Brown among white and black

I have to say that I don't think, (in America at least), that the color of our skin matters at all. We are lucky. This is a dead topic.

Stories

Stories, like Emily Dickenson said, are necessary to continue the otherwise boring exhausting, fatigue-filled life. Stories can be sad, mad, or glad, and can still be appriciated. Stories aren't that hard to write either. Writers can recieve inspiration from anything at all. From a diligent ant striving to serve his queen, to a novel of jet planes and tanks, storis can be about whatever the writer wishes to write about. Of course, Everyone must enjoy the mere thought of something. So, if writing a story is so fundamental to make, why not make them. I can scarcely imagine a world with no enjoyable stories. :( Then, no one will know how to tell a story. And if no one could tell stories, then it would be a pretty monotonous world, wouldn't it? So keep telling stories, hearing stories, writing stories, reading stories, typing stories, and seeing stories, and then, we'll never be bored. Because there's a whole lot of people out there. And for every person, there are at least 3 good stories worth telling at some point in time...

Why Participate in the Olympics?

Why on Earth would some one want to go up and compete against 50 or so other people doing some kind of sport or physical activity? Here's the ABC's of why.

Amazingly, some people might just enjoy and thrive in the competition and tension.
Bring honor to your family.
Close brothers and friends do the same things.
Don't disappoint everyone.
Even the most pathetic athletes dream of getting there.
For "Fame and Fortune."
Gold medal is a must.
Help your country.
Iron Men might just love what they do.
Just want to win.
Kids admire their Olympic Heroes.
Lots of hard work has to pay off, right?
Money from ads and admirers.
Never quit.
Oh, just wanted to try it for fun.
Peer pressure.
Quitting is impossible.
Rivals must be beaten
"Sieze the day."
Talent picked them up.
Understand how to recover from the injured list and bounce back.
Venture out to see great places.
"Wish I could do that."
eXercise is important.
"You can do it."
Z... Sorry I can't think of anything.
:)
Now you know your abc's...
So go to the Olympics!

Modern

There's a poem that was written by Emily Dickenson. It's called, "There is no frigate like a book." It is talking about the fact that books can take you places like cars and ships. I want to change it.
Here's how it goes:

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

There is no rocket like a book
To take us planets away,
Nor any shuttle like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This highway may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the Ferrari
That bears a human soul!

As you can see, my modernized (I actually don't know if there is such a word) version is a more, shall I say up to date "frigate." It makes me think about how much things have changed. I mean, there are so many feats that normal people only dreamed of, that are possible today.

For example, the climbing of mount everest used to be like trying to catch a tiger with your bare hands. Then, for a while, anyone could just take out there wallet, and be taken there with ease. Fine. Not ease, but you get my point, right? Then there's the frontier of space. Who would have thought that we would have landed on the moon and then examined Mars!? We've done an infinite amount of amazing things. I just hope we don't make big mistakes with our big inventions. Maybe we'll even be able to come up with somethin that will rid us of our persistent enemy, the flu. Or even better, a school that was like a private school other than the uniform. More to come, if they don't invent an evil-computer-destroying-monster first. :)

Inventions.

I just thought of a stupendous, incredible, amazing, foolish(maybe), random idea.
It is the nature of some humans to find flaws with things. Then, further down the evolution chain, there are a few humans who find flaws, and then think about how to fix them. Inventions, the things which are made to make some one's life easier, are made when some one finds a flaw in life and wants to fix it, right? So, is it good to be extraordinarily critical?

Comments

Comments can be noticed, read, understood, and taken as advice.
Or, they can be ignored.
But they are always there.
Comments can be memories of people you knew.
Or, they can be read and forgotten.
But they are always there.
Comments can be online(blogs), printed(News paper), vocal(talk), or just seen(TV with the mute on, what else?).
Or, they can be not made at all.
Then, comments are not there.
Then, no one will know how much the others appreciate his/her work.
Then, no one will know what is happening "out there."
Then, no one will know what it's like to be inspired.
So, I'm hoping that you'll write lots of comments about this blog before I write a new one.

Vijay Fufu

Vijay Fufu always knows what to say. I bet, when he plays chess, he always wins because he's turns and turns ahead of the other person. He can always settle disputes between his children, and it is no surprise to me that he got into Microsoft. I would sincerely like Vijay Fufu to write a comment on this and tell me what he had to do to get in. Anyway, when Vijay Fufu wants to do something, nobody can stop him from doing what he pleases. If some one tries to say no, he has all his reasons springboard diving of his toungue into his aggresor's ear drum. From there it's just a short swim to the brain and the person is forced to use his/her brain. I just hope that in the future, "what he pleases" will be something that we all like.

school

Lets see if school is worth going to.

