I finally turned ten and contrary to my dad's hope and expectation of relinquishing his ghost blogging duties, I think I will saddle him with those forever. (Just like no kid wants to be on the same social network as their parents, no kid wants to blog about topics that the parents think are interesting to kids.)
So, what are the noteworthy things that happened in the last year?
I have the usual dizzying list of extra-curricular activities (When will we Palo Alto-ans stop the "Keeping up with the Cupertino-ians" race?). My current list of extra curricular activities are Basketball, Ice skating, Skiiing, Math Olympiad, Lego robotics, Music, Invention convention, Giving Squares and Book Reading Club. (I think the approach is akin to a popular corporate strategy I have heard be described as "throw things against the wall and see what sticks"). (My dad said that I am preparing for real world work with constant context switching and being stretched too thin. I better enjoy the 9 hours of sleep while I can get it now. I am also nailing the "stretched too thin" part literally as well).
I am more or less done with my tantrum phase - I stretched it out a couple of years longer than normal, but now it is wearing a little thin. So, I am rapidly transitioning from those crude tantrums with high-decibel verbal outbursts to nuanced emotional expression and leveraging and arbitraging my parents' weak points to my net gain (Don't know what this "emotional blackmail" thing is that my dad mumbles to mom in hushed tones). (I need to find out where to audition for a teenager, I think I can already play the part well).
I also stopped constantly fighting with my sister for attention and adulation. (I won that battle).
OK .... since my parents have this grand plan that I will relish all these digital memories when I grow up and look at my childhood through sepia-tinted, warm nostalgia, I should probably add more details. (I have to wonder if people will know what blogs are a few years from now .. and I hope Google doesn't go evil and make all the linked photos and blogs inaccessible or require people to sign up for G++++ or something like that in the future). Anyways, more details below ....
Travel: We continue to travel as much as possible. I am racking up the number of visited states in the US. (I am at 25 now .. yay ... though I wish my parents don't ask me to remember the capitals and other "fun" facts about states).
Last summer, we had an awesome trip to the East Coast, the 100+ degree weather notwithstanding. We covered NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, NJ, DC and surrounding areas in about a week. It was a lot of fun. (New Jersey was nothing like the jokes that my dad makes ... ). In NYC, we did all the touristy things - Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower and we also enjoyed July 4th fireworks there. The trip to Massachusetts was special as it was my first trip there since we left Massachusetts (when I was just two and a half) to go to California. Obviously, I did not remember anything from my childhood but my parents took me around and pointed out all the old places of significance - our old house, my first day care, my pre-school etc. We also went on the Duck tour in Boston which is always a hoot (or is it a quack?). To get a respite from the heat, we hit the Ogonquit Beach in Maine and we also went for a nice hike. Maine is certainly very charming. Trip to DC and Virgnia was also nostalgic for my parents as they lived there for many years - we went to Univ. of Maryland and checked out all their past favorite haunts around the campus. We rubbed Testudo the Terrapin's nose ostensibly for good luck.
Last winter, we went to Dallas, New Orleans, Houston and Austin for a nice road trip with my cousins. (Texas was nothing like the jokes that my dad makes ...).
(I think this "xxxx was nothing like the jokes my dad makes" is going to be a recurring theme).
So, what are the noteworthy things that happened in the last year?
I have the usual dizzying list of extra-curricular activities (When will we Palo Alto-ans stop the "Keeping up with the Cupertino-ians" race?). My current list of extra curricular activities are Basketball, Ice skating, Skiiing, Math Olympiad, Lego robotics, Music, Invention convention, Giving Squares and Book Reading Club. (I think the approach is akin to a popular corporate strategy I have heard be described as "throw things against the wall and see what sticks"). (My dad said that I am preparing for real world work with constant context switching and being stretched too thin. I better enjoy the 9 hours of sleep while I can get it now. I am also nailing the "stretched too thin" part literally as well).
I am more or less done with my tantrum phase - I stretched it out a couple of years longer than normal, but now it is wearing a little thin. So, I am rapidly transitioning from those crude tantrums with high-decibel verbal outbursts to nuanced emotional expression and leveraging and arbitraging my parents' weak points to my net gain (Don't know what this "emotional blackmail" thing is that my dad mumbles to mom in hushed tones). (I need to find out where to audition for a teenager, I think I can already play the part well).
I also stopped constantly fighting with my sister for attention and adulation. (I won that battle).
OK .... since my parents have this grand plan that I will relish all these digital memories when I grow up and look at my childhood through sepia-tinted, warm nostalgia, I should probably add more details. (I have to wonder if people will know what blogs are a few years from now .. and I hope Google doesn't go evil and make all the linked photos and blogs inaccessible or require people to sign up for G++++ or something like that in the future). Anyways, more details below ....
Travel: We continue to travel as much as possible. I am racking up the number of visited states in the US. (I am at 25 now .. yay ... though I wish my parents don't ask me to remember the capitals and other "fun" facts about states).
Last summer, we had an awesome trip to the East Coast, the 100+ degree weather notwithstanding. We covered NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, NJ, DC and surrounding areas in about a week. It was a lot of fun. (New Jersey was nothing like the jokes that my dad makes ... ). In NYC, we did all the touristy things - Empire State, Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower and we also enjoyed July 4th fireworks there. The trip to Massachusetts was special as it was my first trip there since we left Massachusetts (when I was just two and a half) to go to California. Obviously, I did not remember anything from my childhood but my parents took me around and pointed out all the old places of significance - our old house, my first day care, my pre-school etc. We also went on the Duck tour in Boston which is always a hoot (or is it a quack?). To get a respite from the heat, we hit the Ogonquit Beach in Maine and we also went for a nice hike. Maine is certainly very charming. Trip to DC and Virgnia was also nostalgic for my parents as they lived there for many years - we went to Univ. of Maryland and checked out all their past favorite haunts around the campus. We rubbed Testudo the Terrapin's nose ostensibly for good luck.
Last winter, we went to Dallas, New Orleans, Houston and Austin for a nice road trip with my cousins. (Texas was nothing like the jokes that my dad makes ...).
(I think this "xxxx was nothing like the jokes my dad makes" is going to be a recurring theme).
