macarons
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Don't knoe whether you guys caught the article regarding the much sought after macaroons on the sunday times the last weekend. But here's just my thoughts and reviews regarding the varieties available now.
'Macarons seem to be everywhere' (as adapated from the sunday times November 11 'BIG ON MACARONS' article)... well i guess tts very true. However the scale tilts towards the popularity of french macarons (spelt with a single 'o'). These colorful confections are both appealing to the eye and sweet to the tasters thus explaining its broad appeal. Whimsical creations, i never quite understood the hype till i got my hands on the wonderful macarons made by my fren Evangeline at bossacafez. After then, my journey with macarons reached an abrupt tasting after i tasted the most 'sweetest' (pun intended, sweetness level was one tt made me cringe); the taste of the almond was almost non-existant. Till then i wld often stop to admire these little things but never to purchase them even when i stumbled upon the beautiful display at canele patessierie. 
Essentially, macaroons consists of 3 basic ingredients, almonds, egg whites and sugar. Simple as it sounds, the different preparation methods could produce a wide variety of macaroons.
I had the privilege of tasting another 2 variations with the help of Babe who generously surprised me with two packs from Dolci after reading the article on the sunday times. *thanks sweetie*.. They were the Brutti Ma Buoni and the Italian Amaretto. the former described as ugly had a crunchier texture as compared to the latter due to the use of crushed almonds as compared to grounded almonds. I loved these coz the almond flavor was much more pronounced and the texture of the pastry reminded me somewhat of a wholesome cookie. The latter on the other hand was chewier, a tad sweeter and held more elegant shapes after being piped. I prefer these as they had a wonderful and intricate flavor tt cld be savoured with every nibble.
enjoyed these with a cup of coffee whilst pondering aimlessly through my course notes. Life can be good sometimes.
meanwhile, my birthday wish list is growing longer. and as expected they mostly consist of baking related stuff. Kk, lets see. here are some stuff tt i REALLIE reallie want!
- Books - 'Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey' by jill o connor
'Demolition Desserts' by Elizabeth Falkner
'Desserts by the yard' by Sherry Yard - Kitchen Aid (i want a red or yellow one!)
- Cupcake Stands
- More Silicon Baking Pans
- Cookies Cutters ( BIG NICE ONES!!! ones tt i can do cookie decorating on)
- A set of Ramekin Cups
- Valrhona chocolate or an expensive slab of french chocolate
- Accessories from Anthology
- Canvas shoes from River Island (i'm a size 4.. dun understand their sizes there. Its a miracle i've such small feet. Hmph...)
- A pot of Mint plant
yep.. i'll update the list as it goes. heeh. and here's a sneak peak of the bdae venue. Still deciding upon the theme of the party and i reallie do wish my guest wld be spontaneous about it. I guess slightly insane guests are welcomed then tt wld spice it up a little.. orite, i'll just leave my ideas to myself. hehe. Till then, guess everyone has to pull up their socks for the exams then.
LINKIN PARK`
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oh my gosh i can't believe i'm gonna watch them live in concert lyke in a few hours time. *thinking about being buried up to neck in revision*.. neh.. we'll give tt thought a break. hehe. ARH!!!
kk, so here's my favourite song from their album. A rather subtle song, with haunting lyrics. A bit rough on the vocals by chester but nonetheless the lyrics are beautiful...
telling me to go
but hands beg me to stay
your lips say that you love
your eyes say that you hate
there's truth in your lies
doubt in your faith
what you build you lay to waste
there's truth in your lies
doubt in your faith
all i've got is what you didn't take
so i won't be the one
be the one to leave this
in pieces
and you/ you will be alone
alone with all your secrets
your regrets
don't lie
kk, signing out now. Plans for the party are still in the midst of construction. But a clue to all those inquisitive pple. It wld be a party of sweet things under the naked moonlight. p.s thank you Claire for your enthusiasm and suggestions! *smilez*
je suis fatigue
Labels:
cakes
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gosh.. i'm so so so so tired. Its feels lyke i'm a car running on the last bit of its fuel. Its a constant struggle to push on. I just wish exams will be over soon. Can't wait to feel the cold blast of air in Europe. Its drives me insane just thinking about it.
Having a little problem with bdae party plans as well. Drats tt its so darn near the xmas season. Reservations have to be made early to ensure my spot, or risk disappointments later if i decided to procrastinate. I've got hardly any inspiration or idea as to the theme of the party, where to have it and other details. Can't decide btw a seat down dinner or just an informal after-8 chillout session. Seriously, i dun even knoe who wld come to my party.. lyke some deep sense of inferiority dawns upon me. Oh well, perhaps it wld just be a simple family affair then.
