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(Sunday, April 15, 2007-)
+2:58 PM]*
# Lose Myself
That's the title of the new song we sang at YA today, once again by Jeff Deyo. Im gonna start with my saturday post cuz weekends jz rock because of church!!
Saturday
No tuition this morning so no need to wake up early. But i still had to wake up early. Sounds so lame. But oh well, i had to go down to ICA to collect my new SVP. This is itself would get a whole post, but i'll jz summarize. On Friday, I went down to ICA and to the non-Singaporeans (and some blur SG ppl) its Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to apply for an extension of my SVP (Social Visit Pass, i told you SG ppl are crazily in love with ACRONYMS!).
Here's how it went down on Friday, rushed down to ICA.. oh no.. this post is turning to my Friday post... oh well, might as well. Ta daaa
Friday!
Had two lessons in the morning about writing an introduction. Dunno if 06 and 21 really learnt anything cuz they were all, i dunno, sounded quite blur to me. But i hope they did benefit from it, at least a little... a tiny bit...? Oh well, i tried.
Then after that, went down to ICA with Sean and Sam who got his friend Andy to tag along. At ICA, we went to the 4th floor after ignoring the millions of people trying to give out flyers, for i don't know what courses outside ICA. Then we had no idea what to do cuz the MOE papers came with no instructions so we went to the information counter and asked the lady there. She seemed like a noob. But what chance do mere mortals have against the almighty ICA? I mean, check out their logo. Its like, fully equipped with Bars and Chains! I mean, that's not a very nice thing to welcome people with. If you dun believe, go and search for the logo urself. I would have uploaded it here, but i realised they are too insignificant to have a place on my blog.
Anyway, we talked to the noob looking lady who gave us a queue number and a form to fill up. We happily walked along, until we realised, the form was for APPLICATION OF A STUDENT PASS. Like... what the... this noob lady didn't understand what we wanted to do. Or so we thought. So Sam went back to ask, and the lady say fill it up. But it needed a photo, and a local sponsor (which actually meant MOE) so Sean went to ask again, and again she said just fill the STUDENT PASS APPLICATION form to apply for an extension of the SVP. Im like, there couldn't be a less confusing way of doing things ryte?
So we waited patiently for 20 numbers to scroll by while marking AQs (so my students, in case u're wondering why u got not-too-nice-looking markings, haha, u know now) and eventually our turn came and when we went to the counter, all they had to do was collect our MOE letter, PASSPORT, STUDENT PASS and EMBARKATION CARD!!
So now, there we were, 4 foreigners in Singapore with totally NO IDENTIFICATION except a QUEUE TICKET telling us to come back tmr form 9 to 12. And to make matters more interesting, Sam who went to a diff counter had to fill in an Embarkation Card as well, and could only collect a week later than us... Unfair.. Discrimination against Vietnamese i tell u! Haha! =p
Okay, so i thought my day was over so i headed back to school to see the ending of the movie screenings. Met cass on the way and i had to whine abt feeling so insignificant at the moment with only a queue ticket as my identity. Txs for listening and sorry to her friends who were like, stoning there while i was talking though. But had nothing to do aft that and didn't feel like intruding into LT1 so talked with Sam (a female Sam) until i reached Gamma's house party. Met Shujing there too! And Jaren as well, with some guy doing a dance on the table *looks away*
Then walked on to the scope and was a little curious why so many 21-ers were there. Then i saw 06 ppl there as well. What luck, both the classes that i teach were having learning journey on the same day! Saw Ms Tay and Mr Neo there. Apparently Mr Neo said something abt being smart and TJC which the girls weren't too happy abt. Then i met even more interesting girls. The ultimate bimbos of 06. Im not gonna mention names but the four girls who were taking photos at the scope know that its them! The funniest moment was when _ _ _ _ _ _ and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ bumped theirs heads into each other. Classic bimbotic moment lar!! They were totally cam-whoring while waiting for the bus to arrive
The bus was late by 45 minutes apparently. And to make matters even better, it went to AHS instead of TJ. Like.. hello, i know there are lots of AHS ppl here, but there are NO TJCians in AHS... But anyway, i should be thnakful that the bus was late cuz in the end, i decided to follow them on their learning journey.
