THE SUMMER SCENE : Here’s what’s happening for teens, with everything from fun in the sun, to tips on where and how to find a job, to entertainment.
School’s out in Ventura County and thousands of teen-agers are on the loose, many believing there is nothing to do and no job in sight. Wrong. After weeks of investigation, Ventura County Life has uncovered an abundance of cool hangouts and activities--plus the straight dope on who’s hiring and who’s getting hired. For the slack-hearted, we’ve got Tips on Becoming a Successful Couch Potato. So keep this guide handy as you navigate through these lazy--and hopefully not hazy--days of summer. And don’t forget the sun block.
PLAYING
Beaches and Harbors: The eternal teen-age question of “what to do?” has a time-honored, simple solution in Ventura County: Head to the beach.
You know the routine--Zuma or Malibu if you live in the east county, the entire coastline for everybody else.
If lying out is your preferred beach activity, you might want to prevent rigor mortis by renting in-line skates, three-wheelers and bikes by the hour at Beach Rentals, San Buenaventura State Beach (641-1932). Two hours of in-line skating costs about $8 and will jump-start your circulatory system.
For an easy-going water experience, kayaks and foot-powered boats may be rented at Ventura Harbor (642-7753).
Pool Halls, Bowling Alleys, Etc.: If your parents insist that pool halls and bowling alleys are socially unacceptable, tell them to get with it. These once-sleazy venues have spruced up, becoming safe havens for all but the athletically challenged.
The county’s proliferation of family pool halls means you don’t have to go very far to find a table. For the price of a movie ticket, you and your friends can enjoy two or three hours of eight ball while subliminally learning geometry, physics and math.
Note: Some pool parlors require adult supervision or parents’ permission.
Skating rinks, miniature golf courses and batting cages are also guaranteed boredom fighters. Some even have special reduced rates for the summer and offer inexpensive instructional classes.
Pool halls
* The Bent Cue Family Billiards--1620 Newbury Road, Newbury Park, 499-4555
* Stiix Billiards--2520 E. Main St., Ventura, 641-2020
* Lou Butera’s Billiards--2261 Tapo St., Simi Valley, 584-9212
* Champion Billiards and Amusement Center--1475 S. Oxnard Blvd, Oxnard, 483-3855
* Fillmore Billiards--320 Central Ave., Fillmore, 524-0539
* Gold Coast Billiards--4920 S. C St., Oxnard, 486-1898
* The Hollywood Club--658 S. A St., Oxnard, 487-8967
* Hot Shot Family Billiards--4481 Las Posas Road, Camarillo, 383-7210
* Rack ‘N’ Roll Billiards--2322 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 495-7679
Bowling alleys
* Brunswick Valley Bowl--5255 Cochran Ave., Simi Valley, 584-2695
* Buena Lanes--1788 Mesa Ave., Ventura, 656-0666
* Camarillo Bowl--305 Arneill Road, Camarillo, 482-0747
* Conejo Village Bowl--125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks, 495-4696
* Harley’s Simi Bowl--480 E. Los Angeles Ave., 526-4212
* Ojai Valley Bowl--1202 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai, 646-1457
* Poinsettia Bowl--1888 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura, 648-6866
* Santa Paula Lanes--550 W. Main St., Santa Paula, 525-1183
* Wagon Wheel Bowl--2801 Wagon Wheel Road, Oxnard, 485-4915
Ice skating
* Conejo Valley Ice Skating Center--510 N. Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park, 498-6660
Roller skating
* Roller Gardens--2731 Buckaroo Ave., Oxnard, 485-2018
* Skating Plus--1728 Mesa Verde Ave., Ventura, 656-2120
Miniature golf
* Golf N’ Stuff--5555 Walker St., Ventura, 644-7131
Baseball batting cages
* Bullpen Batting Cages--1376 Walter St., Ventura, 644-4544
* Camarillo Bat-R Up,--487 S. Dawson Drive, Camarillo, 987-2287
* Simi Valley Batting Cages--2019 Donville Ave., Simi Valley, 527-8998
* Who’s on First--961 N. Rice Ave., Oxnard, 485-4001
Malls and Arcades: The three major malls in the county--Buenaventura, The Oaks, Esplanade--welcome teens, especially teens with their parents’ credit cards, but beware:
“You can’t come here and hang out in large groups,” says Buenaventura security supervisor Rick White.
