Since the beginning of November, I've been living with friends in Princeton, New Jersey. I'd never been there before stepping off the train from Penn Station. I guess I had this horrible picture in my head of New Jersey. I'm not sure why, but I was expecting a concrete jungle and clouds of pollution. What I've found, however, is that Princeton is a beautiful place that I have quickly begun to treasure. I have this little country road that I like to run on, and in the last few weeks I have spent a lot of time meeting the locals and exploring.
This sweet horsey let me give her kisses!
There's a cemetery on my route, and one afternoon I stopped in to see how old it was. It's a really small space, and it is filled with really old tombstones. Some of them are so old that they're completely illegible. I am kind of obsessed with the red tree picture.
This past week I had the pleasure to see Modest Mouse in Brooklyn, NY. Oh my gosh, it was amazing. The morning after I had zero voice to speak of, but I had a grin plastered to my face.
Well, we didn't know much about the show other than where it was (Williamsburg Waterfront... a really cool venue) and we had a tentative open-the-doors time (FIVE O'CLOCK? Yeah, everyone was confused!) Lauren and I left work around five and reached Williamsburg by 5:45pm... when we found the Waterfront we were shocked at the number of people waiting for the show. There was a line all the way down the city block, and then it trailed around the side of another block! It was so funny! There were tons of angsty high school kids there, smoking cigarettes and wearing clothes from Urban Outfitters and American Apparel. We found the end of the line and sat down in some rocks and Lauren almost burned a hole in her jeans with a not-quite-extinguished butt.
We got inside and immediately sought out the alcohol. The venue was split into two sections... and we headed to the twenty-one and up side. Once we got there we realized that we had to get wristbands from a booth about a football field away... so we had to head across the venue to get those. Then we had to buy drink tickets, and then we were permitted to head back across the way to finally do some damage! We tried to cross the border at three different places... and like the saying goes, 'the third time was the charm!' They were super serious about under-age drinking!!! We immediately got a beer (Brooklyn Brewery Pennant Ale, for me) and then we found a spot near the front of that section (let's face it- we weren't exactly planning on leaving!)
We stood around a little bit... and then decided to settle down for a while because we really weren't sure when it was going to start! I must have done a little bit of a sitting forward bend because the next thing I heard was some boy next to me asking if I was really stretching before the concert. It was kind of funny, but we started talking to him and his friend, some girl who he was friends with, and we were all just commenting about all the super young kids at the show. Really, anyone who couldn't get into the twenty-one & up crowd really can't say that they LOVE Modest Mouse, I mean, they didn't grow up listening to them, you know? Eventually the conversation led to getting more drinks, guessing who the opening band was, and trying each others' beverage selections... a little bit sketchy, I must admit. Before we knew it, a wingman to our right pulled out some weed. It was definitely ideal.
Throughout the night, the only thing that really put a shadow on our mood was this really short & squatty girl who cut ahead of us with her very tall boyfriend... other than that though, the show was amazing.
I love Modest Mouse. I love that so much of their music has been the soundtrack to the important times in my life. I have followed them through high school, college, and beyond. They were with me when I first learned the "F" word, got ready for some memorable first dates, journeyed in California, and they comforted me on the worst night of my life when I was called to help a friend in her darkest hours. Modest Mouse will always be more to me than a passing muse. I am beyond excited that I got to see them in this fun time in my life.
THANK YOU, BOYS.
View of Manhattan from Williamsburg Waterfront
So proud of ourselves for getting a drink! It only took an hour and a half!!!
I love Lauren, she's my best friend!
At one point in the afternoon, we decided to compare the length of our legs... I have no idea why.
To Modest Mouse: "You're the good things, yeah that's you, yeah, that's you, yeah"
Now I've already talked to you about the very entertaining film, "Exit through the gift shop"... but today I just wanted to bring you some of my favorite street artists because it seems as though my life has been colliding with art in every which way.
Last night at Jodi Arnold's Fashion Night Out party in Brooklyn, Nicholas Kuszyk stopped by to say "hey"... and as soon as I figured out who he was I could immediately feel my entire body blushing. Like, I have a little art crush. He's a cute dude, that Nicholas. He's got scruffy facial hair and there's something charming about a man that wears clothes that are lightly spattered with paint. Well anyways, I was going to approach him and chat him up but something happened before I could do that. Somehow I turned to look at him at the same time he looked at me and we held eye contact for way too long. I didn't know how to come back from that! I was so embarrassed, but I really just wanted to talk to him about his art. Hopefully he'll drop by sometime this week to deliver some more little robot paintings. I can hope, right?