A little update for the weekend. Had a lovely mushroom steamboat with the family, with er-yi, popo and trevor dropping by to join in the mushroom galore. No seriously, there was A LOT of mushrooms. In fact, there was enough food to feed an army even. Tsk tsk, mummy lacks judgement once more. She thinks tt everyone can eat a cow, hmph.. perhaps i can, but not the rest ya. So that doesn't count.
The mushrooms were all gorgeous, seemed tt the dawn of mushroom season has seen tt the many different varieties of mushrooms flood the shelves of our local supermart. My gosh, the earthy smell unleashed as my mum spread her babies across the dining room table where i was revising was somewat nauseating though i have a deep love for mushrooms. But the pile of them proved to much to handle. Nonetheless, the steamboat proved to be a success. They were succulent, fresh and awfully woody. *yum*
Done with orders for this week as well, after a severe influx of them tt saw me baking night and day for 3 days, the kitchen has finally returned to its peaceful state albeit for the apricot stain on the wall tt cause gazillions of ants to flock to it. argh. Sorry. With this peace reinstated, i decided to try out my new cathedrale silicon pan. I dug out several ingredients tt i had bought with my mum on a supermarket spree. Cranberries and a whole tub of greek yoghurt. Created my own recipe with the help of William Sonoma's many bundt cake recipes. Playing with proportions and flavors since it was very hard to fill up the gigantic cathedrale pan.
I finally settled on a Spiced Almond Cranberry Yogurt Cake.
As you can see it turned out beautifully... but the taste was a bit flat. Could have use a little more sugar i felt. The cranberries punctured the creamy beige cake with its crimson red juices oozing out and its stingy sweet flavor was very much a welcomed addition. One thing i loved about it was the moisture and sponginess of the cake. This was probably due to the yogurt added. Greek styled especially made the cake ultra flavorful and moist. Tt was delightful.
Perhaps next time I would play up the spices as well as the saccharine levels within the recipe. This I feel wld make a wonderful festive cake. Sprinkled with a coat of sugar like light snow on an old roman cathedrale with stained glass windows. Oh gosh, there i go thinking about europe again. *pengz*
gosh, now its back to my books and a little sneak peak of the television.*Oops(.. dun let mummy knoe. hehe)
Aficionado
Labels:
food,
restaurants
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How many of you all have craved a perfect sit down dinner with your loved ones, coupled with a comfortable yet slightly romantic ambience. In that instant, the whole world seems to revolve around the both of you.
Suddenly, a chair from the neighboring table is rudely shoved into the back of your own chair. A quick apology follows and with that, the magical mood has all dissolved. You suddenly come to the realization that romance could never blossom in such a crowded room with the intrusive eyes of the public peering at you.
I am certain that many of you had such experiences, a well planned dinner spoilt by the intrusive noise from a rowdy diner perhaps a little intoxicated or even a perfect setting tainted by the serving of not so palatable food? Well, at least my dining experience with Aficionado private dining wasn’t one of those.
To cut the chase, I had planned a surprise for babe a few nights back. A private dining session with Aficionado gastronome dining to be held at the host’s humble abode. On top of that I had prepared a bottle of customized wine with beautiful gold engraving. I shall not stress that the bottle of wine was an award winner and a 90 pointer by spectators. Hehe. French and 100% Chardonnay. It’s always better to get the taste buds accustomed to the full original flavors before dwelling into the fine art of mixes. In fact, I was blown away by the full flavor of the wine, a combination of spices and oak, well balanced and absolutely rich and my babe simply love it! It simply made other Chardonnay taste bland and boring. The tingling taste left behind on your palate is simply unforgettable. Perfecto!
Suddenly, a chair from the neighboring table is rudely shoved into the back of your own chair. A quick apology follows and with that, the magical mood has all dissolved. You suddenly come to the realization that romance could never blossom in such a crowded room with the intrusive eyes of the public peering at you.
I am certain that many of you had such experiences, a well planned dinner spoilt by the intrusive noise from a rowdy diner perhaps a little intoxicated or even a perfect setting tainted by the serving of not so palatable food? Well, at least my dining experience with Aficionado private dining wasn’t one of those.
