Janaki's Blog

Last night was a night of fun. Rabia held a party at her home and about 8 of us were able to attend.  Technically, Rabia’s mom is our biology teacher, Ayesha ma’am. And since whenever we go to parties we always say ‘aunty’, it was kind of confusing. Rakshanda suggested ‘Manty’ (Ma’am+Aunty) but that wasn’t going to fly. We had soup as a starter, pizza as dinner and Baskin-Robbins as dessert. When it comes to ice-cream, BR rules. We joked around for a while, listening to music and texting the others who hadn’t been able to come by trying to make them feel guilty for not coming. It wasn’t hard. Time seemed to fly by. Chandana and I had to leave at 9:30 and we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the clock. We requested our parents to come at 10:00 instead. Dad sounded grumpy but was fine with it. Overall, we had a lot of fun, and it was nice to spend some time together. Especially, since we still had more than a week of holidays left and a lot more fun to look

Since the term-ending exams are over, its goodbye grade 8, and he-llo grade 9! We had a class party and we got all our marks today. Now, it’s 2 weeks of undisturbed holidays. The class party was awesome and we feasted on cupcakes, pizza, donuts, pakodas, garlic bread, noodles, chicken sandwiches, kheer and cinnamon rolls. Rakshanda shook the Pepsi bottle, and when she removed the cap, she got sprayed. This morning, when I was on the stairs, I met our library teacher, Yamuna ma’am. She asked me to meet her in the library after a few minutes. When I did she handed me something in gift wrapping. On opening it in class, we found that it was a really pretty purse. I had donated 100+ books to the library this year. We all felt that 8 th grade had gone way too quickly, but it was also one of our best school years. It was hard to believe one full year had gone by. Now again, new teachers, new books, new friends. Especially when we heard the fact that there would not be a 9-D,

The exciting Paris tour ends with a final stop at Disneyland! Fasten your  seat-belts , ’cause you are going on the ride of a lifetime! Let’s go to the Walt Disney Studios Park, where there are only few rides but many theatres. In one theatre they even show you the birth of a character (Hi Mushu!). Go have a look at Cinemagique, where the characters come to life. Don’t miss the tram tour where you can see some artifacts from movies, experience an earthquake and see movie sets (Please keep your arms and legs inside the tram at all times). Scream as much as you can in Monster’s University. There are more stuff you can go to but the line’s too long so keep moving and reach the Disneyland Park. Disneyland Park has plenty of rides for you. The famous Sleeping Beauty castle slowly comes in view as you walk in awe. First let’s introduce you to a ride where you can learn about Pinocchio’s life (No flash photography allowed). Meet Pinocchio, the star of the

The First Pizza Party (FPP)- Status - Feeling frenzy, feeding frenzy Host/Hostess - My good friend, Linda Message for Linda - My dear friend……..I just wanted to tell you that, *feeling emotional* you threw a party that mainly consisted of my favorite food, pizza, *sob* and I am so sorry. I was the culprit. I ate 3 slices of the pepperoni pizza that there was barely any left. I am so sorry! Linda threw a pizza party at Pizza Hut. She was working hard to get everyone what they wanted and for that I just love her. It was an open table, so 12 of us were chatting so loudly and so much that the manager had to shush us once. Twice. Thrice. Then through gritted teeth, he kicked us out of the dining area after we were done and told us to ‘sit quietly’ in the waiting area. But luckily that was AFTER we took tons of pictures on our phones, went to the bathroom to take selfies, ate too much, sat in the next empty booth and took a new round of selfies, and drove the other custo

Last night was an awesome, awesome night. Chandana held a party at her home again, and this time out of the 16 girls of 8-D, 12 people showed up, including me. Chandana lives in a huge compound that has a clubhouse, restaurant, shop and playgrounds filled with swings and slides at every corner. It’s practically a gateway to heaven. After everyone came, we had some starters, which were chocolate chip cookies, tuna sandwiches, laddoos, chicken puffs, fish pakodas and soup, all home-made by Chandu’s mom and totally delicious. When we reached the first playground during our tour of the compound, everyone took off like miniatures of Usain Bolt for the swings. People who snagged them first swung for some time. Then someone would jump on quickly after them. I swung a couple of times, and then got off when some younger children were looking at us. I felt pretty ridiculous. But hey, who can resist swings? The tour of the compound took a little more than an hour with quic

