High school started last month and;

I don’t really know what to make of it.

It isn’t necessarily that I can’t handle it, I’ve learned far more about self perseverance and it’s grown. But it’s just taken me some time to get used to it all. To get used to the prospect of the next four years of my life. And it hasn’t been all that bad, except for one or two times where I’ve been tempted to

cry. 

But nothing a little perseverance can’t undo!

I’ve already been swamped with homework but I usually try to complete it right away. And sitting through lectures is something I’ve become to excel at. But, middle school and high school really doesn’t have a smooth in-between. And sure you get equipped for the main subjects and cycle of classes, but it doesn’t prepare you for the completely different vibes you get from high school itself.

So for the past couple weeks(after recovering from the slight mental shock)I’ve kept my head high and my self esteem a bit low. My current goal is to take college coarses throughout high school for college credit, study early for the SAT tests and CAT test, take AP and Honours class in the coming years; and try not to break under the pressure of it all. And it’s now my main focus. But I won’t study myself to the point where I have a severe burn out. No way, that’s not my vibe. But I’m going to try my hardest, push myself to do more, and reach my goals and my dream.

Ever since I’ve stepped foot on my high school campus, I already knew in my heart that everyone would go there separate ways pursuing their own goals. My friends, classmates I’ve known since kindergarten. We’re growing up and stopped clinging to the haze of middle school, to the clear path we have to pave for ourselves in high school and beyond.

I’m being kept very busy by school work and such, so my blogging seems to have come to multiple halts which I’m trying to mend. So, if you’re wondering about the significant lack of content, it’s probably because I’m writing an essay for English, solving equations for Algebra, studying DNA for biology, conjugating verbs in Spanish, practicing my saxophone for Jazz Band, or snapping pictures and editing them for Photography Arts class.

Or all of the above.

So here it is everyone!

Yosemite, once again.

Ever since I was little, I had this fascination with things that were near myths; stories that were used to meddle with a child’s view of the world. Perceived as fiction, but is it really?

Throughout childhood, mermaids would flick their periwinkle tails on the dozens of sheets of paper littering my portion of the desk of my first grade classroom, inky hair flowing behind them. I would imagine the glittering jewels of the unknown see, palaces rising out from the sea floor as it’s citizens went about. Fairies wings glistened as I ran a graphite pencil along their gossamer ailerons. Dressed in downturned flowers and wearing hats with acorn shells and strings of lavender us to tuck their hair behind their prolix ears. Dragons would bear their articulate teeth on thick sketchbook paper as I waited for passing periods to end between classes in the sixth grade. Eyes unrelenting and boar into it’s viewer, I would spend hours just perfecting the smallest details rather than the overall picture but I still felt proud after finishing each piece. Even if they looked like demonetized pool noodles with wings.

Magic has always been something that I believed in, from childhood to now; I find myself longing to soar above the clouds, mounted onto the back of a pegasi, to have sword in hand as I leap from mast to star board as I fight side by side with Peter Pan. Sometimes, I even wish that the ceilings of my bedroom were made of glass rather than hard wood; so I can gaze up into the night sky until my eyes become heavy. Lulling to sleep from the pounding of the rains in the fall and spring. Because when I look at the night sky, just before I go to sleep; I feel light and content. Even though it isn’t like a storybook or a fable, it feels close enough that I can let all of reality melt away.

But looking at mountains and trees that brush the sky, turquoise waters that pool around massive boulders, tortoises that could just as well be dinosaurs. This is all elemental augury that we can’t compare to anything else. And it all seems normal because we’ve seem them, heard of them, know they exist. And that’s why none of us seem to accept the fact that it is in fact, “real” magic.

And you know what?

Real magic is walking alone on a wooden path as the sky turns from purple to blue. Real magic is digging your fingers into fine sand as the sun sets over the sea. Real magic is climbing into the warm covers as rain pounds outside, kissing the roofs with a constant pitter patter. Real magic is sitting quietly, watching the stars twinkle their hellos into the night.

