Anyone know a swimming instructor?

It is time of year again when I start the employee search. As always the swimming instructor one is the hardest to find, so I put this out to cyber world in hopes that someone knows someone or someone stumbles across this post. I am hoping to run 3 or 4 sessions this year and be able to do some scheduling sooner than a week before the lessons start.I am putting a copy of the poster that I have done to advertise the summer job at the bottom of the post. If anyone can help me get the word out just copy, paste, print and post. It would be much appreciated.

 Swimming Instructor Position
is available at Rubber Ducky Resort and Campground

We offer:
– above average starting wage with potential bonuses
-flexible hours
-relaxed working environment

Check us out at http://www.rubberduckyresort.com
Call 322-5286 for more information

Send resumes to info@rubberduckyresort.com
or fax to 322-5382
or mail to Box 165 Warren, MB R0C 3E0

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Spring? Really?

I think April 1 would be a better day to make the first day of Spring. April Fools Day is much better suited for this kind of joke. Today just doesn’t seem like spring when only the day before it was -20 with a wintry wind blowing. I suppose we could give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that the 7C forecast for Sunday will actually come true.

Those of you that live in or closer to Winnipeg would probably be surprised by how much snow is still around out here. I know that I was surprised by the lack of snow inside the perimeter earlier this week. We are starting to see some bare patches of ground fortunately so there is hope however. If we can just get rid of the ice that is around right now it would be a bonus. You would be better of with a pair of skates in some yards and parking lots than you are with shoes on your feet. We were able to drag out the BBQ this week though so that must be a sign of spring. It is always nice to have that first BBQed meal of the year.

This time of year gets a little frustrating around here because camping season is so close and we are anxious to get started on our projects we have planned, but just can’t do it.  I want instant snow melting, none of this slow melt. We have things to do. I will share a couple things that we have planned for this year. We are planting a potato patch and will be selling home grown new potatoes when they are ready and we are planning to enlarge the seating area around the pool area. There are still a few other things in the works, but I won’t let the cat out of the bag just yet. You just have check back later.

I hope everyone has a happy first day of spring or more importantly last day of winter!!!!

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Advertising is starting

It is time to start the 2009 advertising campaign. Now that the weather is starting to cooperate it is time that everyone should start thinking summer vacations.

I started up a pay per click ad on facebook yesterday. Thought I would give it a try to see what kind of response I get. So far I have had 49 click throughs. (That’s is the number of people that click the ad to get to our website.) That is a pretty good first day I think when you consider that is 49 people that wouldn’t have come to our site before. Of course just because they click doesn’t mean they are seriously interested. I am sure that some just see the name and the duck and are curious.

I am also running a pay per click ad on google. For those that may not know these are the ads that you see along the side of the search results or sometimes some websites will allow them directly on their sites.  If someone is interested they click the ad and it takes them to our website. We are charged once someone clicks that ad. I only had 14 clicks from there, but that is mostly because the clicks are more expensive, so my budget doesn’t go as far.

The jury is still out on PPC advertising and whether or not it works. Some businesses will swear  by it and think it is wonderful and others won’t have anything to do with it. One comment that is often brought up is you have no control to stop your competitors from clicking your ad just to make you pay for it.  Me, I kind of sit on the fence. I am not completely convinced it is good advertising, but I do think there is some potential to get new business.  So, I don’t put a huge amount of my budget towards PPC.

They are calling for +4 again today. It sure was nice to be able to get out and enjoy the weekend. I finally got the sign changed so we aren’t advertising the fishing and poker derbies anymore. The snow really disappeared yesterday and I can acutually start seeing gravel and dirt. Ahhhhh it’s about time.

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Another winter, another kitty

It’s that time of year when all the homeless kitties seem to show up on our doorstep.  At least this one is not asking to come inside and she is content to visit us outside – so far. She doesn’t seem to live here exclusively but instead travels around to the neighbors.

I just had to have a chuckle. I wrote the first paragraph at the beginning of December and well things have changed. This past week she had a taste of what inside was like (only about 20 minutes) and decided that she would like to live in our house permanently. And she now seems to live here exclusively. There is no travelling around anymore, just from the shed to the house for visits and pets. Once again you can tell that she was an indoor pet at some point which really makes me wonder how she went from that to living on the streets of the duck. She just can’t get enough petting and will come running whenever she hears us outside.

As you can tell she likes kids and sled rides

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At least she has found a warm bed and is able to fend for herself outside. Hopefully she can tell a mouse from a chipmunk and we will be able to put her on the payroll permanently.

