Exhale

In another desparate attempt to convince myself that I'm doing something productive and fulfilling this holidays, I'm glad that I've finished reading what are considered to be the three most enduring works of Dystopian literature...in addition to just generally trying to be more literary. (I've always wanted to call myself that one day. Doesn't it have a certain ring to it? :P)

Oh yea, the concept of Dystopia is the exact opposite of the Greek word/idea of Utopia (which quite aptly means "Nowhere", "No-Place"). Dystopian lit usually features a nightmarish, totalitarian society, or at least one with a fatal flaw, as the main antagonist in the story. The protaganist(s) tend to be individuals who are implicitly aware that something is wrong with their world, and thus they remain in conflict with it for most of the book.

Yea, so these 3 books are like a Must Read if you're planning on exploring the genre. In fact, they're so often compared and talked about together that some people call them the -

The Big Three (in no order of merit)

Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell
I read this sometime last year. It's probably the most terrifying and bleak of the three, which is also probably why its the most famous. Like the other 2 books, it's set in a futuristic state, but unlike them, Orwell's world is characterized by abject poverty, decay and dilapidation. I think it's fascinating that terms such as 'Orwellian', 'Big Brother' and 'thought police' have wormed their way into popular culture and mass consciousness. Powerful indeed.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
I first came across this in sec 3 as part of the English department's reading program. I got it in an exchange with Pea for To Kill a Mockingbird. Anyway I hated it the first time I read it, mainly because the first couple of chapters had very disturbing themes of child sexuality and also because I didn't have the patience to plough through the whole book. I gave it another try a couple of weeks ago and loved it. Strange huh? I guess when reading Dystopian novels, we shouldn't read it so much for the characterization and plot, but for the world that it presents and especially for its ideas. Characters are often used primarily as mouthpieces for the writer's main message anyway. I liked Brave New World because it was interesting that the society it presented could be described as either a perfect 'utopia' or a dystopia depending on how you looked at it. The replacement of God/religion in the novel by Ford/Fordism (a reference to the industrialist, Henry Ford, whose principles of mass production, standardization and consumerism are impt themes in the novel) was also ingenious and highly symbolic. Plus it was quite hilarious whenever the characters went around going 'Oh my Ford!'.

We, Yevgenvy Zamyatin.
Translated from Russian into English. Sometimes known by its Russian title, My. And Zamyatin's name is also often translated to 'Eugene Zamyatin'. Anyway I just finished this and it's really good. You have to read it. If you can find it, that is. The National Library didn't have any copies (but then I couldn't even find any Orwell books there...) and I might have taken the last shelf copy from Kino. But in any case if you do find it, get it! Sadly, its quite often overlooked and Zamyatin is fairly under-represented compared to Huxley and Orwell. But We is nonetheless considered a classic because it is The Grandfather of modern dystopian literature. It was also the inspiration behind the two most well-known dystopian texts (namely, the two above) and in fact there are lots of similarities between We and 1984 in particular; Zamyatin's Benefactor prefigures Orwell's Big Brother; the Guardians are a precursor of the Thought Police; a doomed love affair, illicit rendevouz at an ancient 'apartment', a failed insurrection and the tragic ending all appear slightly modified in Orwell's own novel. We also has beautiful images that are quite poignant. I especially like that it's told from the point of view of a Mathematician who's profession and personality (initially) mirror the sterile, precise and orderly fashion of his society. Very fascinating.

You must read We if you ever find it and if you have time. It's great and I think it's a pity that Zamyatin hasn't gotten the same acclaim and recognition that Huxley and Orwell have. But I suppose if you have only time for one (meaning if you're not as idle as I am) then go for 1984. Orwell's story is probably by far, the most haunting.

posted by Jeanne @ 6:46 PM

Was at an interview a week ago. I think the most interesting part occured in the waiting room, where I was seated with about 4 other girls who came with their own unique arsenal of weapons: Sharp suits, Crisp accents and the Power to annoy.

Scene: Waiting room. 4 girls who represent a vast spectrum of Singaporean JCs - namely the top 3. They all seem to know each other fairly well perhaps because of some invisible elitist fraternity that binds them forever more.

ACT I: The Pointless Small Talk.

