Buildup to the Vacation..

Hello all.. It’s that time of the year in East India when the time starts running ultra slow and days seem like weeks altogether and you just cannot wait for the calendar to flip on its own the very next instant – two days to go for the Durga Puja/ Dussehra/Mid Sem Vacations. Well, mine begins on the 9^th of October and I’m feeling all those things I just said. The mood for relaxation and vacation has already set in and as proof of it; I have been away from the academic building for some time now. (It may not have been a big deal last semester, but that’s an entirely different tale) Come Sunday, the 10^th of October, Goa shall be in sight..

So, what’s the big deal about this vacation? I don’t know about you folks out there, but before getting into college, I made a series of Vows – things to definitely do in college. Predictably, a trip was on it. Currently into my III year at college, I guess I’m embarrassed when I say I haven’t yet ticked it off my list. But not for long. There were a few ‘trips’, but none of them qualify to be considered worthy enough to be ticked off the list. (Nor a mention here at the moment) And having finally engineered this trip (I’m at least capable of ‘engineering’ something), I must say I’m looking forward to having many more.

You know how hard it is to pull off a trip with a group of friends, of which all possess individual characteristics and tastes? Same here. 5 of us – 1 destination. Almost the mission impossible. Well, almost. When you pull on a topic for discussion, you get 5 different ideas and opinion and it most definitely ends up as a dispute. So here’s how you overcome it – surprise! Amongst us, we had a hill-station-person, a beach-person, a nightlife-person, an adventure-vacation-person, a cleanliness-freak-person. As you see, fixing a destination seems the first daunting task. Actually it isn’t. The destination is not that matters as much as how you pitch it to the rest of them. So here’s how it was done. Scanned the academic calendar for an ideal getaway, and voila – Durga Puja! And coincidentally, the break in the schedule came a week after one of our birthdays. That presented an opportunity to blend them together – birthday gift! And there you have the perfect pitch. And the birthday person also happens to be the beach-person – nailed the destination! Job half done.

By now, you have the group aboard (save for the birthday person ((read surprise-birthday-gift))) and you’ll only have to look into the finer details of the vacation. That may prove to be a bitch, especially when you are a student, you have financial constraints, and you’ve not done this before. There’s no hard and fast rule to overcome this, internet will help the ones who persevere. If all goes well, 2 months prior to departure, you have the trip on paper. Job almost done.

The hardest part comes (at least came in my case) when you ensure that the birthday person doesn’t make any other plans for the vacations. This usually requires a cover story (Bangi was mine). Next – keeping the secret. Good secrets/surprises are hard to be kept under covers. And to keep one for over 4 months is torture! Compound that with the cover story, it feels like a huge bubble ready to burst within you, but you just can’t afford to let that happen. So for over 2 months, you talk about what you are going to do at Bangi, how much fun you are going to have in Bangi, just how you can’t wait to go to Bangi, when you and the others clearly know the plan. My personal advice to you would be to avoid eye contact and be ready to fake coughing/sneezing fits/hiccoughs when you start laughing and look to give it all away. The final week, is the hardest.

Now all that is done, the gift has been unwrapped, the surprise has registered you finally start planning out what you are going to do in Goa (and not Bangi). Last bottleneck would be – how am I going to get clearance from my parents for this? You are on your own mate! I’ve just reached this phase now and hence can’t enrich your knowledge further, but word goes around Goan liquor is cheap, souvenirs are cheap, water sports rule, nightlife rocks and oh yeah, there is a mix of foreign and native ‘culture’ to be admired. Will be able to tell you more in a week’s time! Wait for it..

After having read all this, if you still haven’t taken the Vows, that should be next on your agenda. And the next thing obviously should be the-ultimate-college-trip. Do try it out, you are so gonna enjoy yourselves! Among the other things on my Vows is a Road Trip. Sadly, I do not know how to drive. Got over a year to work it out, I’ll let you know if I make any progress with that. Cheers until next time!

(The 5 – awesoMe (awesome Me, get it? (:P)), Sukirtha, Chandan, Anurag & Santosh aka Elite)

About WoW

Wonders of the World..

All this while I've written on topics and given a deeper insight to things. Today, I am in a mood to write something light and literal without going into specifics or taking a personal stand over a serious unresolvable issue. With that I shall start..