Real magic is already grounded for us on the earth, celestial or not, whether you believe it or not. It’s there.

But, nowadays, it’s hard to do that when all the people around you are two busy trying to capture each of these elements on their phones, rather than with their eyes.

It’s funny; when people are given access to a smartphone of some kind, everyone seems to think that every little thing they are doing undoubtedly needs to be shown to the rest of their world. I say “their” world instead of “the” because, we send it to the people who we know, who we think that care. Friends, family, close acquaintances.

Sending these are much different from sending an article, a piece of art, real time photography/videography. Sharing those just make the people around you more aware of the fact that incredible things like this exist, or it might be something helpful to someone’s health or gives useful knowledge to the foreholder. That kind of sharing is okay for anybody.

But there’s a very clear line between sharing and oversharing. 

Sharing is as simple as a couple pictures and videos in a one or two week time frame. Not too much, not too little, but just enough to let the person on the receiving end knows your constant, and you won’t come off as too clingy; which is definitely a plus.

But if your basically broadcasting your entire life to everyone, every couple of minutes on social media, your text archives, to hundreds of people you don’t even know in the real world; then sorry to tell ya buddy but you’re a little wishy-washy.

Whatever we send, a picture or video from a recent roadtrip, a morning selfie under the sunlight, a quick snap of your breakfast, a black cat sitting under the windowsill, a group shot under a sign, or a silly selfie complete with peace signs and smiling faces. These little moments are what ground us to who we are, what we love, and are what we always look forward to seeing the moment you realize that it’s there, it happened, and it’s yours. 

Sometimes, I sit straight up in bed, awake before anyone else, completely still, just watching little specks of dust dance in the air near the window. The rest of the neighborhood breathing a sigh of relief, once the constrains of a busy week has finally let go. To let us catch our breath, wipe away the work we had endured as we bathe into the warm embrace of our free days. It’ll usually be seven or eight o’clock in the morning, and I revel in the fact that I had the capability to wake up early on the days when the busy schedule school day doesn’t need to be applied. My mom would find it a shock to have found me awake before eight in the morning, on my own without fuss. It’s one those rare moments when I awake with a sense of eagerness rather than the urge to smack my head down onto my pillow again.

It’s little moments like that, that can make you whole and happy. No matter how flamboyant, adventurous, or headstrong. We all need a little escape, a little window we can slip into when stressed or in a dark place. It makes wherever you experienced it, like home. And the fact that we have lived long enough to understand just that, is a feat in itself.

Even though I usually have the brain capacity of a peanut, it’s good to know that you have boundaries when it comes to getting personal with people. Especially considering that in this day and age, some random person could send a meme to the Queen of England if they wanted to(for the sake of keeping our countries at mutual respect for each other, lets purge that idea from our heads)

Sure that picture of your morning avocado toast is cute, and that shot of your new designer shoes is somewhat aesthetically pleasing. But at the end of the day, it’s just like the hundreds of pieces of toast and designer shoes posted by others on social media. Nowadays, a lot of people will go out of their way to take just one shot to post and share with other people. Situations like that have led to terrible accidents and tragedy that could’ve been prevented.

All in all, I think we should consider our safety rather than the irrational need to show the world that you went to this place, ate this food, met this person, or did this thing; just to photograph it happening rather than enjoy it while it lasted.

Thinking back, it’s crazy that it was just a month or two since my uncle and his family went back to India, our summer days left with laying out on our deck watching the birds, sipping fresh smoothies while chatting, the air conditioning running. Sitting in the library reading alone, while my brother finishes reading lessons with his tutor. The days went on almost idly, preferable to the frenzied days where my dad has work, my brother and I have school, and my sister, well; she spends her days picking through stuff in my bedroom, or in the kitchen; finding what she likes and carry it around with her for the majority of the day. And quite frequently, using it as a projectile when something of a nuisance is near her(insects, food, me, etc). I say that there’s no difference in her summer schedule and the rest of the year.