Future Med Student: So what have you been doing this holiday?
Future Law Student: Oh I've been so busy - *sigh* with my French lessons...and you know, all these scholarship interviews. And May's going to be even busier...because I have to go for even more interviews with scholarship boards. Its suuuch a waste of time. *knowing smiles amongst all of them*
Future Engineering Student: Oh I can totally understand. Happens all the time. Which scholarships did you apply for?
Law student: Ohhh...let's see then. *rolls eyes up to think* A fair few - the EDB, the MAS, the GIC, the SAF, the PSC, the SIA, the AAR, the PIE, the ECP, the AYE, the AFFEFI, the NIEB, the IQENFLJNELQ... Yes that about sums it up I think. A fair few.
Med student: IQENFLJNELQ? Oh, that's a good one.
Engineering student: Yes I applied for IQENFLJNELQ too but they didn't want me after the 5th round of interviews.Boohoo.
Law student: Oh. I've got another interview tomorrow. It's my nth number.
Medicine student: This is my n+1th interview.
Engineering: (n+1)2th
Law: Oh this waiting is really too long. When can we go up?

ACT II: Great Expectations.

Engineering: So what are you planning to study in Uni?
Law: *promptly* Oh Law. Most definitely. I want to do a double degree in Law and Econs if I study locally. It's so utterly divine. And everyone from my school is applying for that.
Medicine: I'm going to do Medicine and specialize in Pediatry.
Engineering: Is there a double degree in Engineering and Business? I would love to do that.
Law: *tinkle of laughter* Oh no there isn't, sweetheart. I'm so sorry.
Medicine: I don't think there's much point in doing the Arts is there? More or less a dead end.
Engineering: Actually my sister's studying the Arts now.
Law: Oh? Which one?
Engineering: Sociology I think.
Medicine: Ah. *pause, shrugs* HR in the future I suppose. *knowing smiles all around*
Law: I do love your bracelet by the way. Its absolutely divine!

ACT III: THE SHAM.

Law: Oh dear I do hope they don't ask current affairs questions. I'm absolutely clueless!
Medicine: Yes! Oh my, I only read the Life section! *giggles* What a disgrace I must be!
Law: I only read the gossip section of the Life section! *giggles x2* I'm totally ill-informed! I don't know how I survived GP and got an A!
Engineering: My friend who went for the interview yesterday said they asked her what she would do to reform the UN Security Council!
Law: *gasp* OMG! I could never answer that! I know nothing about the UN!
Engineering: Well she was a History S Ppaer student. I guess they ask you questions which they deem relevant to your subjects.
Law: Oh no. I'm only a Geography S paper student! Maybe they'd ask me about the Kyoto Protocol!
Medicine: Yea well what about me? I'm only a Bio and Chem S paper student!
Engineer: Well I must be the worst then - I'm just a Physics S paper student! *light laughter all around* What could they possibly ask us? We're so ignorant!

Haha ok so I've definitely exagerrated. It was certainly intimidating sitting in the same room with them at the time, but now in retrospect, it was rather hilarious. Don't we all sometimes feel the urge to oogle at our stereotypical overachievers and marvel at how divorced from reality they are?

posted by Jeanne @ 2:24 PM

Have just managed to upload photos from my Japan trip and lookitthat!

See? I totally wasn't lying when I talked about canned fresh air (300 yen) from Mt Fuji.

Quote of the day: (Eric Cartman) You will respect my authori-tay!

My brother was telling me ab0ut his attempts at school-sanctioned community service. Apparently and shockingly, he's been helping (out of his own free will) at some children's home to help kids (aged 4- 10) to read. This of course has been compounded by the fact that the kids apparently 'don't want to be taught' and thus logically 'can't be taught' (now where have I heard that before?). And for some inexplicable reason, they have also taken to calling him 'Mr Elephant' whenever they see him, hence making his task quite a Herculean feat.

I cannot imagine how remarkably patient he must have been putting up with their 'retarded behaviour' eg: attempted strangulation while he was helping them tie their shoelaces, enduring catcalls and 'Mr Elephant' etc. Apparently after one particularly frustrating session where he was attempting, without much success, to help them spell, he assigned them a task.

Ian: Ok. Today when you go home, I have some vurrrrrry important homework for you to all do. Are you listening? You better be. Tonight, I want you to go home...now listen carefully...go home and Get A Life. Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you know what a life is? I think you should take this assignment seriously because you all don't have one right now.

Children: What's that? How do you spell it?

Ian: If you don't know go ask your parents.

It was obviously an inappropriate remark but I can feel his pain.