Before you shop till you drop, you might want to work on hand-eye coordination in the malls’ video arcades. While Mortal Combat II and NBA Jam Tournament continue to be the hot new games, they’ll be competing this summer with newly released Demolition Man and Aerosmith’s Revolution.
Malls are open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. Weekend hours: Buenaventura, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Esplanade, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 to 5 Sunday; The Oaks, 10 to 7 Saturday, 11 to 6 Sunday.
Rock Concerts: If you missed the Smithereens’ concert Wednesday night at Ventura Theatre, it’s going to be a long, dry summer.
Concerts by youth-oriented bands are few and far between. Ventura Theatre has none booked, but Dennis Miller will provide comic relief on July 30.
Looks like you’ll have to gas up and drive to Los Angeles for Lollapalooza ’94 Sept. 4-5 at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
The Club Scene: You really have to try to be bored during Ventura County summers.
Somewhere near your ‘hood there’s a Boys & Girls Club offering nonstop activities at practically no cost. Ceramics and photography. Basketball and billiards. Softball and video games. Camping at Lake Casitas. A clown class taught by a former Ringling Bros. clown.
“The (clubs) are the best place in the world for kids to come,” says Monique Price, program director for the Ventura club, the Addison Youth Center.
Yearly dues range between $5 and $12. Some clubs even provide free lunch. “We’re one of the best-kept secrets in Ventura County,” says Chuck Muncie, executive director of the Port Hueneme club.
City parks and recreation departments also provide summertime programs for kids.
Boys & Girls Clubs
* Camarillo--1500 Temple Ave., 482-8113
* Moorpark--280 Casey Road, 529-1140 * Oxnard--200 Bard Road, 488-5717
* Port Hueneme--590 E. Pleasant Valley Road, 488-3719
* Santa Paula--1400 E. Harvard Blvd., 525-7910
* Simi Valley--3050 Kadota St., 527-4437
* Ventura--1440 N. Olive St., 641-5588
* Ventura--1929 Johnson Drive, 641-5599
Parks and Recreation--Community Centers
* Camarillo--482-1996
* Fillmore--524-3701
* Moorpark--529-6848
* Oxnard--385-7995
* Santa Paula--933-4226
* Simi Valley--584-4400
* Thousand Oaks--494-5156
* Ventura--658-4737
Magic Mountain: An antidote for the summertime blahs, Six Flags Magic Mountain has long been a draw for teens seeking cardiac arrest on the latest thrill ride. This summer will not disappoint.
The new Batman the Ride is a gravity-defying, 50-m.p.h. spin around two giant loops, with nothing but air beneath your feet. Wimps and anyone under 54 inches tall will be asked to leave.
For two weeks beginning July 9, athletes can take part in the park’s Sports Illustrated Sports Festival, billed as the world’s largest traveling sports event. You’ll be able to kick field goals, shoot baskets, rifle slap shots and chip golf balls. Showers are not included.
Save up your pennies: Admission to the park is $29, with parking another $6. Park hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Information: 255-4111.
Hot Movies: By now, everybody has seen “The Flintstones,” “Speed,” and “Getting Even With Dad.” Expect the laughs, the action and the special effects to continue the rest of the summer.
Mark these openings on your calendar:
* “Blown Away” (July 1)--Jeff Bridges plays a Boston explosives expert pitted against terrorist Tommy Lee Jones in this suspense thriller.