Good:
I get to see old friends.
I get to go to field trips.
I get to meet new friends.
I get to learn.
I get to exercise.

Bad:
I have to do homework.
I have to do boring things(2 digit addition and subtracion =0).
I have to do hard things(5 digit multiplication and division).
I have to spend lots of $$$$$.
I have to wear uniform.

OK, lets add.

-5(bad)+5(good)=0

Therefore, school is nothing! :)
If school is nothing, how do we get there?

Bananas and my head.

They both look weird on the outside.
The insides of both are the parts that are useful.
My mom likes them to be used.
They get rotten after a while (or so my mom says.)
They both help me get through life.
They are both very organized on the inside.

Strange, isn't it?

Our Camping Trip

In my opinion, I think that this camping trip was a good break for the grown-ups. It was definitely the largest camping trip that I've been to. There were about 8 families all camping together. The van was stuffed with more camping stuff than ever before, and it suddenly reminded me of something. "Papa, did we get the list for things we have to buy for school yet?"It was then that I realized with a bang that school was only a week away! Only a week before I got to go to a new campus, meet old friends, and-skip this part if you are homeworkophobic- do homework. And of course, our "organized" family hadn't bought anything school related. I've gotten of topic, haven't I? Back to camping. First, when we got there, we had to check in 6 "reserved" camping spots. There was a little confusion over how close and where the campsites were, but papa figured it out. One by one, 5 families came.

Immediately, we set up and had dinner, which was amazingly dry and stiff rotis with paneer and stuff like that. After that we had a typical campfire and roasted marshmallows. Then I got to help set up 3 campsites when another family drove in. The next morning at around 7:00, papa, 4 other grown-ups, and I went on a strenuous 6 mile hike up to the top of the hill. When we got there, there were lots of little manzanita bushes. We look over the top and could barely see the ocean. We hiked back down and saw a sign that told about the Sudden Oak Death. Apparently, Oak trees in that area are dying with a sort of disease and is affecting the environment.

Anyway, after we got back down at about 10:00, we had a breakfast of a mixture of modth, chole, and sprouts. There was also cereal too. Then we went on another, smaller hike. Maybe I shouldn't have gone, since my feet were aching. (I had to cut my nails and my shoes were too small.) I stopped after about 3/4ths of the way and went back with a few others who were also tired. After that I rested for a bit in my tent. Lunch was a burrito/taco/enchilada meal. Never have I seen so many things in 1 taco. There was onion, tomato, salsa, sour cream, jalepenos, lettuce, olives, mint or parsley or something like that, and beans. It was delicious.

After lunch Saachi wanted to play in the creek nearby, so we went over there for a bit. Before we went back, everybody else came and played. I didn't want to go in, so I rode my scooter around for a while. Then I went down too. They had found a little inlet which was sandy and calm, like a miniature beach in Hawaii. The weird thing was that under the normal white sand at one part, (and only one part), of the beach, there was black sand too. At least it acted just like sand other than the fact that it was heavier and held together better.

After the creek, we went back to the main campsite. We-the kids I mean(the grown-ups were performing)-got to watch a play of Sholay by the parents! My mom organized the whole thing and, ironically, my dad was Gabbar Singh. Amusing, no? Saachi and I sang Yeh Dosthi. While we watched, we were served the best paneer, mushrooms, vegetables, and salad ever eaten. And of course, we did full justice to the spread. Mmm... One thing I must say about camping with Charu Prakash, Rohan's mom: The meals get better everyday in an odd similarity to Mona Bu's cakes. First dry roti, then vegetable sprout mixtures, next came a Mexican feast, and finally, a salad banquet fit for the president! Boy was it yummy. After dinner, we made a fire and roasted more marshmallows and chocolate. Eventually we slept.

In the morning, we had a breakfast of pancakes and played a little. We were one of the last to leave. Saachi and I watched with amazement as my dad packed and my mom said farewells. All of a sudden, bluejays and squirrels came up and started eating our scraps, almost totally unaware of us unless we moved. Maybe we were done with our fun, but for the animals, the party had just begun... :)

Neha Didi

As the oldest member of our generation, Neha Didi isn't a kid anymore(not that anybody has a choice). She earned all the money for college by herself, just like Chikki. Sometimes I sort of forget that she's our cousin because she's so much older than us and acts like a grown-up too. She is training in hopes of becoming a doctor. Hemanth jiju also works just as hard. I don't know that much about her since I really didn't play with her and Chikki much. I'm sorry. :-( Anyway, I'm hoping that by the time her birthday comes again, I'll be able to say more...

Continued...