To cut the chase, I had planned a surprise for babe a few nights back. A private dining session with Aficionado gastronome dining to be held at the host’s humble abode. On top of that I had prepared a bottle of customized wine with beautiful gold engraving. I shall not stress that the bottle of wine was an award winner and a 90 pointer by spectators. Hehe. French and 100% Chardonnay. It’s always better to get the taste buds accustomed to the full original flavors before dwelling into the fine art of mixes. In fact, I was blown away by the full flavor of the wine, a combination of spices and oak, well balanced and absolutely rich and my babe simply love it! It simply made other Chardonnay taste bland and boring. The tingling taste left behind on your palate is simply unforgettable. Perfecto! 
Before I start on the food, let me first speak about the wonderful hosts that we had. Gabriel (who was in charge of preparing all the food which consisted of a 6 courses) and Jill (whom was in charged of the desserts). The fact was that the two of them were much younger than I am and yet their ability to cook as well as to provide such excellent service amazed me.
The food was in short, top-grade. We started out with a simple garden salad infused with vinaigrette. Which was a so-so affair, what really kicked it up a notch was the presence of teeny bites of garlic fried to perfection. The crunchy little pieces added dimension to the whole dish and wetted my appetite for more to come.
Next up was the soup, clam chowder with garlic crostini. Served in a good hearty portion, this soup was unlike the usual I had. In fact it reminded me of the clam chowder I had at Angus Steakhouse at Taka the other time except that it had an amazing ability to bring warmth to you insides as you drank it down.
Following that was the entrée which by my standards was excellent! Pesto Pasta
Fettuccine infused in pesto sauce, topped with garlic butter king prawns. Let me tell you, the prawns were way beyond gorgeous. In fact I hadn't had such succulent prawns in a long time, they were fresh and absolutely outstanding with the garlic butter; I swore I cldn’t wipe off the silly smile I had on my face throughout this course (babe: yes she really look silly while eating.. ^_^). The pasta was done to my liking, not too soggy yet still retaining a bit of looseness. *swoons*…
What I appreciated the most was the right balance between privacy and service given during the course of the meal. The hosts were attentive at the right times and withdrawn at the appropriate times to allow the both of us some private time together. And I forgot to mention that the ambience was magical if not surreal. The dining table draped with a black cloth and strewened with rose petals and candles lit up the room. Cushions lined the side of the wall and more flower petals were swept the floor. The lights were dim but not too dim that we weren't able to appreciate the food. Soothing music played in the background. It was one of those instances were time stopped and all that meant something in your life was right in front of you. *hugz*
Back to the food, we were given a palate cleanser next which was an orange sorbet with luscious pulp on the top. Next up was the main course. Ribs in homemade black pepper sauce. Okie... everybody scream!!! That was one of the best ribs I had ever tasted, maybe even better than Tony roma's. I believe in quality over quantity. And this dish proved to be a roaring success. The black pepper sauce was to die for and the rib managed to erase the bad memories that babe had towards it. I was speechless and cldn't refrain from picking the rib btw my fingers and sucking on it. The table was quiet mostly apart from the frequent “Mmmm”, or “OMG...this is really good” exclamations. Trust me, if you were to try this, you would totally understand.Being a person with a sweet tooth, dessert to me was the highlight of any meal. And Jill's did not fail my expectation. Pavlova with passion fruit coulis and chocolate roulade with cream and cherries. That was so far the best matching of desserts on a platter I had ever had.
Now, that is what I mean by fine dining. Soothing romantic ambience coupled by the best of cuisine and of course the most beautiful companion. And best part is it didn't burn that big a hole in my pocket. What more could I ask for?I left the house with a huge smile on my face and a full satisfied tummy.
To all those who are interested in a one-of-a-kind dining experience, I wld strongly recommend Aficionado. Check out their website HERE. You won't be disappointed.
Cupcakes
a tribute to all those hard-core muggers out there who need a break from the monotonous print on their notes. perhaps a little disorder and color will revive those senses!
chocolate cupcakes ordered by the Shu-en. Request for as colorful as possible granted! hehe.
Credits going out to Babe who helped me decorate them. *=)*
Cupcakes for the Nov Babies.. awww.. how sweet!
Cupcakes meant for thank you gifts...
thx to the wonderful duo Gabriel and Jill for the wonderful dinner! Don't worrie, my write-up will be done soon! so keep on the look out! glad u guys liked the cupcakes!
More Cupcakes... with lovely green frosting... was planning on doing a duo frosting swirl but there just wasn't enough to go ard. So oh well.. haha.
hoped you lyke the surprise babe. =)
Orite Folks, so the new theme for November's cupcake hero has been posted by Laurie! CRANBERRIES!!! *Everybody screams then looks puzzled*..gosh, now tts gonna be a source of major headache. Fresh Cranberries are hard to find here in Singapore. Will dried cranberries do? hmph.. lets skip the norms or pairings with white chocolate and orange.. boring. now this one take a bit of brainstorming. Perhaps a little something salty wld accentuate the taste of the crimson red cranberry? well, we've just gotta see!