The bus ride wasn't too bad, not too long and Shuming tried to use Malay. Not a bad attempt! =) But i think the others were wondering what we were saying. Haha. Too bad. Go learn Malay! Then finally reached the SCDF (acronym once again, go try and figure it out k?) museum and we were already an hour late.
The tour guide guy was nice and friendly, and at times, he suan-ned the old Fire Brigade of SG. Funniest one was the part abt the Fire Truck which things could fall off and firemen had to jump off, pick the stuff up and climb back on. We started making jokes abt how firemen most likely died jumping off the truck than fighting fires itself. But then again, its top speed was only 16km an hour, so the house probably burnt down to ashes before the fire truck actually came. Poor thing...
We continued listening, had the chance to go into one of the fire trucks and took pictures. Then Abishek cracked one of the exhibit's plastic covering. Oh well, he's Abishek anyway. And he was unanimously sabo-ed to wear the fireproof jacket and the Power Rangers looking helmet. Picture of the day man!! Ferena if u have the photos of today, i want ok? Pls! Txs!
Then went on looking at other exhibits, and confirmed that two particular girls were really bimbos when they banged heads... AGAIN! Im like.. *AHH*-the-way-u-know-it
Then we finally left after taking a group photo. Went to Peninsula which is a real musicians hub cuz of the tonnes of guitar stores and what not. Bought 4 picks for $2, not too bad a deal and gave one back to Alvin whose pick i broke some time ago!
Then, since i actually left TJ without anything other than my HP and a cashless Student EZLink card, i got John to pay for my bus trip back. Well, it's fair cuz they persuaded me to come in the first place! But im gonna pay him back. Chills.
Mass dance test was going on in TJ at that time, but before i reached there, i stopped to see the soccer girls practising set pieces. At least that's what it looked like. Had a bet with Shermin that the wall wouldn't dare to jump and head the ball away but according to Shermin, they would. Oh well, didn't have the chance to see them actually head the ball cuz most of the freekicks were off anyway. So i guess the bandung is gonna have to wait ya Shermin.
Saw the ending of the mass dance test. The only part worth mentioning is the fact that it was completely hillarious how the 30th didn't have the gate key and they were actually locked in with the nominees and had to ask the climbing club for a favour. Oh, and they failed the test btw, retest on Monday. Sigh. So pitiful.
Ate dinner with the councillors and then headed home. Slept!
And now, back to saturday at ICA
Reached ICA in the morning, about 9, got my queue number and waited like 1 and a half hours when the estimated time on the board said 10 minutes!!!11!!1! Evil ICA... The place is so freaking crowded they actually have yellow boxes to prevent traffic (human) from blocking access. I was like, even a building needs yellow boxes, and some ppl obviously dun know what yellow boxes are cuz i was queuing, and trying to be a good foreigner, i didn't step into the yellow box and so the queue i was in had a gap. And one guy jz blatantly ignored the 3 metre queue behind me and stepped into the yellow box. Never mind. Im sure one day, u'll get ur reward.
Waited like forever and since the numbers weren't called in sequence, i had to constantly keep a lookout while marking newspaper journals. Sean came too and he had to wait as well cuz they conveniently skipped both our numbers. When it was finally my turn, the sly and cunning ICA played their last evil trump card.
At the counter, i stepped up rejoicing that my wait was finally over. Before i could finally get my identity back, the lady at the counter said i had to pay $40 for my 3 month extension!! Im like, u took my passport, embarkation card and everything without mentioning a single thing abt payment, and when i wanna get it back, they say, please pay $40!! Im like... (i know is sounds bimbo with all the "im like" but seriously) how sneaky can they get??? I mean, if i dun pay, who am i in SG without a single piece of identificatoion (even my queue number was in the lady's hand!! arrghh!!!)
And that's not the best part yet. I gave my bag to Sean to hold while i walked to the counter, so i told the lady my NETS card is in my bag, i'll take it in a few seconds. She said NO. Go and sit down, i'll call ur number agian. It's "FASTER" this way... I was like.... so pissed but didn't let it show. So i walked 1 metre back took my bag and sat down. So lame. The lady then called like 5 numbers which nobody showed up. In the end, she only served one person before calling me again. What a waste of my time. I could have jz grabbed my NETS in 5 seconds, paid in 20 and be gone in 5. That's like 30 seconds. Which she wasted on each number which NOBODY was there.... ICA... I suggest u tear down ur whole building and let me restructure it. ON second thought, the council nominees could even do it. I mean, it shouldn't be that hard to make foreigners life slightly easier?