Ian: *trying to justify himself* Well obviously it won't hurt them now because they don't even know what Getting a Life means! And even if they do realize what I was talking about 10 years later, they may actually thank me for my kind words of wisdom and, you know, Get a Life for instance? Its always important to Get a Life don't you think? And I'm sure they'll realize it in the near future and recognize how I was doing them a service to remind them of it. So there. But anyway I'm not going for the next session in case they really did go home and ask their parents.

I can hardly claim any false fraternity with full-time teachers despite having worked as a relief teacher for like. What. Under a month? But nonetheless, it's been eye-opening. Perhaps this is a sort of retribution or grim justice for all those years of cruelty I must have inflicted on my own teachers, both deliberately or indirectly through passive defiance. I wasn't a Bad student I suppose but I can see now that I probably didn't exactly make my teachers' day either, particularly in secondary school. You know that common line teachers use as emotional blackmail/ammuno? It goes like 'If you're so clever why don't you come up here and teach? It's not easy you know!' and it precedes dramatic Shakespearean exeunts, discomfitting silences or even tears (in the case of pregnant teachers with hyperactive emotions). Well it's true, it really is.

Howsoever you may not want to admit it, students NEED teachers more than teachers need students. Teachers are always at the top of the food chain. Face it, they are smarter, cleverer, earn more money and are more intelligent than YOU, the pathetic, smart-alecky student, will ever be without their help. And yes you do need their help. So stop being like Avril Lavigne back when she thought 'Alternative' meant wearing ties with collar-less shirts and going around with too much eyeliner and a perpetual scowl, and pack away your Stupid, Pointless, Self-Destructive Rebellion. Instead, swallow your egos, shut up, sit still, listen, stop reading magazines and texting and just SUBMIT TO THE AWESOME POWER OF THE TEACHER!

Haha I'm beginning to sound like a dictator and my parents. I see myself aging into conservatism right before my computer screen.

It's not that I think students should be utterly acquiescent to their teachers. There should of course be some accountability on the part of teachers toward students but I think its equally important that teachers get the respect they do before they can ever think of respecting their students as mature, intelligent youth. Instead of 2 year old brats who need to be told off every other lessons. And no. Respect isn't a one day affair that occurs only on Teacher's Day where people go up on stage and say 'even though we may not show it we really do appreciate all the work you've done for us'. To me that statement always seemed utter nonsense and fluff. You appreciated everything but you never gave any slight indication that you did? What? No thank you? No smile? How do you ever buy that statement then? It is an assertion with no evidence/substantiation whatsoever apart from a token teacher's day performance and maybe some token gifts. To be fair, maybe students really do value getting what is practically a world-class education, and maybe I'm just being cynical. But nonetheless that has long struck me as being merely a sweet thing to say on a day when we ought to be sweet.

So yes, I shall stop talking as if I have any right to lecture, save for one last sentence: To students past (that's me), present, future - do get a life and start respecting authori-tay!

posted by Jeanne @ 6:17 PM

I had to travel 7 hours by plane, over sea and land, endure perilous roads with no toilet breaks, drive round the Pacific Ocean, brave 6am morning calls, climb up the fifth level of the most sacred mountain in Japan in order to see It.

And what, pray, was It?

The Biggest Rip Off In The History of the Universe. (Mount Fuji, 5th level, souvenier shop)

At first glance it looks like canned sardines or tuna. But its really not. Don't be deceived by the can's kawaii design of dancing children and blue skies. Its really (brace yourselves) -

Canned Fresh Air.

At 300 yen.

So essentially you pay S$5 for an empty can containing 'sacred air' from Mt Fuji which probly just escapes the minute you open the thing.

Now that is pure genius. I never would have thought of it. Would you? Its almost hilarious.

Haha anyway Japan was great! They've got the most crazy, unthinkable products there which are literally one of a kind. Canned fresh air being one of them. We had a tour guide who's 38 but looks 28 because he had human placenta injected into his body (a service only found in Japan, and which costs a cool US$2000), met another 68 year old tour guide with nary a wrinkle on her face (I'm serious! She looks like Nicole Kidman after a botox party) because she takes placenta pills every day which can only be strictly obtained through Japanese doctors and beauticians. There I also saw the most high-tech toilets ever in departmental stores, complete with bidets, water spray functions, water pressure/temperature moderators, odour removal options, heated seats, hand-sensor automated flush systems and even buttons to play music while in the cubicle. Tokyo girls who wear bizzare sunglasses while shopping because by these sunglasses allow them to visualize how the clothes on the stores' window displays will look on them, thus saving them the trouble of going into the dressing room to try stuff on. Handphones which you can wear as rings round your fingers and you just wriggle your fingers to call people. Pod-like cell phones which you hold in the palm of your hand while talking to friends who appear as holographic images above the pod. (due to be released to the Japanese masses in a couple of years time)

I don't know how they come up with these sort of things. Its like they're living in galaxies far removed from the real world. And apparently, the imported Japanese products like cameras, cars and handphones etc which we get in our local stores are all at least 5 years old in Japan. They're the discarded, outdated models which the Japanese don't want anymore, so they export it to the rest of the world. On one hand I'm quite annoyed to know that they're keeping all the good stuff to themselves but on the other I'm quite amazed at how fast technology is moving there.

