Wearing Irony

Today in the morning we went for a hike, and it was just great. Unfortunately, Saachi was feeling a little droopy. She explained that she was allergic to the smell of trees...and we left it at that. on our way back down, dad noticed that she was wearing a sweatshirt, and suggested that her exhaustion was caused by heat. I looked at her, and recognized the article immediately. Let me describe it to you. When I was eight years old, I came into possesion of a sweatshirt. It was dull, gray, and wasn't at all remarkable. But the thing that set it apart from my other clothes was what was on it. There was a picture of a football and the words, "Refuse to lose! Football rules!" And guess what, I didn't like football. In fact, I thought that it was scary. That was the sweatshirt that Saachi wore today. The irony is overwhelming. It advertised football, yet neither Saachi nor I play it. Out of all my sweatshirts and sweaters, it has lasted longest and looks just like it did when we bought it, and, honestly, I still feel the same way about it. Its dull, gray, and so incredibly ironic.

An exciting weekend part II

On Sunday, my friends came over. Stefan and Brandon came around 11:00, but Nathaniel was still missing. Mom and I started to get worried, but finally he arrived as well. We played some video games and ate Chinese food for lunch. Stefan and Nathaniel had a verbal war, and eventually Nathaniel made Stefan spit his milk back into his glass. The things they said were hilarious. After lunch, we went to the Movies. We had planned on watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but mom was still a little apprehensive. Honestly, it was really wierd, but since we already knew the story, it wasn't that scary. Mom, on the other hand, was appalled at the sight of us laughing when, say, the greedy girl was a "bad nut" and got thrown in the trash. I could see her point, but I tried to convince her that it was perfectly OK. After the movie, Every one was picked up and it was, once again, a lazy, boring Sunday. YAY!

An exciting weekend part I

What a rush! 2 birthdays, 3 parties... all in one weekend! Saturday, the 23rd, was Saachi's Birthday. First we went to Shadowcliff park with Ishan and Sejal's family, and had, of course, a picnic. At least, the grown-ups did. We went down to the shore of the lake and jumped into the warm water. Unfortunately, we could only go about 4 or 5 meters out, since after that it was too deep. We were entertained for a whole hour trying to swim normally in water 3 feet deep. It was sort of pathetic, really. Later, we got to the fun part. On the far side of Shadowcliff Park, there's a huge water slide, almost(but not quite) as big a the Serpertines in Raging Waters. The factor that tipped the ride up a notch were the mats we slid down in. These things were about 1 by2 feet, and all of us almost slipped off. There were four slides, but we only went down two of them. After that, we went back to the other parents and we all drove to Ishan's house( it was his birthday yesterday). The parents chatted and talked while we played Ebay and Twister. After dinner and a marvelous cake made by Mona Bu, Saachi and Ishan opened their presents. Saachi recieved a voice changer(of her choice) from our family and books from Sejal and Ishan. Ishan was delighted to get a remote control airplane and a lego car. We helped build the car, play with it, and, in the end, partially destroy it(just the headlights and side doors, to make it streamlined). After that, we started a 750-piece Times Square puzzle. We had alomost finished the heading before the parents finished talking. Saachi stayed for a sleepover, and I don't know what they did. Can you believe we did all this in one saturday? I felt totally drained...but as they say, you can always take one more step.

