《玩具》
Sunday, December 27, 2009 @ 12:12 pm.
Now, I've already written my review on 倪匡's 《玩具》, and it is largely complimentary. I've already listed down all the stuff in there that I liked about it (aside from the fact that it's simple enough for me to read; that would have gone too far, hehe).
So in line with Carolyn's post about her 倪匡 book, 《回归悲剧》, here is my rant about all the things I didn't like about the book.
Firstly, the story just takes
too long to build up to what it's really all about. There are eleven parts in the book. On the first page there is a foreword telling everyone what the scenario is: Robots sucked all the oxygen out of the air and kept whatever was left as pets and toys. Right? Okay, so in the first part and the second part are the deaths that were mentioned in the blurb that eventually are tied together with that scenario. But it isn't until the SEVENTH part that the protagonist, Wisely, learns that there actually ARE robots and not until the EIGHTH part that he gets sucked down into the snow and into the future where he is captured by the robots and then an information overload reveals everything.
And what happens in the first few parts? Wisely investigates. He comes up with nothing. MORE people come to investigate. MORE people die. He goes to investigate them. And NOTHING HAPPENS. And here I was with this knowledge of what was really happening (in the foreword) and just WAITING for things to actually boil down to their actual conclusion.
Secondly, echoing Carolyn, the characters behave rather illogically. Wisely's wife, Pai Su, appears in one page at a time talking with Wisely, right? But when he flies off to (actually I don't know where this place is but it's snow and deserted) to investigate two bodies that he barely knows and THEN gets sucked into snow and captured by robots, and after that he escapes and realises that he is now FOREVER a TOY of the robots, Pai Su DOESN'T CARE. She just sits back and intones calmly "Well, we are all toys of destiny, anyway" but really, shouldn't you be somewhat concerned that robots are now watching your home and watching your husband and life will NEVER be the same again? She doesn't care. Even though this business now involves her and will forever involve her. Even Wisely was visibly perturbed by all this. So they continue, presumably, with the rest of their lives KNOWING that these tiny little robots are WATCHING them and PLAYING with them but they don't CARE because "humans are all toys".
And in the end, we never know WHY the robots kill people who meet the family of escaped toys but NOT Wisely. Instead they decide to carry him away in a tractor beam (beam of light, really; I got lost in all the tech talk) and dump him in a little dollhouse. Because he's the FUN type, apparently. But WHY were the people killed? I still don't know. I don't know whether this is my own stupidity or the book really didn't conclude that. But I DON'T KNOW.
Speaking of conclusions, it was an ongoing mystery as to why this family of escaped toys didn't age. Finally at the end of the book, they decide that "The family realised some time ago that they do not age. They still do not know why this is. Oh what the heck."
What?
Plus the policeman decided to let Wisely off with a backpack of supplies into the barren snowfields to investigate by himself. I can't decide why he decided this. Shouldn't he have at least have some responsibility for Wisely's safety?
Thirdly, the style. I don't know if this is typical of the 1970s but the continual use of
道 just irritates me. It's a good thing that I gradually ignored it as I kept reading. And he uses a LOT of exclamation marks. But I think again this is just due to the times. It's really really long-winded too, full of dialogue that repeats itself and internal monologues. Even when he's caught in the tractor beam of light, we get TWO WHOLE PAGES of him thinking "They can't kill me, they can't kill me, maybe they're just trying to capture me and killed the others by mistake. Yeah. It's like capturing an animal. Try one time and they kill it, but now they know better. Okay I'm just being silly but still, it has some truth to it..."
Right, I should stop ranting before I reveal my own idiocy. But combined with my own complimentary review (which is largely true, actually), I think I've expressed my opinion.
These are the Days
Friday, December 04, 2009 @ 11:53 am.
This is going to be a very long post. Italics are excerpts from my journal.
Day 0: 24th November 2009
Arrived at the airport at six thirty, forgot what row to go to, went to the one on the departure board and there was no one there. Eventually figured out how to get to row 10 and found everyone there. Dinner at a Chinese restaurant (I can't remember the name) and after my dad insisting that we would not be late I was running to the departure hall and missed the group picture.
We entered the departure hall and began a long walk down the rows of shops to the gate. Most of us took the travellators (some people ran along the travellator in the opposite direction). There was one time where most of us were standing around on the travellator and talking and suddenly Rebecca and Stephanie (Cheong) were running madly along the travellator and a few seconds after they got off the travellator jerked to a halt and everyone squealed/screamed (heh).
