that's what tents are for. It's a rain or shine event.
I'm taking Thursday and Friday off, so I should be able to get it all together.
Man I hope I spread the word well enough. I know people have fallen thru the cracks this year.
Saturday 5/15/2010 2pm & 11pm
There's a direct link from how the property looks to how I'm feeling about things. Today, I put the gardens in. I also just got done doing some masonry powerwashing around the property. Granted, it don't mean shit in the grand scheme of Zuckerpalooza critical tasks, but it makes me feel better in a Zen sort of way. The place actually looks like somebody lives here. As if the stupid plants were saying: "Eddie, Chill the fuck out! It'll all get done".. And it will!!!. I also managed to dig out the tubs and barrels from under the shed...their only purpose is to support ZP.
This morning, I made the meat order. Among other things, a 100lb pig. Although I've roasted 50,000 pigs already, I have to keep in mind that this is unique for many of my guests. So I might as well. To keep things fresh and exciting with respect to the menu, I'm already milling around a few interesting ideas. Would rather not give away anything though. One debate though is if I fire up the smoker. (which I acquired about a year ago, and still haven't mastered). It's a magnet for time during the party, but something with a very short smoking time could be a nice touch, and be "something new". We'll see.
One of my biggest disappointments with myself is not improving the stage lighting, like I promised I'd do. Year after year, it's the same old red and white rope lights and white backdrop. I really wanted to develop something artistic and cool, but I've FAILED completely. Wished I could come up with something in the 11th hour, but I think my focus is better spent elsewhere.
High levels of Psyche today. Especially after going to Karl W's party tonight. Many positive RSVP's from that crowd as well.
Friday 5/14/2010
More and more, I see the advantage of the late July Zuckerpalooza...I have half a summer to prepare. For this one, I feel kind of up against the wall. JUST... NOT... READY!
But I have to be, so I will be. Fortunately I have the whole weekend to make some headway. I did order the beer today! And I've decided to do a Pig Roast. So, what I can tell you for sure is there's a pig and a keg coming! All else is undecided. But I need to get a meat order in, so that too will settle out soon enough.
A note on the beer: I ordered a half keg this year, so I really should have more than enough. Last ZP, I went with a 1/4 keg, and it ran out early.
Of course, to make things even more hectic and annoying, I have an overnight business trip to Aberdeen Proving Ground,. MD on Monday & Tuesday. Yeah, *that's* very helpful..
The positive RSVPs are coming and it goes a long way towards building my psyche! Lots of new faces too, especially from work. I really am looking forward to it.
Sunday 5/09/2010
My BBQ season has already kicked off with 2 non-profit events, one for the work crowd and one for the "Boardies" (people associated with the Gathering of the Vibes Weboard). Both jobs were in perfect weather, to about 45ppl each. Felt good to get things going again and shake the dust off. Due to several early season cancellations, turns out those two jobs and Zuckerpalooza are the first events of the season. My "commercial" season might kick off as late as June 12, but it wouldn't surprise me if Mem day or June 6th books with last minute events. A downside to not having commercial jobs *before* ZP is not having a wad of cash tucked away to fund it all. This year's ZP money gets ripped right out of savings! DOH!!!
Remember how I said I wanted to move Zuckerpalooza out of catering season so I don't turn down paying clients? Well, I turned away 4 clients for Zuckerpalooza weekend. I can't win. Maybe I just have to run Zuckerpalooza on New years Eve or something. LOL. (Kidding).
Anyway, ZP is next on my plate, and I'm clamoring around in an attempt to get my shit together. I pulled out last year's folder, and started to review my notes. I've been talking it up a little. Lining up some help (more is needed). And have been doing some yardwork in dribs and drabs in anticipation for ZP. It's beginning to build a head of steam...
There's just never enough time to do what I want though. I can make a long list of things that I wanted to get done for ZP, and most of that stuff just ain't happening. I'll be lucky this year to get the basics together, I'm just so overwhelmed. I'm actually a bit embarrassed that some of the bigger projects just haven't gotten done. The Big Real Estate purchase being the biggest failure. On my current property: Total Backyard Relandscaping including an overhaul of the deck, back door replacement, and the major Kitchen overhaul top the list. On the ZP front: It was high on my list to revamp the "bandshell" with much improved lighting/decoration, and get some ZP specific T shirts made......but once again, FAIL! Oh well. oh well. Reality is that I'm just not as full of piss and vinegar as I used to be.
Otherwise it's business as usual. I'm pretty much convinced I'm going to go with a pig roast this year. It doesn't raise any culinary bars whatsoever, but since I didn't do one last time, seems like it's appropriate. Several people have actually expressed psyche for a pigroast, so I'm gonna roll with it. Might as well. Also, I need to get out some final reminders and invitations. I've been painfully remiss about that, and it's top on my list of things to do. Worried that many people will fall thru the cracks this year. Well, you know who should be there, please help spread the word.
OK then! I'll try to post more regularly now... Check back.
Monday 2/08/2010
I tweaked up the website as best as I could, then I sent out a whole mess of emails today. Let the games begin.
For those of you coming to the site for the first time, welcome!
Thursday 2/04/2010
The new ZP will be announced soon. The May 22nd date is looking good. I'm just cleaning up the web site now for the big announcement email.
I sure hope the new earlier season ZP will sit well with people. May 22nd is a bit early, and the weather can play a role. But I have to do what I have to do. If I ran it in July, then I simply take a serious financial hit. So rather than grumble about it the whole time, I want to see if a late May date will allow ZP to coexist better with EPPO.