What do you get when you do the following equation? Kindle + Smart watch + Janaki = ? I think the answer is pretty obvious, though. Kindle + Smart watch + Janaki =  :-)  :-) I had been waiting a long time since we ordered these 2 from the Amazon  (well, not that long, but time feels slow sometimes). Dad explained the full process of how it gets shipped to me and it seems like a lot of work.  My new Pebble Smart watch is pretty sleek and cool. It allows me to download apps and watchfaces on it through Mom’s phone. My Kindle Paperwhite , on the other hand is very useful for reading books. It gives you the actual feeling of reading a book and has a lot more advantages.  For example, it is eco-friendly, thin and small so that we can easily slip it into a handbag or backpack and also helps to look up the definition of difficult words. I borrowed the second book of the “Hunger Games” trilogy from the library. It’s called “ Catching Fire ”, the first few parts

Sunday my FA-3 is starting. I’m just praying it gets over soon. After that we have our winter vacation for which I will be spending my time doing “Aaaaaaagh………” and relaxing. Now that I have finished ‘Blood of Olympus’ too, I think it’s a bit sad that Leo’s friends never really found out he was alive. Apparently today is “ Black Friday ”. If you stand outside a shop in the US, you will probably get trampled. Last evening at badminton class, our teacher made me and Raksha as team captains. One thing you should take care of- always try to win. Otherwise all the blame goes to you. But we were able to win 2 games out of 3. Once, Anne was a captain at school in our group for a project, There were an overall of 4 team captains in the class. Anne had me and Chandana too in her team. We weren’t really worried because we had all this right in the bag, but Anne was a bit nervous when it was time for submission. We didn’t make her feel better when we asked our teacher if Anne

Chandana and Nanditha screamed as their ride turned them upside down and continued to whirl. I watched them on it along with some of our other classmates, feeling amused. Chandana had asked me to come on it. I had said ‘no way’ after watching it turn the riders upside down, sideways and still continue whirling. I knew I would puke if I went on it. Chandana looked just terrified, and she was holding her restraint really tightly, and Nanditha was no more different. After they got out, they looked like they had been in a mini- tornado that had thrown them off later. Chandana’s hair was looking like she had an electric shock. Nanditha was hugging her stomach.  Terrin nearly fell on me. Nanditha told me later while we were at the end of the long queue for the boat ride “You can’t be scared of every ride. You could have come with us.” I remembered their frightened expressions and laughed “Yeah, you guys had a lot of fun on that last ride, right?”   We then went on Hollywood

I am just so happy today!!!! We went to Jarir bookstore and bought two of some of my top favorite books. - Diary of a Wimpy Kid- The Long Haul - The Blood of Olympus I finished "The Long Haul" and it was really funny. I just want to say that Greg and his family should avoid road trips. I have never heard of such a complicated trip. When Nida was reading "House of Hades", she did not want anyone to ruin the story for her. She probably should not have said that, 'cause that just made everyone tells her the plot while she plugged her fingers inside her ears. The conversation went something like this: Manasy:      See, at the end, Percy and Annabeth are… Nida:          Stop it! Me:             They get… Nida:           I hate you! It was the same for Manasy while reading "Allegiant". Me:              Something really big happens at the end. Manasy:       I don't want to hear about it! Rakshanda:  Tris dies.

Do you know that we are going to have a trip to Al- Hokair next week? We had gone there before 2 years back .Chandana and I can describe our experience so well and vividly you would think it happened only 2 years ago. Anne has gone to India this year and joined a school there. We miss her but we still stay in contact through Gmail and Whatsapp. On the previous trip to Al-Hokair, her hands were overflowing with all types of goodies. She had cotton candy, a few roses, some packets of chicken popcorn and a wonky hat and was juggling all of them. She left to buy more but not before she gave me and Chandana two packets of chicken popcorn to hold. She wanted to take everything back home. But me and Chandana really didn’t get the part of “holding”. So we said a ‘thanks’, and were wolfing down chicken popcorn while watching people scream on a scary ride called Can-Can. It whirls around really fast and the rider’s seats also go way back, so for some time you can see their feet. We wav