I think our summer was less productively spent. But rather, used as a well deserved time to relax, not having to worry about projects, essays, concerts, or lectures.

My family doesn’t go out often, most of our days usually spent at home enjoying each other’s company and just doing work or hanging around(apart from my parents; my dad who has work throughout the week, and my mom who’s constantly doing something around the house and keeping all of us in check)And it’s always like that, school time or not; and I like it. Course we still go out throughout the week, I mean we’re not complete hermits okay? Like little shopping trips, everyday workouts in the gym, shorts walks in the nearby school grounds, or trips to the nearby department store; like any normal person. And obviously the library is a constant in our routine throughout the week no matter what time of year.

The farthest we had gone this summer was Lake Tahoe, and we still hadn’t gone on our yearly Yosemite trip, so lo and behold; just a couple days later we had a room booked and our clothes packed and ready.

From hindsight, it would’ve looked like we were going on a cross-country road trip, not an overnight stay. My mom went all out with the packing, just like our trip to Lake Tahoe. She thought over every single possible situation too;

Stomachache? Here’s some castor oil.

Need to keep the baby entertained? Here’s a couple books and toys to keep the kid quiet and without fussing for a couple moments.

Want a snack? Here’s a massive stock of chips and edibles from Costco, so you aren’t allowed to starve.

Want a specific type of food? I brought the rice cooker, an electric stove, and(almost)every possible cooking utensil in existence.

Injured? Here, bandages, Neosporin, and a hug.

Bored? Here’s some books on the Kindle and a couple toys.

Want something cooled? Stick it in the ice chest.

Need your phone charged? Here’s, like, five charging cables, a power bank, and a couple adapters.

Feeling nauseous?  Some small trash bags that smell like baby powder, nausea relief pills, and a lemon should do the trick.

Need hygiene products? I’ve brought sanitary pads, small tubes of shampoo, moisturizer, and body wash, Chapstick, floss, deodorant, and everything you could possibly need to keep your body clean.

To be completely honest with you, without my mom’s antics and packing perks, I don’t think our traveling would be nearly as smooth. And yes, in the days before travel, our house is always a bit hectic. But it’s was all worth it while we peacefully drove along the freeway listening to old Tamil songs and praying that one of the two smaller children wouldn’t throw up from motion sickness.

My mom had spent the night before preparing savory puff pastries the night before, a favorite amongst our family. And it was only fitting that we brought some along to eat on our trip. We all munched on our snacks while driving further towards our destination. Flakes from the puffs were falling into our laps and stuck to the seats. My sister was in a funky mood from having woken up so early into the morning and I sympathized. I poked her cheek with a fresh pastry but that probably wasn’t the best approach since she looked like she wanted to push me out through the window.

So I took back the pastry and bit into myself all the while trying to keep my little sister from deciding that she wanted to disown her big sister. Which, considering the direction I took to get her to eat; wasn’t necessarily going well. The drive itself to Yosemite is generally about three to four hours long, give or take. So I came prepared with earbuds and a sick playlist to boot. I also get really tired very easily when driving in a car; and the prospect of having to sit for three to four hours in the same spot was all that appealing. And I probably had the worst seat in the car too. Which was smack in between my sister’s car seat, and my brother.

So there I was, the oldest sibling sandwiched between the munchkins who had the advantage of being able to comfortably lean onto one side or the other if they needed to if they got tired. While I couldn’t lean onto my sister’s car seat without feeling like I was going to dislocate my shoulder. And mind you I like my shoulder and I intend to keep it attached to it’s socket thank you very much.

I looked at my sister in envy as she sat primly in her plush car seat, cushioning on every side and a seat belt that didn’t dig into her neck and chin. But this seating arrangement has become customary ever since my little sister was born, so until she grows out of her car seat(I’ll probably be graduating from high school or entering college by then)this was how it was going to be for a while until that time comes. So I sucked it up and listened to my playlist while praying one or both of my siblings didn’t have any gastrointestinal troubles throughout the trip.