Okay, enough of whining, back to real life, it was time for music prac, and by now, i had forgotten the whole ICA drama. Did my washing of laundry by hand before i came and i was early. So slacked in the youth room a while as Melvin was changing the strings of his baby (a golden e-guitar) and Meredith was there too and i listened to Lose Myself. The "recorded" version. Literally from PC speakers. Haha. And Meredith's Zen is so cool lar. It's 30GB so its no Nano and her house PC owns even more lar. The Hard Disk is 320GB!! That's like infinity -1 songs!
Okay, soon we headed up for prac and it was nice and good! We, at least i felt, we sounded better this week than last and overall it was a fun time practising. The two hours plus jz flew away and soon it was back to the youth room. A few hungry guys decided to go down to SPC and get something to eat. After taking infinity -1 minutes, we bought our stuff and on the way back, the girls from the band were on their way. Haha. so funny cuz when we reached back, we finished our food and called the girls to buy something back for us. Haha. Vanessa bought some cheese puff snack. Too bad Melvin doesn't like cheese. But we te and couldn't finish it. Soon it was pre-service prayer and this time, i was on the guitar.
Haven't played the accoustic in ages but i tried my best. Sorry it didn't turn out too good. But Chellie gave a nice sharing and we had a corporate prayer (looks at Chellie) HAHA! The new Tortex pick i bought was put to good. It already looks worn out after me using it for ONE pre-service prayer. Lolz. At least the bass picks are holding together.
And soon enough, prayer ended and the musicians rushed up and almost chased the YM out as we rushed for our sound check. Did some minor practising and then headed off. Prayed and then it was soon the start of a wonderful praise and worship!! It didn't start off too well with Lose Myself, but yay cuz we're getting new praise songs introduced other than the milked-it-for-all-its-worth-according-to-Rachael older songs.
Worship You Alone by Planet Shakers is a really good song!! And we didn't even have time for our last song God of Miracles but it was still fantastic!!
Aunty Aye Lan did a great job in covering for Ps Mark who's coming back today from Karen's with our amazing missions team!! And after that, we slowly packed up and reluctantly left after preparing... oh wait... can't say now. Haha! *winks* if you wanna know, ask me. TOP SECRET till.. u will know when lar.
The whole cell didn't want to go for dinner so i decided to go to SPC for a quick bite. My dinner was a Cornetto cone. $1. Haha. Then walked back with Winnie who took 38 home which is more convenient for her. Talked abt council. Haha. Don't we always. Oh, i whined abt my SVP to her as well. Lol. I should whine less. =p
Sunday
Now today is still in progress so here is a halftime report.
Day started off well with Mei Yian arriving second, followed by James, FX and BS. No idea when Grace or Matthew arrived. Didn't see Su-E though. Jeremy didn't come either. Sads...
Today, i'll jz skip to the point that really inspired or rather, wow-ed me. The praise and worship today only had TWO musicians. And the drummer half way through the service switched to become the pianist! Cool eh? But Ps Janet explained why. God had told her to give the musicians a 3 month break. Sounds like fun ryte? I mean, i've never seen a church giving 80% of it's music team members such a long break! But here's the coolest part. After that, when they're back from the 3 month break, they will form a core team that will play every week for the next three months!! The commitment!! Plus, they will fast a meal i think everyday and spend loads of time praying more than practising. WOW. They are really serious abt God. And i think the CFC musicians could learn from the adults who are setting such a good example.
Ps Ang preached on Spiritual Potential but the song that really meant a lot to me was this.
Chorus:
Standing here now, with my mind and emotion,
I make a vow, to give all my devotion,
All my desires, i place You above,
You are my God, You are my very first love.
Its an old song, but such a hard song to sing. God takes our vows seriously, and it even says that this is not one of those emo-ish songs where u say stuff u dun really mean, but its a slow song and says that we're praising God with a focused mind, that has thought through the cost to make a vow of devotion. A devotion to place God above all my desires. I took it seriously today. And Holy Spirit, please help me get off my Starting Block.
