I warn you, while this might be something new, it definitely was not done in the vain of giving up on perfection. With my name attached to this event and paying participants who deserve to get their money's worth, you better believe this thing was going to be perfect. Note to all potential event planners, this job will throw your perfectionistic tendencies into overdrive, possbily pushing them to the edge of obsession...
The Good:
Everything was right on time, each stage of the 3 hour setup was perfectly in sync with the timetable I had worked out. Then again, what else could be expected since I had actually gone so far as to take the 10x10 foot pole-and-joint canopies home with me to time how long it would take me to set them up as well as calling the furniture rental business and ask how long it took their workers to set up the 20x60 foot (aka: group) canopy... Nothing was being left to chance.
My graph paper model of the group canopy was a perfect replica and all the tables fit perfectly as they should have.
My 3 volunteers showed up and were wonderful. I am getting them a gift card to go in their thank you cards.
All 4 bands showed up (thank you guys!!!!) and the African drummers were a HUGE hit! There is something about drumming that is just mesmerizing. The fact that they showed up was a gigantic relief since our communication was spotty at best- is it me or has anyone else noticed that creative people tend to have chaotic communication styles? Sometimes they respond right away and other times they disappear for weeks at a time...
No one was hit by a car during the parade. That is always a sign of a successful event. No volunteers go into it was car drivers as they directed traffic, another sign of a successful event.
The Bad:
The night before my event, some jackass (that's right, I said it) vandalized the "No Parking/Tow Away Zone" signs I had so painfully posted (in the rain might I add). Who does that?! I mean really, of all the things to do, vandalizing is by far the most idiotic thing. It is rude, disrespectful, and just plain old stupid.
The large sound system that was rented for the bands who where playing at the event was so large it didn't fit into my car... This meant caring 2 60lbs speakers, 2 speaker stands, a mixer, cords (too many for me to count), 2 microphones (their stands), and god only knows what else 2 blocks to the event. Not so bad, right? Hahaha, young grasshopper, getting them there wasn't so bad, but after a day of setting up 40+, very heavy 6' wooden tables and then taking down said tables, plus 3 10x10' canopies and speedwalking god only knows how many miles, those speakers and stands and the mixer were painfully heavy.
It rained. But, admittedly, not too bad during the event, just a light drizzle. It was after the event that it began to pour as we were taking everything down. That is the nice thing about this area, it rains so much that people don't really let that stop them from attending- otherwise they would never go anywhere.
I forgot my camera. All I have to say is thank you to the inventor of the camera phone.
The Awkward:
I am sure most of you have been in the situation where someone goes in for the hug and you go in for the handshake and the whole thing ends in a really awkward dance of the handshake-hug cycle as you each try to accommodate the other person... well unfortunately, this isn't what happened, this was so much more awkward than that.
While running around, managing the event I ran into an old teacher of mine. He had always been an inappropriate flirt and I guess somethings never change. So he went in for the hug and I went in for the handshake but seeing that he was not going to be shifting to a handshake I twisted my body at the last moment to avoid a SUPER awkward full-frontal hug (let's face it, it wouldn't have been the a-frame, church appropriate hug) and instead had the less awkward one arm hug while my other arm lay limply at my side.
The first time was bad enough, but he did it twice! I mean really, you would think that the socially appropriate thing for him to do would be to go in for a handshake since we had already done his hug. It would have balanced out the situation. But did he? No. Once again my cat-like reflexes saved me from the super uncomfortable full-frontal hug but my annoyance couldn't not be quenched, no matter how many contortionist moved I pulled out of my pocket. Fortunately I was too busy to spend much time stewing on the subject so I guess all's well that ends well.
Stay tuned, I have no clue what i am doing next week. But I promise, it will be back on the non-perfectionist route :-)