Ok. Now I know some more thanks to Neha Didi. "one of my fav things to do is to have pillow fights, just like you and Ishan did the other day!! I also love to read Harry Potter, write poems and play chess (like Rupal), watch cricket (like Sahil), match all the colors of my dresses and shoes (like Sejal), hang out with different kinds of people (like Saachi who loves hanging out with your friends, right!), and keep a journal of my experiences (like you!). See, we may have a lot more in common, after all. :-) "

Anil Thou

Anil tau is so much like his son that I could basically just tell you about both of them right now. I think that he must be brave to go to India like he did without even just changing states or countries first. But no. He went global! I know that he himself used to live in India, but he took Sahil and Rupal too. He is great at cricket, since he's the one who used to practice with Sahil almost every weekend. He is also a good artist, or so Sahil says. Just like Sahil and Rupal, he has a nice, enjoyable nature and can talk well to anybody. NO ONE can talk like Anil Tau. He has a wonderful family too. He's had an interesting life in my opinion. :)

Daadu's 75th Bday party

I think that I started Daadu's party off with a bad feeling, since I had to sit in the car squashed by the stuff that was going to be used on my dad's camping trip with his family. Of course, once I got to Ishaan and Sejal's house, I had a blast. I can't really tell you much about the first half of the party, since I only came down when it was time for games. Meanwhile, I had a fierce pillow fight with my little tiger of a cousin, Ishaan. When I finally did come down, we had a cake. Two things I have to say about Mona Bu's cakes. Each time, it's tastier, and 2nd, it's fruitier! In the beginning-whenever that was-she used to put pineapples and cherries. Then she added peaches. Then came blueberries, followed by strawberries. Finaly, she concocted some kind of delicious custard with strawberries, blueberries, peaches, mango, cherries, and pineapple. Mmm... Anyway, after eating the cake, we gave Daadu our letters and presents. Sejal and Saachi's letters were both short, sweet, and cute. Mine was simply a (some say too long) letter of praise. Then came presents.

Mom's idea to give him a car license frame for his new gray toyota was a bullseye. She came up with the quote "Shakunt, I think we're getting there." The present from Sejal's family was two joke books. Amazingly, the first joke that Daadu randomly said out loud had the f-word. Pretty funny, I say. Of course, all of the jokes we kids chose were perfectly appropriate. I wonder, why are'nt grown-ups pertfect if they've had all childhood to get there. Then, Saachi and I did a short, amusing skit. Daadu said a three page "jottings" in complex hindi. The only words I heard and understood were "Vishesh Parivar", or Special family for you english talkers. He said vishesh before, but I didn't catch the next one since it was some wierd word that I have no reason to know. At some point the grown-ups started crying. I was both happy that I didn't understand and curious to know why on earth they were crying.


Next, in tribute to Daadu's ability to do many things at once, my mom or Mona Bu decided to play a musical chairs game with a twist. You also had to carry three red churun in a spoon. If you lost, then you were allowed to eat the churun. This was the first flaw. Some people wanted to eat the churun so bad that they purposely got out. On the other hand, the people who really wanted to win walked as slow as a snail. Seriously! Why are grown-ups so afraid of losing? It's just a fun little game! The game was actually very ironic, since Daadu, whose example everyone was supposed to follow, was so focused on the churun that he didn't notice the music stop and lost. Next was Daadi! It went on and finally it was Mona Bu v.s. Salil Thou. If you dropped your churun, you could pick them up. In the final round, when Mona Bu lost her churun, it looked like she distracted Salil Thou, who dropped his churun too. We then had a redo, in which Salil Thou won. Then it was time to go. Pretty abrupt, huh? :)

Right Angle on Daadu

I couldn’t ask for a better grandfather, since there simply isn’t one. I mean, in how many houses do you find a grandpa that’s 75 years old and still takes great care of himself? He eats his food and put away the dishes, which makes life so much easier for Papa and me. He makes sure to take a walk every single day in the morning, which shows how responsible to himself he can be. He also reads the newspaper, online and printed, so that he can keep up with current events. If someone asks him to do something or wants to help , he instantly has a perfected “Oh don’t worry” attitude. Otherwise, he remains calm and collected, a lifestyle that I am trying to adopt. Also, he has great speaking and writing skills, which only inspires me to do even better. He is willing to take time out of his schedule to answer any questions we have, play a little card game, or just talk about anything at all!Of course, the one thing that Papa and I inherit from him is the ability to do many things at once, such as reading, drinking orange juice, playing carom, and watching TV. In our family tree, he is the roots holding us together and supplying us with knowledge, entertainment, and most of all, a hero. It is easy to look up to him as a role model because he do so many things that are hard for even some people younger than him.
My Daadu is great.