Shout outs
Phildia-Poly starting soon. All the best and lol abt the knight in shining armour!
Pras and Ahdiah-Congrats on the silver. I mean it (=
Zsa-still praying for ur knee
Tristan-eat well
Yumei-don't give up!
Cass-For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline 2 Timothy 1v7
Jaren-keep up the good work
Kawai-don't give up!
Winnie-txs for e walk!Labels: Abishek, Ahdiah, bimbo, cass, Ferena, ICA, Learning Journey, Picks, Ps Janet, Sam, SCDF, Sean, Shermin, ShuJing, Shuming, Soo Ming, SVP, Vow, Winnie
the story ends like this;
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(Saturday, March 3, 2007-)
+2:39 PM]*
# Awesome God
Okay, I just HAVE to blog about yesterday. The 2nd of March. Perhaps the biggest checkpoint in my life so far. A Levels came out today.
The day had already been anticipated by me a whole 3 weeks ago. When all the rumours saying it was after Os or whatever. I knew it had to come. And reliable sources indicated it was to be today. And it was so.
Day started off like any other day.
YEAH RIGHT!
The moment I entered the staffroom, the atmosphere was different. I knew by the time I finished my first lesson, the results would have arrived. My ingenious plan to stay out of the staffroom didn't materialize. But I wasn't nervous. I was so much better prepared this year than any other results day. Cuz I know my God will make a way for me. It's Gonna Be Alright! So I was rather calm.
Went to 421 for my first lesson of the day. I must have dreaming or something cuz 06 arrived before I did. Miracle of miracles eh? So I went ahead and taught them the AQ, which is pretty obvious to them by now, my favourite part of GP!! Did the whole "structuring an argument" lesson based on the AQ and spent the rest of the time (which always finishes too fast) on the AQ.
Dunno why but I decided to bring my water bottle to class and good thing I did too cuz its one of the first times i started to choke on nothing... So weird. But lessons still went on. 06 must have thought i was too scared or nervous, but let me assure you, I wasn't. Okay, maybe a little. Haha.
Then went back to the staffroom. Siok was there. She couldn't sit down. Haha. Paced around her desk. Talked to her and soon, it was time for 21.
CR 104 i think. And surprises of all surprises, there were some of them already there!!! Results should come out everyday man.. then can have more time for lessons. But the excitement was short lived when only half the class was there and the remainder came in late. Haha, remainder sounds like maths to me. Yes, i know its just me. And did the same lesson on the "structuring an argument" and then the AQ. Really hoping 21 and 06 caught the AQ well, cuz its actually easy to score in it. *wink to Shermin* And the choking thing happened again. Oh well... And i accidentaly stepped on the article i was using and put it at Zsa^2's folder. Forgot to take it back. Sorry to Zsa^2. Then it was Ms Kuah's lesson. And I was already late for 04's.
Reached 04 and its no surprise by now that they were already there. Oh well. Gave them the world's hardest compre to do and went through their essays. Missed Selina and Zach though. At the stroke of halftime, 5 more players were brought onto the GP field (jz read James' football blog) *Phildia, u can give it a read too* from the KI locker room. But there were two casualties in the conversion process and off they went. They took a token of appreciation for their participation in the form of papers.
It was soon lunch time... ok, didn't feel to quick for me though... And Kenneth still wanted to avoid the staffroom. Nice to bump into Mr Eugene and went down for lunch. Bought my food and placed it on the table. Then i went through Shi Min's (pronounces it the way i like it... bluack...) essay. Mary Jane maybe? Haha and then Y/Ni N/Ying's. Then Kathleen's, then Hui Shian's. By then, flies already turned my Malay Food Meal into a Gourmet of Bacteria but txs and txs to those who turned their arms into fans, i didn't get a stomach upset. Yay.
Finally ate my food and talked to the 21-ers around. Then that fateful sms came. I dun think the P or VPs of TJ will ever find my blog unless you people tell them, I shall let this private information be shared in bits and bytes.
