DHUNKI DELIGHTFUL

To what extent can anyone go to make the other person happy.. Well, this depends from one person to another person.. Not all are alike and hence certain degree is variations..

But, when someone can really sense what makes ya happy and shows it out, that brings the ultimate sense of satisfaction.

I have one such person in my life, who does the most tiniest things to bring a million dollar smile on my face. Each time I feel low and sullen, this joy of my life knows best needs to done.. Mere SMILE KA DOCTOR hain woh... Dil ke baare main no comments..

Anyways without digressing, let me continue..This joyous bundle did the best thing to please me. I loved this song, Dhunki from the movie Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. Love is not the word. I cannot express how much I adore this song. It makes me go crazy with excitement and brings the biggest smile on my face.. I was telling my joy casually that I love this song and was raving and ranting about it (With that twinkle in my eyes....)

After sometime, my joy called me and said call on the number.. Just imagine my excitement, when I called, the caller tune was DHUNKI LAAGE RE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh ma god... I was so damn happy.............. Then you can imagine what I did.. I started calling atleast ten times in an hour and the happiness I would derive was immense...But no cooments on joy's plight.....

WHISKY U INDEED R D BEST!!!!! THANKS A TON FOR MAKING AND KEEPING ME HAPPY ALL THE TIME........

HAPPINESS IS THE WAY

THERE IS NO WAY TO HAPPINESS, HAPPINESS IS THE ONLY WAY.... This was said by someone super special once and it is embossed in my brain for life.

So many of us forget that happiness need not be looked outside, it can brought out from within. This may need a little extra effort, going that extra mile kinds. But honestly, how many of us really feel happy from within. We crib, we whine, we cry, we mock, scoff, jeer, tease etc, but are never truly happy. The most silliest reasons can put us off. Even though we have everything, we still want that something we have no clue about. But, we try harder for the same.

It's such an irony in life that we never are happy and contented with what we have. We always want what we don't have. In this caos, we miss out on the joys of our lives.

This tiny piece of blog is for my whisky, which is going to bring a smile on someon's face...

HAND HARD DISC

HARDWARE TECHNOLOGY - In our language, we call it BOX SELLING. All in the feather, flock together and use the same terminology. It is the same lingo across the IT Hardware world.

There was this guy who joined us at work. He was narrating one of his initial experiences in the Hardware world. He was having an internal interview and it so happened that his manager asked him, "What is the size of the Hard disc?"..... To his manager's utter shock, this guy uses both his hands and puts his in front of his manager......(Just the way it is in the picture....)

All he had to answer was, 320 GB, 500 Gb etc and this brilliant man, comes up with a hand gesture the way it is in the picture.

Imagine the plight of his manager......

THOSE BLUE DAYS

All of a sudden, the entire world ahead comes to a stand still. Nothing ahead to look for. Where did all the happiness vanish and the entire life style to a big stand still. Every morning, a new day hoping to bring something new, but nothing yet has happened like that. When will the sun shine anew and bring anew day.

Sometimes, life brings such unexpected twists and turns, that just catches one so unaware. You totally wouldn't expect and know not how to react to such queasy situations. But why and how do such ruse happen to certain individuals..... Well, none would seem to have an answer...

I sometimes sit down and ponder over. Certain individuals face such terrible situations and are so shell shocked to the peak. Some get over the same at a fast pace while some want to dwell in their misery. God should give one the courage to withstand such temporary back falls, but the situations are so harsh to withstand.....Harsh isn't the word...

One should always know that neither happiness nor troubles are permanent in life. They are like the waves that rise and fall in leaps.But why is it so hard to take problems at your stride and so easy to welcome happiness.

Always remember, this was told by my Physics Prof in college that, "PROBLEMS ARE A SOLUTION IN DISGUISE"!!!!

SUMMERHOUSE

Summer House - This is one of the books by Jude.

I don't happen to read a lot of her books. But, by chance I started reading her books and this one titled - THE SUMMERHOUSE was one amazing book.

The Synopsis of the book is as follows,
Three friends turning forty on the same day, meet after a gap of seventeen years. None would have been in touch till then. Out of the three, one would be a homemaker, the other would be a writer and the third would be a nurse. The writer's publisher forces her to get in touch with her other two friends in order to celebrate their birthday together. ( Thanks to Technology, they manage to track down the other 2 ...)