*yawn*.. was rudely awakened by mummy whistling at me.. gosh..gotta wake up to face some orders. hehe. systems check, ingredients check... BBQ in the afternoon! *woots*
i knoe i'm very random... shut up...
eventful day
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took my flu jab, got my antibiotics and medication to wipe out the nasty germs and to kill the stabbing pain in my abdomen. Was diagnosed with urine infection. *yucks*... its more pain then disgust actually. Also got my cream for fungal infection btw my toes.
I'm one sick gurl... dun mess with me.
10 things tt made me happie part 2
went to dinner with Babe at Katong's Waruku to celebrate his mum's 49th bdae. though the size of the room seemed to have shrunk severly, and we had a slight problem squeezing 8 full grown pple in the room. It was a cosy and comfortable dinner at the very least. Well wishes going out to the bdae mum.
thank god she lyked the watch i bought her. Though i day say my mummy was rather jealous.. woops. oritey! promise to get u a new one next year k. sayang.. haha.7) more orders!
orders have been streaming in for the coming week. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing, but more of a good thing rather (partially influenced by Martha's good things.) haha. BUt oh well. just glad to have pple enjoy my bakes. and very enthusiastic customers sure make my day!!!
8) Chloe!
bet u guys are already scratching your heads. but who gives 2 hoots? i'm lovin' my bunny totally. She's a dream.. just as i had imagined it wld be from the website. Hosted by two lovely young talented ladies at anthology (PLS do check out the link!!! i promise their creations will not disappoint), their webby features beautiful collections of hand-made earrings, bracelets, bag charms and many more. I was ecstatic when my order arrived in the post today. the bunny bag charm tt i've been eyeing for about 2 months is finally mine! and the colors and so pretty too! Love the bunny's swinging legs.. definitely whimsical. *swoons*
Thanks Jeanette for the lovely charm. It's gorgeous and definitely very unique! everyone shld go take a look at their site! Pls keep the new designs coming!
9) Babe
love being with Babe, whether it is just chilling out over coffee, cuddling to watch a rented vcd or even just riding in his car participating in our mini squabbles. I just enjoy every minute of it. * tee hee*... pray tt i'll have many more of such days to come. *hugz*
10) erm... i think i'll have to stop at 9. Reallie ain't got nothing more to add to this list. My bad! just tt 10 seems like such a nice number. *bleah*..
wait!!! i've got it!
10) Cupcake Hero Round-up: CLOVES
yay! the roundup is finally done! pls take a look at the gorgeous cuppies featured in this round. and my Spiced Sour Cream Poached Pear Cupcake tt i submitted is in it too! thanks Laurie for the wonderful job done and congrats the winner Minko for her Blueberry and Mango Gingerbread Cupcake with Caramelised Mango Buttercream. Woah.. sounds LONGggg.. and divine of course! I'm having a blast! and i promise to include frosting next time. A cupcake ain't a cupcake w/o frosting ain't it. so do pls check out cupcake hero ROUND 2!!!
10 things tt made me happie
1) Visiting the Zoo with Babe
decided to pay my ex-favourite haunt a visit with Babe at the privilege of the friends of the zoo card which actually belongs to my mum. Free entry to the zoo! who cld deny tt. considering tt the tickets have risen to a steep price of had a great time there albeit for the weird behavior i was exhibiting. Hey..dun blame me yar.. i'm one hell of a rollercoaster ride. U dun knoe what u've gotten urself into mister. MUAHAHA. *evil laughter*.. okie better stop tt alr before teddy comes over here and spank my butt. so back to the zoo, wat was i saying? gosh..my short term memory reallie sux to the core. so yesh, we did have an awful lot of fun at the zoo, despite the zoo keepers trying to chase us out at closing hours. But it was a whole interesting experience altogether. Glad tt I cld share one my ex-favourite haunts with my babe. Fyi, i worked there for a couple of weeks as a helper at the zoo. Tt was fun.. need i mention tt i got front row seats to a male giraffe in heat session. Gosh.. tt was plain R-rated. *haha*
so here are just some pics of the zoo and the lovely animals we took. Guess not so much of animals coz they appear to be more withdrawn and tired by the time the zoo approaches its closing hours. Perhaps they've ran outta of energy to make a stage presence for the visitors... oh well. 
