These are some of the things I learned/noticed while doing a combination seasoning/first pork shoulder in my new Smokette 009.
1. Get a good dual thermometer which measures meat temp and inside smoker temp. I did that.
2. Get a scale. I didn't, and was essentially smoking in the blind
3. Get plenty of aluminum foil and paper towels.
4. Read these forums. When people say it is hard to screw up the meat - BELIEVE THEM.
5. No matter how burnt out you think the wood chunks are, don't put them into anything FLAMMABLE. I put them into a used plastic deli container to carry them to my burn can, and they immediately burnt a hole through the plastic.
6. It IS easy, and the results are well worth it.
7. A 3.35lb pork shoulder doesn't produce a lot of meat. Make it worth your while and put at least two butts in there. Then freeze like many others have stated.
8. Use one wide piece of aluminum foil on the bottom of the smoker. I used two narrower pieces, and a fair amount of grease leaked through to the bottom. Almost none at all went through the drain hole. I did poke a hole through the foil.