January 26, 2012

Employee spotlight - Taylor Rea

Taylor Rea is a writer and data quality specialist and has been with the Eventful family for close to a year now. He attended California State University Long Beach where he threatened numerous administrators until they gave him his degree. He enjoys stale movie popcorn and long, romantic walks in bad neighborhoods. Another interesting tidbit about Taylor is that he also reviews restaurants, bars, and clubs in his spare time. To let all of our users and customers know a little bit more about the people that work here, we decided to ask him a few questions about his side gig.


: Hey, Taylor! How have you been? Did you get that little medical problem you were experiencing cleared up?

Taylor Rea: This isn't going to be a part of the real interview, is it?

: No way! I'm actually concerned.

TR: Then no.

: Well your boyish charm and good looks more than make up for it. Let's just get down to the nitty gritty: what kind of places do you normally review?

TR: I've reviewed a number of restaurants in San Diego, mostly in the historic Gaslamp Quarter, but I've also reviewed some bars, clubs, restaurants, and casinos in Las Vegas.

: Wow, Las Vegas; that must've been fun! I bet some of the bars and clubs there get pretty crazy, especially when you're on the job.

TR: Well, I'm not sure if you should put this in the interview, but part of that assignment was to review a majority of the gentlemen’s clubs in town. I had never really been to a strip club before, so it was an interesting experience. Some places were super laid back and welcoming, while others were wretched hives of scum and villainy that treated their employees like crap. I usually ended up just having drinks with the girls that worked there and learned a lot about the industry. By the end of the trip, I realized that strippers are really just normal people trying to make a living with unique jobs that a majority of society has put a negative label on. This isn't going in the interview either, right?

: Don't worry about it. It sounds like you're a consummate professional with nothing to be ashamed of -- probably. So what's reviewing restaurants like?

TR: It's pretty amazing! You will never have a more pampered and delicious dining experience than when a chef and their restaurant staff are trying to impress you. I usually bring a friend and end up sampling the place's five most popular dishes, drinking some signature cocktails or other drinks, and interviewing the head chef. I spend more time writing than I do eating, so it takes a couple of hours.

: That sounds delicious! Maybe you could bring me along with you on your next review.

TR: Uhhhhhhh…

: Fine. Be that way. What's your main goal when you're conducting and writing these reviews?

TR: It's all about enticing people to visit the restaurant, so I try to paint a picture with words of what the restaurant is like: what colors and decorations are on the walls, how friendly the staff is, and even what the tables look like. If people can imagine the surroundings, then they get more excited about going. It's the same with the food. If you can describe the texture of the food and what different flavors are combining and mixing, then I think people can actually taste the food a bit while reading the review. Sensory adjectives and descriptions are a big part of that.

: That sounds great, Taylor. I'm sure that the same excellent writing you do for these reviews shines through in your artist and venue profiles on Eventful, as well as your work on The Reel Buzz emails.

TR: Thanks, but I'm just a simple yet ruggedly handsome man doing what he can to make a living.

: So modest.

Well, that's it for the Taylor edition of Eventful family spotlights. But check back soon to see some of the interesting stuff that other Eventful people do outside of the office.

January 19, 2012

Eventful Serves More Than Events

Members of the Eventful staff rolled up their sleeves and decided to give back to the community that’s already been so good to us! We got our best planners, our best cooks and our best filler-inners and headed to the Ronald McDonald House.


There were some differing opinions as to the quantities we should cook
We knew that it was our civic duty to donate our time to those in need. But, what was the perfect cause? After some brainstorming on ideas for volunteer work, we decided a great way for us to help would be to serve dinner for children and their families who were staying at the San Diego home while they received treatment. We planned a dinner menu (containing food groups from EACH category of the food pyramid), went shopping and showed up to Ronny McD’s prepared to delight some palates.


This is about 1/100 of the fried rice that Cat made
Little did we know that there would be more than 180 palates that needed delighting that night!


They asked us to not eat any of the food while cooking – no one knew why
No matter! The more hungry people to show, the more good we can serve up. PLUS there were a few dishes that ran no risk of running out. Bring it on, Ronald!