Finally, all of three of them meet at Maine. Hence starts their adventure. All the three of them start bridging the gap of seventeen years. None of them except the homemaker seem greatly happy about their life, and the homemaker to some extent. One evening, all the three of them decide to go purchase gifts for the other two for their birthday.

But incidentally, all the three of them come across a card which states,
MADAM ZOYA, know your past...

The three of them get curious and visit her. She makes people go back to three weeks in their lives and if they want to they can make that their permanent lives......

Read this further to know what happens to their lives.....

Delhi Meri Jaan

DELHI - Much awaited trip in times to come. 16th July 2011 - The Day never to be forgotten in my entire life.
This was indeed my first trip all by myself (Whisky you better vouch!!) to the much awaited Dilwalon ki Dilli.

I was so excited that I reached the airport 4 hours before my scheduled flight as if the plane would fly me as soon as I reached at my convinience. Anyways I reached the airport and spent time browsing.

It was time for me to board my flight - SPICEJET heading to my destination - DELHI. After spending 2.5 hours with utmost excitement, I reached the INDRA GANDHI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. The air that hit me on my face when I alighted was so hot that I felt I was in a desert. Dilli ki garmi, indeed garam.

In a WHITE DOWRY CAR i10 was WHISKY waiting to whisk me away to Gurgaon. Here I was to stay the next 10 days and I knew I would paint the city red. (Hopefully RED!!!)

(I know Whisky, you will have that smile on your face for my statement about your car - DOWRY I10 only, and it will not change!!!)

I sat in the car and I literally had to pinch myself hard to believe that I am finally in DELHI. Well, I did get a hard pinch.

The day I reached, I didn't venture out.

The next day we headed to do local sight seeing. I bought a few junk and we headed to Delhi.

One thing that caught my attention was "GOL CHAKKAR", 2 mins I was taken aback. MY Hindi is indeed good, but guess not this good. Out of curiosity I asked what does this word mean. That word meant - CIRCLE. Oh Lord... GOL CHAKKAR SE ULTA HAATH JAO - Now this line means take left in the circle... ( Whisky yaad hain yeh sentence!!!)

All thanks to Whisk's BIL, I landed up seeing Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It was indeed fun and interesting.
Guess what, I landed up having South Indian meals ( All thanks to BIL). The most tasty meal in Delhi guess.

We went to a lot of places in and around Delhi and Gurgaon.

The best part is here. Whisky's DOWRY CAR mind you Whisky's life is parked in the parking. I all of a sudden wanted to travel by METRO. And yes, I did make Whisky's car remain parked and landed up getting into the METRO. (Whisky imagine your reaction.. My dowry i 10 worth 5 lakhs parking main khadi hain aur aap mujhe metro main le ja rahe ho......!!!!)

I got in Guru Dronacharya Station and got down in MG Road, not to forget the penalty for not swiping the metro card...

Some memories are etched in your mins forever. HEY YA, I WANNA GET CLOSER TO YOU.. Whisky must be fed up of this song by now......

Overall a splendid trip for life......

P.S: Not to forget Saket main Coffe Beans main AC kha he bahar nika gaye the.......(UFFFF yeh garmi.. was Whisk's favourite dialogue!!!)

Looking forward to more trips to yeh hain indeed Delhi Meri Jann!!!!

P.S: Hope I have not forgotten any other experience except for the Bangles admired by that chik in Turquoise.....

JOURNEY WITH NO END

This journey that I started in the world of Laptops, Desktops, Servers, Workstations, Storage etc , was the beginning of a wonderful journey. Among all these gadgets, was a tiny silent geek that I met. I used to feel the gadgets would make more noise than this human...(I mean you can just imagine how MUCH this human would talk....UNBELIEVABLE....). I would jabber away to glory and this guy wouldn't utter a word..For a person who would speak ten to a million, silence and serenity are unheard and unknown off...

Initially, I used to wonder how does anyone sit so silently at work lost in his work throughout the day. Well, I used to be zapped to the zenith. (Obviously for the rate at which I speak, anyone would seem quite in front of me....).

But this pocket joy, was awesome!!!!

