My apologies for not posting anything the last two days, my week has already been off to a whirlwind start! I would like to reflect on a typical day of mine in the office that may give you a glimpse into this "exciting" life style. :-)
My morning usually begins with me waking to the sound of my blackberry curve falling off the bed onto the hardwood (as it is not only my partner during waking hours but is also also with me for bedtime "stories," "nightmares" in the middle of sleeping, substitute for cuddling with a teddy bear and my alarm clock) which reminds me that the sun is rising and it is time to awake. Quickly getting ready by wearing an outfit that is usually already planned out in my head (sometimes us planners get a little carried away in organizing all parts of our lives) and remembering to grab that fulfilling bottle of water for a nutritious breakfast. I then make my way through the four block jog (while probably dropping my blackberry at least once while trying to reply to the slue of emails arriving in my inbox) to Port Authority to catch one of the four bus lines to work that are somehow never on time but ultimately take me to New Jersey - Carlstadt specifically. While on the bus and wearing sunglasses at 9am, I apply my daily make-up which helps make me look alive (thankfully and yes I do this while wearing sunglasses to avoid eye contact with fellow bus patrons), answer emails and desperately try hard to avoid interaction with actual live people (blackberry communication is totally fine though, I'm becoming such a New-Yorker, haha) I eventually get to the bus stop in the wonderful industrial part of town (which is actually perfectly located next to the new Meadow Lands and Giant's Stadium!) where I walk a few more blocks on the sidewalk-less highway side to Total Entertainment. Luckily when I arrive at work I am welcomed by our large warehouse and friendly Phyllis who greets everyone that enters the world of Total Entertainment.
And then my day begins. "Email this, copy that and fax everything"...with time-lines, show-flows and floor-plans ("oh my!") my day is consumed by the event planning world and I love every minute of it.Juggling between numerous clients, multiple venues and tons of vendors I actually love every detail down to the color of the socks that little Miss Stephanie will be wearing at her Bat Mitzvah. In between dropping my laptop (which of course is tangled around my chair with wires like anyone else's laptop is, duh) and stepping on my blackberry that found its way to the floor again, it is amazing that technology actually gets along with me for me to be able to accomplish all the tasks involved with each day. In the first half of the day I have consumed either a couple small donuts or a couple mini-candy bars stored in my boss', office Michael Cerbelli's, whichever is easier to come by.
With Michael's office directly in front of me and Jaclyn seated right behind me, the Special Events department at Total Entertainment is in close range and constant contact to remain up to date on all of our events. "Call so-n-so, email whats-her-name, and don't forget to place what's-her-face's t-shirt order..." the Special Events department is going non-stop. I often wonder how many sentences, words and letters actually come out of my mouth (and how many times I say "actually") in a single day. And thank goodness for MAC's creation of the ipod and giving me a few minutes of solitude to escape and think clearly! (Now if I could only remember to charge it every once in a while!) At some point during the day, near 3pm, we decide to order food for delivery and quickly eat over our keyboards as to not miss any emails or urgent phone calls.
For most of you, you have blackberry/i-phone ("crackberry" to all of us) and know how the emails, texting and instant messaging never stops all this and trying to keep updated on your facebook page, it's enough to make anyone go crazy! I continue to do business on the oh-so-fun ride back into NYC (while praying that I don't die on a bus, get hit by a bus or die in the Lincoln tunnel while on the bus) only to arrive home to put the finishing touches on a proposal or project, write up the agenda for tomorrow's walk-thru or go through my to-do list for the remainder of the week while catching up on my DVR. Sometime's bedtime comes at midnight, other times at 4am with a call time of 9am the following day...a week in the life of an event planner or professional is one that is tiring and draining yet never boring. I want to dedicate this blog to all my fellow event professionals - you are all amazing people that work SO HARD and are so passionate about your careers that you sacrifice your sleeping hours, peaceful car rides, and leisure time to answer emails, send proposals and prepare to throw an amazing event that is beyond your clients' imagination. Thank you for never tiring, never stopping and never ceasing to amaze and motivate me! This industry is full of life, passion and creativity and I am ever so thankful to be a part of it! So I leave you with a few great quotes:
"The early bird gets the worm"
"Dress for success"
"Food is for the weak, we live off of adrenaline" (that one is mine)
"Be nice to your blackberry, laptop, ipod and all other technical gadgets, they are important tools to get you through the day" (that one is more of a personal reminder!)
I just came back from an amazing event of ours at The Plaza Hotel, NYC and am off to bed for an early start and our event tomorrow at Oheka Castle, Long Island! G'night!
Gold star and a warm glass of milk (for at least one hour of sleep) my friend.
I know those days. Although my office is about 2ft from my bedroom, it has it's benefits and drawbacks. Benefits (no makeup mornings sometimes) drawbacks, the working into wee hours of morning is starting to wear on me.
Sigh & wouldn't trade it for the world.
Posted by: Your Las Vegas Wedding Concierge | February 11, 2009 at 12:55 AM