Pool parties

I love summer. Specifically, I love moms in summer. Mom wants me to relax(until school starts) , and my friend's mom has thrown two pool parties in two weeks. Conveniently, I had a spectacular reason to go to both. The first was an end-of-the-year party, so of course I had to come. The second was for Father's Day, and my father needed an escort. Kathy hosted both parties with flair, and the other parents were amazed at her ability to put up with us.
For the first party, Stefan invited students from our school. Stefan and Brian brought about a dozen water guns, since we had about seven people. Eventually I got the weak one-dollar water gun, so I gave up on it and used the silver raft that Stefan had brought. With me holding onto the head end, I could run in the pool and transform it into a battering ram and a shield! Since the raft was about six feet long, I was too far away for the victims to get a decent shot past the raft. Unfortunately, at one point I rammed Kevin's gun, which hit him in the mouth. :( After that I didn't use it. Since my mom was feeling nice, like always, I was able to stay a little longer than normal in the pool... and help clean up. Then Kathy dropped Saachi and me back home, to suffer in boredom once again.
The second pool party was a Father's Day Luau, so, naturally, the fathers came(along with some kids...) . Ironically, none of the dads dived in the pool during the entire party, and talked for four whole hours. Anyway, back to the important people, the kids. We played for a while with the water guns, and eventually some one had the idea of starting a war with the little eight/nine-year-olds who were in the pool as well. No mistake, those guys were tough and spunky. Having the age advantage, we won by a waterslide. Then there was a "adult swim"...alias "lifeguard break." We had to get out of the pool, so we all ate a splendid lunch. There were five bags of chips, three salsas, and two bean, corn, and tomato salads. For desert, we had chocalate chip cake and brownies, and Kathy had also graciously arranged for four different types of ice cream. After devouring lunch, we played pingpong; Stefan E., Danny, and I battled long and hard, but the former was more experienced. Finally we returned to the pool, and Danny threw in Stefan's green raft. We all fought for it, and somehow, I held on persistently for a while. Then Danny helped me and started to pull me out of the struggle. When Stefan S. joined us, we had a game. Danny, Stefan, and I would be on one team, and Jamie and his sister would be on another. I would be the "President" of my team, and Danny and Stefan would try to pull me to the deep end. Likewise, the other team would attempt to drag the raft to the shallow end and/or flip me over. Our team won, and we continued the game in a variation. Now the rest of my team had to protect me from Jamie, who would try to shoot me with a water gun. Before we could satisfactorily finish, it was time to go home(yes, so greedy). Now, after experiencing such a high rate of parties per week, I'm becoming philosophical: when it comes to parties, the more, the better.

Sports, like life

Swimming is my favorite sport. It pumps your lungs and heart, strengthens the arms and legs, and, best of all, keeps you thin. :) Besides, at least the parents aren't biting their fingernails and worrying about whether you will still have all of your bodyparts at the end. Soccer and basketball are twins, and if both are played, it works almost the same muscles as swimming. Also, I have a clear goal, and I train myself and invest my time in getting better. Golf, croquet, and volleyball are played by all those filthy rich men, so just in case I win the lottery or finally come to my senses, I ought to give them a chance, I guess. Track and field are out, since I have asthma and don't enjoy simply running in circles my whole life. Frankly, I want to get somewhere.

India, the great one

For the Bangalorians, I want to wonder how long it will take India to become a great one. It's already on its way. Coincidentally, I watched a movie last night with Dippin Mamu called Swedas. It is about a Nasa Global Precipitation Measurement (gpm) manager named Mohan. (part is played by Sharukan). When he was a child, in India, he had a servant named Kaveriamma to look after him. She was like a 2nd mother. He feels bad that he isn't there to take care of him and goes back to India to find her. While he is there, he sets some miracles into action. It is a terrific movie.(Anil Tau would like it)

America, a superpower?

I am going to talk about america, america. Some nations think of the US as a super power. I think that some people in the US think that that is the way it will stay. But then, I doubt that the greeks and Romans thought that their civilization was going to collapse. They used to be the "center of the world" And literally- "all roads lead to Rome." They had a map like a wheel: the center was Rome, with cities and roads leading out from it.

A quote on a trading card.

I play with these trading cards. Some are spirits, warriors, wizards, or even worms. Any way, there is one card that is the "Kami(spirit) of Old Stone". It had a quote on it. The quote was special and sounded like something I heard once. I think that it's funny: "There was a wall here. Now it is fallen. There was a tower here. Now it is dust. An army fought here. Now it is dead. A spirit was here. It is all that remains."
Thank you

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

Why do we celebrate Christmas? To celebrate Christ? NO WAY! Maybe some of my friends do, but I think of Santa for one simple reason: it's fun! :) We have parties, we talk, we sing, we play, we get together with the people we want to be with, we get presents(even the parents), and we are happy. I once brought one of my Chinese friends to celebrate Holi. He had a blast (literally; He looked like a rainbow). He (and I, for that matter) didn't care that Holi was a religious festival about Gods and heroes. It was the things we did that brought happiness to him. Whether you like it or not, Christmas brings happiness to me.