FULL ON or OFF

Internet - In today's world THE most important base for survival. E mails, chat, sms etc all done through this powerful engine. It has become an essential tool for survival or shall I say existence.. Pretty true for some though....

This blog is one hilarious incident in context to the Internet.

I actually text a lot in my phone. But not necessarily all my friends would love to do the same. At times , they really have no choice. Thereby, after a lot of hue and cry, fuss in vain, my W gave up the argument and decided to start sending me text messages. Truly, this adamant little bottle threw up a whole lot of fuss ten times his personality. But, me being me.....

One evening, a few days back, Whisky said I would receive text messages. I was overjoyed, actually on cloud nine. YUPPIE.... PERSEVERANCE indeed pays at times.. ( Mind you, only at times and it comes a limited warranty too........)

I waited, waited, waited... even after a couple of minutes passed, my phone didn't beep. I being a restless soul, couldn't wait. ( Obvious, patience level is negative...) I picked up my phone and called. After a few rings, I hear that sweet voice on the other end telling me something called " FULL ON"... I at times can barely hear what comes out of that tiny , amazing voice box. I was baffled.. Pondering what on earth is this FULL ON now... I asked the same. Pat came the reply...

" I am trying to send text messages from FULL ON SMS".......... I burst out laughing.. I mean literally rolling on the floor...

Mind you, not a single text message, but the response from my pocket joy was awesome.. " I am on FULL ON SMS.. I asked, FULL ON or FULL OFF since I had not received a single text message... Yes got it right.. NOT 1 SINGLE MESSAGE FROM FULL ON SMS......

I wonder should it be re christened to FULL OFF SMS.....Only W can comment though......

P.S : FULL ON...... FULL ON.......INDEED!!!!!!

PEAS OR PIECE

Most of the times it is OFFICE HOT NEWS that we exchange with great enthusiam and ultimate curiosity. At times, I feel if we had done this in college we would in the topic of discussion and gossip instead of debating our manager's goodness.

Neverthless, one such lazy afternnon, I happened to bump into my colleague who apparently her finished her lunch too. So , I casually asked her what's for lucnh. Her response became the theme of this blog of mine.

Her reply and my interpretation was just mind blowing. In response she said, " Biryani", so I asked what Biryani and she replied "PIECE"....

Now for we veggies, that PIECE in pronunciation will be taken as PEAS...

Ain't this a great way of communication for comprehending..

PIECE for the non - veggies and PEAS for the veggies....Eitherways the suffix is BIRYANI irrespective of the prefix.....

Delhi Main Hain Jaan Indeed

Delhi - What comes into my mind when I think of this city - Just one word WHISKY.

Whisky - My dearest and bestest pal who moved into Delhi from Bangalore.

Nov. 16th 2010 - Dreaded day in my life, the day Whisky was leaving the city once and for all to settle amongst dilwaale in Delhi. I cannot let the feeling sink in even today that Whisky isn't here and has moved out.

Some people just walk into your life and leave that impression that will last a lifetime. Whisky is one such who has left that ever lasting impression in life.

The days spent with my dearest pal where just the best for days to come.

Delhi - This is one place given a chance I would like to settle just to paint the city red with Whisky.

Some things BEST UNSAID

Life sometimes throws really hard tasks at your face. So hard that your face should crumble. The ones that don't let it crumble are the ones who work out wonders for themselves. Ain't it true????

The most asked question, "WHY ME"? , but an answer never found till date.

People so often fall in love and very fall often fall out too. Well, what's nes in this?? Love is meant to happen, but ponder that love remains forever or not. Come to think of it, most of the times, it does not.

Faced with a situation like this, what does one usually do...

The situation is usual, boy - meets- girl-falls-in-love-but-cannot-marry types. Isn't this the most common scenario that we see in the modern days and have heard in ancient times too.

The same thing happens in many of our lives too. We fall in love madly and crazily and dream about spending the rest of our lives with that person. (It's like, when you fall in love, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible..)

For most people it comes true. But just imagine for the ones it doesn't come true..

Parents force, the guy is not interested, things don't work out, wave lengths don't match etc, whatever the reason may, the inference is a BROKEN HEART and a zilch love life. The state of mind is not something one can really pen down. Everything around changes all of a sudden and there seems world's end.

But, life has to move on for some and for some it just gets stuck.

