Vikram Singh KhalsaThe Sikh Magician, Inventor and Artist

Jul 2nd Busy Summer?

Since everyone keeps asking me what’s up, where I’ve been, what’s going on, what’s new, and so forth, I got tired of telling them all. Simply because there is a lot. So I’ve decided I’ll just post it up here and everyone can read it instead of me having to tell each person. Ok, here goes.. My summer:

I had a few weeks to relax after college got out. We just had some kirtan programs on the weekends, Khalsa School and Naam Simran on Sundays. We also had a few programs at our house. We’ve started working on a little landscaping, to make the place look nice. So I wasn’t completely free, because there was a lot of work to do around the house.

Since our plans of spending the summer in India weren’t going to be followed through, I took a class over summer. Fortunately it’s online, so I don’t have to go to college, and I can work at my own pace. My textbook had a retail price of $70, but I bought it online for less than $10, brand new, including shipping. I took my first course in Computer Programming, C++.

June 16 – Rainsbaee at San Jose Gurdwara Sahib. It was packed, and there was a lot of simran! =D Recordings: http://keertan.waheguroo.com/index.wn?viewCat=810

(June 17- 22)My younger sister and I went to spend a week at my older sisters house in Sacramento. We got to relax most of the week. During this time I started my online class and did 2 weeks worth of work in advance, because I was going to be busy afterwards. I left there on Friday night June 22 and got home around 12.

I got sick that night, but I had no chance to recover.

( June 23) The next day, Saturday, was Sikh Children Day at Fremont Gurdwara Sahib. I had been hired to do 3 magic shows there. I had to prepare that morning and I spent most of the day there. There were some issues with the organization so I was only going to do 2 shows. However, I was really sick, so I didn’t even do the second show. Instead, I went home to rest. I didn’t get much time to rest because I also had to pack for the next whole week.

(June 24 – Jul 1) On Sunday morning I left for West Virginia. There was Leadership Retreat taking place for Sikh Youth, and I had been invited as a counselor. I was sick when I went, and I didn’t get a chance to recover fully while I was there. I’ll talk about my experiences here in another post. All you need to know is that I came home on Sunday Morning, Jul 1st, with my voice lost.

(Jul 1) As soon as I arrived, I went straight from the Airport to kirtan pratice. We onl have a little while before the competition, and I needed to learn a few new taals to practice. Then I went home a rested for a bit. After that, I went to Fremont Gurdwara Sahib to take a photo with my group and practice some more. From there I went straight to San Jose Gurdwara Sahib for our weekly Naam Simran Program. Then when I got home I checked my 60+ emails from the week. (Not including junk)

(Jul 2) I have today to unpack my Virginia stuff, and repack for Toronto. Today I also need to do my next weeks worth of homework and reading for my online class. I’m still trying to get my voice back.

(Jul 3 – 10) I went for a week to Toronto International Akhand Kirtan Smagam. It was my first time, and it was really awesome. I really hoped my nose and throat get better so I could actually sing during the kirtan, but only happened the last day. Recordings are up at : http://akj.org/skins/one/keertan.php?id=131 There are also pictures on various Flickr accounts. We went to wonderland the day after, with a large group of singhs. It was a lot of fun, and I showed them a few tricks 😉

(Jul 11)- 3 Days of hw due for online class that I have to do in one day, and unpack from TO, and recover form Jetlag.

(Jul 12-Jul 20) Relax time, I get to recover a while. Still have to keep practicing Tabla for the competition, and working on my online class. We also had quite a few keertan programs, continued to work on our landscaping, and had to do a few image designs for some people.

(Jul 21- Jul 29) International Akhand Kirtan Smagam in California. The akhand jaap was great, and the rest of the smagam was good too.

(Aug 3 -8 ) We are going to Orlando, Florida, for the first International Kirtan Competition. It’s going to take place along with the Hemkunt Speech Competition. After the event our team is staying a few days extra to enjoy Orlando.

(Aug 9 – 17) More keertans, editing pictures for people. Summer class finally ended. More landscaping work.

(Aug 18 – 23) Khalsa Camp in UK. I’m not sure if I’m going or not yet, but I really hope I will. Trying my best to figure out how to pay for the ticket. It’s ok if I don’t go because I can relax and prepare for my 3rd semester of college. Hopefully I’ll get to go, because I’ve heard a lot about it.

Sept 1 – Rainsbaee at our place!

Sep 5 – Fall semester starts..

In addition to all this theres still practicing magic, keeping my room clean, updating my website, socializing, and improving my life as Gursikh.

So if you see me make a few pictures or videos, don’t think I have too much time on my hands.

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