Late September Update

September has been a transition month. August's activities were vigorous, and occurred through some severe weather in terms of humidity. September has been comparatively slower, which is a welcome relief. All of us have been adjusting to having a new family member home. Young Maxwell, aka Max, aka Kiko, has been a pleasure. Zachary has treated Max well, but appears to be dealing with some 3 year old growing pains of his own. Some days Zach looks and acts like a boy... ready to mature to the next level.

The rhetoric on the e-mail threads with my cronies reached a climax this past week. Have you ever noticed how bold people can get behind the veil of e-mail? I'm an e-mail junkie myself, but there are days when I long a good face-to-face meeting where nothing is taken out of context.

Sales have been slower, but this past week I booked a wedding for June 2006, and a teen birthday party in mid-October in a 200 year old barn in Bernardsville. Last week, I booked a July 2006 wedding with the brother of one of my grooms this year. There is one outstanding lead for a November anniversary party. October's backlog is very full. November is sparse, and December is totally empty!

After a good financial streak, I decided to "invest" in some more equipment - this time video. First, a 2,300 lumens Optoma 739 video projector capable to playing music videos on the big screen. Then, a 90 inch portable screen! And of course, some videos to get started. This is a sizeable equipment investment. I intend to upsell it, and also use it as an edge to get some client buzz going... booking more events.

Well, this Halloween party really broke through! Jeff J has graciously offered to host it at "Club 2606". It will be a full press, blow out party on the music and video side.... 20 people are in, but we need to jack the attendance a lot more. 128 outstanding invitations remain. See the attached flyer!

Tomorrow Max is being offered at the church, so I must sign off!

Updated Schedule

September 24th- Muscular Dystrophy Bike Event - Cancelled due to coordinators' double booking

October 1st - Wedding in Saddle River, NJ

October 9th - Wedding in Philadelphia Burbs

October 15th - 13th Birthday Party in Historic Barn, Bernardsville, NJ

October 16th - Wedding in Middlesex, NJ

October 21st - The Exorcism of Jeff J. Party, Halloween House Party (VIP Event)

October 22nd - Wedding in South River, labelled by bride as "wedding of the century"

October 29th - Wedding in New Hope, PA

October 30th - Birthday Party in Swedesboro, NJ

November 5th - 40th Birthday Party, Garwood, NJ

November 12th - Anniversary Party, Edison, NJ

Feedback from Block Party Client

Gregg,

Just a quick e-mail to let you know how much we enjoyed the block party and the music! Thanks for another outstanding job. Hope all is well. Will be sure to pass the word around about DJ Jagged.

All the best,

Ian

New Photos of the Burgeoning Brood

Water Balloons & Audio Equipment

This past weekend, I played at a block party up in Bergen County. It was my second year for this event. It's a great neighborhood. Two hours into the event, there was a special ceremony presided over by the mayor. Specifically, one of the neighbors was honored as a hero. This past summer, there was a house fire on the block. An 83 year old man was trapped in the basement. A neighbor, Mike Corcoran, went into the smoky house three times to try to rescue him. It was too smoky to get to him, but when the firemen arrived, Mike was able to show them where the man was trapped. He was rescued, but not before suffering cardiac arrest. He continues to recover, but at least survived.

Later on, I was at my DJ station, when a water balloon flew over the shrubs and landed on my mixing board. It is horrifying to see that much liquid on a piece of audio gear. Then another, that splashed my CD player. It was the kids horsing around the front yard. I had to shut down the show for 5 minutes to dry everything off and make sure it was working properly. Fortunately, it seemed to work fine. I will test it later this week to see if there are any problems. The host was extremly apologetic and embarrassed and did offer to cover the costs of any replacement / repair. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

Absent the water balloon incident, it was a great party. I played for about 7 hours and had many requests for business cards.

On Sunday, I awoke at 6:30 AM to unload the SUV, and then shower up for church. I was absent my gang, so I was able to listen to the service, rather than just babysit - which was a pleasant change. Thereafter, I visited with my sis and brother in law who were in town. Then, reported to Sea Girt beach for some bodyboarding. The water was beautiful in terms of temperature and clarity - and it was warm and sunny. I met up with Tom Loughran and his wife Hope, who have temporarily relocated from New Orleans. They don't know when they'll go back - but they do intend to stick with New Orleans. The timing was bad as Hope had just started a tough to get elementary school teaching job, and hadn't even received her first paycheck! The waves were choppy, but had some size and power, with nice bowl sections.

In the afternoon, I had a meeting with a couple who are getting married outside of Philly on December 9th. They are Air Force personnel officers who were stationed in Okinawa for 2 years. The Japan angle was something that we had in common. Since they are personnel officers, the meeting took on the air of an interview. I think it went fairly well, but they have definitely spoken to others. My last meeting with Chris and Christina felt good, but failed. I think with these, there's about a 50% success rate, but given the higher fees for weddings, it's worth the effort.

Last week, I laid out the gauntlet for planning a major Halloween party with Struggler and Matt C. We are grappling with the tough issue of where to have it. Also, the Rutgers Homecoming clashes with the Saturday night party option. We need a bigger venue. Struggler quipped, "if you build it, they will come." Yes, but we only have one night to lure them in.

Welcome Baby Maxwell

Please welcome Maxwell Arthur, aka Max, born Wednesday August 31, 2005 at 8:30 AM at Princeton Medical Center. He entered into this world two days after Hurricane Katrina trashed the Gulf Coast. His stats are 8 pounds, and 21 inches long.

Of course, he's a very handsome young man. I was lucky enough to be present for the birth. As a full term baby, there was no need to whisk him off to a special care nursery. He stayed in the room for some time after being born.

Charlotte had been experiencing contractions in the early morning hours. By morning, they were extreme, and we called the doctor's office. They told us to report to the hospital. We arrived there at about 7:15 AM. The midwife, Peggy, arrived shortly thereafter. Zach and I went downstairs to complete the admissions paperwork. We returned upstairs to check up, and Peggy said that the baby was expected to come in the next couple of hours, and perhaps as soon as one contraction later! Zach and I went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. When we returned 20 minutes later, we heard a clamor in the room... and then 30 seconds later, we saw the baby. Perfect timing! Zach watched with great interest, and made some amusing comments.

The miracle of birth, a perfect new baby.... life doesn't get any better than this. I'm a proud new dad!