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.

Tuesday, 2nd April, 10:15pm, SYD.

Hi! I just finished coming back from a long walk. After Pappa came back from work, we both quickly freshened up and went down to the ferry station- I think it was called MacMahon's Point. We took a few pictures over there as we waited for the ferry. Finally when it arrived, Pappa gave me a card and I had to hold it up to a screen and then it let out a BEEP! We got onto the ferry and took a seat outside so that we had a nice view of the water and everything around it. We took quite a few pictures together as well as the famous Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Luna Park. We got off at the stop near Luna Park (called Milson's Point) and then while getting out of the station, we had to hold up our cards again, this time it beeped, then showed the cost of the ride and then deducted the amount from the card. I found this really fascinating... After that, I behaved like a proper tourist and started clicking tons of pictures of Luna Park. Then Pappa and me started walking back home, by the shore. After a while, the moon came out and it looked really pretty. It was in the shape of a crescent. Both of us took pictures of it. I even took a picture where it looked like the moon was Pappa's tooth! I enjoyed taking hilarious and random pictures a lot. Then we continued our long walk home. At one point, we stopped and sat on a log and he told me about something that had happened a while ago. After this short story, we continued our walk once again. Finally, once we came back, we made a very yummy tasting vegetable salad. We ate that and then all the adults had a long-adulty conversation as I tried to breathe (I'd been facing a lot of breathlessness today). Then, Pappa finished doing his work. Once he did, the two of us transferred all the pictures from the camera to the MacBook. I was horrified at the look of how many selfies I'd taken! Finally, we all slept at 1 in the morning!

Tuesday, April 1st, 4:00pm, Sydney.

Helloss! Today, for breakfast I had berries, passion fruit, yogurt, and Jodhpuri style sandwiches. I have now found out that I looovvveeee berries!!! We went out and had lunch... We had wontons, noodles, fried rice, dumplings, and juice. The dumpling was filled with soup, so we had to put it onto the spoon and then poke it so all the soup came onto it, then eat it!

10:40pm-

Heyzzz! Just finished getting comfy after coming back. We went swimming at The North Sydney Olympic Pool. It was so fun! My arms and legs are all aching...

After that, we went for dinner at a Lebanese resteraunt. We had falafels, fish, brown rice, lemonade, baklava, salad, potato, humus, baba ganoush and pita bread. It was like a 'Welcome To Sydney Feast'. 

I took a lot of pictures of the swimming pool, Sydney Harbour Bridge and parts of Luna Park. That's all for today. Adios.

Love,

Vedha.

Monday, March 31st, time: N/A, Flight to Sydney.

Heyzzz! I'm in the second flight which is Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. I told everyone that we reached KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) at around 7 ( Malaysia time). I'm so confused with time zones!!!! 

Now at least I don't need to worry about Malaysia time. In Bangalore, the security checks went by properly, but the waiting time was quite a bit... I'm really going to miss all of my friends heap loads, but I'm not going to Sydney to miss my friends! 

We waited more at KLIA in the lounge. But not as much as we did in Bangalore. During the flight to Malaysia, I watched so many movies! I'm going to watch more later...

Grrr... Annoying baby ALERT. Beep-beep!

Love,

Vedha.

The Song of The Stars

    Stare at us all night,
    As we glitter with all our might.

Walk around, strolling in the park.
Glance at us through the clear, yet,
Leafy sky.

    But, aye,
    Listen to;
    the Song of The Stars.

I Envy You

  The way you speak,
  The way you eat,
  All are very unique.

The way you care
An' the way you share,
Seems like a nightmare.

  For I, can never be you,
  Coz, I envy you.

Laugh, Live, Cry

Sitting there,

Enjoying the tea in the sunlight.

Laughing like a hyena,

About the silly and weird jokes.

Standing at the staircase,

Waiting, waiting and waiting,

for a response to my wailing.

But no answer came to me.