Teacher A sms-ed me (yes, I am being a little paranoid here) saying congrats and that Teacher A was proud of me! I was really overjoyed, ecstatic, exhilirated. Then there was one more sms. I knew what it was and didn't want to open it. Julie had the privilege of being the first to know my exact results, even though she didn't know what it actually meant. Haha. I was really in a state of ecstatic-shock. Trembling, in joy. Shivering, in excitement. Tearing. On the inside. I knew my prayers were answered. I knew, they were more than answered. They were pressed down, shaken together and over-flowingly answered. I couldn't move! Couldn't stand. Couldn't talk. It was just an awesome moment. Thank you so much, my Awesome God!
Then on, a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders... I had this (most likely, please do tell me 21) spastic smile on my face for the whole day up till the actual thing in the hall. Went opposite to meet up with the others from 01. Yup, a whole bunch of botak guys and an Indian, an Indo and various other people. Then came back to TJ to use the toilet with Thammie. Met some 06 OGLs and various other people along the way. Then went to the guys toilet and I went to the staff one jz to make fun of Thammie, who was slightly slower than usual. Haha. Anyways, we wondered around school with ChenYi.
And to those of you who actually remembered what she was wearing, I like those kind of Tees. Haha, its jz my taste in how girls should dress up. Told her she looked nice in it. But don't think she realised what it really meant. Oh well. The colours were nice too. It jz looked great. *smile* And this is my blog so I shall be slightly more thick skin ya? Then again, don't think anyone would remember what she wore though but that's ok. My batch people were dressed in many different types of outfits. Ranging for casual to ARMY. From 6-inch-nano-pico-micro-minis to Oversized pants. From dull and black to striking reds. From polos to Polo's. From simple to triple layered with matching make-up. But me, I jz liked the simple top ChenYi had on.
Had a walk with Thammie and ChenYi cuz we were "clique-less" at that time. Walked around school, from canteen to audi to back again and aimless stoning. Saw all sorts of people and emotions. From the cool to the clueless. The calm to the calamity-stricken. From fooling around to frozen cold. From nervous to nevermind. It really was a big day.
Soon, the hall was open and Ms Thangam tried to get me to go in and i said i didn't want. Haha, but i did anyway.. so good boy.. haha.. then sat down like the super obedient 01 that we are. And Mr Tong started things off by reminding us he was the DM, in a funny way. The biggest error of the slideshow was them using the college crest without the letters J and C in it. Don't think any other TJ fanatics noticed it but oh well. Its just me.
Mrs Loke gave an "inspiring" speech before the results were announced. I was once again sitting beside Thammie. And to my students, Thammie is a MALE. Then soon the countdown began. Or rather, count-up. 3Ds... 4Ds... Dissapointed gasps as well as satisfied screams were echoing the hall. Was so shocked when Thammie didn't appear in the 4 or 5 D list either. We thought it was over. 6 D. Still nothing. Neither had I anything to be certain of.
7 DISTINCTIONS
01 - KENNETH STEPHEN WILSON
*SCREAAAAAMMMMMMMSSSSS!!!!!!!!! (louder than Phildia maybe, with back up from my class, fellow cohort and even my own students)*
First name on the 7D list. It was like a dream-came-to-life moment!! Was so so so so so so overjoyed!! Didn't bother to look at my results when I got it and just came down the stage although i was most likely still on cloud seven. Oh yeah. Jun Yi was the next name and the nest four of the 7 D list were also from 01. People say we are the best! Hee.. We rock.
And on the second page, Tham Zhen Hong Benjamin. along with Wenny and many others. 8 D, Mei Lien. along with 3 other scholars. Haha. Top 4, with 8 Ds, of Temasek Junior College were from Malaya (3) and India (1). What a sweet irony. But yes, the majority of the scholars did well which I am very happy over. All in 18 and the 01 (with minor exceptions) and econs students got their straight 4. Hall was a rather surreal place once the results were out. People were obviously happy, but mindful of the less fortunate. Lots of talking. Lots of faces. Just Lost. Talked to many poeple. Met JoJo but not Denise. Congrats to all and special mention must also go out to top sciencer Koh Chau Sean followed closely by Zhongshan and Bharat. Both from the same room lar.. IMBA M4-04. M4-06 also had our IMBAness when we were the only room with full attendance despite having an Indo, a Sabahan and a KL guy who needs to shop more than his results. Plus even the permanent residents and illegal immigrants of 4-06 were there too lar. M4-06 Rocks!!!