Well anyways... here's R. Nicholas Kuszyk to start off my list. Visit his work! He's so cool, he only paints robots... he's obsessed with them. They've evolved from being black & white only to being any and every color. Right now we're featuring Nick Nick in our stores, and there's a silent/secret auction going on for two of his peices. The minimum bid is $800, so save up your allowance, boys and girls!
Mark Bradford- I love love love MB! His pieces are done on a huge scale and often seem to be filled with white noise, yet just enough of the common advertisements are left to bring a brand to mind subliminally.
Jacques Villegle- Jacques changed my life in the eleventh grade. It's been so much better since then. I just became the twelfth person to "like" his Facebook page. So if you like him, show him some love.
That's all for now! I hope you get an art crush on one of these awesome artists... just stay away from Nick, okay?
GYDUN, my dearest, I am so excited to finally have some adventures to share with you! I know it's been a while, but I now have internet access and some exciting things to share.
Yesterday morning I awoke especially early to run to an emergency eye doc appointment before I headed up to New York. Don't worry, don't worry, I only have a reoccurring eye infection that has been pestering me for about a month because apparently I am allergic to my contact solution... so I am again on steroids to help ease the pain.
Eventually I was able to go home and Lauren and I packed up the Yukon and headed to DFW. Our first flight was to Cincinnati whatever airport (which is actually in Kentucky) and for the however many hours we were on that flight I read this month's issue of NYLON magazine. In the last thirty minutes of the flight we had terrible turbulence that felt as though God had grabbed our plane and shaken it up like you shake a ketchup bottle when the ketchup just WON'T come out. Naturally when we landed in Cincinnati?Kentucky? we were both feeling a little nauseated. We grabbed some lunch at Chik-fil-a, and not really remembering that the nuggets are fried, I got those... we had to rush to make our connecting flight, and we were kind of afraid that people would be angry with us for eating aromatic food on the plane. Soon after we made our departure however, we noticed that the man in our row was creating quite a stink of his own that had nothing to do with food he brought on board...
This is a snapshot of my tray on this flight... don't I look like a fun traveling companion?
It was mostly uneventful. I listened to lots of music and laughed a little aloud while reading. Damn you, David Sedaris! Oh just kidding, Davey, I think you're the tops.
So when we finally got to NY, we noticed that there was this Hacidic Jew waiting for his baggage with us and I was like... "OH, HOLY ROLLER!" (Lauren said it would be rude to take his picture... or I would have featured him here). If you don't get the joke watch the following:
After a $35-ish cab ride we made it to our apartment where we met up with Jodi and this guy named Solomon, who is the boyfriend of the girl who we're subletting from. Our room is her old "meditation room" and has a bed that has a mattress that is not a twin, but not quite the size of a full. We also have tons of room, but zero furniture or closet space. We threw our stuff in the apartment, signed our lease, and left for 5th avenue... the happenin' area of park slope. That's right, y'all, we're staying in Brooklyn. Aaaand I really like it. It's kind of hipstery and urban and it has lots of trees and feels very homey. We went to a Thai restaurant for dinner and kind of shared some food... but I wasn't very impressed with any of it. Afterwords we went to Jodi's house where we met her puppies and borrowed tons of towels and sheets.
We went home to drop it all off and then walked a half mile or so to Target where we went in looking for something to make a makeshift closet and ended up buying a 5' by 5' portable closet. I got to carry it back home where we spent about thirty minutes putting it together. I'm quite proud of it.
We eventually went to sleep, which I found difficult because it was SO HOT in our room. We had to wake up about five hours later to get ready for our day today.
OH TODAY. It was a long, long, day. 7:50am- left the house 8:00am- got on the train 8:30am~ we got to the garment district 8:45am- we got in line at Starbucks 9:00am- the workday began... 11:30am- we headed to the University store to open it 12:30pm- we had lunch at a Greek place, and it was so yummy! We split hummus with spicy sun-dried tomatoes and pesto and a really good Labane wrap 1:30pm- back to the University store where we met some really nice people and their pets. We also played dress up to see how things fit...