First up, google for 'wonders of the world' and check images. When I did so, the third image was of a girl with really large assets. Someone's perception of a WoW. (:D) The 7 Wonders of the World has been something that most of us would have come across. I came across such a list at a young age - the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World and till date acknowledge only them as the 7 Wonders.

• The Great Pyramid of Giza
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• The Mausoleum of Maussollus at Halicarnusses
• The Colossus of Rhodes
• The Lighthouse of Alexandria

Fascinated as I was, I read a lot about them at a young age (about 8 years) and still continue to do so. That's how I know that this list is 'ordered' or 'ranked' on the basis of the date of construction. And also, there was another wonder 'The Ishtar Gate' and that The Lighthouse is arguably referred to as the 8th wonder. I also assumed there were 7 wonders due to the various properties number 7 is attributed with, but had later found out that it was for a different reason. The list of Wonders had been compiled way back. A coupla hundred years before Jesus Christ in fact. And the compilation was done by the various civilizations in existence in and around the Mediterranean. Thus the 7 were the only known Wonders. The facts and trivia about the wonders are innumerable. One of them worth mentioning is that all 7 Wonders had been in simultaneous existence for about 50 years or so (BC 280 - BC 225). The Wonders make a fascinating read and live up to their tags of wonders by captivating the reader's attention and fueling the thirst and hunger to learn more and more about them.

Among the 7 Wonders, only The Pyramid of Giza still stands. It was the tallest building on Earth for close to 4000 years! 5 of the 7 Wonders can be attributed to the once-upon-a-time flourishing Greek culture (The Pyramid and Babylon were not Greek creations). Greek history and mythology in itself is another tale and shall make it to this blog sometime later. The Wonders have served as an inspiration to artists over the centuries. They have been subtly or explicitly included in many creations. There is a lot more that can be said about them which if I start, I fear I may never stop.

On 07/07/07 the new 7 Wonders were voted. I don't know which all are there, but am sure Taj Mahal and The Great Wall of China are there (it does help to have the maximum number of people (read voters) after all). The Pyramid of Giza was given a honorary spot too.

Wonders are a matter of perception and can't be limited as such to a fixed number 7. The world has many architectural wonders, geographic wonders, natural wonders, underwater wonders and so on. Wonders aren't limited to just our planet. Do check out wonders of the solar system, wonders of the galaxy as well.

About The 'Look'

Before you start presuming something from the title of the blog, I'll make it simpler and say that this is about the look of the blog. I was going thru a few random blogs. One thing that prominently stood out in them was the theme/template applied. I came back to my blog and found it quite contrasting. Dark. Bright contrasting text. Plain. Let me make one thing clear to you, no I am not a member of any cult, nor am I a fan of heavy/metal music and neither am I portraying a sinister side of me. Truth is, I ain't color savvy. I chose black for the background as it is my favorite color. Wanted to go with white text, but looked stereotypical and hence chose bright red. Green I chose, as a counterpart of red. Okay, go ahead, say that my taste in colors is pathetic. But that apart, there is no hidden reason or ulterior motive to it.

Talking about hidden agenda and ulterior motives, whew! Have people today become paranoid or have people become paranoid? No one thinks of accepting the fact at face value that someone maybe doing something simply because he/she likes it that way. Instead, people today embark on a rigorous quest in search of a reason that did not exist to begin with. Perception is one's will. But accepting one's perception alone to be true is moronic. Being at the receiving end of this madness is starting to wear out on me.

I do tend to drone on and on and on about everything under the sun and beyond as well. Considering I do have an exam in 11 hours is further fueling the tendency. However, as I have not prepared for it (as usual), I should quit now so as to save my blogging personality from becoming scapegoat to the overwhelming guilt which is bound to strike when I check out the question paper.

PS: Suggestions for change of 'looks' will be entertained!

About Addictions

What do you know about addiction?

The first thoughts that probably came to your mind are those of alcohol/drug/sex addicts. Try widening your sphere of thoughts, for addiction is far more. To help you do that, consider a test subject. Who should it be? None other than yourself as it'll be the easiest choice for you to judge. Now think of addictions. Shopaholic? Workaholic? Control freak? Obsession disorder? Foodie? TV junkie? Social networking? Text-a-thon champ? Avid reader? Paranoia? Perfectionist? Punctualist? (Okay, I made up that word, but you get the point!) And what not? Every individual is an addict, and this blog entry shall concern that.