* “Baby’s Day Out” (July 1)--John Hughes, who showed us the slapstick consequences of leaving an 8-year-old boy “Home Alone,” has regressed to the diaper stage with a tale of a 6-month-old tot misplaced in a big city.
* “The Shadow” (July 1)--The radio hero of the ‘30s comes to life, with Alec Baldwin’s suave billionaire Lamont Cranston finding what evil lurks in the hearts of men.
* “True Lies” (July 15)--Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron, the team responsible for “Terminator,” are back with more cinematic fireworks in this campy saga about a married man who moonlights as a master spy, unbeknown to his wife.
* “The Mask” (July 29)--If you thought rubber-faced Jim Carrey was a hoot in “Ace Ventura,” wait till you see him cavort in this FX-heavy comedy about a mild-mannered geek transformed into a super hero.
* “Airheads” (Aug. 3)--Teen heartthrob Brendan Fraser is one of three dim-witted heavy-metal rockers who take a radio station hostage to get their demo on the air.
* “The Next Karate Kid” (Aug. 5)--The fourth installment of the series comes with a twist: The kid is a girl.
WORKING
Where to Find a Job: Bagging fries, busing tables, baby-sitting your neighbor’s obnoxious kid--tough jobs, but somebody has to do them, and you’re elected.
Starting at the bottom is the curse of teen-hood. If you can’t slide into a summer gig as vice president of Daddy’s company, you’ll have to settle for a menial job. Once you accept that fact of life, finding work isn’t very difficult.
“If a kid wants a job, it’s pretty easy,” says Ivan Carrasco at Youth Employment Services in Simi Valley.
Youth Services has offices all over the county. The Job Training Policy Council in Oxnard finds work for low-income kids. Since regular employment agencies rarely deal with anyone under 18, contacting Youth Services and the Job Council usually pays off.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, you’ll get a job,” Carrasco says.
If a fun work environment is important to you, you might apply to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Probably the largest employer of teens in the area, Magic Mountain hires 3,000 workers in the summer, “the bulk of them young people,” a spokesman says.
You can run rides, stock merchandise, cook food, take tickets or get a foot in show business by working tech at stage shows. “We’ve got positions open in every area of the park,” the spokesman says. “We’re definitely in a big hiring mode. We’ve got excellent, excellent opportunities for teens.”
Most summer jobs pay the minimum hourly wage of $4.25. At Six Flags, you can make as much as $5. Youth Employment Services sometimes finds $8-an-hour jobs.
Youth Employment Services
* Camarillo--632 N. Las Posas Road, 482-0775
* Oxnard--126 E. 7th St., 487-4043
* Thousand Oaks--80 E. Hillcrest Drive, 496-6868
* Simi Valley--3855 Alamo St., 522-4473
* Ventura--1239 E. Main St., 643-5396
Job Training Policy Council
* East County--800-500-7705
* Fillmore-Santa Paula-Piru--525-5574
* Oxnard-Camarillo-Port Hueneme--385-7959
* Ventura, Moorpark, Ojai--385-3671
Six Flags Magic Mountain: Apply in person, Human Resources office, Monday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 9 to 7, Saturday 9 to 2.
How to Get Hired: Once you reach the interview stage, you’ll have to decide if $4.25 an hour is enough incentive to make you smile, comb your hair, wash behind your ears and wear anything but blue jeans. If you go for it:
“Dress appropriately,” advises Joyce Waldron, director of Youth Employment Services in Ventura. “The right attitude always helps. And don’t ever say you’re not available.”
Job hunting entails a lot of paperwork. For a teen-ager, it starts with a work permit. Required by the state if you’re under 18, a work permit can be obtained at your high school. It has to be filled out and signed by you, your parents and your employer.
Start Your Own Business: If you value independence and freedom, working for yourself is the way to go.
“It’s really nice and enjoyable,” says Kevin Corse, who owned his own gardening business as a Buena High student in the mid-’70s. “It gives you an ego boost and you don’t have anybody watching you.”