4:15pm- we left University to go to the Brooklyn store 5:00pm-arrived at Brooklyn store, met more pets and people 7:00pm-closed up shop 7:15pm- went to a pre-Fashion's Night Out party at a local vintage shop 8:00pm- went to din din at Building on Bond where we split a grilled cheese and tomato soup as well as some fancy avocado, sprouts, and chutney sandwich with fries... I was not a big fan of the chutney. then our waiter, mark, told us we really needed to try their Pimm's cup, so we did. After our meal we ended up talking to Mark and we found out that he was from McAllen, TX. We came all the way to Bond St. in Brooklyn to meet someone from Texas. Go figure.
To those of you whom I love but am not currently communicating with, I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry that I'm a stubborn person, but I feel like hopefully soon I may be able to let you back into my life.
Recently I visited this state for the very first time.
It was one of the best day trips I've ever had.
I went to both Memphis and Nashville, and while in Nashville I got to visit a dear friend of mine. She took me all over the city. I walked through Vanderbilt's campus, went to the Gulch, visited Broadway, and ended up in the stomping grounds of some very famous actors & singers. Well, one thing I noticed while in Nashville was all of the advertising for PBR; Milwaukee's Finest. Every year PBR holds an art contest... and the winners get their art put up as advertisements! These were some of this year's selections to be shared with the public.
I remember the first time I had PBR. I was in San Francisco at this total dive bar in the Mission. I don't even remember what streets it was on or what it was called, but it was dark and dingy yet had tons of color and energy streaming through the floorboards. I had been drinking expensively all evening and one of my friends was like, get a Pabst Blue Ribbon! They're $2 a can! And I totally did.
I like this idea. I love collaboration with art! It reminds me a little of The Motorettes' music video of their song, "You Gotta Look the Parts". Now, I really have no idea who The Motorettes are... but I do know a group of young boys... well, I guess they have grown to be young men, by now... and I affectionately call them (as I believe they call themselves) the Baylor Studs. As freshmen in college, these guys got pretty bored and made lots of homemade music videos to popular and/or annoying songs. They made a video to submit to the Motorettes' contest... aaaand they got in. Here's the video. My boys are the ones in the dorm room, and yes, that guitar is made out of a heart-shaped box.
I really like the loner dude in the purple shirt. He has some funny faces.
Betty White just launched her new clothing line... get it while it's hot... or not. I'm really not sure who her target customer is... but I bet that come fall, we'll see some mall rats running around wearing her face on their hoodies.
I had a very full weekend filled with traveling, debauchery, and the consequential hangover that seemed to last all weekend.
FRIDAY: I had a very expensive shopping trip with my brother that was at least successful... I found a pair of jeggings I liked, bought several blouses, and managed not to try on ANY dresses.. Success! Then we went to see The Killer Inside Me with LM, and afterward we all went back to the suburbs for me to pack for my little weekend trip. After packing and more shopping LM ended up at Yucatan Taco Stand drinking margaritas and eating huge tacos.
Known for its lounge atmosphere, huge portions, and strong drinks... extremely strong drinks, Yucatan really is not my favorite place to eat... but I made the best of it trying to get the most out of my margarita glass. Well, not even half-way through LM's drink, it slipped out of her hands and spilled all over our table. After cleaning it up with a pile of napkins, we asked our friendly barman if there was any way he could get her a refill. He made it happen and then we split it because LM had to drive!
When we got back to her place, we decided to give our friend, Gracie's brother a call and go out with him and his roommates. After a very speedy clothes-change we headed to Uptown to go out with the guys. We ended up at Uptown Bar & Grill and decided to sit outside after listening to several minutes of bad, drunken karaoke in the stuffy bar. We found a table in the courtyard out back and were able to find enough chairs to seat the six or seven of us. There was a group of principle characters in our party that night, and then there was a chair that kept rotating out with pretty unimportant people. Brett? Blake? Ryan? They were so insignificant to the conversation that I do not recall their names- the shape of their faces and the fact that one of them bought us a pizza topped with avocado around three a.m. is the only thing I took away from their presence. Two beers and a group shot later I was drunk. I have to blame this lightweightedness on Bikram yoga... never in my life have I been so affected by alcohol than this month of Bikram.