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RV Show this week

The annual RV show at the Winnipeg Convention Centre starts this Thursday. This usually means people start thinking a little more about camping and summertime. We will be working at the MACAP (Manitoba Association of Campgrounds and Parks) booth on Sunday afternoon. If you happen to be in at the show stop by and say hi. I believe we are on the third floor.  You can find show info at http://manitobarvshow.ca/index.php 

Now if we could just get rid of this snow we could get on with some more fun things. I recently added a countdown ticker to our website so you can check how many days until camping officially starts. Hopefully my ticker is off and it starts a lot earlier.

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Would you do this?

 NEW YORK – A London couple visiting the Big Apple have settled into their hotel room – under the eyes of thousands of pedestrians and motorists. Duncan Malcolm and Katherine Lewis are receiving a complimentary five-day stay at Manhattan’s Roger Smith Hotel in exchange for staying in a replica of one of the hotel’s rooms on the ground floor of a nearby building. As part of the agreement, the couple must keep the curtains on the room’s large glass windows open between 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. until Friday, allowing passers-by to watch them. The hotel partnered with the Real Live Billboards company, which stages live events for advertising and promotional purposes. In December, heavyweight boxer Tor Hamer was featured in the hotel’s storefront window exchanging punches with his trainer.

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Another Poker Derby done

Mother Nature did finally come through in the end. We could have used some more snow, but everyone was able to make do with what we had. The Northern Lites were able to groom on the Friday morning which from all accounts made for a smooth ride. We must give a huge kudos to the NL groomer operators for getting out and getting it done. It was appreciated by lots of people. We had around 165 hands sold with the first place getting $230, so a not bad turnout overall. With it being a long weekend and valentine’s day it was a busy day for everyone with lots of other  activities going on.

Now that our last major winter event is done, it is time to really concentrate on the upcoming camping season. The RV show will be happening in a short couple weeks and hopefully before we know it the hot summer weather will be upon us. Or at least the warm spring sunshine anyway.

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Be careful what you wish for.

We have all been wishing for warmer weather and now it is here. Yay!! (insert sarcasm here) This weather is not quite what we all had in mind I am sure. The kids are getting an early spring break with no school for a week. The parents are ready for them to go back to school. I am sure there are quite a few people getting a snow day from work as well. Especially this morning with hwy 6 closed. That will affect a lot of people in this area.

There have been some crazy videos on the news from yesterday’s roads – truck spinning on shear ice, chipping away the ice on the highway and skating down the middle of the highways. This is not supposed to happen in Manitoba.

This does not look good for our poker derby on Saturday. The trails are melting away in front of our eyes. Unless we get a few inches of snow in the next day or so I don’t think there will be too many riders out. It will just have to become a car derby with social and supper. There seems to be a conspiracy against our derby. Blizzards, ice storms, wonder what next year might bring flash floods, tornado? Oh well we will still be going through with everything. The checkpoints are all set up, the social and supper are organized. At this point it is too hard to completely cancel. There should still be enough snow to do the route and it is a little bit colder today so there shouldn’t be anymore melting before Saturday.

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Ok so it is February in Manitoba and there is not much going on in the campground world, so I thought I would just do a little stand up comedy. Hope you at least get a little chuckle out of these:

Q: What do they call pall bearers in Oklahoma?

A: Carry-Oakies

*********

The Taco Bell Chihuahua, a Doberman and a Bulldog are in a bar having adrink when a great-looking female Collie comes up to them and says, “Whoever can say liver and cheese in a sentence can have me.”

So the Doberman says, “I love liver and cheese.” The Collie replies, “That’s not good enough.”

The Bulldog says, “I hate liver and cheese.” She says, “That’s not creative enough.”

Finally, the Chihuahua says, “Liver alone . . . cheese mine.”