Our school, instead of usually taking us to theme parks or the rides at malls, has planned a 5-day trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.   We were all like “WHAT??!! NOOO!! AAWWW!!!”  Our class was in a state of depression, confusion and anger. This was because of three reasons- A) We did not want to go somewhere alone for 5 days, without our parents. B) We already knew what the answer would be when we would go home. “NO”. C) We had just missed a field trip and now we would have to wait till next year. My Grandpa told me, “You are not yet old enough to go to another country alone, but we can always go together as family.” After seeing the movie “The Conjuring”, I avoided doors, closets, taking long showers, staying somewhere alone for more than 30 seconds, thinking about the scariest parts of the movie and a lot more. But that was only for a few days, thankfully. I was already getting tired of my father doing “Boo!” to me and me screaming. I was describing th

We thought we saw her running into the bathroom with tear-filled eyes. That’s where Alaina, Linda and I went. When we entered we pounded on every stall, yelling “TERRIN! TERRIN!” Most of them were empty. In one of them, a girl who seem to be in third grade poked her head out and looked at us curiously. When we reach the last stall on the end, we banged on the door and said “Terrin, we know you’re in there. Come out.” A voice that sounded like Terrin’s replied. “There is no Terrin in here” Linda said “If you don’t come out, we will come in”. “I already told you, there is no Terrin in here.” I thought Linda was going to break down the door, but before she could, a girl, but not Terrin, looked at us and snapped “WHAT!?? We all screamed, Linda shouted a “Sorry!” and we ran out. I don’t think I’ve ever run this fast in my life. It was Maths class. I was the first to open the door and get in. I saw Terrin sitting there calmly and doing her sums. I wan

The music got faster. But the scene was very slow. Slowly, then slowly from inside the TV - AAAAARRRHHH! The people watching the movie- AAAAAAAAGH! My classmates and I were at Faiza’s home, where we were watching “ The Conjuring ”. Out of the 17 people in the class, there were 9 of us lying on the bed and holding each other’s hands and screaming occasionally. Our other classmates had not been able to come. Originally, the party timings were 5-7:30 but everyone stayed till 9:30. We phoned our parents telling them we would be late. In one of the last parts, where some people with cameras come to record the ghosts, Rakshanda said “O cute guy, your youth should be not wasted. Try not to die. Please save your awesomeness.” Fortunately for Rakshanda, he did not die. Chandana was squeezing my hand. Sauda was squeezing my other hand. This meant that both my hands were occupied. It also meant, both my hands were becoming sweaty. After we finished half of the mov

Out of all the restaurants I have gone, the weirdest one is definitely Le Chateau.  With a French name, Italian breakfast and Chinese menu, this is a very confused restaurant. The food here is just, okay. It’s not really great and it’s not too bad either. The restaurant looks really weird too. After seeing it, I took the opportunity to name it “ The Clown Restaurant .” Just yesterday we had our class assembly. I was for the poem. Nida was doing the anchoring. When it was my turn, my hands were shaking a little while holding the microphone. But I was able to recite the poem smoothly, giving little breaks and saying clearly. I just don’t know why my hands were shaking. I was not nervous at all. I am usually put for a song in an assembly. It was actually kind of the first time for me to read something out loud. A few days back, Chandana and I were in the library and we came across a fat book called “The Book of 5001 Jokes.” 1. Sherlock Holmes- I see you are we

“Next, we will go to NEXT ”  Mom said, grinning. My father and I chuckled. We were having a long day of all types of shopping. Dress and grocery shopping took a lot of time always. My FA-1 had finally finished and after 7 days of exams, I was ready to sit back and enjoy the weekend. But my Mom had other plans. We had to complete a load of shopping which we did over the 2 days. So when I went to school on Sunday, my eyelids were feeling heavy and I was ready to use the table as a bed and my bag as a pillow. Nobody seemed well in my class. Rabia and Sauda had headaches, some people had cold, and others were ready to go to sleep. I was suffering from all the above. There had been a sandstorm on both days of weekend, and we all had been victims.  So, last week and this week had and will be a total drag, according to my calculations. To make things worse, a rumor had been spreading that the FA-2 exams would be starting early. I was like “Just great!” Sunday is not exact