This life that gets stuck..... Somethings indeed are best when unsaid!!!!!

COFFEE DOES KICK

"Tere sang, ek simple bhi coffee bhi kick deti hain, tere sang"!!!!!!!!!

This song is indeed Fenny & Whisky's favourite song. Not for the fact that coffee happens to be their favourite but only for the fact that even a simple coffee with each other kicks them real high. Their company is just enough to LEAD A HAPPY LIFE FOR EVER.

Each time they meet, this is the song that they recall with new memories. New memories each time this song plays at the back of their mind.

This is one such coffee incident.

Whisky happened to meet fenny sometime back and they decided to stop over coffee. (The very irony of coffee shops being, pay-more-to-converse-more attitude....)

This time the coffee shop being CAFE PASUCHI (Not sure if I got the spelling in tact, nevertheless, please correct the same..) They walked into the shop and sat. It was almost seven in the evening. This coffee was a stop over before dinner.

Menu card arrived. Scanning was in full swing from Fenny's end as Whisky can never place an order. After a quick scan, settled in for hot coffee. The price was pretty high only to an utter shock later. Few minutes later, something called coffee arrived in huge tray. From a distance the tray looked almost empty.

With a royal treatment, there arrived our COFFEE CUP. FREAKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
The darned cup was not in the least bit visible.. It was the most tiniest cup anyone could think of serving coffee , let alone it being for boring guests.

Peeping over that cup, gave an utmost shock of life. The tiny cup had a few drops of black water in it and nothing else. A few packets of sugar were piled in a cup and it looked like sugar should be poured in plenty to feel happy to pay that price.

Whisky mustered all his courage and took a sip, and freaked out. God knows what that damn black liquid was....For crying out loud, this black water came at a price.. Another sip and the cup was EMPTY....

THIS COFFEE INDEED WAS SIMPLE AND INDEED KICKED......

(p.s: this is the to etch a memory over coffee for times to come.......)

Walk A while

May 26th 2011 - A Day to remember all her Life!!

A walk down memory lane and this is the DATE to remember for a DATE.

This innocent looking creature asked a thing that wept her off her feet. All along this silent killer never uttered a word and when he did she was bowled.

Whisk, you will know and she will remember this d date!!!

Pocket Sized Joy

She sat alone for a few minutes pondering over the past few months that had gone by. No clue as to what had gone wrong in their lives. But within her hearts she knew the reason that she had to stay away a while so as to compose and bring herself together. Little did she know that it would just not be possible to stay away longer. LOVE, a word that did not really mean anything so long suddenly seemed to be the deeply enlightening essence of her life.

All along so thought they would never meet. But it didn't last long. She indeed met.

This pocket sized chipmonk version of joy was standing in front her and her joy leapt with joy. To express or not was the million dollar question in her mind and she yielded deeper into the world of silence. Joy can enwrap oneself in any form be it in packets or pocket sizes. They are the catalysts to accelarate the end result. Only in this case, end result is known.

Standing right in front of her with those innocent eyes was her pocket sized happiness. All those memories of past, she started walking down memory lane. A trip she was ready to make over and over again. Indeed the trip worthy of a lifetime.

Sometimes life is also an enigma which takes a lifetime to solve. How do such things become the breather to life. Oxygen in short. When everything seems sullen and dry around, here are the sprouts of green hope budding within.

Silently she smiled looking at her joy and knew that this packet was all that is required to sustain the pocket full of life!!!!

This little joy knows the value in her life and which is meant to be forever.

TOUCHED

This is why I guess some friends just say for life. Lots of people come and go.
There is a very apt saying,

To MEET , TO KNOW AND THEN TO PART IS THE SADDEST BUT TRUEST PART OF EVERY HUMAN HEART!!!

Isn't it really true in every sense. This blog indeed will touch aa lot of hearts who have friends close to their heart.

Years back I had given my best friend a tiny souvenir for her to keep.
It was a tiny thing, but filled with feelings to the fullest.

Years later, I happened to goto my friends house for the first time, post wedding. And to my joy, that tiny souvenir was still there with her. My joys knew no bounds when I saw that....

P.S : Ani, indeed we are best friends for life. Thanks for being in my life..... This blog is dedicated to you.