Turkey 3- about turkey 2

I'm sorry! This is about the sholay thing. I told you that it was my mom's idea... wrong! It was Neelam Tai's. I have changed it there too.

Turkey 2004 Part 2

Phew! That was such a big mouthful, I had to stop and take a breath. Innn. Ouuut. Okay. Let's go!

After lunch, Sejal and Saachi became Ishan's pesonal leapords. I was a tiger who tried to confiscate his car and then hide it. I hid it in the fruit basket, under the pillow, under the desk, and (in my most daring escapade) right behind Daadu. Meanshile, Neelam tai had a great idea for entertainment: We would act out funny parts of Sholay or our own creations. It was all hilarious. Salil Tau did the Suisside scene. He accidentally fell off of his tower! Saachi, Ishan and I did the Gabbar Singh scene with Bau Ji. He was a really terrific actor. At last we devoured some pizza for dinner while playing some games. Various people were playing Chess, Sweep, and Carrom. I wanted to play everything, but I only got to play sweep. :( Finally, we went back home and slept like cheetahs after a long run.

The Thanksgiving Turkey lived @ Laredo on 2004!

Love @ Laredo was the thing to say on Thanksgiving. At 10 in the morning mom screamed and yelled at us(as usual) and rushed to drive to Neelam Tai's house without being late. Ironically, we were the first ones there(other than Neelam Tai's family). Again right on schedule, Neelam Tai asked me to try her family-famous soup. It was delicious. When I received (all right, snatched) some garlic bread and tried using the soup as a dip, my tongue did a flip in joy. You could say that I got loved and fed @ Laredo. After about an hour, Saachi and I started wondering when Sejal's family was going to make their great debut. Neelam Tai became a wee bit frustrated when we asked her, since she didn't know and had no reason to know;She was doing enough work already anyway. Saachi came up with a brilliant idea: When they did finally come, we would call Vijay Fu "Betty" and dub Mona Bu "Bob". It was a stroke of genius on Saachi's part. We didn't punish Ishan and Sejal;It wasn't their fault that they were late, was it? They came at around 12, but the cool names wore off at 2. Then we had lunch, which was paneer, bhala, dahl, and roti. Mmm. Are you having a great time just reading this? Then read Part 2 for the rest of this epic story.

Know me

        My name is Vishesh. Vishesh means special. Special people are everywhere.

(Including the modest person writing this. My mom tells me I can be a special

annoyance.  It is inevitable that I will pester her with "what if" questions all day.

Now, I'm required to come with a possible answer for every "what if". That spoils the

effect of my superior pestering skill. I think I am getting more talkative these days,

and that should improve my family's listening skills. 

        I take care of my mind and body. I use a special oil to keep them from squeaking. The ingredients are the following:

Brain Teasers: Puzzles.

Swimming: Good for the body, Except for a water-filled

nose. Gross!

Basketball: Helps you grow, unless you get trampled by

metal players being attracted to the magnetized ball.

Volleyball: Hand-arm coordination. Unfortunately, that

sore arm won’t move for a while.

Soccer: makes your legs grow as big as trees.

Wallball: Umm… just for fun. 

       Here is an exciting exclusive executive summary of things that I don’t enjoy.

I think our bushes everywhere are scared of our President, and he should be pulled

out of the ground. The U.S, has tried to pacify the world by dropping bombs.

Pollution also gets on my nerves. Educated people make devices that will bring the

Earth to its hands and knees. Global Warming will cause the Earth to flood. We live

in one crazy world! I reflect that the thing I scream most about is getting to school

on time. Every day I yell my lungs out at my dad or my mom.  I never know if I

actually needed to shout though, because my parents always get me to my “office” on

time. Besides that, I am on my "OWN". Thank God.