Eventually we all got on the plane for a nine hour ride, which would have been better if 1) I had been able to sleep and 2) if my feet hadn't hurt. I watched Up and Bandslam, both of which my sister had watched and I hadn't. They were awesome shows. Had dinner during Up, which was great.
Day 1: 25th November 2009
After Bandslam I tried to sleep, but didn't except maybe for half an hour or so that I didn't notice. The air stewardess came around at about four am Singapore time to discuss something with Carolyn which I didn't hear but then Carolyn told me that they were going to give her a birthday cake and she didn't think she could finish, and since it was my birthday did I want to share? It was a smallish cake but surely too much for one person, plus it was rich chocolate with two strawberry halves on top. We gave one quarter to Kat's row, one quarter to Miss Lau's row, and in the end both of us managed to eat one quarter each. After that I tried to eat breakfast while watching Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but couldn't eat a thing. I told myself not to order breakfast the next time.
After about two eternities we finally got out of the plane, and we had our baggage checked for food. We aren't allowed to bring any food, animal or plant items into New Zealand. There were "amnesty bins" everywhere telling people to "declare or dispose" or something like that. After we got our baggage from the belt we had to put our bags on the floor to be checked by a detector dog. Nobody got caught so we all just thought the dog was cute.
When we managed to get out of the airport we were all shocked by the cold. It was really sunny and you could feel the heat on your neck but at the same time it was almost like some kind of outdoor air conditioner. We walked outside for about five minutes and then we went into the bus which was warmer than it was outside. We met Mr Doug Farr, our tour guide, and a bus driver whom no one remembered the name of.
For lunch, we went to this place called "autobahn" or something and had two huge bowls of fries and seafood chowder with two pieces of garlic bread. Carolyn poured ketchup all over one bowl of fries and left one without sauce for Christie. Seafood chowder tasted like salt and fake crab meat. Finished the garlic bread and half of a bowl of fries, and barely any of the seafood chowder.
Went to Minden Lookout where we all tried to maintain the semblance of a lesson by sitting down in pairs and trying to map out Tauranga Harbour. This was the start of the three days I took to find out what a tombolo was, let alone a spit.
Then we went to a supermarket called Countdown and bought a lot of snacks. We also bought a bottle of fruit juice which we didn't drink. They sold two Cadbury bars (the big ones) for four dollars, which is really cheap.
Accommodation at Omokoroa Thermal Park. Four people to a little chalet thing with the following: First room: The door, a TV, a heater, a little kitchenette thing, a double bed, a window. Second room: Two single beds, a small alcove couch without a back, a table, door to the bathroom. Bathroom: a long, narrow rectangular room with a toilet at one end, a sink along the wall in the middle and a shower at the other end. The beds were extremely bouncy.
Dinner at Lava East, where they served Asian food. The apple crumble after that with vanilla icecream was the best part.
Went back to Omokoroa Thermal Park and to the open air meeting place to freeze our butts off. Had a debrief and teachers decided against going to the thermal pools because it was so cold (we all agreed). Kat initiated a birthday song for Carolyn (because they thought it was her birthday that day due to the cake). Miss Lau got confused. So they sang another birthday song for me. I was touched.
Carolyn and Hannah are suddenly in hysterics about the water being freezing. Now they're cheering for Christie, who is having her shower now. I worry for my own shower.
EDIT: Reason being Carolyn found out that you turn the faucet the other way to get hot water. This is why I shower last.
Day 2: 26th November 2009
Woke up freezing. Everyone was freezing. When we went out of the little house it was still freezing. In the bus it was freezing. But we went to Lava East and had this wonderful breakfast with sausages and eggs and toast and orange juice and so on, and it was somewhat warmer. Then we went to the beach and were buffeted by winds so strong they pushed people off course.
Went to the rocky shore where we were given a bucket and a list of things to find. Split up into random groups and I spent the time trying to figure out how to traverse the rocks to follow Joyce who was gambolling around like a mountain goat. At the end we all sat around a rock pool and watched Mr Farr pick up starfish and algae.
Trudged up the hill and took some time walking among flocks of sheep on the way back to the beach. Then we had Pizza Hut for lunch.
We were supposed to go Blokarting after that but the winds were too strong so we didn't. We went shopping instead. I can't remember where we went but I think it was to this place with four departmental stores. Carolyn, Christie and I went into two of these and then got really tired so we sat at a bench outside K-Mart in front of a vending machine. I bought a Coke but didn't finish it.
After that we stopped at a river for Mr Farr to brief us about Maori culture and the powhiri (welcoming ceremony) to come later. Then we went to Paparoa Marae where the bus stopped and two tourists and one New Zealander came to join us for the ceremony and a person from the marae briefed us again.