Big Mouth Continues

I am sure you guys would have read my previous blog that I had written a while ago about big mouth shooting off. Here is another of the same kind, but the only diff is Ramya is replaced with my Kutty.

Kutty I am sure you will know it when you read my blog...

Each day at work, we are supposed to give a commit in the morning about how much we will download by evening and God bless us if we de - commit, surely HELL WILL FALL ON US!! ( My colleagues will vouch for this best said phrase).

The most dreaded days at work are FRIDAYS, Freaky Fridays absolutely. This happened on such dreadful day. Kutty came out of the huddle along with the team. We were having our floor updates and all of us had gathered for the same. Kutty came out and stood next to us. She was frustrated to the peak and she started cursing our manager. She was in full swing and we were all laughing away heartliy.

Her dialogue was like this, Who cares if I de - commit? I am going to happily de - commit and let's see what happens.....

Laughter suddenly stopped and to our utter shock we realised our manager is standing right in front of us.....

The rest can be understood right???????

P.S : Kutty this one is for our friendship for times to come.....

CRIC O' KET

In the world of Cricket, there are still a few specimens who are hopelessly clueless about CRICKET. This is all about one such God's creation. From the young to the old, Cricket is loved by all. Everyone cherishes this game. But this friend of mine, is still naive and naive to its nascent stage. He happened to watch the finals of WORLD CUP. Here is what he had to say. He calls up another friend of mine to tell him about the Victorious treat. And this is what he had to say, " Man Sachin And Ganguly played the match so well"... Indeed Ganguly was so amazing on the field..... Do I need to elucidate it more.. One can imagine indeed his love for Cricket!!!!!

Bro TURNED KRO

Most of them know my Brother by now since I have written about him in quiet a few blogs. (Bro you owe me all the publicity you claim!!!)

He is in the USA and we communicate through mails. But I must admit, I am irregulary regular in mailing. But this time I wanted to make the first move and hog the FIRST MOVER ADVANTAGE ( Another hard core MBA Term). I was in such a hurry that I did not proof read the mail I sent. Just typed it at lightening speed and pressed SEND button as if it would vanish lest I did not. In a jiffy the MAIL WAS SENT, to relish the MOVER Advantage.

But here is the real story. My brother very sweetly replies back. His first line is like this.

Di, you have typed KRO for BRO!!!!!!!

I was so tickled in my ribs when I read that, I burst out laughing and I laughed for a solid ten mins.

I am sure my bro is going to read it.

Read the COMMENTS to knwo his take on "HI KRO ANTHE"........

Numbers Indeed I'M Possible

Scientific Name: MBA

Common Name: GOMBAZ

Well, I am sure most of my friends will vouch for the above. For the ones, who do not know what GOMBAZ means, then I am sure it is time to get the tickets into the owrld of MBA. For the rest,

WELCOME ABOARD!!!

(Before I digress further GOMBAZ means Grossly Overpaid MBA'S , no clue how True it is!!!)

Like a few of my friends in the Herd, I too aspired to get into MBA in my Engineering Days. Most of my class mates wanted to get into MS and Mtech and I was keen to get into Management side, the logic being I would have a combo of Technical and Managerial mix. (Not sure how good the mix was going to be!!!)

After my Engineering, I went ahead to persue my blend , though not sure how the Cocktail would turn out to be. ( Time had to tell that!!!)

My journey of churning into a so called GOMBAS or GOMBAZ was gruelling. The day would never seem to end at all and to add to it, each day would be the same high spirited - DIE ANOTHER DAY attitude. Initially, it would take a toil, but as days passed, we began to get into the groove of the game. Marketing and Sales was my passion, so I passed out with a MBA in Marketing. Well, would MBA really be GOMBAS, the real test was to take off.

We rejected offers in college and got into off campus. I started off at an I.T company, where I really wanted to be. Now, the scene unwinds in front.

For every MBA with a Marketing Degree, the base to start off is SALES. The very word creates pressure in any normal human's mind. But the money behind it, is what people think, camouflages the PRESSURE. But does it really do that, you got to find out from a hard core sales man or a sales woman ( Like Me!!).

