Recent Literary Activities

In the recent past, I’ve had a number of literary ventures. One of them was being interviewed by an AP (Associated Press, the most prestigious group of reporters in the country) consultant.

The AP consultant’s name was Emily Fredrix. She was writing a report about businesses that have closed in 2008 and she stumbled on my Mervyns and Me blog. She posted a comment on my blogsite. I was extremely happy when I found out I was going to be mentioned in a newspaper and an online report by the Associated Press! She interviewed me by phone on New Year’s Eve, 2008. I told her about how I felt about Mervyns closing. I’d made a few notes on a scrap of paper for what to say. I also talked about my childhood and how much I used to enjoy going to Mervyns. That day, in her report, she wrote three lines about her interview with me.

Here is that article. Click on the image for a zoomed-in view:

Another literary venture was releasing my book, Potions and Portals for Dummies.

I started writing Potions and Portals for Dummies for my sister’s birthday. I was excited because I was making a real book. I dedicated it to her and autographed it on her birthday. My parents interviewed me about the book release afterwards. She read it out loud after 5 minutes. I had written 5 pages of potions, how to make them, and their uses. I also had printed some funny pictures. At her birthday party, I also gave regular copies to her friends. Three days later, on my mother’s birthday, I gave her an autographed and dedicated copy.

Now, time for another venture concerning my mother’s birthday and my sister’s birthday.

I gave both my mom and my sister poem cards on their birthdays. I had to use all my literary genius of the day for both days to think of them. I used a different format for each one. For my sister, I made a normal half - fold card. For my mom, I made a giant one – page poster card. These were the longest and best poems I have ever written.

Things that happened in the recent past & my expectations for 2009

The old year of 2008 is almost over. I’ve done a lot of things during 2008. I’ve watched many movies. I’ve read new books. I started 5th grade this and turned 10 this year. My uncle got a new house. My sister went to 3rd grade and turned 8. I’ve made some new friends this year, too. I witnessed Barack Obama’s win in the U.S.’s presidential election. I’ve also written many blogposts on this website as well. I’ve written over 10 more blogposts than last year. It’s been an awesome and memorable year. Right now, at the end of the year, I’m sleeping late and watching movies everyday.

My uncle moved in to his new house on the first day of school. I woke up early and went to the housewarming party. I witnessed a lot of ceremonies to celebrate getting a new house at the housewarming. I also saw in a newspaper before I left for school that Michael Phelps had earned his 8th gold medal, giving him the most Olympic gold medal in history. Moving on, I have read new books like The Science of Harry Potter and Star Wars: Children of the Jedi. I’ve done book reports, book report projects, and a special project called the Holiday Budget in 5th grade. For the Holiday Budget, I had to evenly spend $600 over decorations, food, gifts, and other things for a holiday. It was a very difficult project. Now let me tell about other things. I’ve made new friends as well. A few examples are Wee Jin Koh, John Theodore M. Mappala, and Annete Tri. In December, I celebrated my sister's and mother’s birthdays. I made a card and wrote a poem for both of them. My sister, dad, and I also made special treats for my mom’s birthday instead of buying a cake. Right now, at the end of the year, I have watched a number of movies such as: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Pokemon: Jirachi Wish Maker, Camp Rock, and the Cheetah Girls: One World (please do not laugh at me). I will now tell you about what I think of each of these movies. The Cheetah Girls: One World is miserable. They kept breaking into stupid songs and phony dances every two minutes. They don’t even explain the storyline gaps between the beginning and end of each song. Now to talk about another movie, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. It’s an awesome movie. It explains a lot of things from Madagascar, like how Alex the lion ended up in a zoo. I t was also very funny. Now let’s discuss the next movie, Camp Rock. It was overall good. The storyline wasn’t flawed and the songs and dances were not phony and stupid. Now, let’s talk about the final movie, Pokemon: Jirachi Wish Maker. It was a good movie. It had a great storyline. Now, moving on, I feel great One year is over and I’m ready for the next. I can’t wait for another exciting year of life. I’m a bit sad that 2008 is almost over, but I’m also happy. It’s been one of the best years of my life, and I’ll always remember it.

Next year, I’ll be finishing 5th grade and I’ll be going to 6th grade. My grandfather and grandmother will also visit and I will visit the majority of my family in India. I’ll be turning 11 as well. I’ll be going to 6th grade and I’ll be learning new things. I don’t know everything that will happen to me next year, but I know it will be another awesome, great, and terrific year.

Happy New Year!

Thanksgiving

On the day before Thanksgiving, my friend Amogh came to my house. We had some pizza. While we ate, we talked about school. Then I showed Amogh around my house. We played in the garage later. When he left, I watched the movie Cats and Dogs.