Mowing lawns, washing cars and windows, baby-sitting, selling cookies, cleaning homes, clearing brush, hauling trash and impersonating a handyman are some of the jobs you can do yourself and generally make your own hours. But they demand responsibility.
“You have to be where you say you’ll be,” Corse says.
You also have to deliver the goods. Corse’s gardening business was helped by word of mouth because “I did a good job for this woman and she told her friends and family and it went on from there,” says Corse, who now owns a gas station in Ventura.
You have to remember to pay your own taxes and make sure your employers pay Social Security on you or they’ll never be able to accept a position with the federal government.
SLACKING
Ten Tips on Becoming a Successful Couch Potato
* 10. Teach the dog to take itself for a walk.
* 9. Purchase new batteries for the remote.
* 8. Begin bladder-control training three weeks beforehand.
* 7. Avoid couch sores and chafing by wearing loose-fitting cotton clothing and changing positions often.
* 6. Develop witty, caustic comebacks for such comments as “get off your butt” and “you’ll never amount to anything.”
* 5. Give the pizza delivery person a key to the front door.
* 4. Try to maintain a heart rate of at least 12 beats per minute.
* 3. Rig lamp to Clapper.
* 2. Find “Waldo” during those boring commercial breaks.
* 1. One word: Scotchgard.
Music Television: MTV is offering plenty of excuses to stay home this summer.
Fans of “Real World” will no doubt be glued to their couches Friday night when a new cast kicks off the season premiere of the reality-based docu-soap, which is going into its third year chronicling Generation X.
Aside from premiering established shows this summer, MTV is also running a variety of new shows and specials, from an MTV News investigation to a beach travelogue-talk show.
In August, Tim Burton, director of “Batman” and “Edward Scissorhands”--films about freaks, nerds and weirdos--will host a special entitled “Freaks, Nerds & Weirdos.”
New and different this summer on MTV
* “Dead at 21” (10 p.m. Wednesdays)--A new action-adventure series.
* “Real World III” (10 p.m.)--Season premiere Friday night. Regular time slot: Thursdays at 10 p.m.
* “Beach TV” (Monday through Friday, noon to 3 p.m.)--Daisy Fuentes travels to beaches in California, Hawaii and Florida.
* “Straight Dope” (July 26, 10 p.m.)--MTV looks at the connection between drugs and violence.
* “The State” (10 p.m. Fridays--Season premiere July 8.
* “Freaks, Nerds & Weirdos” (10 p.m., Aug. 16)--Tim Burton special.
Required Reading: Dan Zevin’s “Entry-Level Life” (Bantam, $8.95)--Advice on faking it in the real world. Like getting a job: “Never wear a backward baseball cap to an interview unless applying for the job of umpire. . . . Just as important as what you say during an interview is what your body is saying about you, so be sure to conceal any tattoos that say: ‘Work sucks, let’s party.’ ”
Strategies for Showing a Bad Report Card to Your Parents: If leaving the country is not an option, Ventura family counselor Jan Baker suggests trying to use humor on Mom and Dad, softening them up with a joke (a little self-deprecation is useful) before handing them the card and begging for mercy.
“Start lighthearted but cut to the chase,” Baker says. “You might as well be straight.”
Efforts to “lose” the card or have it mutilated in the wash don’t work, Baker says. “The grades will come out anyway. You might as well face it by being direct with your parents.”
THINKING
If you experience a moment of weakness and decide to exercise your brain on your vacation, you have several choices besides summer school.
Community colleges: Oxnard (986-5822) and Ventura (654-6459) offer numerous classes for teens, including courses on preparing for the SAT. Teen surfers will be interested in “The History of Surfing” at Oxnard College. Fees range from about $25 to $45.
California Lutheran University is sponsoring three two-week youth theater workshops exploring acting, improvisation, voice and movement. First workshop begins July 5. Cost: $160. Information: contact Ken Gardner at 493-3375.
Contrary to rumors, museums, art galleries and libraries stay open in the summer.