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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-06-11, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1997 For Teens, By Teens JANN FLANDERSA day in Wonderland By Erin Roulston Summer is here - It is now the time of year when adventurous teenagers all head for the ultimate destination: Canada's Wonderland. Teen heaven. Tons of candy, rides, and more teens, every where you turn. I visited "teen heaven" on Saturday. It was my first visit in two years and it was exactly how I remembered it; expensive. A chicken burrito (my lunch) cost $6. I didn't even look at the prices of the pop...I knew I couldn't afford it. And if I could afford it the only pop they sold was "Coca Cola", the official soft drink of Paramount Canada's Wonderland. Ah...yes. The park is also now owned by Paramount, and they never let you forget it. "Welcome to Paramount Canada's Wonder­ land". "Enjoy your stay at Paramount Canada's Wonderland." "Hope you enjoyed the rides at Paramount Canada's Wonderland." Good grief. Now, if you are going to an amusement park of this size, and plan to have any fun at all, you must come to terms with one fact; you will spend most of your day in one lineup or another. Lines for food, lines for bathrooms, and mostly, lines for rides. This day it wasn't loo bad. We were averaging a half-hour wait per ride. Sometimes lines can be up to three hours, especially on the new coasters, on a beautiful sunny Saturday. Lucky for us, it was raining. Our first ride of the day was Top Gun. Another promotion for Paramount films, Top Gun's lineup is decorated with memorabilia from the film. The actual ride has practically nothing to do with the movie. The coaster is suspended from a track above and there is no floor beneath you. Many a shoe is lost here. Also, being my first roller coaster in two years, the first drop almost killed me. My insides aren't used to that type of activity. Next we trekked to the other side of the park to The Bat. Any roller coaster pro knows that the shortest lineups are in the first and last hours that the park is open, so go to all the big rides then. The Bat is my favourite ride. Il’s the big red one; the two peaks of it can be seen above the trees from Hwy. 400. It's very thrilling and worth a three-hour wait. Luckily, we only waited 35 minutes. I prefer to sit at the back. That way, when it pulls you backwards to the very top of the track at the start, you can see the whole train under you. Then, when you least expect it, the brakes let go and the train barrels down the tracks, through the loading shed, past the wailing people and out into the open, through loops and turns, all the passengers screaming with fear or joy. Halfway up a hill, the train slows to a halt. A cable pulls it up to the top and holds you there until "Woosh", the brakes let go and you do it all again; backwards. It is amazing. By the time we got off the Bat, the park was getting pretty packed. We passed by the new ride, called Drop Zone, but decided it wasn't worth the wait. It looked very cool, though. You are strapped into a seat which plummets free-fall from a very tall tower. The ride only lakes about three seconds, but my friend who did wait, said it was very much worth it. We also stood for awhile to watch Xtreme SkyFlyer. It looks amazing, but cost $15 dollars per person (by this time I had about 27 cents, so I passed it up). It is a 15- storey free-fall at 100 km/h. The three riders are held up by nothing but a cord. My other favourite ride is SkyRider. That is the standup roller coaster. And then there is Jet Scream. The giant rocket holds 50 people and swings back and forth like a pendulum, higher and higher until it finally goes right over, in a full circle, the people inside are completely upside-down. Many a coin is lost here. Of course, another big part of a visit to the park is the 'technical difficulties'. Both times I rode Jet Scream there were difficulties. Once when a man dropped his keys, and another time they had to repeatedly open and close the lap restraints (which, I must say, is very painful). People were trapped on the Bat at the top of one of the peaks for 15 minutes, and the ride was down for about an hour. There are a million things I could tell you about Wonderland, but I don't have the time or the space. Instead I'll just advise you go to there yourself...and bring a lot of money. Hl Seek help, stop the harassment JANN FLANDERS: I've been having problems at school. There are some girls I know who have been harassing me. It's getting to the point where I'm afraid to answer questions in class. My grades are starling to fall. What can I do? Hurting in Huron DEAR HURTING IN HURON, There are many ways to deal with this problem. One way is to ignore them. By acting as if these girls simply do not exist, they can become bored with your lack of response and move onto another Summer jobs for experience, bucks By Mark Nonkes Only a couple more days until the end of school, then we write exams and after that kiss school goodbye. That is, at least, until next September. For two months, we're free; or are we? A lot of us have summer jobs, so perhaps we are tied down to something - our employer. Whether you work indoors, outdoors, or a bit of both, there are two big pluses to having a summer job. The first is the job experience, something you can put down on your resume. It can help you decide what you want or don't want to do in the future. The other is, of course, the money, hopefully enough so you can buy some things you want over the next couple of months. A really good idea is to save it for your future. Summer Jobs fall under two categories. Number one is the type where you work with the public. At a grocery store counter, as a tour guide or pumping gas. In most of these jobs you should try to be polite and outgoing. Number 2 is the maintenance work. Cleaning up after people, cutting grass or being a farmhand are some good examples of this type of work. Usually the only people you work with are your fellow employees. Some jobs you have to do a bit of both, like being a babysitter or lifeguard. In all these jobs you must work Help protect the environment Reduce, reuse and recycle MDL Ml DOORS isSi 887-6974 uu "Keep tfie (Doors to the (Future Open Beautiful Styles to Make your House a Home Available through your local MDL Dealer victim. Sometimes, though, by calmly fighting fire with fire so to speak, you can stop them from saying anything as some emotional abusers do not have the strength to deal with harassment themselves. Surprisingly, complimenting someone who is being rude to you often works. Just after they finish saying something rude to you, compliment them, their voice, their clothes, or their brains. A jealous abuser often .becomes shocked and stops bothering you. I know it's not the coolest way to deal with it but by talking to a hard. And on those hard days of summer there is one thing to keep Blyth Brussels 523-9681 887-9661 This Sunday Is FATHER'S DAY At The Blyth General Store Queen St.; Blyth ~ 523-9785 143 Josephine St.,Wingham (519) 357-2191 Enjoy our Flurrys Oreo • Skor • Snickers • Crispy Crunch • Reeses Pieces All kinds of desserts including: Toffee Truffle , Turtles Mud, Black Forest Surprise & Deep Fried Ice Cream Flavoured Cone Dips ■ Orange ■ Strawberry ■ Peanut Butter Chocolate ■ Blue Raspberry ■ Bubble Gum ■ & more Gourmet Milkshakes ■ Mocha ■ Cappuccino ■ B52 Lunches, Dinners & Snacks Spicy Chicken Bacon & Cheese on a Chicken Burger Ice Cream Cakes with your favourite fillings. Plus - Our regular menu items including burgers, hot dogs, finger foods, desserts & beverages. Thursday night is cruise night - Prizes on the last Thursday of the month 1 guidance counsellor or your school principal, you often gain insight. They may threaten or warn the involved students the first time. A suspension usually follows subsequent attacks. When none of the above suggestions work, victims usually give up. What most people don't realize is that you can sue someone who is harassing you. Extreme cases, are called "defamation of character". This basically means if you call me a slut, you will influence people into believing I am. Jann Flanders you going if nothing else, the money. MICROTECH COMPUTERS CANON - HEWLETT PACKARD 10 KING STREET CLINTON ONTARIO 519-482-3363 AUTHORIZED IPC DEALER