Well, I also began my career in SALES. Yes SALES and I got into IT Sales. It was a place where only NUMBERS were all over the place. I first day I got into it, the scene was strange. There were a bunch of people sitting in the meeting room and a tiny man was yelling at the top of his voice stating numbers were not met. You could just pass off if not for that voice. I was so taken abalc because I had never seen anything so strange all my life. As days passed I kind of got used to it because eventually I figured that people live for a day and the numbers are to be met each day. Here is the scenario,

Target for the Quarter -> A Quarter has 3 months -> 3 months number is broken into 12 weeks -> A week's number is broken down into a day -> DAY's NUMBER SHOULD HAPPEN.

I mean, just imagine, if X is the number for the day, it is supposed to be met. IMAGINE THE PRESSURE FOR A ROOKIE.

But as days passed , the numbers started giving me a high. Presure would mount, but it would be like the TIDE - Rise and Fall, but that pattern entirely depends on how the NUMBERS are met. There are days when you feel like pulling apart your Manager's hair , of course him beacuse he asks for the Numbers.

For all those who want to make some good money and fall under the priviledged category of GOMBAS, please be up for grabs....

No idea how long the high will remain... Till it becomes low... So long...........

PREAMBLE TO THE KICK

WHISKY!!!!! The more I write, the more I want to write... Seems strange, but this very word WHISKY has a rock solid power.
One has to meet this special creature, who leaves a beautiful impact in one's life. Of course , not to mention the kick that comes along as a snacks with the drink. This creature hardly ever opens up, but when it does, the others cannot close their mouth. In short, a brilliant comic relief...

The time spent with this creature is memorable for times to come. Ever lasting memories. Short time, indeed verr brief, but indeed lady luck favored to meet. A petite creature, but very powerful.

I can just go on and on, but words just fall short to describe. There is some enighma wrapped within this creature, that YEH DIL MANAGE MORE!!!!

Whisky, I know this blog wouldn't make any sense to anyone except you, but who cares, THIS BLOG IS WRITTEN ONLY FOR YOU!!!

Whisky would like to go on but you know.......

Jad se tere touch main aaya hoon, breafast aur dinner dono missing hain!!!!!!!!

WHISKY WHISK

WHISKY or should I say WHISKEY????
This was how my conversation started with my dearest friend. A very unusual name I could think for one of my dearest friends. But that is what I call fondly.

Whisky this blog is just for you.....

I still remember how I started talking to you. The Quarter was almost coming to an end when we started talking. But, somewhere down the line I feel it was one of the most brilliant things that could happen. Generally, great friendships start at Junior School or College and continue all along, but at work place is a rarity. This Whisky is one such rarity in my place.

Don't really wanna brag, but all I want to say is, Whisky, you indeed deserve this ma pal,

Tere Sang, ek simple si coffee bhi kick deti hain, tere sang.....

P.s : No breakfast, no dinner!!!!!!

MISS U WHISKY!!!!!

CAROLINA LSLE

This is a review of a book I recently read and thought would put it up...

JUDE DEVERAUX - A new author that I accidentally happened to read. First time.

Title - CAROLINA LSLE.

This book was about two cousins who were life long pen pals. They decided to switch places. One can imagine the havoc created to switch roles, but nothing of that sort happened. These two girls, poles apart, switching roles... One a city bred lass and the other a small town rookie.

But in reality when they meet to swap roles, city bred turns out to be a reclusse and the small town turns out to be a social butterfly.

Then the journey they traverse is something I leave it toi you guys to read it.....

Purchase Order Publicity

This actually happened and when I saw it, I had to blog it.

How does a sales process work? Let me explain to the non- sales buddies of mine. Sales buddies, please excuse me.

1. Requirement arises.

2. Technical Specs are taken into consideration.

3. Customer closes the specs.

4. Price negotation.

5. P.O Sent

6. Deal closed.

Well, this is how in general a deal is closed.

This colleague of mine had closed a deal and was awaiting P.O (Purchase Order to all the brillaint ones, in case you are wondering the Acronym). He was awaiting documents from two days.

FINALLY, the merciful customer decided to send across the much awaited P.O.

Usually, work space is pretty serene. But the minute his P.O came, there was a ruckus. A true ruckus.

I was curious too. So , there I went to check what the unholy commotion was all about.

To my utter amazement, the P.O sent across had the face of the customer more clearly visible than the much essential document.

What an amazing sight that was to see... It was actually a delight to see that mail.

We had a hearty laugh after a a long time......