On Thanksgiving Day, I went to my uncle’s house. We stayed from lunch at 12:30 to after dinner at 8:00. The day after Thanksgiving, I went to the Century Theater with my family and my younger cousin. I watched the movie Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa. We really enjoyed it. It was the sequel to the original Madagascar. The animals were on their way to New York City when their crashed plane crash-landed. They met their own kind for the first time. They each proved that they were different from the others.



On Saturday, I went to my friend Deepti’s house. There was a battle of boys against girls. We left at midnight. It was a fun get-together.

Mervyns and Me

The store where I got most of my childhood clothes is closing. It is called Mervyns. Mervyns was a clothing store. When I was younger, my family and I used to go to Mervyns everyday. We knew many of the employees there.

Today, I kind of feel sad, happy, and weird.

I’m sad that Mervyns is closing, for several reasons. The first is that it had the best clothes for the lowest prices. Another is that it was the smallest clothing store in our area. It was never crowded, either. 75% of all the clothes I’ve worn have come from Mervyns.

I’m happy for one silly reason - no more cloth shopping. It was a clothing store. That was Mervyns’ fatal flaw in my view :-). I never loved it for that reason.

Today, Mervyns seemed different. New things were on sale. There was a new staff. An unnatural amount of people had come. There were too many On Sale signs. Prices were much higher than normal. It was as if it was a part of a mall. I miss the Mervyn's I knew. I feel sad for all the old and new employees at Mervyns because they lost or soon will lose their jobs. They will have to apply for jobs at larger clothing store such as Kohl’s, Sears, or J.C. Penny. Most likely, they will find work in due time.

The Monthly Music Meet

Recently, I’d been to my mother's music school's monthly music meet. This was my first time there. First I listened to some of the students sing. My mom was one of those people. Another boy sang a song I knew and I quietly sang it to myself. During the second part, there was a rhythm test. I was in Group One. I was the youngest person in my group. I knew all the answers, but at first, my group didn’t trust. After they worked it out, however, they saw I was right. As I correctly answered more and more questions, I started to gain my groups trust. We got every question right. There was a tiebreaker for groups 1, 4, and 6. I answered the first one partially, so we did another question. It was a very easy question for me because I had known the answer for a long time. The question had a very long answer, but I did it correctly. Everyone in my group was offered M and Ms, but I was the only one who took them. Then everyone had a snack of cinnamon cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, orange juice, and M and Ms. I beat my sister and both my parents. My parents had a lot of knowledge on the subject, but I still won, so my mom made a sweet at home which we all ate.

Pomeroy Newspaper

This year, I joined the Pomeroy School Newspaper. It is an after school activity which meets every Wednesday. I have many responsibilities. I like this experience because it will be very fun. It will also help me become better at writing. I have already written and word-processed my first assignment apart from giving my bio. Here is a copy of it.

*************************************************************************************

Room 15 5th Graders do Historical Skits
Byline: Abhijit Ramaprasad
10/15/08 Milpitas, CA

Recently, the 5th graders of room 15 have performed historical skits about explorers and Indians. The students were divided into two groups. Each of those groups were divided into smaller groups. Students wrote a script for each of their skits. They also made props and costumes to wear during their presentation. On 10/15/08, the students presented their plays. I think this was an exciting and exhilarating way for us students to learn about explorers and Indians.

*************************************************************************************

The teacher in charge of the newspaper says I have a writing talent, but I think I can improve. I think this experience will be good for me. I already think this is going to be a great year for the Pomeroy School Newspaper.

New School Year

I have been in school for about 3 weeks. We have been learning about Indians, exponents, and other things. I’ve just started my first project. I’m making a continent. I’m also making a codex. My new teacher is Mrs. Grist, and she teaches in room 15. I’m also having a lot of fun in school.

I’ve been doing a lot of other things as well. I’ve been keeping a daily journal, going to a buddy classroom, and studying about my tribe of Indians, the Iroqouis. I’ve made a nation profile about them and I’m going to use that information to make a codex. In my daily journal, I write about a topic I’m given. I also do a small activity called following directions. We have simple things in a complex order to see if we are good at following directions. I’ve also written an essay about my elementary school years. Everyday during the first week, I did a timed math activity called beat the clock. I’m sure I got 100 percent on multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Everyday, I also have done an activity called mental math. We have to do 10 math problems everyday quickly without working out the problems.

Now for some of the projects I mentioned earlier. My first project is to make a booklet of definitions for 50 geographic terms. We also had to draw pictures of the geographic terms, which also had to be colored. The second part of that project was to make a new continent and use at least 35 geographic terms and color the whole thing. We are also doing a smaller project. We first studied about our Indian nations. We used the information we learnt to make nation profiles. Using the nation profiles, we have to make a codex and draw pictures for it.

I’m sure I’ll have a fun time this year.