Ask a group of people about their New Year’s resolutions. Undoubtedly some wag will answer “I resolve to not make any resolutions.” It’s as predictable as death and taxes. While I agree with the general notion that resolutions can be a way of setting oneself up for failure, there’s something to be said about careful goal  setting and, well, resolve.

Admittedly, I’m the worst at planning goals, much less following through with them…but I knew when I started the groundwork for starting EZPZ, I was going to have to break those old habits. Starting a business means good habits all around, including planning goals, schedules, marketing, and so on.

I’ve had plenty of well-meaning folks tell me that this business will take off, that once word gets out I’d be making money hand over fist. Wonderful words, though these will ring hollow if I can’t plan well and follow through with them.

To that end, I’m spending my first Saturday of 2016 pouring over event calendars in our Central Coast community, looking for appropriate happenings that can showcase EZPZ’s awesome video game truck! Don’t be surprised to see our Mobile Game Theater at local events, from festivals to 5k fun runs, from Big Sur to Santa Cruz; Monterey to Moss Landing! On that subject, if you’d like us to bring our “mega fun” game truck to your event, let us know before your date gets booked.

Whether you’re one to make resolutions, or the person who makes a resolution to not make resolutions, let us all make goal setting part of our routine. Wishing all of our neighbors on the Monterey Peninsula, Salinas Valley, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties nothing but health and success.

As I was pulling into the last few of the 5,500+ miles of my trip from Marina to North Carolina and back with our new Mobile Game Theater, my GPS had me take a route I hadn’t used before. Instead of coming up 101 and getting off at the Monterey Peninsula exit, Google Maps had me get off in Chualar and get on River Road which, as you probably know, eventually connects to Reservation Road and gets you to Marina.

Honestly, I was a little concerned. This way was unfamiliar to me, and I was worried about getting stuck in an area that would be difficult to maneuver out of (mind you, despite the cross-country trip, I’m still getting used to driving with a 32′ trailer behind me!)

What a treat it was! I caught a nice glimpse of Chualar, a town I never had been to before (other than passing through on 101), and after going past some farms, got treated to the Las Palmas neighborhood before going under Highway 68 and the home stretch to Marina. The weather was beautiful, so it was a nice (and new) way to come home. My family and I have lived in either Monterey, Seaside or Marina in our 10+ years here, so any time we can learn something new about the great area in which we live, it’s a good thing!

Those of us who live along Highway 1 don’t tend to have the towns in the southern part of the Salinas Valley foremost in our thoughts, but each one has a unique identity. Soledad, King City, Greenfield and yes, Chualar are integral members of our Central Coast community! We look forward to serving these great communities along with those on the Monterey Peninsula as well as Salinas and southern Santa Cruz County.

And no, I had no issues with driving the trailer while going this route. Once I got to where we keep our trailer…well, that’s a different story for another time. 🙂

If you’re following us on our social media channels like Facebook, you probably know that we’re currently in the process of bringing our Mobile Game Theater from North Carolina to its new home on the Monterey Peninsula. While it’s been a long trip, it’s also been a rare chance to see parts of this great country that I probably wouldn’t have normally.

I left the Central Coast Sunday afternoon, making it to Kingman, AZ after midnight. After stops in Albuquerque, NM, Van Buren, AR, and Knoxville, TN, I’ve arrived in Pinehurst, NC. The interesting thing is, the trip was never really that boring! Whether I was in the middle of a huge arroyo east of Winslow, AZ or dodging coyotes in the prairie near Oklahoma City, I was enjoying pretty much every new change of scenery. Mind you, I’ve traveled all over the U.S. (there are only 7 states I have yet to visit), but it’s almost always been by plane. There’s nothing like seeing the backwoods of Tennessee, the small towns along the famous Route 66.

After some business-related activities here in Pinehurst, my college buddy Forest, who’s flying in to Raleigh on Saturday, and I will begin the long trek to bring EZPZ’s Video Game Truck back home to Marina, CA.

Once home, don’t be surprised if you see our Mobile Game Theater running around the area! Obviously we want to get the word out about this great option for birthday parties and fundraisers! So if you see us at Del Monte Center in Monterey or Northridge Mall in Salinas, don’t be shy…come up and say hi! We’ll have business cards and flyers to give you if you’re interested.

Until then, please send prayers, good vibes, etc for our safe travel back to California! We’re officially open for business beginning Jan. 9, but don’t wait until then to book your party, our reservation system is up and running! See you soon!

You may have seen websites here on the Central Coast (specifically Monterey and Santa Cruz) advertising video game truck parties. They make it sound like they are local, but in fact is a marketing company back east. When you call, they “book” your party for 1.5 to 2 times the price, happily take your money, then call a REAL local video game truck company and try to book your date. If they can’t find someone to take the job, they pretty much don’t do anything and allow your event to be ruined because of their greed. Then you’re tasked with trying to get your money back. Expect delays and unreturned messages until you make enough noise. They seem to respond to at least some folks who complain to the Better Business Bureau, but it seems like a lot of folks just give up. Video game trucks aren’t their only area of expertise: helicopter tours, hot air balloon rides, skydiving…they manage to ruin the fun of some pretty cool activities.

The most telling signs that you’re dealing with a marketing company like this are: they use a toll-free number, and there’s no sign of a local address anywhere on their site. Some legitimate game truck companies use 800 numbers (or similar), but most do not.

Whether or not you hire EZPZ for your upcoming event or you hire another company, please make sure you’re hiring us directly! Call us…you’ll know we’re local! We’re based in Marina; we’ve lived in either Monterey, Seaside or Marina for the past 10+ years.

And if, by chance, the marketing company in question is reading this and taking umbrage to this post: we’ll be glad to direct everyone’s attention to both the BBB complaints page you’ve helped create, the Yelp page of one of your several business “aliases”, as well as the phone number and email of the state investigator who’s currently looking into your shady business practices.

We can not and will not honor bookings made through 3rd parties like Rush Cube, San Francisco Game Trucks dot com, Mega Fun Game Trucks dot com, and similar entities. If you’ve booked through them already,  all we can do is forward you the contact information of the state investigator mentioned above. And share in your frustration that such underhanded people exist.

Please don’t let your upcoming event be spoiled by dishonest companies…book us direct by visiting our bookings page! We look forward to a great time!