So first we went and stopped outside the gates of the marae where a male person dressed in traditional costumes with a spear/stick thing came up ferociously (he did a good job of it but since we didn't really pose much threat this was fairly brief) and put a leaf ornament on the floor as a peace offering (if the chief steps on it it means you come as a threat; if the chief picks it up you come as friends). Mr Farr was the only male since the bus driver from Day 1 was gone and he was the one driving. So he picked up the leaf. Then someone called the group into the marae and we all sat down. The elder from the marae gave a speech (in Maori) and then the rest supported with a song (in Maori). Mr Farr then stood up and gave another speech (in Maori/English) and then we stood up and sang the school song (all three verses, in English). Then someone else from the marae stood up and spoke (in English) and then another song (in Maori). After that everyone lined up and touched noses (honggi. It's a custom). Mr Farr gave me the leaf ornament (two ferns, woven together). It's on my desk now.
We went to get our luggage and lugged them into the wharenui (big house). Somehow all thirty one of us managed to find mattresses to sleep on in there and space to put our bags. Then we all changed into our RYC/Methodist Walk/PE shirts and went to the wharekai (dining hall) for dinner. The food is really nice there. After that we trooped out again to practice our dance.
Went back into the wharekai and found a whole lot of other people there that we didn't see before (they came in their cars, which were out back) in traditional costume, and they did a cultural dance for us. Apparently they do it for schools and other places as well. I was hoping that they would make Mr Farr do the haka (war dance, males only), but they didn't. Then we did our dance. They seemed to enjoy it though it definitely wasn't nearly as good as theirs.
After a debrief and a chance to buy their stuff we went to bed, or rather, begun the long three hour process of getting everyone to shower in four cubicles.
"There used to be 80 million sheep in New Zealand. Now, there are only 40 million. Because... they flew away." - Mr Farr
...
I just realised I'm sleeping where several dead people have lain. Then I realised everyone sleeps here.
Day 3: 27th November 2009
Woke up and had breakfast, which was again great. Then we cleared up all the mattresses, blankets and pillows and set off for the estuary. The estuary is this beach-like place where if it's low tide the sand is wet and you can see shellfish trails and rows of sea lettuce, then you can take off your shoes and squelch around to the sea, which is incredibly clean and clear. I was one of the people who took off their shoes. It was cold. After squelching around for a while we got separated into groups to perform a cockle survey (Mr Farr marked out quadrants with a metal square and we had to dig up all the cockles in those quadrants and measure them). I thought it was really fun. Joyce didn't want to dig because she found worms, and dug with one of those hotel door cards. We were one group away from the sea so we had a lot of cockles. It made me happy to see so many cockles. I don't know why.
Blokarting! When we went the wind was so gentle everyone thought we were going to have to be pushed around, but as soon as we got into the Blokarts the wind picked up until by the last group there were people tipping over. I was in the first group (number 12, moved up from 13; thank God I was, because if I wasn't in the first group for Blokart and Cave World then it wouldn't have been so much fun) so after Blokart we got to hang around on the grass slopes and watch. It was wonderful. We got to lie on the grass. The sky was so beautiful. Carolyn wants to emigrate to New Zealand when she retires, and I can see why Eleanor wants to too.
Kiwi 360. We got into little Kiwikarts and trundled around the kiwi orchards. Then we went to have lunch (Carolyn and I were fantasising about kiwi dishes, like chickens fed with kiwis and kiwi marinade, and kiwi ice cream, and kiwi rice, and kiwi appetisers, and kiwi juice...) which was fish and chips and kiwi ice cream.
After that was Zorb, but I didn't feel up to doing Zorb so I sat there with Miss Ng and took pictures. The actual ride was only twenty seconds long per pair, and I get the feeling that I can replicate the ride by filling a bathtub till it's half full and rolling around and squealing. Except there's no forward momentum. Sitting there it seemed that paying thirty dollars or more to get wet for twenty seconds was somewhat strange, but everyone thought it was fun.
We went to Whakarewarewa geothermal reserve after that to watch a geyser and mud pools and sit on heated steps. There was a rainbow in the water that the geyser spewed which I managed to take a picture of. We didn't get to see the kiwis because the kiwi house was closed, so after that we went to our accommodation, Kiwipaka Rotorua.
This time the pairs were shuffled around, and Carolyn and I were coincidentally paired with Gen and Stef (Tay), which resulted in much amusement. Dinner was strange and the pudding reminded me of uncooked cake but it was still nice (the pudding, I mean). They gave all four girls who had their birthdays on the trip (Carolyn, me, Li Ser, Sabina) a cake which culminated in everyone forcing everyone to finish the slices of cake, and a Christmas cracker each which we didn't explode but just tore apart.