But I wasn’t feeling that good myself, since I had just hit my monthlies(ladies you know what I’m talking about)so very subtle waves of nausea and fatigue would creep up at me and make the car ride all the while worse. Thankfully, my parents said they wanted to stop at a nearby Subway sand which shop to grab a bit of lunch to eat when we arrived. I used the restroom and before we exited the shop, my dad said he was gonna go to the convenience store that was nearby to grab some lemonade for me. He must’ve heard me tell my mom because even through my thorough protests he went out a grudgingly bought an canteen of lemonade. I was really grateful though, because the sour taste splashed onto my tongue and immediately felt refreshing.

I have a bit of a sweet and sour tooth if that makes sense. I have a soft spot for a lot of little confections like mochi and strawberry filled, well, anything. I usually try to keep my sweet tooth down but still can’t resist little bites here and there. But my attraction to sour things is completely different and a little, I guess, bizarre now that I think about it.

You see, when I was probably three years old, it was one of my first trips in to India. And my grandmother and grandfather had a lime tree right outside the front of their house, that still thrives today. Standing proudly while distributing lemons to the birds and squirrels, and, well, the ground.

My mom said that I was tailing my grandmother in the kitchen-as children do-and being the sweet women she is,  I guess she decided to give me something to eat to sate me over. That little edible ended up being a lemon. My mom said that I had taken a bite, but instead of scrunching up my face and being traumatized for life with a fear of citral acidic chemical reactions mixing within my saliva; I loved it(God that sounded better in my head)And I still do today! I like that zing you get once you bite into something sour, the tasting lingers in your mouth for a while rather than fading away. And when it’s a fresh fruit, it feels refreshing and makes your mouth feel cleansed and detoxified. Not to mention that the citric acid can help clear up light nausea. With those acidic properties, it also manages to attack the dirty germs that linger in your mouth and teeth.

When I tell my friends this, I get one of three reactions:

1. “Oh you too? I love sour things! But only candy not actual-like-fruits.” Then they proceed to almost choke as they attempt to eat a Sourpatch Kids candy.

2. “Man, I just love eating a refreshing lemon on a hot day. It really hits the spot doesn’t it? No one else really gets that feel do they?”

3. Proceed to back away in muted terror

Since we had left so early into the morning, we had reached Mariposa County around midday, the rolling hills glowed under the sunlight, our eyes scanning the view outside. The windows were rolled down all the way, wind whipped our hair and whistled in our ears and we raised our voices just to talk to each other. However, the winding road didn’t seem that good for my sister though, because by the time we decided to take a little break from all the driving(well specifically my dad since he’s had to keep his foot on the gas pedal almost constantly since we left.

. . .

So, that’s a wrap on the first part of Yosemite, and in all honesty, I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t write more but it’s nearly 11:00 and I’ve got school tomorrow. I decided to focus more on the philosophical details of this post, mainly because a lot of us don’t really decide on our own to pay attention to details like that anymore. And I wanted to emphasize the fact that living in the moment is what the real reward is, rather than a couple likes on your archive. And in this day and age it’s nearly impossible to control, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Well, I’ve already got a lot of content drafted for you guys which are certainly on the way.

Stay happy, stay eternal.

An’ G’night!

Part 2

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I woke up with the sheets bunched up near my feet, and my little sisters little body curled up on the other side of the uncomfortably warm bed. The night was mostly spent with me tossing and turning in bed, trying to find a comfortable position without adding on even more heat emanating from the heater that was linked to the other rooms.My skin felt unnaturally feverish due to all the high temperature from the room and bed. Which didn’t really give me the sense to have a good mood that morning.

I slowly got out of the bed, checking the time on my phone, before lazily making my merry way downstairs, also tempted to ask my mom why the second floor felt like an industrial microwave that wanted to turned me into burnt curry before even brushing my teeth.  Course that was an unlikely output of the situation, but my groggy, sleepy state, would’ve said otherwise. My mom was already busy in the kitchen, as anyone would’ve expected, after I brushed my teeth, I had was having awful cramps(ladies you probably know why)so I had no intention in moving from the spot where I was being devoured by the couch and body pillows. And even if I did move, I probably would’ve been suffocated from the dense factor of that couch.

