I Don't Like Mondays

Here’s to hallsitting

On a Monday night

When everyone’s partying

Or starting a fight

When everyone’s making out

And fooling around on the bus

When Danny tries his best

To prevent a big fuss

Here’s to hallsitting

One important role

You surf the web in a hall

And get 12 dollars whole

Here’s to wasting a chance

And to missing a night

With the guy that you loved

Who’s with someone else tonight

Here’s to peeing in pants

And crying in cribs

Here’s to staying up late

And to changing bibs

Actually now that we talk

And think about it a bit

A bar night’s no different

Than watching these kids

We act stupid and silly

While we ride in a bus

We need adults to watch out

And supervise us

We need people to care

Someone to love us

Today it’s Jim or Andy

It’s no big deal or fuss

And when it’s all over

And when it’s all done

We need someone to wake us up

And to work we run

So remember my kids

The new crew at Cleve’s

Don’t get too attached

And kiss him when he leaves

Tell him you love him

And you will until noon

When you’ll see someone better

It always ends soon!!!

...AND I OWE IT ALL TO YOU!

I am guilty, I admit it. Every single time I see the movie ‘Dirty Dancing’ listed on my channel guide I watch it. I am sure I have seen it at least 75 times. It never gets old, I never get sick of it and it always makes me smile from start to finish. Anybody who has ever worked at Cleves knows exactly what I am talking about. We have all lived that movie - I just happen to have lived it for 42 years. The similarities between ‘Kellerman’s’ and ‘Cleves’ are uncanny. The properties actually look a lot alike. Both are beside a lake, have a huge Main Hotel and a ‘staff area’ (which we have a hard time keeping the Guests out of - ie Flip Cup Tournament of Summer 2011). Both have great Social Programs for their Guests. Sadly we don’t have time in our program dedicated to trying on wigs but we do have a weekly bocce and shuffleboard tournament and those are the events that get the most Guest turnout!! In ‘Dirty Dancing’ the Dance Instructor made all the women weak in the knees - in my day at Cleves it was the ‘Ski Boys’. Even some of the Guests liked the ‘Ski Boys’... and you know who you are!! :)

Obviously after the dancing, the main theme of that movie revolves around love and friendship. The same can be said for Cleves. If I were to sit down and make a list of how many people met and married after working at Cleves, I am sure there would be at least 50 couples on it, some have even come back to get married here. My parents met here and my sister and brother met their spouses here too. Back in the 70’s it was mandatory for every applicant to send a picture with their resume, something that I find absolutely horrifying!!! One winter my sister was rifling through the applications, saw a picture attached to a resume and suggested that one of the managers should interview him. They have been married for 26 years :)

The whole reason we are all connected comes back to my parents. Their love story is truly epic, one that Hollywood writes movies about. My Dad wanted to be a pharmacist when he was growing up and that was the plan until that fateful day his parent’s brought him up to stay at a resort called Clevelands House in Muskoka. As soon as he stepped foot on the property at the age of 14 he knew he was home. He worked his way up from Bellhop to Manager and one winter he went to Toronto to do interviews to hire for the following summer. My Mom was just finishing Teacher’s College and went with her friend to the interviews on a whim. My Dad interviewed her and when she got back in the car she told her friend that she had just had an interview with ‘the nicest man she had ever met’. That summer (1955) Mom worked as a waitress in the Dining Room. One of the other girls that she worked with came up to her in the kitchen and said ‘You don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of landing Bob Cornell’. That was absolutely the right thing to say to her. Not only was she horrified that people knew she liked him but she was even more horrified that Dad probably knew too. She did the only thing any sane woman would do. From that day on, she totally ignored him. Apparently and quite frankly, thank God, that drove him nuts. They started dating later that year and got married three years later.

That was 53 years ago and they are still best friends. Each year as their anniversary approaches on October 18th I think of how many lives would be affected if they had never ended up making a life at Cleves. Dad once told me that when he and Mom got married he was in love with two things, her and Clevelands House. I can’t even begin to imagine where we would have grown up, spent our summers, worked or how many amazing people I would not have met if they hadn’t married. So on behalf of everybody who has ever worked here, fallen in love here, had their hearts broken here, met lifelong friends here or vacationed here, THANK YOU! I know I speak for everybody when I say ‘I’ve Had The Time Of My Life’.

B-BYE

I recently posted a new status update on FACEBOOK and in the 3 years I have been addicted to, I mean a member, I have NEVER had such a huge reaction to something I have put up. Over 50 people commented on or ‘liked’ it so it obviously stuck a nerve. I vented about parents calling me for jobs for their kids. It is THE most annoying thing I deal with when I’m hiring. In case you are wondering, parents calling me about something their kid was disciplined for during the summer or informing me she (it’s usually the mommies) doesn’t like the way we are doing something, is the most annoying thing when we are open!! ‘I am sorry Mrs. Smith but because of privacy laws I am not allowed to discuss that with you. Have a great day’ - CLICK :)

I have always thought of myself as a patient person. I know there is no way I could work with the age group I work with and not be patient. I often share stories with my sister about things people say to me and almost every time she follows it with ‘Thank God it is you and not me doing that job’. I love telling her the stories about the parents calling me because the reaction is ALWAYS legendary. The best response she gives me after I tell her one of those ‘interfering parent stories is....’ ‘SANNNNDDDDYYYYY why do you tell me things like that?’ in a very annoyed ascending pitch voice. It almost sounds like she is going to burst into tears - HILARIOUS. Let’s face it the only reason I tell her about those things is purely for the reaction.