When I sit down to write an entry, it is usually because I chance upon a thought which I have no one to discuss with at that particular moment. I have no idea as of yet what'll follow these words now, and am as eager as you are to get to them. (^-^) What is addiction? I do not know the textbook/dictionary definition yet, (which i shall look up immediately) but in my opinion, addiction would be something you simply can't not do irrespective of whether you like it, dislike it or are indifferent to it. (Sometime later, probably when I read this again, I'll write about like/dislike/indifference. An idea just clicked!) WordIQ says 'Addiction is an uncontrollable compulsion to repeat a behavior regardless of its negative consequences.' Something similar to what I inferred. TheFreeDictionary says addiction is 'Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance.' Put in "corporate" terms. The American Society of Addiction Medicine has this definition for Addiction: Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. (courtesy Wikipedia)

Prototype definitions apart, coming back to our interest in addiction. If you were to sit and observe, you'd notice probably a gazillion things about yourself and others around you that falls in the broad category of addiction. I can't help wonder, is it normal? Is it okay? Being Indian, I notice everyone around me is hooked onto some thing or the other, so I consider this to be normal, right? After all, there are 1.2 billion others! (I guess this would be a standard normalcy check for any person on earth) Normal or not, it's amusingly amazing as to see people around, controlled in a manner of disguise so subtle and smooth that it escapes the apparent onlooker's vision. You, me, everyone else has more than one such subconscious doing that shall fail to justify any rationale. Flawed as we are, some of them are necessary even to highlight the diamond's worth.

Enough pondering over the issue, being just an observer, it is fun to find out the buttons that activate a person. It is impossible to rationalize with the irrational. So I guess the best thing to do when you do discover a button is to stay mum and not try and be a savior if the person doesn't need saving. This may sound like an incoherent piece of crap altogether, but in my defense, I'm very confused on this issue as such. There are things like personality traits, genetic coding, psychological development, surroundings and many other blahs which are part of addiction. Life's mysteries are one too many for the mind, but again that's why they are called mysteries. The best way to hide things is said to be in plain sight, and so they are hidden. Do look around, and if realization hits you, make a post. Someone, somewhere might benefit from it..

PS: One of my addictions/obsessions/personality traits/genetic codings/blahs would be - adhering to rules of punctuation. Whatever rules I know, I follow them. I use punctuation almost everywhere - blogs, e-mails, IMs, texts, letters, sticky notes (I know!) ((This comment too!))

Arbit..

Hello..

Have been having this urge to pen down a few words since yesterday, but couldn't come up with a topic and hence kept putting it off. It has become too much now, the urge is in control, and you are witnessing its proof.

A lazy morning has just begun at my end. Exams coming up on Monday, my room mate mugging his ass away to glory, and me unfocused. The best thing about writing is, the moment you get the flow, nothing can stop you from flowing with it. I've also discovered what I wanna write about now.

Most of my entries may look like they are filled only with negativity and it may give you the idea that I'm a whining sycophant, but the truth is far from it. You can share good things and happy moments with everyone around you, but the same cannot be said about things that put you at discomfort or just depress you further as you continue t0 talk about it. Let's get on with it.

These are the few things that has come to my mind as I typed the few words above this - plight of new IITians, profession vs passion and mentality of Indians. The last one, is a never ending discussion. Starting from the first, the Indian Institutes Of Technology (or MHRD of Indian Govt) marvelously struck upon the idea of increasing the number of IITs. It was something of a overnight decision I presume. When I had appeared for JEE in 2008 in April, I was unaware of the development. When the JEE results had come towards the end of May, a few people were aware of the news, vaguely. It wasn't until we appeared for counselling in mid June, was some light shed on it - partly. The new IITs were announced somewhere in May, and had to begin operation in July - nothing short of a Herculean task in this country. And considering the lack of Herculean men in modern world, mixed with Indian Government lethargy you got a semi baked semi burnt start for the 6 new IITs in 2008. Two years since, there has hardly been any commendable progress in this field. 2 more new IITs were established in 2009, who face a similar plight.