Surya and my dad had just left to buy donuts for everyone, probably from a nearby shop, my brother and my little cousin went on to take beanbags and start throwing them up and down the stairs, letting them scatter everyone too, which led me to being the one to make sure that nothing that wrecked while they played. Which also resulted with me becoming a target for them to throw bean bags at me as well. Which wasn’t that bad until I got poked in the eye. I blinked my eyes rapidly while they watered profusely and went back upstairs with my crippling pain(haha no I’m just a wimp) and hung out with Himani for a bit, just talking and laughing until our stomachs hurt.

It was nice spending so much time with Himani, we don’t get to see each other as often as we would’ve liked because she and her family live and hour or two away, and both of us and our families can be really busy throughout the year with our own things. So the fact that we could spend time with each other was really a precious thing.

And sure, the time gap between the last time we saw each other, and the present is there, but that doesn’t make us any less entitled to be just as comfortable with each other as we usually would be. No matter how much we grow up. Sure, we don’t necessarily have an obsession with Rapunzel and The Little Mermaid, but we still seek out what interests the other, what’s quintessential for us individually, and honour it, without any interference; without shaming it. Like a silent oath of respect or something. Kinda like those things guys have, like a “bro code”, but deeper I guess. So call us cousins, but I like the term surrogate sisters better.

(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ ✧ﾟ･: *ヽ(◕ヮ◕ヽ)

By nine or ten in the morning, everyone was just chilling out, and the house looked nicer with the natural sunlight filtering through the windows and the glass sliding door that led out to the small deck in the back.while watching my mom scramble around the place like a cat. Opening bags, taking pans, filling plates; she’s probably one of the only people that I know who can successfully multitask and actually get things done.

And she went all out with the packing too. Like she brought bits of almost everything we have in the kitchen, including ingredients for pancakes, to make from scratch, dosa batter, and every kitchen utensil you could possibly need to make any meal. And sure, I think my mom was just a tad bit extra, but that tad bit of extra can go a long way in this case. My mom had even made tomato chutney and was making dosas on the heavy pan she had brought along, while fixing up different breakfasts for each person who had a preference. And at that moment, I knew she was basically the head of cooking for everyone that moment on, and to the day we leave.

For that day however, we were planning on driving around Lake Tahoe(literally and figuratively)and maybe hitting some spots at on the way, like the beaches or the viewing points around the lake. Himani and I talked about it on the deck in the back, before our dads, and Babu peryiappa joined us out back as well and launched a conversation with the two of us. Babu peryiappa was giving me ideas on how to escalate from beyond writing my blog, and introducing new ways to do that. And I wanted to follow up on some of his ideas too, they were intriguing and I couldn’t deny that.

My mom was bringing hot plates of food out, and it was so nice, to be eating homemade food in a place that technically isn’t home. We sat around eating and talking, my dad deliberately taunting and messing with Babu peryiappa(they’re brothers what do you expect)while I laughed at them.

That sounded way better in my head.

Sorry peryiappa. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

By the time everyone had eaten, showered, and were ready to go, it was probably 12ish in the afternoon.

And just getting all fourteen people in three separate cars?

(¬‿¬) hahaha no. *cries*

The three younger boys wanted to sit together, Thulasi had her own toddler preferences;plus her car seat was something to think about. The three broskateers(that’s gonna be the code name from my two uncles and my dad, you know, like the three musketeers, but bros)were the ones driving, so they don’t have a mandatory preference, my mom would go wherever my sister went, and I had a strange suspicion that Sanjay and Surya would go wherever the little kids weren’t.