And the Fashion. Omg. I love people-watching at Shinsaibashi. Everyday's winter in Japan - 95% of the people out on the streets are fully decked out in coats, hats, scarves, gloves, blazers, stockings and every article of clothing is so well-cut, well coordinated and put together. They look like they've all stepped out of Vogue. The remaining 5% are tourists dressed in windbreakers, baggy jeans and white sports shoes. Seriously. We looked like vagrants next to them. And the Japanese women! Everything from their hair colour to their flawless skin to their eyelashes (I think eyeliner, mascara and fake eyelashes must fly off the shelves in Japan) to their ubiquitious stiletto heels are immaculate. How do they do it?? Are those hair extensions or do they really spend hours getting the perfect hairstyle? Why does no one have hair that ends above the chin and in its natural colour (including the men)? How do they manage to slip into size 00 clothes with all the carbo they eat? Don't they get tired traipsing up and down Shinsaibashi in those crazy heels? They don't even cheat and wear kitten heels! Answers continue to elude me. @_@ I'm still waiting for the clouds to part and be enlightened.

And yet it's a country of so many paradoxes. For such a modern society, everything's still fairly regimented. I still remember an ancedote from a family friend who lived in Japan years ago: In the morning there's always a television programme that broadcasts the latest trends in fashion and beauty. And that same day on the streets, all the Japanese girls will be decked out in the exact same fads promulgated by the show. Its rather interesting. Even today in the cities, you still see remnants of that rather conformist attitude. In Shinsaibashi, there's a long pavement full of shops on either side and what struck me was how the people themselves, without the help of signs or any form of crowd control, automatically delineated the right side of the pavement as the path to enter the shopping street and the left side as the exit route out of Shinsaibashi. I was quite shocked because of how they actually adhere so strongly to these invisible and unwritten rules and how orderly that street was. And mind, it was Friday night and it was also payday. It was totally packed but still so easy to navigate because of the two distinct 'streams' of people. But it was also quite funny because whenever people (not yet indoctrinated with these expected codes of behaviour) sort of suddenly paused in the middle of the path or abruptly crossed over to the other side of the pavement, everyone around became quite agitated or flummoxed. They either paused unertainly to make way or just rudely pushed past as the crowd surged forward like one gigantic unstoppable entity.

Even in the convenience stores at morning rush hour, I saw quite a ridiculous but greatly amusing sight: a group of Japanese male professionals all dressed in the same black corporate suit huddling around the magazine stand. And because there wasn't enough room to stand, some took their magazines and then very consideratedly formed another neat row behind those in the front! And altogether there were three orderly rows of Japanese men emanating from the store's magazine rack in the exact same posture: shoulders ramrod straight, head bent, briefcase at side, pouring over Japanese manga comics. They looked like a choir of black crows or something. Do you know what a rare sight that is? I have never known 20-something year old men and 'orderly' to go together but I have obviously been proven wrong. Then I tried to discreetly take a picture of that strange sight but I forgot to turn off the flash so they all looked up at the same time! Freaky. Then of course they looked back down at their comics at precisely the same moment. Utter clockwork. I'm impressed but also unnerved.

Its a country with an interesting mix of new and old, modernity and antiquity, the rapidity of city life and the langurous pace of the country. Teenage girls with tanned faces and silver eyeshadow cross paths with kimono clad matriachs with pale skin and lightly lined eyes. Smoky pachinkos (video arcades) sit next to inns with traditional hot springs. The contradictions continue. I think it is beautiful place to visit but for some reason I wouldn't want to live there. Especially not in the city. Everyone seems to be literally rushing from one place to another, trying to play some unending game of catch up.