I do not know for certain how things work in an IIT. But I do assume that things do not work in certain ways. Such as - a fresh PhD scholar from 2009, being appointed the Head Of Department, a senior Professor being overburdened with the posts of Dean, Warden and Head Of Department simultaneously. Apart from this, there are a plethora of other issues - the professors being appointed are mostly fresh out of college and have no clue on how to conduct a class, having a daily schedule that crams 28 hours a week for 3rd year students, the lack of infrastructure in terms of laboratory which makes the IIT tag redundant, the complete lack and mix up of authority and protocol which ensures that nothing is done on time, insistence on 100% attendance, conditioning of mentality toward research only and on and on. The new IITs make a show of covering up all their faults and just projecting half attractive happenings to the media, the truth is hollow and resonating. On top of it, there are rumors that the IITs are yet to be certified. Sigh.. Placements (if any) shall seal the final verdict.

My advice to you if you are preparing for JEE or know someone who is preparing for the same would be to convey this message to them - DO NOT join a new IIT. Cracking thru JEE takes an effort and I'd hate to see yours get wasted such as mine and the others with me.

I don't say new IITs are a bad move, on the contrary - they are fantastic. But their implementation is screwed up to say it shortly. IIM Shillong was a new IIM set up in 2008 as well. However, they have shown an average placement of 9.9 lacs for their first batch, which is acceptable considering the new institute factor. I'd be happy if the IITs pull of a similar stunt as well.

Profession vs Passion. This comes to my mind as a series of thoughts which are a continuity from the above discussion. My major focus of this discussion shall be the teaching area. Teaching is not everyone's cup of tea. You may possess sound knowledge of the subject, but you may not be skilled enough to pass on the same to others. If you are one of them, you should understand your limitations and not undertake teaching. In today's scenario of cut throat competition, there have emerged another batch of teachers - those for whom it is a job. And this is clearly reflected in their teaching. They are pathetic at passing knowledge, at inspiring interest and motivating students. This is the most pitiable condition for both the teacher and the students. There was a time, when teaching or for that matter, any profession was a passion first and then a profession. But in today's scenario, passion is nowhere to be seen. A lot of things are to be blamed for this. And one of them is the mentality of our fellow countrymen. We are all egoistic maniacs. We all have pride that is taller than our physical selves. And this is the underlying reason why our country inspite of being the the second most populated one is still among the developing nations of the world. Everyone wants a white collar job. It is a rat race out there and everyone is running without knowing where it leads to, why they are running and as to whether they want to run or not in the first place. 1.2 billion people more or less have a common discerning attitude towards everything in our country. And unless this changes, we shall remain a developing nation forever and ever to come.

The entry may look incoherent, that is simply due to the vastness of the topic and my lack of patience to elaborate and my diplomacy which ensured I shan't pile charges against any side in particular. That's all for now folks!

Writer has signed out!

Update

Like I said the last time, maintaining a blog is a huge effort. But nevertheless, I solemnly vow to keep it in better shape from today! Today is the day I bought my laptop. Hence, the next time I think of something to pass time with, I shall visit my blog and churn out another masterpiece and post it! (:D)

It has been over 9 months since I last posted here and when I happened to go thru my blog and the last entry, I couldn't restrain from typing this out. In the previous entry, I spoke about why I hate people and when I'll be at the crossroads. I'm at a small level crossroads at the moment. To give you an insight to it, I'll have to start at the beginning...

I am an Indian. If you are not from India, that's all it'll matter to you, but in my country, that is quite not enough. Next, I am a south Indian. Next, I'm a Tamilian. Next I'm from south Tamil Nadu. And next and next and next, on and on and on it goes. Having portrayed my life in a few characters previously I did fleetingly mention that I have moved around a lot in my childhood. As a result of which I have learnt to blend in with people of different cultures, picked up the basics of a handful of languages, and have developed a respect for each and every different culture. I have mostly been part of a minority and it has never bothered me in any way. Recently however, a few incidents in my college (IIT Bhubaneswar) have bothered me, upset me, frustrated me and reinforced my hate toward people.

People feed on stereotypes and rumors and pass it in even more wondrous states than what they had received it in. Man is judgmental to the extent that he does not wish to confirm and rather chooses to accept anything that comes his way. Man is also utterly stupid that reason has no effect in playing a part of enlightening upon the judgement. And yet again, I do not fall in this category of Men and as a result, tend to look down upon them for being ignorant and vehemently stupid.