*****

Top ten signs that you are too drunk

10. You have to hold onto the lawn to keep from falling off the Earth.

9. Mosquitoes catch a buzz after attacking you.

8. The back of your head keeps getting hit by the toilet seat.

7. Your idea of cutting back is less salt.

6. You can focus better with one eye closed.

5. You fall off the floor.

5. The whole bar greets you when you come in.

4. You haven’t had a driver’s license in such a long time that you have forgotten what one looks like.

3. Roseanne looks good.

2. You don’t recognize your wife/husband unless seen through bottom of glass.

1. You spent more time on the floor than you do standing up.

****

Top ten indicators that a redneck has been working on your computer

10. The monitor is up on blocks.

9. Outgoing faxes have tobacco stains on them.

8. The six front keys have rotted out.

7. The extra RAM slots have truck parts installed in them.

6. The numeric keypad only goes up to six.

5. The password is “Huntin”.

4. The CPU has a gun rack mount.

3. There is a Skoal can in the CD-ROM drive.

2. The keyboard is camouflaged.

1. The mouse is referred to as a “critter”.

 

****

Murphy’s work laws

MURPHY’S LAWS ON WORK

A pat on the back is only a few centimeters from a kick in the pants.

Don’t be irreplaceable, if you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.

The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.

You can go anywhere you want if you look serious and carry a clipboard.

Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

Never ask two questions in a business letter. The reply will discuss the one you are least interested in, and say nothing about the other.

When the bosses talk about improving productivity, they are never talking about themselves.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.

There will always be beer cans rolling on the floor of your car when the boss asks for a ride home from the office.

Mother said there would be days like this, but she never said there would be so many.

Keep your boss’s boss off your boss’s back. This is what I’m doing wrong.

Everything can be filed under “miscellaneous.”

Never delay the ending of a meeting or the beginning of a cocktail hour.

To err is human, to forgive is not company policy.

Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing.

Important letters that contain no errors will develop errors in the mail.

The last person that quit or was fired will be the one held responsible for everything that goes wrong – until the next person quits or is fired.

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but there is always enough time to do it over.

The more pretentious a corporate name, the smaller the organization. (For instance, The Murphy Center for Codification of Human and Organizational Law, contrasted to IBM, GM, AT&T …).

If you are good, you will be assigned all the work. If you are really good, you will get out of it.

You are always doing something marginal when the boss drops by your desk.

People are always available for work in the past tense.

If it wasn’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.

At work, the authority of a person is inversely proportional to the number of pens that person is carrying.

When you don’t know what to do, walk fast and look worried.

You will always get the greatest recognition for the job you least like.

No one gets sick on Wednesdays.

When confronted by a difficult problem you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question, “How would the Lone Ranger handle this?”

The longer the title, the less important the job.

Machines that have broken down will work perfectly when the repairman arrives.

An “acceptable” level of employment means that the government economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job.

Once a job is fouled up, anything done to improve it makes it worse.

All vacations and holidays create problems, except for one’s own.

Success is just a matter of luck, just ask any failure.

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Finally February

I started writing this about what a day Saturday was, then Sunday happened. So, I guess now it becomes what a weekend.

Wasn’t that quite the day yesterday (Saturday). I had seen Friday night that they were forecasting strong winds for Saturday, but never expected quite that bad and that sudden. I was showing someone the new mural in room 3 and we turned around and poof instant snowstorm. At least it wasn’t cold so we could hide out of the wind and enjoy some ice fishing and a little sledding. By late afternoon however there was no going outside for me, it was time to hide out inside. At least today is so far a nice day, fairly warm, no wind.  Hopefully it stays that way. Well that was Sunday morning now let’s fast forward to Monday morning. Not quite sure what happened to our nice, calm day on Sunday but that got just crazy again. Fortunately we had nothing better to do this weekend but stay home. I am sure there are many people that set out by car or snowmobile when it was looking like such a nice day and they got a HUGE surprise in the afternoon. There were times when we couldn’t even see across the yard.  Now this morning we are back to cold, cold cold. I have heard it is close to -37 windchill again. At least it is finally February and that ground hog had better come through today, we don’t need a fraidy cat who’s afraid of his shadow.

The Marquette Curling Club has taken on the after poker derby social on the 14th. We will also be doing a buffet from 5pm-8pm, so everyone can bring their sweetie out for a Valentine dinner. The calendar has really not cooperated for us this year. Not only does the 2nd Saturday in February fall on Valentine’s, but it is also a long weekend. I know of a couple weddings, and other Valentine activities going on. With all this combined we are not really expecting much of a turnout. But the show must go on and look ahead to next year. It will still be a long weekend, but at least not valentine’s day. In 2011 we get away from the long weekend too and back to a plain old February weekend.

Want to check out the much hyped superbowl commercials. http://thebiggame.sympatico.msn.ca/Home?v=0aefbc0b-87df-4082-a346-b9156aaa977a#msnPlayer_p  I watched a few, some are ok some not so ok. I think the potato head was my favorite though, make sure you check it out.

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