The last 18 or so years have absolutely flown by and a couple of years ago one of my friends who I worked with at Cleves called me and asked my how her son should go about applying. My first thought was that I couldn’t possibly hire an 8 year old, my second thought was that it was time to retire, I wasn’t ready to have my friend’s kids working here!! Honestly, her calling me didn’t annoy me at all because I knew her son and he was was a great kid AND I knew that not hiring him could easily mean that some of the stories about the fun we had when we worked here might get out and I couldn’t have that. I told her to have her kid send me a resume and he was hired. I am only human - therefore bribable!!!

I do not have kids of my own so can’t really say how I would parent but I am pretty sure I can tell you how I wouldn’t. I really think doing everything for your kids after a certain age is just setting them up for failure later in life. The kids working in this generation are the ones that get trophies just for showing up. When I was a kid, you had to win to get a trophy and what is wrong with that? I am sure some of the kids that have worked here in the past have thought they should be getting special mention for just showing up for work. I said that to somebody not long ago and she told me she called it ‘Helicopter Parenting’. That is a good one but I think we should take it a step further and call it ‘Submarine Parenting!!’

I could easily sit here and recite phone call after phone call replaying conversations that seem to happen a few times a week this time of year. The following is a fairly accurate re-enactment of an call I got about 7 years ago.

‘Good Morning Sandy Speaking’ ‘Good Morning Sandy, It’s Msssss. Buffy Wallingford an Executive VP here at Scotia McLeod calling.’ (it is important to know that she sounded like she was clenching her teeth when she spoke to me) ‘Hi Buffy what can I do for you (knowing a) calling her by her first name would annoy the crap out of her and b) exactly what I could do for her)’ ‘My 18 year old son Stevie is looking for a summer job and I thought Clevelands House would be the perfect fit for him. He is finishing his last year at Upper Canada College here in the centre of Toronto (duh) and he is heading off to university in the fall. He is a prefect, on the debate team, plays several sports for the school and is a born leader. What sort of position are you able to offer him? I would like him to work in Muskoka for the summer’ Now I am not normally like this but I couldn’t resist..... ‘Buffy, if Stevie is old enough to work at Cleves for the summer and has all of these great qualities, surely he is old enough to call for himself’ ‘Well Sandy I just thought I would call for him as he is in school 9-3 and really doesn’t have the time to call you himself’ ‘I work Monday - Friday 9 - 5 this time of year, I am sure like every other kid who calls me, he can find the time perhaps on lunch or after class...B-BYE’

THE CLEVES LIST OF AWESOME - PART 1

For Christmas this year I got a really fun book called 'The Book of Awesome'. It is a huge list of every day things and events that are so simple but we take for granted. Often they are things we don't notice but we should because they are awesome! That gave me the idea to compose the following....The first Cleves list of Awesome.....and to change it up I did it in rhyme!!

I get in my car in the morning to come to work each day

I pull up in front of the office and it smells great I must say,

From the bakery I can smell today's fantastic baked treat

And also from the kitchen wafts the smell of smoky meat!

AWESOME

The time for lunch in the staff dining room has finally come

There can be times when it's unclear where it comes from,

But you swing open the back door and there to meet ya

Is the coldest milk in the world and amazing homemade pizza!

AWESOME

You pull in front of the office that first day keen and all ready to go

You're about to meet your roomies, none of whom you even know,

Time flashes by so quickly and the best summer ever ends

You are bawling and saying goodbye to you new lifelong friends!

AWESOME

When I turn the light off the last thing that comes to my mind

Is what in eight hours on my desk in the morning I'll find,

The best possible thing ever that could happen to me

Is a boring, one page night report waiting for me to see!

AWESOME

Your staff account has opened and your finally nineteen

You head to the club to jump headfirst into the scene,

The night is so fun, you bought and drank a ton

The next day you account is cut off ooooh that's not so fun!

AWESOME

It's taken a while to learn how to never cause the team harm

You've figured out down to the second, when to set your alarm,

You throw on your uniform and put your hair up in the morning

You arrive in the dr exactly on time, another day with no warning!

AWESOME

Last night was Tuesday and you partied really hard at Cleves

Your body needs the day to go quickly, you even beg and say please,

When suddenly you realize something great, its the BBQ night

Your guests are all going, your name on the 'OFF list' is the best sight!

AWESOME

It's the biggest bar night of the summer and of course work you must

Every one of your friends and roomies went, they just left on the bus,

The Rosseau Room is dead, hardly any Guests came down at all,

So you are let go early and you race to meet your friends for last call!

AWESOME

One of the best things that happens to me year after year

Is when staff come to my office to share stories and talk off my ear,

This is when I'm told all of the gossip, and people should beware

The best stories I've heard are by people in that pink leather chair!

AWESOME

You've worked really hard all summer and can't believe it's almost gone

You've dragged you ass for the last while when on you it does dawn

For the last few months while you were partying, working and romancing

It hits you like a ton of bricks, you just starred in 'Dirty Dancing'!

AWESOME