After that we had free time for an hour or so but Caro, Gen, Stef and I just went back to our chalet to shower. The chalet has two floors, though small ones, with two beds and a table on one floor and upstairs to a tiny balcony with space for two beds in it. Stef offered chocolate. It was Cadbury Bubbly (chocolate filling with bubbles in it) so we all thought it was a waste of money. Heh. After showers Gen and Stef were chasing each other around with Stef threatening to hurt Gen's stuffed toy or something like that.
My bed is under a table. The underside is heavily vandalised e.g. "Kia Ora" and "JAMIE J. HAD S*X WID DIS GIRL IN DIS BED (L*SBOS)" I feel very uncomfortable sleeping in this bed now. ("MY EYES" is written across the table in big letters)
Later I moved the bed from under the table.
Day 4: 28th November 2009
We didn't actually do much today.
1. Went to the Volcanic Activity Centre. Walked around. Filled up a worksheet. Sat around. Watched a movie.
2. Watched the Huka Falls.
3. Watched the Aratiatia dam open.
4. Took a one hour plus ride to the Whakapapa Visitor Centre and wandered for a while.
In between 2 and 3 we had Subway for lunch. It was nice, but I could barely finish.
The bus ride was because we wanted to go to the top of Mt Ruapehu to see snow, but it was raining, so we couldn't. This was the only time where we wore our winter jackets: to go out to use the toilets. With winter jackets it wasn't even cold. Carolyn went out in a sleeveless jacket and long sleeves and she said it wasn't cold. We also wore them for a bit while walking to the Visitor Centre because it was raining but we didn't really need them.
Accommodation was at the Park Traveller's Lodge. Four to six to a room, but really really cramped. Roomed with Joyce, Michelle and Brenda. Joyce kept banging her head on the beds. We had another mini powhiri before dinner. We had wraps and brownies.
After that we cleared all the tables and sat in a circle to have a debrief. We were told to share 1) something we learnt and 2) something that "touched our hearts", and we couldn't repeat each other (though people did).
This is what I shared:
What I learnt: There are ten times more sheep than people in New Zealand.
What touched my heart:
"It wasn't really something that touched my heart but it's something I realised that I thought was really important. This is something I wrote in my journal this morning."
At this moment we are walking back from the Aratiatia Dam, which explains the handwriting. I'm looking down at the ground so I don't fall over and it is only when the ground is level that I look up and realise that the scenery is beautiful.
Problems tend to fill up your vision so much you can't appreciate the good things around you. And I realise that isn't a very good way to live.
People were clapping for that. I felt a bit embarrassed.
After that we did a brief dance practice. The publicity comm was supposed to be excused from the dance (though Stef is in dance and I'm Hannah's partner so in the end we both had to do it) so for that dance practice I got to stand there and take videos. Heh.
Went back and waited for showers while listening to people outside. There was one room going around and asking if they could take baths in our room because Maxine broke a door or something.
Day 5: 29th November 2009
We had breakfast wraps for dinner, and for the first time we had other choices of beverage than orange juice. I had apple juice.
CAVE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! got delayed for a bit so we went trooping around for a while on trails. In swimsuits, for some of us. But it was okay.
Before the Cave World trip, I was convinced that my wetsuit didn't fit and my boots didn't fit and I was going to come down with a fever after the trip because there were holes everywhere and I'd be too cold.
During the Cave World trip I fell down twice in a row and landed on the heel of my hand. I ended up first in line and was determined that it would stay that way. Because I was first I had to go down both waterfall things first and I did so with minimal hesitation (but maximum panic because I didn't know what was going on).
After the Cave World try I finally realised that it was actually fun and I wanted to go again.
Unfortunately you don't really notice the glowworms after the first few minutes because you're too busy trying to hold on to the boots of the person behind you or you're straining too much and being pulled back and whatever. But it was fun.
I bought a opossum hand puppet at the store where they shear angora rabbits. It's made of real opossum fur. Geneviev called it William. I thought Henry was a better name, but her camera was already named Henry was a better name, but her camera was already named Henry. Carolyn is extremely averse to opossums. But the puppet doesn't really look like an opossum. So the puppet's full name is William-Henry V the opossum-raccoon.