There is a forest near Mt Fuji named the Sea of Trees (if I remember correctly) because of how dense it is. Mobile phones are useless in there. People never usually find their way out of the forest. And there are supposedly wild animals who dwell in there. According to our tour guide, people who can't cope with the strain of life go there, lose themselves in the woods to commit suicide and let the bears eat them. I think he was probably exaggerating, but during a search of the forest one year, they unearthed 300 bodies. Its appalling and yet a tragic reminder of how a society's relentless drive forward inevitably lets people fall through the cracks.

Goodbye Japan! I'll miss you and all the amusing, whimsical and often bizzare memories you left me with. Until next time, Sayonara!

posted by Jeanne @ 3:12 PM

Konnichiwa! Kyoo doko e ikimasuka?

NIHON E IKIMASU!!

I'm leaving for Japan in 6 hours! *excited* Will be back in a week.

BTW, uberburger (at Millenia Walk) is a really cool place to hang out at, pricey burgers notwithstanding. I had a Wagyu-style burger ($32) which is essentially the cheapo counterpart of the jaw-dropping $101 Wagyu burger with grade 5- 7 Wagyu beef (whatever that is), truffles, foie gras and topped with champagne dressing! The fries are great and the vanilla ice-cream scoop rolled in milo powder is humungous and delicious. Best vanilla I've ever had! Go go go! Eat eat eat! Splurge splurge splurge! Oh and there's free water! Go go go!

Going to finish packing now. Sayonara!

posted by Jeanne @ 5:18 PM

Was in charge of 4 students during the oral practice period this week. That's when they simulate an actual English oral examination for sec 4s who need more practice in that area. So I was testing them on Conversation that day.

Me: Describe an interesting journey you have had.
Student #1: .....Can I make something up if I don't know what to say?
Me: Sure, just make sure it's believable.
Student #1: Oh. *thinks* I was walking home from school one day. *pause* And I saw a dog running after a man. *pause* The dog bit the man and so he started bleeding. *pause* So then the man took out a pole and beat the dog to death.
Me: ...I think we can do better than that. If you're going to make something up, can you at least think of something that sounds less ridiculous?
Student #1: Oh ok. *thinks* I was walking home from school one day. And *pause* I saw two men staring at each other. So I stopped and stared at them. *pause* They were staring at each other for ten minutes. *pause* Then after ten minutes they took out their poles and starting beating each other to death.

***

Me: Describe an interesting journey you have had.
Student #2: Urrrh...I was in a car travelling along the AYE. And urh. *has a brainwave* On one side of the express way it was raining, and on the other side it was sunny! And urh. It was interesting because one side got rain the other side don't have -
Me: Wait, can you use proper english please? And you're supposed to take this seriously.
Student #2: Oh ok. *pauses for a very long time* I was amazed by the precise angle of the storm clouds; that one side could be affected by rain and that the other could not!

Seriously I wanna kill some of these kids.

posted by Jeanne @ 4:54 PM

Confessions of a stand- in Relief Teacher (Part II)

Me: *msging the most powerful jedi for help* Sir, how do you deal with sec 3 students who refuse to learn?
Most powerful jedi: If you're a girl, just cry. Tell them that you've never given up on anyone, but the sad thing is - maybe they've given up on themselves. Think it'll work?
Me: Haha I don't have anymore energy to cry. Anyway, they aren't even disruptive. They just sit there and...Vegetate.
Most powerful jedi: Then cook them vegetables! Even chopping onions will make you cry! :D

I haven't had the heart to cook them.

But I did invest $1.85 in a packet of assorted toffees for my sec 2s. Worked like a charm. Maybe too well. Like bees to honey. I guess 14 year olds aren't too old for candy.

Me: *standing outside class with toffees*
Random sec 2s: *toddle over, spying sweets* Oooh! Teacher! You have sweets! Are they for us?
Me: Only if you do your assignment properly.
Students: Give us some now la!
Me: No.
Students: Yes. (random student) I'm the principal's son! You have to give me sweets!

*in the classroom*

Me: Do your work!
Random student: *sighs dramatically* Teacher...I just can't concentrate.
Me: Why not?
Student: *sighs more* I need sweets to concentrate...
Me: NO.
Students: You could give us the sweets now then we'll do our work!
Me: NO you get it only if you get 70% of the answers right.
Student: I'm the principal's son!

*after class*
(more students trail after me outside the classroom) Students: So can we have sweets now?
Me: Well no I'll mark your work first then you'll get it tomorrow if you did it properly.
Students: *looking utterly shattered* Huh? No sweets? Why? *little orphan annie look*

Omg. Who knew that sweets could have such an effect.

posted by Jeanne @ 7:17 PM