And it’s not like I could blame them, I mean usually, driving with children can end up with constant retching(that from gastrointestinal sensitivity, or the fact that the dang kid just wants to get on your nerves)it can be loud, there will be lots of conspicuous giggling(that hopefully isn’t about you). Silence is almost nonexistent, and talking seems to be a constant must on the “How to get on people’s nerves list.” Constant babbling will come from the baby, and mimics of the babbling from said baby, are usually done by the younger boys; who think it’s absolutely hilarious that a human being with a brain could talk such gibberish. And there are also many moments where you wish that the song “Baby Shark” didn’t exist.

Lake Ta-hoe do do do do do do

Lots of dri-ving do do do do do do

So much fun do do do do do do

LAKE TA-HOE  *jazz hands*

Anyway, Himani an I were cool with going in any car, just as long as we could still sit together. Seemingly unlike the rest of our profoundly standing group. The two of us were basically like a pair of extremely well trained cats, that you could place anywhere and they won’t complain unless properly fed.

See, we’re angel children, we’ll do anything you bid us to do.

*cough* yeah right *cough* 

Long story short, everyone was finally seated somewhere inside one of the three cars, but the time it took us to do that had already docked us some time for our sightseeing extravaganza.  I was in a car with my mom, my sister, brother, two little cousin Saran and Vaikunth, Sanjay(with much complaint once he saw the bunch seated inside)and Himani; with her dad driving. Himani, my mom, and I were watching the windows, and pointing things out to each other.

“Wow, look at that house!”

“Ooh the colour on that one is so pretty!”

“The windows are so big in that one!”

“Hey check out the little garden in that house!”

“Look it’s a Hobbit house!”

Guess who said the last one.

Seeing everything in the daylight was so much more overwhelming, because I could finally see how much stuff is in Lake Tahoe. I mean way more than I expected. I just assumed it would like Yosemite, where the nearest store is a couple miles off,  probably one you’ve never heard of in your life. But Lake Tahoe is basically the polar opposite when it comes down to common urban circumstances.

At least from my personal experience, everyone nature reserved area doesn’t have many stores or other extra amenities like that. But I guess since Lake Tahoe is such a popular tourist destination internationally, it’s opened up to having more than one or two stores here and there. And a portion of the money earned most likely goes to the organization(s)that make sure Lake Tahoe is kept thriving.

Here are some facts(that aren’t mine)that I found on rvlove.com.

” The amount of water in Lake Tahoe (39 trillion gallons) is enough to supply each person in the U.S. with 50 gallons of water per day for 5 years.

The amount of water that evaporates from the Lake each day (330 million gallons) could supply a city the size of Los Angeles for 5 years.

The water is 99.994% pure, making it one of the purest large lakes in the world. For comparison, commercially distilled water is 99.998% pure. Lake Tahoe is over 2 million years old. Tahoe is considered an ancient lake and is counted among the 20 oldest lakes in the world.

Year-round resident population is 53,000. Total population can reach 300,000 on peak days. About three million people visit Lake Tahoe each year. This is comparable to the numbers of visitors to Grand Canyon National Park (3.2 million) and Yellowstone National Park (2.7 million). “

We were driving for quite a bit of time before we had stopped at a lookout spot where it was facing the southern part of Lake Tahoe, which meant we could also see the itty bitty little island with itty bitty little boats. Okay, it wasn’t that small, but compared to the rest of the lake, it was puny.

We all stepped out of the car(we were parked right next to a portable lavatory, which was unfortunate)Babu peryiappa had parked somewhere nearby, but my dad was going around in circles trying(and failing)to find a parking spot. And we watched and waited, up until we saw him just take a u-turn and go back onto the road and up, where he seemed to be trying to find a parking spot there. Before leaving, he dropped off the group that was driving with him to the side of the road we were standing on and skedaddled outta there so he could park somewhere else. So there was a cluster of us walking towards the look out area, where we could see the itsy bitsy teeny weeny island.

I found out later on, that it’s called Fannette Island, and it’s said to be haunted. *gasp* More details on that later, but anyway, a light wind was blowing and there were quite a few people looking out at the lake and taking pictures. Now that we had a clear view of the lake, I could finally see its unique blue colour, and how big it actually is. And now that we were closer we could see that there was this small stone castle thing. My mom pointed it out and I was completely convinced that the woodland creatures had built it on their own. But, I did my research after the trip, and it was actually a tea house that a wealthy women had used many many decades before.