Accommodation at Empire Apartments:
IT'S REALLY BIG AND IT HAS A KETTLE AND IT HAS A TV AND THERE ARE THREE ROOMS SO IT'S ALMOST ONE TO A ROOM EXCEPT TWO ARE SHARING AND EACH ROOM HAS SIX PLUGS AND A TABLE AND A RACK AND A CUPBOARD AND A QUEEN-SIZED BED.
Roomed with Sue Huey and Melissa.
We had cream pasta with chicken for dinner. Then we went to the minimart and bought more snacks. And then we went to the function room and practiced some more.
Day 6: 30th November 2009
School exchange with Diocesan School for Girls:
We had another powhiri. Then we buddied up and toured around the school. At first we were in pairs but slowly coalesced into little groups before the end of the tour. Their school is amazing. They have an indoor pool. And rose gardens. And so many outdoor spaces. It's possibly about the same size as our school but seems a lot bigger.
Then we had "class". Not really. We played The Amazing Mammoth Hunt or something like that, which consisted of guessing the locations of countries on the world map. Sophie (my buddy) knows all the territorial claims that took place during the Treaty of Versailles. I still can't. I resolve to work harder. After that we went to the gym and took part in some Maori activities. My favourite was the one with the two short sticks which I can't remember the name of.
Presentation: Not bad; no major screwups.
Dance: pretty great
Games: really fun
Worship: pleasant, though a weird problem at end
Overall: Success
The presentation was before the dance but no one wanted to do it. I had to though so I couldn't take a video of it. Ah well. After the dance, the Dio class presented this wonderful professional dance for a competition the next day. We were amazed. Then we played games with them like ten-cent-coin. The Dio girls LOVED ten-cent-coin. I think they wanted to add it to their culture or something. Also we gave them the balloon-bubble blowing things which they all stuck together and later took pictures with.
Right now we're lying on the grass on the summit of Mt Eden, or at least, the closest we can get to it. A few people started to lie down on the grass and now a row has formed on the ground. I roll on my back and look up at the sky and I know: This is what I will miss about New Zealand.
After that we got to go to the CBD to shop. Carolyn stumbled upon this entire aisle of really cheap scrapbooking materials and was tempted to buy the whole shelf. Joyce bought this entire box of chocolate for her mother. Caro and Christie bought an A4 sized calculator as a gag present for Glenda. I bought the same thing for my dad.
We were given a free night. Our room decided to use it to shower and sleep early. Pretty much the first night I slept before midnight.
Day 7: 1st December 2009
We went to Piha Beach after breakfast to do beach profiling, which involved measuring a meter on someone, moving ten meters away from person, lining up the meter with the horizon from there, marking the point on someone's leg, measuring that, then starting again from that point. The sand was black and it was so fine it was amazing. We all had sand in our hair and our shoes and under our nails.
We had a lunch of chicken foldover things from Nandos, then trekked through a temperate rainforest to a river where we measured the water flow. I was the only one in my group who didn't get my feet wet because I went to get the workbook and was the one calculating. The rocks in the river hurt, but I only knew that from watching others. We used a lemon to calculate the velocity of the river first, then measured the cross-sectional area of the river, and then multiplied from there. Mr Farr said our results were the most consistent of any group that he had ever had who did this, but our approach was the most chaotic (heh). One group had a large deviation with 11 litres/second from the usual hundred plus litres/second. This was until I told them they had put the wrong unit to their depth measurements; centimetres, not metres. They laughed all the way to the bus.
We went to Sylvia Park for some shopping but all the shops closed by six. I went around with Hannah trying to find a CD shop but there wasn't any. I bought a Cecelia Ahern book. Hannah bought kiwis and strawberries. Then we went to Nandos again for dinner.
As a farewell tradition, Mr Farr made us all line up in a congo line and follow him in a mad rush to the bus. I saw locals all jump up from their seats and join in; one of them was running around and tickling us to break up the line. You would never see something like that in Singapore. They'd just stare like we were insane.
By the time we got to the airport we were all insanely hyped. When we had to say goodbye to Mr Farr and Mr Harold (our bus driver/ Maori chief/ music player) we gave them a group hug. When they left, I felt like crying a bit.
Nearly all the shops were closed at the airport so we went to the gate early. The teachers gave us all kiwis. That squeak.
Day 8: 2nd December 2009
I fell asleep immediately after takeoff which I was not expecting. After waking up six hours later, I decided to watch Bandslam again, and had dinner, which was again great. Then I fell asleep for a little bit more before everyone started waking up to have breakfast. I remembered that I had told myself not to order breakfast but I thought what the heck and ordered it anyway, and watched G-Force. But I couldn't finish breakfast at all, and in the end I couldn't finish G-Force before the headphones were taken away.
And so, we came home.