My entries are a flow of thoughts blended with emotions given life by words at a particular instance of time in my life. More of a situation when the sub conscious mind surfaces and submerges. I was pleasantly astonished when I dug out my old post considering its relevance now.

One thing that you hate the most?

Sigh! Maintaining a blog is such an effort. I even forgot that I had one in the first place. Seeing that it is over 5 months since I wrote in here, I'm feeling all guilty (a lil bit) and here I am for an update.

What is the one thing that you hate the most? A query that has been put to my quite often recently.

Answer: People.

The general response that I receive is of shock, resentment, disapproval and the likes. But I have my justifications, like most people in the world.

I had to answer that question yet again today, I mean yesterday. I stood by my answer. 'Why?' Yet another question that has been tagging along. I mainly wriggle out of it by answering that people frustrate me a lot. And on a couple of occasions I have even given the answer. But it never clicks. This time I answered - 'Personal'. Later I reflected, is it something personal to me or them? And like a million other questions that pop in my mind, I left this unanswered.

What does one do when up against a majority? And in my case it is almost always against the whole crowd. Recently, I've discovered a few who are on the side that I take, but that does not affect the numerical strength of the majority in any way. And considering that those few are labeled nuts and wackos by the majority, you really are left to ponder. Can 99% of the people around me be wrong? Or is it just me? Should I just give up my so called crazy individuality and blend in with the crowd that is in utter disarray and seems to be following an illusion?

It is an ongoing struggle with oneself, in my case. I've chosen to stick to my set of principles. I do not know how long I'll be able to continue to defend myself from this side of the battle. It would be so pathetic to yield and become what I detest by turning my colors and joining the majority. And if it is that what requires for one to survive in this world, I'd be at crossroads when I'd have to choose to surrender or die in honor.

What's in a Name?

Jun, 10

Sigh!! It sure is a hell of a job - maintaining a blog. Well, I hope I can fine tune things within a month and then on be a regular blogger.

Now coming to the topic.

GAIA

What is it with Gaia? Why did I choose that as a name for a blog which describes my life? Well, I come up with a one-liner. What's in a name after all? But I do have my reasons. Its quite down to earth. I just needed a cyber nick. I didn't want to go under my original name for a lot of reasons. So I decided to give myself a nick. Now, am an avid reader. I read fiction a lot. And I was moved by a lot of characters that I have read about. Back when I was a kid, I used to think Tom Marvolo Riddle was the coolest character I had come across. But later on, as I read more and more, I discovered quite a few immortal characters. First, Howard Roark. Those who haven't heard of him are missing something vital. Next up, from the same book Gail Wynand. I had adopted the name of Roark initially for a short span of time. But a few months later I happened to read another book. And it gave me not one, but three characters to look up to. 'Who is John Galt?' The very query was intriguing and i immediately adopted John Galt as my nick. Prior to these two, I did use the nick Artemis and Zelda. I'm sure some of you must have come across the former and quite a lot would have come across the latter. But, switching back and forth between these four nicks didn't seem nice to me. So, one fine morning, I sat my ass down and thought. Greek/Roman mythology is a fascinating read. And well, I did play Age of Mythology a lot quite long back. And that is when I remembered Gaia - Titan of the Earth. I did a bit more of a ground work and found that I liked the story connected with her and chose that as a nick.

So Gaia I shall be, till i find another befitting nick. After all, what's in a name?

The Twin Bro!

Oh Hello Readers!!

I just went thru all that stuff my twin Good Bro was talkin about. He seems to have forgotten me, his twin Evil Bro. Lol! This is Kiran again. Just that, this is the more honest and exciting Kiran.

Regarding the last post, Good Bro was just like his usual self. Talkin about some of the things he had learnt at Bombay. Well, as for me, I learnt quite a bit too. All men are born saints. What happens later on is at their own disposal. Well, am no saint! Much as I learnt lotsa nice stuff at Bombay, I also learnt things that my parents call 'BAD'. Like the art of swearing for example. Now, I seriously can't understand what is so bad about swearing and why people make such a big fuss about it. I also enriched my database about all the things that happen in real world after dark. And yea, I watched my first B-Grade movie too. Apart from that there were plenny of other things! Like spying on young couples after dark! And on..