My dad finally stalked his way towards wear we were standing, my mom and I were trying to tame the kids, who seemed to have found there way onto a large flat surface rock, and started messing around. We stayed for a little longer, took a couple pictures, before deciding to leave. I say deciding, because we all only shuffled along a few steps before my little cousins skidded and skinned his knees on the rough ground. Blood glistened on the scrapes and threaten to drip down, but Sekar peryiappa was quick to ask for bandages and Neosporin, which my mom whipped out from her backpack.

The three adults fussed over him, while he chided them all with “I’m fines” and “It’s okays” But the serious scrapes on his knees said otherwise. Himani let herself have her own share of scolding her little brother as we started back to the cars. And we all hoped the hasty bandaging would be enough to last through most of the day. And he didn’t seem faltered by that either, and I kind of wanted to pat him on the back and give him chocolate or something because he was pretty chill considering what had just ensued.

Other than that, we were all pretty much happy campers, my sister was giggling most of the time with the boys, Himani and I messed with the filter apps that were on our phones and made funny pictures of each other for a little bit. We were driving for quite some time however, so everyone was getting a little jittery, and the thought of food made me hungrier by the minute. I guess the three brosketeers were feeling it too(or they just had spidey-senses)because, soon we all had pulled up into the parking lot of a Safeway, which looked like a regular old Safeway you would see in city or town, and not some knockoff with off brand items that basically taste worse than the amount you paid for them.

I knew we would have to make exceptions when it came to food, since there were so many of us traveling together. But I found it hilarious that we ended up having to go to a Safeway, in Lake Tahoe. I’m so used to having to rely on whatever my mom brought when we go on road-trips, since there usually aren’t any nearby stores in establishments like natural parks. So I didn’t expect to end up going to a Safeway, with everyone to boot. And I found it utterly hilarious that we had to go to Safeway in order to survive for half the day without passing out from undernourishment. Everyone decided it would be a great idea for all of us to go into the store together and grab food and snacks.

That was horrid idea.

Himani and I maneuvered around, and whisper-hissed-screamed at our brothers to stop going to different aisles without us. But their our brothers, and who in their right mind would decide to listen to their older sisters, even if whatever they’re telling us most likely just them making sure we’re safe. Pfft, why even? I salute all of you out there who listen to their older siblings; and if you don’t. Well, I don’t think ya’ll want a lecture right now, because little siblings seem to underestimate the power of a hard lecture from their older sibling.

The majority of the time, it was me and Himani chasing after our brothers, and then our mothers calling out to us to chase after our brothers; it was just an endless cycle of:

“Can these perfectly capable girls manage to track down their brothers in a store that has more than a dozen aisles in one place?”

Himani and I finally got our brothers and handed them of to the adults, who were still looking for food items that were anything besides chips and cookies. Himani and I decided to do our part and wandered along to the yogurt section, I grabbed the first thing that I saw that looked familiarly edible, which was orange creamsicle flavoured Yoplait. I grabbed four or five and we wandered back to the cash register, where everyone else was crowded. Our purchases we really hasty;

• A mixed box of bagged chips

• Yogurt(Provided by Himani and Yours truly)

• Cookies

• Pizza flavoured Pringles(that I wasn’t gonna touch)

• Ice cream(that melted a couple moments later, woops)

• Baby Carrots

• Oranges

• Macaroni Salad

• Bananas

Not the heartiest things you could eat, but we managed.

We walked back to the parking lot, where everyone hung out and opened the food we bought. I grabbed the yogurt and gave one to my dad, who supposedly decided to pat me on the back for deciding to get something other than chips and cookies. But there weren’t any spoons so we had to compromise with forks.

Eating yogurt with forks, on a sunny day in Lake Tahoe.

Yippee.