“And the winner, of the Inter-House quiz competition is……”  Headmistress ma’am announced into the mike. Our fingers were rapping by themselves on the table. We were getting goose bumps. We could almost hear the drum roll in the distance. “….Tabuk house!”  ma’am finished. We all cheered loudly. So did the audience. They clapped like they had been expecting us to be the winners the entire time. Actually, we did know they were guessing that the winners would be us because when ma’am had asked the audience who they thought would win they had all announced “Tabuk!” I had been chosen for the quiz competition by Rejula ma’am. There were 4 people in each of the four houses, that were, Hijaz, Jizan, Madinah and Tabuk. I was in the house Tabuk along with 3 others for the quiz. We were really excited and as we got off stage and our friends congratulated us. We had gotten off to a good start. We got points in all the questions of the MCQ round, the Category round, and the “Wha

Just yesterday we had our class party. Officially we have completed 7 th grade and on our way to 8 th . The results were distributed. You could judge everyone’s marks by their faces. Some were looking at the ceiling predicting their situation when they got home.  So to stop thinking about the sadness and suffering we were going to endure, we tried to focus on the food. But there were a few problems as well. When Anne opened the lids of the ice-cream cans, we found out that the ice-cream had nearly become soup. I was like “Uh-Oh”. But the taste remained so it was okay. On the other hand, Alaina had forgotten to bring the knife to cut the cake she had bought so she had to make do with a plastic spoon, which was not exactly the best option but we didn’t have any other choice. She had a hard time cutting the cake but it turned out all right at the end. Cutting the cake was as hard as cutting a tree. There were samosas, cookies, pedas, cake, ice-creams, marshmallows, cheetos, c

This week was very busy. I bought 3 books from Jarir bookstore- “Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Hard Luck” by Jeff Kinney, “Dork Diaries- Tales from a Not-So-Happy heart breaker.’’ by Rachel Renee Russell, and “Gangsta Granny” by David Walliams. We  weren't  actually planning to go to Jarir bookstore. We just decided to go somewhere since we were bored and we thought of it. I jumped on the books the minute I saw them and Dad regretted of even thinking of going to the bookstore. He was also surprised when I finished all 3 books in one day. Go figure. A Nexus 5 Kit Kat is on its way from America and its destination will be the waiting hands of my father, or, more truthfully, my hands. It is a new version and not yet available in Saudi Arabia.  I said I could always help get rid of his old phone by accepting it as a hand-me-down.     If you come to my home, don’t be surprised if you hear someone always shouting “ Ok Google !” in front of the computer. This is because now there

“Don’t underestimate the power of a common man” was a quote said by Shah Rukh Khan at least 5 times in the movie ‘ Chennai Express ’, a comedy movie. Three-fourth of the girls in my class watched that movie, and everyone liked it. Now at school we all imitate him and say “Don’t underestimate the power of a common girl” all the time. I really loved it too. It was really funny.  But Mom did not feel about it the same way I did, because she had seen many movies before similar to this. Also, when the fight between Tangabali and Rahul started, she had got up and walked around the house for some time since she did not like fight scenes. And I got that very gift too. So I was mostly looking down at my feet and admiring my toes during the fight. But I watched the rest of the movie with Dad and Mom. The three of us were sitting on two comfy huge armchairs. For some time I sat next to Dad on his armchair but his tummy got in the way so I sat next to Mom in hers. Both of us fit per

When I got out of the car, the wind had become stronger. It tugged at my shawl, but I held on to it. Now we can say winter has officially started, for the temperature has dropped. After reading Percy Jackson books (again), I was ready to blame the Greek god Zeus , lord of the skies. We did not have to wear our uniform tomorrow, instead, we could wear color dress, and the teachers said we did not have to bring any books. It would be really fun. But the sky is now all moody and grumpy and it is making me all grumpy too. There is lightning, thunder and rain. Mom says that maybe I may not be able to go to school tomorrow. Great. Just great. There are only a few days when we look forward on going to school and tomorrow is going to be one of those days. And then BOOM! Now we can’t. I wonder how many classmates of mine are coming to school tomorrow.   Have mercy on us, Zeus.