Nothing like some home-cooked oranges

Or some home-distilled water
The plan was to arrive early – dinner was at 7 o’clock sharp – so we’d have time to get a feel for the kitchen and find out what each of our strengths were. Turns out that we had more people that qualified for the dishwasher role than for that of the cooks.


We put our more serious chefs on the grill

While others of us were given more menial tasks
But, we made do. Each person was assigned a valuable role in the event. There were dicers, slicers, timers, flippers, peelers. Each person was assigned a task. And once that task was complete, an Eventful-ier with actual cooking experience came through and redid the task - but correctly this time. Well-oiled machine. Us.


Crybabies
The line of hungry customers was starting to grow and we were still putting the finishing touches on the meal. There was talk of doing a song-and-dance routine to stall the crowd. The rest of us took a step back when one volunteer claimed to have some knife-juggling experience.


Believe it or not, there can be too many filler-inners
Thankfully no flying cleavers were needed. Right at the buzzer, the meal came together and we were ready to serve!


Assembly line via Eventful, Inc

Don’t forget about the oranges and water!
By the time the night was finished, we were all completely wiped out and just shy of 190 people walked away with their hunger satisfied. And we got GREAT reviews for our efforts.

“Best hospital meal I’ve ever had today!” – Anonymous diner

“Is Eventful.com a cooking website? It should be.” – Anonymous diner

“Sure beats a gas station burrito.” – Anonymous diner

All joking aside, all of the “Thanks!” that we received were completely unnecessary. The reason we worked as hard as we did to prepare and serve a delicious and nutritious meal was to make peoples’ lives just a little bit easier during such a hard time. It’s like the old saying goes: A good deed is its own dessert.


“These cookies are for dessert. That cookie fell on the floor.”

December 22, 2011

NEW YEAR'S EVE 2012!!

It's that time again... where once a year the night turns magical and is filled with champagne, glitz and hopeful romance: New Years Eve. What are your plans to ring in 2012? If you're not sure yet, you wont want to miss these fabulous fetes.

Las Vegas
1 OAK - GET TICKETS
Where: The Mirage
Music: Rock, Punk, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop Highlight: Grand Opening. Fergie. DJ Jesse Marco. Champagne toast. What more could you ask for?
Ring in 2012 at the most glamorous, state-of-the-art New Year's Eve bash and countdown in Vegas. Partygoers will experience a one-of-a-kind experience while enjoying the intimate atmosphere and New York vibe of the 1 OAK Grand opening New Years Eve.
Cost: $150+

Los Angeles
Cleopatra's 2nd Annual 2012 New Year's Eve Ball - GET TICKETS
Where: The Egyptian Theater in Hollywood
Music: The Ultimate Club Mix, Hip Hop, House
Highlight: The Egyptian Theater designed for its exclusive celebrity movie premieres and red carpet ceremonies, for one night only, will be open to you and your friends for a huge New Year's Eve Ball. You will find yourself among sexy Cleopatras, Egyptian Queens and Pharaohs mixing your favorite drinks plus, the top DJs spinning the hottest beats!
Cost: $75 - $1,500

Miami
Gansevoort Rooftop - GET TICKETS
Where: South Beach
Music: Top 40, Hip Hop, Dance, 80's, Housel Mash Ups
Highlight: Live the privileged high life this New Year's Eve and join A-list celebrities, celebuntantes and models at the Gansevoort Rooftop Party. Take-in the 360 degree panoramic view, enjoy the premium open bar and celebrate the new year at the most sophisticated and exhilarating party in Miami. This sleek and sexy tropical oasis party will have you at hello.
Cost: $175 - $595

New York City
New Year's Eve BASH 2012 - GET TICKETS
Where: AVENUE, 116 Tenth Avenue, NYC
Music: Hip Hop, Dance, 80's, and Rock
Highlight: This ultra swank club in West Chelsea just went through a $2.5 million transformation complete with "models, bottles, moguls and A-listers". During the bash you will find yourself among world renowned DJs, a premium open bar, champagne toasts and party favors. Avenue is THE premier hot spot, rated #1 Ultra Exclusive New Year's Eve 2012 Bash.
Cost: $165 - $215

San Diego
Big Night San Diego New Year's Eve Gala - GET TICKETS
Where: Hilton San Diego Bayfront
Music: Top 40, Hip Hop, Dance, House & more
Highlight: Delivering the wow factor without the hassle you'll be sure to have a perfect all-inclusive night including: drinks, food, party favors, no long lines, 12 themed party areas, live music and top DJs.
Cost: $109.99 - $299.99

December 19, 2011

Congratulations to this Year's Z100 Hometown Hero, Ali Brustofski!