I lay down there,

Wishing I lived on that couch,

Watching television and sipping juice.

Laughing, living and crying,

That is what forms who I am,

ME.

Stars At The Sky

The stars cover the sky, so dark
They make the dogs look up and bark.

The twinkling stars floating at space
They don't seem to move
Even though you know your walking at a pace.

The little toddlers chase them
In the night sky
And yet another night goes by...

Monsoon Mingling

Roaring clouds across the sky
Tell us that monsoon is here
Dark and floating clouds then pair
Raindrops everywhere.

Clouds make lightning flash overhead
And paint the fields with rain
Clouds make earth, it's fragrance spread
When wet with drops of rain.

Rising from the ocean vast
Clouds fill up with rain
Rain to ocean, back at last
To mingle with the ocean again!

Poem Marathon, Poem 5

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me
as good belongs to you.

Poem Marathon, Poem 4

Love is not a thing to understand.
Love is not a thing to feel.
Love is not a thing to give and receive.
Love is a thing only to become
And eternally be.

 

Anaika's Kitchen Set

        It was Anaika's birthday. It was a bright and sunny day. thankfully her parents had decided to have her birthday party at the

pool. She had invited only three of her friends. Ananya, Sharanya and Ashlin. Her parents were obviously there. They enjoyed in the pool for some time

and then went to a restaraunt. They enjoyed, and then headed to Anaika's house. While playing in the room, her friends came up with an idea. " Hey Anaika,

We're sure that you want to open your gifts. Why don't you open your gifts?" said her friends. "Sure, why not? Let's have a gift ceremony!" she exclaimed.

So they sat in her room and opened all the gifts that she had got.

       

        Ananya had given her a book called 'Dragon's Tale', Sharanya had given her a set of make up and her best friend, Ashlin gave her a human

sized kitchen set! "I love it!" exclaimed Anaika. Ashlin was happy and content. Then, everyday after school, she would play with the kitchen set. When she grew old

and had her own kids, she gave the kitchen set to her daughter. As for her daughter, she thought it was very old school and dumped it in a local dustbin. When Anaika

was passing that bin, she saw it. Not only her heart was broken, but also Ashlin's.

 

- This story was written on 4th April, 2013.

Poem Marathon, Poem 3

Should she, should she not?

This question had been bothering her for the past few days.

Would he decline or accept?

More questions aroused in her mind…

Who would she become?

How would they be together,

Without them knowing?

What would they do?

What would her friends think?

As she was reflecting these thoughts,

By the pond,

He arrived.

Will you… 

Poem Marathon, Poem 2

The petals showered into the lake,

And filled it with fluorescent colors,

The fish from under wondered what was wrong,

For their curiosity  could kill.

Poem Marathon, Poem 1

The stared at the animal,

Wondering whether the animal reflected her emotions,

But no, then by now he would have run away.

She glared at the tiger’s eyes with anger,

Then, he stared innocently.

Proving to her that they had a mind,

Of their own.

We Unite

Once in a place called Lagoore, there lived a sweet 12- year old girl called Banga, who used to go to a school named Pragreis School.

Although this girl was 12 years old, she was in grade 6. In sixth grade, most of the kids choose to be in two different groups. As it may seem, it IS girls and boys.

But this girl wanted everyone to be together. The other section of the sixth grade was exactly like what she wanted her class to be like.

Although she hated to compare her class with the other, she really wanted it. The other class was happier when all of them were together.

In her class, if a girl was with a boy, then everyone would laugh at them for the rest of the month, probably. ‘Anushka and Karthik sitting on a tree, K-I-S-S-N-G’ is what they would say.

She shared her thoughts and views with her teachers and they thought that it was time that the class got together and did everything together.

 Very soon all the girls and boys had no barriers between them. They played together, and best of all they taught each other different games! Life was perfect for Banga and her friends.

Once she grew up and if she’d ever have kids, she would be proud to tell them about her childhood.

                     

                                     The end…