After last call we went back to Jonathon & Co's residence... they're up on the sixth floor of a building with great views of Downtown from their balcony... as well as views of the building across the street's huge gargoyle-ish owls. Every time I go over there I talk about how much I hate the owls, and Friday night, little drunk Hayley decided to reference Alan Moore's Watchmen... cute, huh? Around three we ate that really great pizza, and around 3:45 LM & I walked to her car barefoot... and then I fell asleep in the passenger seat on our drive home. Waking up back at her place, I managed to walk myself inside, where we were confronted by a security guard on a golf cart asking- "Have you girls seen a fourteen year-old boy?" Where I drunkenly and sarcastically replied- "Why? Have you lost one?" Oh, I hope I made his night.
Nite Owl
The Watchmen
SATURDAY Oh Saturday. I had the worst hangover. After only six hours of sleep, we packed and got ready for a three hour car ride that turned into a four hour long trip. I was in pain every second... damn my detoxed, Bikram body that can no longer handle alcohol. In Waco, we stopped off at Teriyaki park for lunch where I ate my fried rice like a hospital patient, slowly bringing the spoon to my lips and then returning it to my plate even slower. I barely ate any of my sushi. We decided to give our leftovers to a homeless person, but after looking downtown without finding one, I ended up calling up a friend and taking him an entire roll at the pool.
When we got to Austin, we decided to go on a little climb up by the 360 Bridge where Scout (LM's dog) was the most energetic and dexterous of our group. After we made it to the top we took a minute to soak up our surroundings, and then we headed back to the bottom of the hill to the comfort and safety of level ground and air conditioning. I came close to slipping down to my sad little demise due to the slippery bottoms of my little Parisian sandals... but my lightness of foot and quick reflexes saved me.
We met up with my "Austin roommates" at Barton Creek Mall, where I had to pull one of them out of the movie theater to get me. All I wanted to do at that point was head back to their place, shower, and nap... BUT we couldn't because we had to wait on everyone else to get out of the movie. I realized that just because I was hungover didn't mean that I could ruin everyone's day... although I really wanted to. We walked around the mall for a while. I ate my leftover rice and some ice cream (which did nothing to help my little tummy-ache)... and then we ended up looking at beautiful leather boots, sandals, and shoes at Nordstrom. I ended up trying a bunch on, and I fell in love with these beautiful leather boots... that were extremely expensive. While trying on shoes, watching a woman try on thigh-high boots that she was too old to be wearing, and trying not to fall asleep in my little chair, I decided to buy them. And for the second time in the weekend, spent tons of money in one place. Oh well, I helped the economy.
Finally we were able to go home, where I showered, drank lots of water, and laid in bed for a while without sleeping. I felt somewhat better, but not really rested. One of the girls staying with us ended up passing out after smoking a little too much MJ... so the three of us who were still conscious ended up watching a movie and then going out to eat at Trudy's... now, I love Mexican food... but I tried something new for once and coupled with my hangover and a Mexican Martini... it made me a little nauseated.
After dinner, things got stressful... I had kind of promised to do way too much with too many people and had to decided what I really wanted to do... AND I still felt like crawling up in bed and sleeping. For example: 1. Stephie was in town and I wanted to see her & Renee on sixth 2. Hunter was in town and I really really wanted to see him because I haven't seen him in a while and because I knew it would be really fun to hang out with them. But they decided not to come downtown and stayed on the Lake drinking margs... 3. The whole reason I went to Austin was because I was going to see Delta Spirit at Emo's with LM, her bf & friends... but the girls I was staying with didn't have tickets and it ended up being a sold out show...
So, I ended up going downtown to the show, and it was really fun! For the few minutes I could block out my headache, nausea, and discomfort from the hot night, I really enjoyed the show! Side note, I have never seen so many people wearing plaid shirts and thick-framed glasses... I got there late enough to see Delta Spirit, and when the show was over, I was out of there, headed home, and curled up in bed and watched New York I Love You. I ended up falling asleep after just the second story of the film, but woke up thirty minutes later to see Bren sitting on the floor at the foot of my bed watching the movie... It was a little strange, and she played it off like she had been there all along... but I knew better. Jocie woke up and said... "Bren... you're like, magic" and then like magic, we fell asleep again.
