Who I am, What I do and answers to Qs like that

Hello everyone! Today is my birthday!:-) I know I have not updated this blog in 4 years! Also my dad has been writing for me the whole time. I thought that this day would be the perfect time to start writing this blog by myself. Today at 2:32 pm, I turned 9! I can't really do anything because it is  Monday. During this time ... - My brother Abhi was born (He's really annoying!) - We moved to a bigger house - I have grown much, MUCH older - I have been going to a bunch of competitions (I won a lot of trophies!) Here is a photo of me today. See y'all soon, Look how much I have grown!!!

Amma told me that NATA (North American Telugu Association) is holding an event in Houston - NATA 2012. They are holding a singing competition called Swaramadhuri. However, it is for only those who are older than 6 :-( Amma spoke to the organizers and asked them if I could participate. I gave an audition... and was allowed to participate. This one is different from the others that I participated in. The songs are not on stage... but on skype! The singing would be broadcast live on Radio Tharanga . I decided (actually, Amma decided :-)) to sing Chinni Chinni Aasa... from the movie Roja. Among the judges would be Ramachari uncle - who I watch on TV regularly. I was excited... but poor Amma and Nanna were nervous :-) I think their biggest challenge was to make me sit in front of the computer!!! I could tell that Tata and Mamma were nervous too - Tata more than Mamma :-) Anyway, when it was time to sing, I thought I sang quite well. From the hugs and kisses I received from Amma, Nanna, Tata...

I know I haven't posted in quite some time. In case you are wondering what I have been doing since we moved to Houston.... I started going to pre-school. I can now read (which you already know ;-)) and write and count and add and.... I started singing on-stage. Amma took me to Meenakshi temple for Ugadi celebrations. At my insistence (yes, that's a new word) she spoke to the organizers and allowed me to sing on stage. Here is the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Ud8kkbxK1rU And then I sang many more songs... on stage for Houston events and for competitions. Here are some links. 2011 Houston Local performance --> http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=B3MD9fCZi8I 2011 Houston Local performance --> http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=IXR8hd0LzU4 2011 Radio Hungama performance --> http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=armlKL9kBMw 2011 Vaggeyakarotsavam Houston --> http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=OIY4ygBW_Qk 2011 ICC Little Champs Houston --> http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=2P...

Howdy! How are y'all? We found an apartment in Houston. Well, not Houston actually - but a suburb called Sugar Land. A good name, isn't it? Some famous film director - Steven spell-burger or someone like that titled his first film - SugarLand Express . I strongly suspect that was why Nanna chose this town - even though it is a long way away from his office. Not that I am complaining. I love this place. The weather is just right (at least now). Our apartment is very spacious. And the best part is the park. We have a children's play area right outside our apartment. We can see that from my play room - which is anyway where I spend most of my time. I have been "testing" the play area every evening. It gets pretty busy in the evenings - and I made a lot of buddies there. The slides and swing are keeping me occupied well. And my play at home keeps me occupied even better!!!

The never-ending drive continued. From Ohio. To Kentucky. To Tennessee. To Arkansas. To Texas. We stopped the next night in a town called Texarkana . A very well thought out name. It was on the border of Texas and Arkansas. So Tex-arkana. Also Arkan-xas sounds too much like Arkansas - so it is Texarkana. Also, Texas is bigger and richer - than Arkansas. You get the picture, right? We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. By the time I woke up, Nanna was busy watching something on his laptop. Before I could ask him what - I heard him scream 'Out! Out!!'. When I asked Amma what was wrong she explained that Nanna was bitten by some nasty bug . The chirpy one. Poor Nanna. Amma says that Nanna was get better in a month or so. I hope so too! We started the drive to Houston. Amma and Nanna played as a team and shared the driving. And I played my part by listening to my songs. Over and over. I told y'all, I am a team player. A true Texan team player. We reached Houston late afternoon ...

Ok. Here is the wonderful plan that Nanna hatched. The packers/movers will come and take all the stuff at home. They will also take our Camry. And we will drive to Houston in our Sedona. 1200 miles. 20 hours. Car. Seat. No move. Hey, I am not complaining. I am a team player, am I not? ;-) Everything went according to the plan. Amma packed a lot of my toys and a lot of my DVDs into a box. We loaded some more boxes into the van and started off. But moving is so painful. I felt so sad to leave Naveen Uncle, Madhavi Aunty, Mouli Uncle, Anu Aunty and Pranav. Nanna says I might not meet them again. Bad Nanna. I started crying as soon as we started driving. I am going to miss them all. I dont want to leave Ohio :-(But Amma tricked me into listening to my favorite song - మాటే మంత్రము, మనసే బంధము ... I love that song soooo much that I insisted on listening to it all the time. Again and again. Serves them right for taking me away from Ohio. We kept driving south on I-75. Driving and driving and ...