Left the hall and met Amanda and Aishah. Then met my students. So nice to see them. Had a mini group hug even. Haha. Pras and Jack Jack. Lol, talked with them quite a lot, walked around too. Too bad they didn't get to see their eye-candy. But then again, they had me! Haha, ok, Im not that perasan. Met many of my students later on, Yingen, Yumei, the 06s basically, Julie and 21s. Met Xue Wen adn Cai Yu and Selina too. Talked a lot. Was very high. Very happy. Elated.
Walked around rather aimlessly till tuition. Traded umbrellas with Riyanti and went off. Reached late but Benjamin was later. Haha. Talked with Mrs Quek abt my results before actually giving the tuition. I can't believe i've gone through 12 chapters of sec 2 maths in 4 days. Wow.. And then rushed off for Fish and Co. Glasshouse.
Waited forever and a day for 14 which never came so Phil and I cabbed down. MAJOR mistake. Firstly, the cab driver purposely drove slowly... Then, it was majorly jammed during peak hour. Then he tried to avoid telling us how long it will take to reach by talking blurly and murmuring. Hated the cab ride. It cost me slightly less than 15. So cheated. But oh well, it wasn't going to ruin my day!!
Reached Glasshouse just as 01 was leaving. Darn. Scholars were there though. I ordered Grilled Sambal Fish which was nice!! Yay! Txs for the recommendation Quen. Talked a lot with the scholars and talked even more. Stole Heri's fries and let him taste some good, non-oily, fish. Fish n Co. is always nice. Except the price. Oh well, it was a nice day. Had live music though I didn't like most of the singers cuz they ruined songs i actually liked. To those of you who heard me comment, those were really the very few secular songs i actually like. JY should know at least 1 of them from 14/02 dedication. But poeple go to fish and co for the people. Not the money. And there were 3 birthdays. Lame Fish n Co. cheer didn't help... But it was really nice catching up with all the scholars and others. So many places. Greats will certainly arise out of the few of us.
Then walked over to Cathay Cineplex for no reason. Wondered around and stood around while talking. Girls left first and then me, TK and Phil left while the rest went on wandering. Movie maybe? I dunno. Sean left to club first and took my phone along. Hope it comes back jz fine. It should lar... Unless he gets too drunk.
Waited 14 revolutions of the earth around the moon before 14 came. It was crowded but there were seats. I was so stoned out of tiredness I didn't notice Iman and Hafiz came on board. Oh well, they looked blissful together. Chatted until reached home. Talked with Phil and then surfed the net a bit.
Replied the many many people who msged me. Wanna specially thank 06 for their creative msg too. Sorry goes out to mommy. Didn't mean to let you worry. Really. Sorry.
Had a few replies come back in. Yumei, u need more sleep. Phildia too. Haha.
Summary of the day
General Paper A1
Malay Language A1
Mathematics A
Physics A
Chemistry A
Further Mathematics A
Mathematics S Merit
Physics S Distinction
Project Work 1
BIG THANKS TO JESUS, MY AWESOME GOD. WITHOUT YOU, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. SPECIAL TXS GOES TO YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL ANSWER TO MY F MATHS PRAYER. TRULY, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH YOU.
To my students, if you want to be inspired by me, don't be because of my grades, but be because there is a God out there who answered me when I cried out to Him for wisdom. When I was an average scholar who never touched A for FM, who's first GP grade was a C, whose Year 2 results were worse than year 1, He gave me what no tutor could. Hope. Love. Wisdom. Peace. Truly, without him, I would be in the pits of despair right now. But He is faithful, even when I wasn't. He was always by my side. He was my wisdom and I was dumb. My light when I couldn't see. My strength when I wanted to sleep. My conscience when I wanted to pon. My peace in times of fear. My security in times of doubt. My reason. Its You.Labels: A level results, Bharat, ChenYi, Fish and Co., God, Heri, Jac, Julie, Mei Lien, Phildia, Philip, Pras, Quen, Sam, Sean, Teik Kheng, Thammie, Yingen, Yumei, Zhongshan
the story ends like this;
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