Z100, State Farm and Eventful teamed up to provide one lucky music artist the opportunity to perform at Z100's All Access Lounge, the pre-event to the legendary Jingle Ball. Over 330 music artists competed to win the coveted prize, with over 60,000 Demands generated by fans. All unsigned music artists in the tri-state area were eligible to compete and the top 25 artists with the most Demands at the end of round 1 moved to the semi-finals. During the semi-finals an A-list panel of music judges, including Gabe Saporta from Cobra Starship and Monte Lipman from Universal Republic Records, selected 5 finalists to move on to the final round. The final winner was determined by fan Demands.

Congratulations to the young, beautiful and very talented Ali Brustofski! Ali says, "The whole experience was way better than anything I could have possibly dreamed of. I still can't believe I spent all day at Hammerstein.. I got to hangout backstage, have my own Meet & Greet, and perform for by far the biggest crowd I've ever sang for. And to top it all off my performance was played on the Jumbotron at Madison Square Garden!! It was literally surreal, and no doubt the best day of my life." We wish you the best of luck in your music career!

Ali performing at the Z100 and Coca-Cola All Access Lounge

Video of Ali's performance coming soon!

December 16, 2011

What Comes Before Part B?

You should have seen our second round
Par-tay! (Sound it out…) Which is exactly what us Eventful-iers did last weekend to celebrate the holiday season with each other. It was a nice change of pace for us all to swap out our flip-flops and thinking caps for cocktail dresses and neckties. …


A few of the Eventful youngsters having a fine time
… The occasion for us to get gussied up together doesn’t happen all too often. We sure are a fine-looking group once the HTML code is scrubbed from beneath our fingernails and the Demand It! stickers are brushed out of our hair.


Sara: Smile for what camera?
Some of us put in an extra amount of effort getting glammed up since we had a reserved room at the swank Analog Bar in Downtown San Diego. Passersby were looking at us through the windows commenting to each other, “I wonder if they’re from Hollywood…” We’re not from Hollywood. BUT, we can tell you about what events are happening there.


Some had a specific reason to attend the party
This year was indeed one for celebrating. Not only did we have zero onsite accidents in the Eventful offices - welts from rubber band wars withstanding – we made HUGE improvements in terms of the appearance and functionality of our website and services. After a year as successful as we consider 2011 to be, we all felt deserving over our two drink tickets. (Three, if you know the right people.)


Others had a different agenda
Most office parties are very formal affairs. But, Eventful isn’t like most. We hired a live 4-piece band, The Sidekicks, to rock out for us while we took turns pretending to be the frontman and sang to the throng of people with extremely picky music tastes. …


Eventful’s version of NKOTB – Paul called dibs on the “Donnie” role
… Surprisingly enough, we’ve got a few members on staff that can really carry a tune - including our CEO and fearless leader, Jordan Glazier! And even the not-so-good groups won the crowd over with their onstage banter. Good-looking AND talented? It’s amazing any of us are still single!


CEO Jordan Glazier rocking out to a tune
that may or may not have been made famous by Tina Turner
Jordan gave the only speech of the night that was both heartfelt and excited. And he was wise enough to bookend his speech by raffling off prizes for gift cards to spas, electronic stores and restaurants. There’s a reason he’s in charge. Smarts.


At least no one brought an embarrassing date this year
There were drinks and snacks. There was music and plenty of prizes. But, most importantly, there was us. The people at Eventful congratulating each other on our professional and personal successes over the year. …


Maybe we are from Hollywood! Look out, Marie Osmond!!
… There have been weddings, births, graduations, new hires and a rumor was floating around the office that a member of Eventful has successfully jumped out of an airplane 73 times this year. On purpose!


The only time Jenny stopped smiling
was when they made last call
Yes, it’s safe to say that 2011 was a fantastic year made only better by the fact that the Eventful offices are so filled with genuine party animals.


Kristan: Call me a cab.
Dawn: You’re a cab.
Kristan: OMG! We’re SO funny!