Freedom For Me

What does freedom mean to me?
It means an assorted medley
Of things to do, to see, to hear
Forever and ever and without fear.

It means sketching all day long
Portraits and cartoons while humming a song;
The rustling of paper, the scratching of pen,
And the corner where you sit becomes your den.

It means playing volleyball, badminton
Without the tension if you are going to win.
It means going up on the stage to act,
To become your character and that’s that.

It means trekking and adventuring
Backpacking across valleys and seas;
It means eating Baskin & Robbins ice-creams,
So tasty and cold, it just makes you freeze.

But one is most free when one is asleep;
Calm and peaceful, not taking a peep;
And in your dreams, you really can be free.
Ah! That’s what freedom means to me…

- Written by Vedha on 14th August 2015

April 18th, Wet 'N' Wild, Blacktown. 2014

      Hey everyone! Early in the morning, Kash and Rey went for morning prayers and today was awesome and everyone had loads of fun. We went on so many rides! June and Pappa came as well. I went on this ride called the half pipe twice! We also went to the lazy river and wave pool. I liked the lazy river because it had the floats where you could just lay on it and the currents would carry you. The ride I liked the most was the T5. It had a huge funnel in it where it felt like a swing! I even went on the breakers (quite boring). There were individual rides, one was called the H2O-Go. There were moments when you were completely submerged with water and then moments when the tube was covered with neon lights. 

      For lunch, I had Fish 'N' Chips, which by the way wasn't so great! After lunch, we went back to the Lazy River and we went for two rounds so that we got used to the temperature of the cold water! Then, when we went by the wave pool, we saw the that the waves were up so we hung out there for another few hours. We were there till they closed which was at 5 in the evening. Then, June's friend dropped us to the train station and from there, we caught the train home.

Love,

Vedha.

17th (Thursday), Friend's House, Blacktown, SYD.

Hello all! Today, June and I made brownies! Luckily, they didn't have walnuts because we didn't have any at home. Also, I don't like them. I watched carefully as June made them, so I could probably make them in the future. It's actually all very simple! Although these brownies weren't for me, I enjoyed helping and helping taste. Wondering who I'm making the brownies for? Well, June's colleague's kids invited me over for a sleep over and the next day we were to go to a water theme park called Wet 'n' Wild. We; Pappa, June and I, caught a bus to Blacktown, where they live. Once we reached, I was introduced to Kash and Rey. We all had dinner which was chicken curry, bread, salad, and trifle. After eating this yummy food, we all played on the PS 2 and found out that June was a super awesome player! After an hour of playing, June and Pappa went home. After that we thought of watching The Conjuring, but since we had to get up early, decided against it. So we all went to bed at 11:30.

The following names; Kash and Rey are not the original names of the real people.

Love,
Vedha.

Sunday, April 13th, 22:30, SYD.

     Hey everyone! Today we did many things. Let me start with the very beginning. We woke up at around 9:30 in the morning. We had planned to catch a Captain Cook Cruise Ship and go to Manly Beach and Denison Fort. Once we saw the weather, we knew that none of that was going to happen. So we each got ready slowly. Pappa made me and Avva tuna and egg sandwiches, and for June, peanut butter sandwiches. I had two and a half sandwiches! That to, it was whole meal bread. Yes, quite filling.
     June was yet to go for a bath so once we finished eating, she started cleaning the house and she said that she'd tag along with us after she finished her bath. So we left to Milson's Point (a ferry/train station). We walked at our own pace so that Avva could keep up. We finally got the ferry at around 1 in the afternoon. We had a long very hair- ruining ferry ride to Darling Harbour. There were huge yachts and ships. There was this ship called the Sydney Ballroom. It had tables and chairs and there was a big stage. We then went to the wax museum called Madame Tussauds. There were famous celebrities, sportspersons, TV hosts, politicians, and other famous people of Australia. At the entrance   of the museum, there was an enclosure with a Koala Bear. You could hardly make out that it was real!
     After the museum, we went and had lunch at the Sydney Tower Eye. I had a beef, cheese and bacon pie and a something chocolate sundae which was the main course! Oh, it was delicious... Once we finished that, we went to the top of the Sydney Tower. The view from the top was so lovely and beyond words. We all went into a photo booth and took pictures! I have the reel here. I had a raspberry and orange Fanta slushy which tasted delicious. The best part: For $11.60, I could top up how much ever I wanted! My type of idea. After this we went to Pappa's friend's house for dinner, and he had cooked up a huge storm for us! For starters (please note: that there were three starters), we had pickled olives, bread sticks and orange fizzy juice. After that, for me everything we ate was a blur. We had risotto, salad, tiramisu, lemon tarts and the menu went on and on! We came back home and we all hit the bed immediately.