My mom

My mom, Maneesha Jain, is the best. I bet you're thinking, "Oh, how sweet. Every kid thinks that about their mom," but I can back my case. My mom is the "Holder of Crazy Wisdom" and sees all and knows all. Once I wanted to play a game because I was bored. She immediately stopped what she was doing and played a few rounds of sweep with me. Another time, I accidentally put manual dishwashing soap in the dishwasher. There were so many bubbles that it filled the entire kitchen floor. When I went upstairs and cried, my mom came up and comforted me. Still don't believe me? How about this episode: I was driving back home from swim practice and was playing a game with my sister. I inadvertently threw my shirt, (I was still in my swim clothes, so I didn't have it on), out the window. It flew out behind us onto the road. When I told my mom a few seconds later, she told me it was OK and then made a U-turn. When we were parallel to the shirt, which fortunately had had no cars run over it, my mom got out of the car, walked deliberately to the shirt, picked it up, and came back. Then she got in the car and we drove home. :) Like I said, my mom is definitely the greatest, most magnificent, spectacular, superb, terrific, very good, outstanding, #1 MOM.

By the way mom, Happy Birthday

[{(Mom's and my concept of respect)}]

How do you respect your elders? When you do, do you receive blessings? Our theory is that doing pairi pouna is the form of respect that the elders most give back blessings. Also, everyone knows that sound does not travel in space but bounces of the atmosphere. It is also scientifically proven that energy never dissapears. It can change and alter its form, but it never dies. Therefore, when people give you blesssings, the blessings will keep richocheting around the atmosphere and keep hitting you. If you work long enough, you can have an eternal shield of love, kindness, and blessings that will come back again and again.

Piano Teachers

Piano teachers are definitely the strangest teachers around. I mean, what other teacher do you know who makes you break your fingers by hitting little wood blocks to make sound. Piano teachers are really posessive. They want credit when you play or suceed. Also, they won't teach you if they know you are going to ditch them. And if you do manage to evade their questions and try to ditch you, they will try to convince you for an hour that it's a stupid decision. Piano teachers just don't understand the concept of change.

Ideas wanted!

Hello Hamesha! I'm afraid there's been a drought and my idea faucet is dry. Please give me Ideas by writing comments on this blog!

Sand castles

Two weeks ago, there was a sand castle building contest in capitola beach. We had entered last year and gotten 4th place for building the Taj Mahal. We were going to try to build it even better this year. At least, the grown ups were. The kids went off to build a little mermaid. While the moms were carving the sea girl, the kids were playing in the water. I tried digging one of my tunnels, which was only about 2 feet long. It was destroyed. This occured again and again about 3 times until I gave up and started to just dig down and diagonally, like this.

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A few kids wondered what I was doing, but they couldn't figure it out, not that I expected them to. After digging in this way for about 3 feet down, I collapsed the tunnel, therefore making a downward slant in the opposite direction. Then I started to dig that way. I had made a chair by digging instead of building. (Ingenious, huh?) Then I collapsed the part of the tunnel which I had been digging and buried myself up to my stomach. My mom called me and a squirmed out. I walked back and found the kids striving to protect the finished Taj Mahal from the waves. I joined in and we worked on walls until the judges were finished judging. Then we destroyed the Monument by jumping on it and playing "King of the Hill." It had been an exiting, yet exhausting day. I wonder if my chair is still there...

If Saachi and I switched places...

If Saachi and I were shot into a worm hole which caused us to switch ages, our lives would probably switch too. Instead of her asking me for advice, I would be the one pleading for help. On the other hand, I would only have to do the spoons while she did all the groceries, dishes and laundry. I would have a measly 30 minutes of homework and then reading as she did 2 and a half hours of homework. Then again, she would probably be asking me do play board games all the time, and I would have to decline for fear of her inevitable victory. At dinner, when we were having a family discussion, she would be the one who didn’t speak up. Of course, I would be the “squeaky wheel” who, in our family, doesn’t always “get the grease.” All in all, our “yeah”s and our “boo”s almost cancel out, leaving me just as cheerful as usual.

Warning: Saachi's Stuffed Animals!

Those of you who have bravely ventured into the "jungle of the Three-bed room" have seen the menagerie of no less (but maybe more) than 42 stuffed animals . You have come face to face with velcro-hand monkeys, life size pets, and everything from ferocious alligators to Hogwarts owls. I have seen the many wars that have been fought by the cats and dogs(the dogs always win of course). I have witnessed tropical parakeets frolic with "the Bear family." And to all who dare enter this savage labyrinth, "BEWARE!" HA! HA! HA! HA! HA... I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. Anyway, I would like to have everyone comment on this blog and tell me how far we can let the Stuffed animal disease spread. Thank you.