SUNDAY I woke up, got dressed, and ran down to the ATM on the drag to prevent myself from getting a lovely little overdraft fee from Bank of America. Bren and I went for a little walk around campus to find a copy machine, and after about an hour, we headed home, picking up Einstein's Bagels on the way for everyone in the house, including the girl who was still passed out from the previous afternoon. After our late breakfast we ended up packing up and cleaning up. I decided to head back with Bren & her friend who is still not my friend, and as we walked down to her car I immediately regretted my decision. The car we would be taking back home was a little VW BUG. FML. I realized I had to spend three hours in the backseat of that car. All I had was this month's copy of Vanity Fair to keep me sane.
This girl was a horrible driver. I was scared out of my mind. But we made it home in one piece... and quickly too! I passed the time reading and laying in the backseat pretending to be sleeping... playing possum if you will. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst, except for when she would roll down her window to smoke a cigarette or two, sending hot, smoky air to the backseat where I was dreaming of being anywhere but there... except for Saudi Arabia. After reading Maureen Dowd's article in Vanity Fair, I decided, yeah, no thanks, I'll stick it out in the Volkswagen from H-E-double hockey sticks.
These boys have got that DELTA SPIRIT. God, the boys in the Omega House would be so jealous.
Friday afternoon I saw The Killer Inside Me with LM and my brother and a theater of people all over the age of seventy. It was everything I expected it to be... I was told to expect to find it "difficult to watch"... and it was. Every scene I was shocked. Reading the book did not prepare me for the on-screen violence, brutality, and sadomasochism. I think it's safe to say that I was the most uncomfortable person in the theater throughout the film... but in the end, I really enjoyed the film. It cleared up several things I didn't understand while reading the novel, and after the film I ran home and read the last twenty pages to make sure I wasn't hallucinating the ending scenes.
First of all, Casey Affleck was amazing. I'm not sure the film would have been as good with someone else cast in his part as Lou Ford. Kate Hudson was surprisingly unattractive as Miss Amy Stanton, and Jessica Alba (as the chippy, Joyce Lakeland) brought what she brings to every film... a pretty face and a lackluster acting performance. My favorite part was the late entrance of Bill Pullman as an obnoxious savior-of-sorts in the form of Lou Ford's lawyer.
The film had this great Jekyll and Hyde quality. Director Michael Winterbottom did a fantastic job of placing light moments directly after extremely dark scenes. Overall, I would recommend it... but I do not recommend taking your sixteen year-old brother to it.
Another thing I loved about the film was the vintage-inspired lingerie. I love pretty skivvies. Here are some from collections by Ophelia Fancy.
Visit Ophelia Fancy to browse or purchase. Bras and knickers start around forty pounds.Oh and don't forget to take home some tasteful nipple tassels!
I have been privileged to see Exit Through the Gift Shop twice this month. If you like really unique, amazing movies... it is definitely one you need to see. I first saw it with LM (who was maybe somewhat reluctant to see it... but then ended up loving it) and then I saw it with my brother on a little bro-sis date we went on where we watched some world cup action at Trinity Hall, saw ETTGS and then had lunch at Cafe Brazil. It was a great day. (Catch it at the Angelika Dallas really soon! I think this is its last week up there!)
But yeah, ETTGS is absolutely hysterical in a natural way... the way that the little quirks people have are funny. It's the "world's first documentary about street art", but I've read articles that speculate whether or not it truly is a documentary as well as doubting Banksy's involvement with the film. All I know is that it's a great movie, and I would totally recommend it to EVERYONE.
Except for the relatively huge chunk of the population that has terrible taste.
This month I've been trying a concept that's a little foreign to me... I've been reading several books at once. Although my best friend is capable of reading a chapter here, a chapter there and is able to remember more of her two titles than I am of my one, I am still not sure that is my strength. I've never been too good at juggling. I once dated two boys at the same time and it was probably the most stressful two months of my entire life.
Well anyways... here's what I've been reading.
I started with The Fountainhead by the uber-intelligent and talented Ayn Rand. If you know a little bit about me, you know that last summer I read We the Living and was completely changed by it. (While I understand that Objectivism is a little selfish by nature I am fully enthralled with it.) Before I digress... The Fountainhead is about two young architects and the paths their lives are going down.