Love,
Vedha.

Sunday, April 9th, SYD.

Hi everyone! Today, we went to Blue Mountains, but we didn't really see much. Reason being that it was very very foggy. We drove to a place called Echo Point where we were supposed to see 3 huge cliffs called the three sisters. When we went there, we took three pictures or so and then it started raining and also, the whole place was covered with fog! The temperature could have easily been 6 to 7 degrees celsius. We waited while Pappa brought the car. Once he finally did, we all decided that we should just have lunch and go.

So we went to a restaurant called 'The Mountain Ridges'. For a drink, I ordered a Hazelnut Hot Chocolate. It was heavenly having a warm drink and watching it pour outside.

Then, for starters, I had asparagus wrapped with bacon with melting cheese. It tasted like a morsel of...well, yummy food! 

And finally (not), for the main course, I had basil pesto penne cheese pasta. There was a whole bowl of it! I couldn't finish all of it, so I gave a little to Avva, and Pappa also had a little from my bowl.

Last but not least, dessert! It was called 'Caramel Kisses'. Now these were the best (almost) things I'd ever eaten! It reminded me of these tarts that I'd have at a café called Café Dacosta back at home.

After that, we went to a nearby store that all types of Indian items like Ganesha idols, dream catchers, etc. I don't remember most of the journey back home because I went to sleep. At around 8, we stopped at a place which had a wonderful top view of Sydney. We remembered that at eight, everyday, there would be fireworks near the Opera House. After watching the fireworks, we went home and all I remember is that I hit the bed! 

Love,

Vedha.

Saturday, April 5th, N/A, SYD.

Hello everyone! Today, Pappa and I went and rented a car and came back home. Then everyone made lunch.
We were going to pack it as our picnic food. Here's what we packed: basil pesto pasta, vegetables/greens salad with bocconcini, fruit salad and herb wraps.
We went for a long drive and reached this place called Long Reef Beach. There was a huge park with picnic benches. We chose a picnic table and got out the food. We all ate like pigs who'd never seen muck before. After eating, we continued our drive. At last, we reached Palm Beach! The sand was white and the water was blue and best of all-my face was full of happiness and joy. There were children surfing, splashing water at each other and people eating lunch and generally having fun. Very soon, I'd be part of that crowd, enjoying and playing merrily.
We, the girls, went to the ladies loo and changed into our swimsuits. Then, we went and gave Pappa his shorts to change into.
Once all the changing was done, we chose spot for Avva to sit and tried to attack the water. When I say 'tried', I mean froze in the water. Finally, a huge wave washed down and drenched me with cold water. After a few dunks, I could swim without a problem. Once this happened, I got the body board and Pappa tried to teach me how to body board. As soon as I got the hang of it, I started sinking in the huge waves. After a while, once we got out, we found a saltwater pool. I dunked my head in that so all the sand in my hair would go away. Then we changed and our plan was to go to the lighthouse. When we reached the foothills, it said the rest of the journey had to be continued on foot. Since we weren't up to it, we went to a close by park by the water. We played with the frisbee for a while and then drove back home.

Love,
Vedha.

Friday, April 4th, SYD.

Of course, today was my birthday, so I did something special. First, at midnight, Pappa and June set up a surprise cake for me! Since they had figured out that I am crazy about berries, they had gotten me a Strawberry Mousse Cake. So then we all hogged cake in the middle of the night. Once we got up, I went for a nice long tub bath. After my lovely bath, I FaceTimed with my uncle for a while. For breakfast, we had very yummy food: Pancakes, Berry Reduction and Golden Syrup.

After that, we went to watch Captain America 2 in 3D. This was my birthday gift! Very marvellous and fun, too. Once the movie was done, we asked June whether she'd cooked dinner and she said she hadn't.

So we got 2 pizzas and Avva and me had ice-cream. We got a cab and went home and had dinner. Pappa had bought 1 big Margrita and 1 sea food pizza I ate a little of both. After this, I cut my second cake. A chocolate puppy cake. It was so cute and adorable-looking that I didn't have the heart to cut and eat it! But in the end I had to. It was so rich and full of flavour! I had only a little because it was too dense. Then we all went to sleep since we had an early morning the next day.

Love,
Vedha.