That was a long time back. Right now the only thing that I still continue is swearing. And I have perfected the art!

Right Now!

Well.. At present i hav technically finished my first year at college. I find myself left with lotsa free time and am at a loss in finding a way of disposing it. So i decided to resume blogging. "Resume?" u myt be thinking? This is my third blog on cyberspace. The other two are no more. Period. Mouthshut. Am not talkin abt them. Therz like a lot of things i can rant abt, and it is hard to pick out one specific topic. Give me a moment pls..

I still havent been able to decide. So far, what exactly have i told you? Just a bit abt me ryt? Well i'll build on it. That shudnt be too hard.. It myt be boring, but then you are free to click that 'x' and exit this blog anytime you wish.

Bombay, 1999

This was a turning point in my life. India is such a diverse country. So many variations, so many cultures, just too much diversity! Well, what happens when it all meets together at some place? You get Bombay (Mumbai). I still prefer calling it Bombay rather than Mumbai. I had until then lived in Cochin, Kerala. I was blown over by what welcomed me in this busy and buzzing city. Here is where I learnt to live.

If I were given a chance to relive a part of my life again, I would choose this period. This is where I defined myself. My first dreams and aims were laid in this city. I lived in Santacruz. Pretty near the Juhu beach. I was a shy and timid kid back then. Anything and everything about Bombay meant astonishment to me. I had never seen so many people, so many cars, so many buildings. I had never been to a place where I couldn't speak the local language. There were so many firsts for me at Bombay. Looking back, this was where I built my character (whatever of it is there!).

I had to adapt to so many things here. The fast paced life, the multilingual and multicultural society, and a new language to express myself. I succeeded in the first two. But failed miserably in picking up Hindi/Marathi. But well, I did learn more of English. I am proud of my English and this is where I learnt that as well. It becomes kinda easy to learn a foreign language when you have no other choice. Apart from that, I formed my first of friends here. The contacts that I got here are the oldest in my entire life. While at contacts, I would like to enlist a few of them. They all remember me, but am not sure as to what extent.

First of all, S Arun - my neighbour and one of my best buddies. My dad introduced me to him in the corridor of the seventh floor of the apartment that we used to live in. He is a year older to me. Was kinda my elder bro and mentor back then. I never admitted it to him, but I used to look upto him in a sorta way. I had always wanted to be able to interact like him with others. He was my first friend there and was my friend for all the three years that I spent at Bombay. Right now, my contact with him is "on and off". He is in Madras (Chennai) and I haven't seen him in the last 6 years. But we surely will meet someday.

When I think of whom to mention second, I'm in a spot of bother. But after much thoughts it has to be Aditya S. This guy was my twin. In every possible way. Man, we rocked those days. We were the closest of buddies back then. We had 'troublemakers' written all over us and maybe thats why our parents decided that we shouldn't hang out together. We had our good times and our bad times. We were a good combo. And I learnt quite a bit from him. Here is the guy who introduced me to 2 things - Video games and Books!! These are two addictions from which I have not recovered and will never recover from. Right now, our contact is like literally dead. Had kept in touch via Orkut occasionally, but now he doesnt come online much. He too has left Bombay and is in Chennai.

Up next is Ashutosh. Another one of my close buddies. He completes the 3 musketeers (Aditya, Ashu nd myself). We 3 hung out pretty much. This guy was pretty much attached to his family! Something that I could have taken after but just did not! He has 2 sisters (one elder nd one younger). By the way, I hav one too (younger). His sis and mine were friends too. I pretty much liked his family as a whole. To me, they were "The Perfect Family".

While at it, I must also mention Navin and Giridhar. Two of my buddies from school. The other 3 mentioned above lived in the same neighborhood. Navin and Giri were my mischief-making companions at school. I could write on and on about our misadventures. Sigh!

At Bombay, I also learnt to treat all people as the same. I was a person from a different state and culture. But the people there did not treat me as someone different. I was one among them. I learnt to do the same as well. Like I said before, Bombay was a learning ground for me. I learnt to ride a bike when I was there. I learnt a bit of French. And lots about computers, internet and games.

I'll take a break now. Come back l8r with sumthin else to talk about.