In the first section of the book we meet Howard Roark on the day he gets expelled from his college. Instead of feeling upset or angry, Howard decides that he will be a top architect without his diploma. He builds not what his clients want, but what he believes is fitting and beautiful. He builds what makes him happy. Peter Keating, on the other hand, is the perfectionist who graduated at the top of his class. He works tirelessly to advance his career and is perfectly willing to step on anyone and anyone in the process. And although he is considered to be the golden boy in the architecture world of New York, he is so self-conscious that he frequently seeks the advice of former classmate, Howard Roark. I am in love with this book. I may be in love with Roark. He is a character that I can totally relate to and who I wish could exist somewhere on this earth. Although I have made a small chip in the book's 700+ pages, I am still far from finished. Reading an Ayn Rand novel is a huge commitment and takes a lot of focus and passion to finish! Her books are not for the faint of heart or the "beach reader". I cannot wait to finish this book! But at the same time, I don't want to finish it too soon...
For a little comedic relief, I began reading David Sedaris' When You Are Engulfed in Flames after a stranger recommended it to me. We were sitting next to each other on a plane, I, of course, was reading Ayn Rand, and she, David Sedaris. So I went out and got it. I really haven't been able to get into it a lot... I'll hopefully be able to finish it this month- but so far I have slightly enjoyed it. I feel as though David Sedaris is my uncle and although he is witty and has good intentions, he can get to be slightly crotchety at times... but just like my uncles, he is quite a good storyteller. Hopefully as I read on I will be able to create a better opinion on the book.
Finally, after seeing previews for the new film The Killer Inside me (directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Jessica Alba), I knew I had to read the book by Jim Thompson. I couldn't put this book down. Instead of showers I took hot baths so I could sit and read while bathing. I also shamelessly asked my mother several times to blow dry my hair so that I could read during that time. Jim Thompson is such a chilling writer- I cannot wait to read another of his novels. Read this book before you see the film! You will not be sorry!
See it at the Angelika in Dallas! Opens July 16th! I'll be there with LM somewhere near the back of the theater! I cannot wait!
The 52nd annual Grammys was star studded... literally. Scores of celebs looked as if they had just gotten off of their UFOs and somehow floated onto the red carpet. Are their looks a nod to the future? Or are they just the consequences of bad PR? Methinks the latter...
My poor blog. I feel as though I have been neglecting it (as well as my own self) by not writing in months. I think the reason I haven't been writing is because I feel as though nothing interesting is happening in my life, or because I wish I had more fun things happening.
I think I'm also disappointed in myself, because things haven't exactly been going the way I had planned. Last month I thought that by now I would be in LA working for a certain actress and doing amazingly fun things in my free time, but... that turned out to not be my destiny, even after three interviews and a trial run with her in her office.
So now, I'm like, "Well, shit. What do I do now?"
For several weeks after I found out I was in a total funk. I felt like I was back at square one, and since then I have found it hard to focus on finding a real job. I've been applying, interviewing, and brainstorming. I've also been trying to think about what I really want to do... which I still don't know the answer to. Should I take a job in LA and then look for others? Do I try to go to New York to work with this girl who has kind of promised me a job in Dallas? Should I just take a part-time position at home right now & save some money and figure things out?
Well, I don't know the answer. And right now, I think that may be okay.
But I HAVE decided that I am no longer going to neglect my blog or my intellect because I'm disappointed that I am not doing "exciting, inspiring things" right now. I am going to challenge myself to find something that inspires me every day and to keep growing and learning and moving.
Little known fact about me... I like to delete my Facebook friends... If I haven't spoken with someone in over a year, and if I would kind of pretend not to know them in real life... I delete them. And when I'm stressed out, I like to go through my friends and find people who I really am not friends with and just defriend.
Well, while I was doing this recently, I came across this boy's Facebook page and his profile picture made me laugh...
Yeah, it's funny, right? A boy dressed up like a hot dog? What makes it even funnier is that I've totally kissed the boy dressed up like a hot dog. He wasn't dressed like that at the time, but seeing this picture totally reminds me of that girl in Mean Girls... you know, Amber D'Alessio? The one who made out with a hot dog? hahahaha well anyways... I got a little kick out of it.
This sweet horsey let me give her kisses!
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