as usual i totally adored the zebras. Monochrome.. how lovely is tt? 
then there are the lovely orang utans. In a certain manner, they scare me coz of their human-likeness. It felt lyke they were watching us instead of us watching them. Kinda hilarious in a way, but they reallie do display certain human-like actions and movements. Lurve the above photo too coz its lyke some huge family gathering with each and every monkey displaying a different character. How quaint!
as usual i totally adored the zebras. Monochrome.. how lovely is tt? then there are the lovely orang utans. In a certain manner, they scare me coz of their human-likeness. It felt lyke they were watching us instead of us watching them. Kinda hilarious in a way, but they reallie do display certain human-like actions and movements. Lurve the above photo too coz its lyke some huge family gathering with each and every monkey displaying a different character. How quaint!
last of all, the crocodile!!! RAWR! love those intimidating jaws of death. One moment it may be smiling at u with its upturned jaws and the next moment, u're its next dinner. *yikes*
2) Ben and Jerry's
now who cld resist digging into a cone of rich smooth ice-cream on a hot day? nothing can escape my sweet tooth. so of course when babe and i saw the ben and jerry's booth outside the zoo, we HAD to stop for some! YUMZ! strawberry cheesecake saves the day!
3) COOKIE DECORATING
attended the long awaited cookie decorating class taught by the lovely Jocelyn Shu. finally got my hands on the techniques used in making such lovely cookies. And they wld make such incredibly gorgeous gifts with just a little packaging details. I would have to agree tt lots of time has to be invested into these little treasures. Labor intensive to the max, but it wldn't be considered much if its a labor of love right? haha.
Went to the class alone intially and ended up making frens with this lovely lady sitting next to me. We broke the ice after i found out that she was a air traffic controller working for the airforce. and guess wat? she was in the same batch as Mdm Michelle! haha. Now tt is reallie freakingly coincidental! haha. But oh while, she was a reallie nice lady and we did have loads of fun chatting. small world ain't it; i'm sure many of u guys shld alr knoe tt.
we learnt a to make a lucious lemon cookie dough as well as a fragrant gingerbread dough as the base of the cookie decorations. Those made perfectly gorgeous and yummy recipes on their own. And the decorations made them even more.. wait.. lets change tt too unbearably sweet too eat! (literally and aesthetically of course. haha)
photos courtesy of Jocelyn
and best part of it all was tt we got to take home a sample of the cookies. YAY! so here's mine. lovely pink christmas stocking, gingerbread snowflake and xmas tree!
4) my new purchases!
bought these at magic pantry! my lovely new silcon baking pan. Gosh.. stunning. and my shiny new tart tray. WAHA. check out the shines on my new babies (didn't manage to catch a pic of the tart tray though.)
5) BAKING!
thanks babe for allowing the opportunity to bake ur mum's bdae cake. Hope she lykes it, as for the other family members as well. The cake was my usual good ole chocolate cake and i chose tt coz i wanted something tt wld appeal to the universal tastebuds. Wldn't wanna sit through a dinner with a bunch of scowling faces tt have just set thru a horrible piece of cake did i? wahaha. So here goes!
one thing i love about it was the arrangement of dragees around the left section of the cake featuring mini angel wings.. hehe. i rather enjoyed the color scheme as well, something tt exhibited a certain level of maturity and yet still fun-loving... oh well, maybe gonna try some of the chocolate decorating techniques i've seen in this book tt i borrowed recently. they look severely intimidating, especially since i live in Singapore. With its humid and super high temps throughout the year, its impossibly difficult to work with chocolate. Dang!kk, back to the point, i hope it goes down well with everyone! *cheers*
~to be continued in the next post..so pls stay tuned!~
lyrics
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Suppose I called you up tonight and told you that I loved you
And suppose I said "I wanna come back home".
And suppose I cried and said "I think I finally learned my lesson"
And I'm tired a-spendin' all my time alone.
If I told you that I realised you're all I ever wanted
And it's killin' me to be so far away.
Would you tell me that you loved me too and would we cry together?
Or would you simply laugh at me and say:
"I told you so, oh I told you so
I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in
I told you so, but you had to go
Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".
If I got down on my knees and told you I was yours forever
Would you get down on yours to and take my hand
Would we get that old time feelin', would we laugh and talk for hours
The way we did when our love first began?
Would you tell me that you'd missed me too and that you'd been so lonely
And you waited for the day that I return.
And we'd live in love forever and that I'm your one and only
Or would you say the tables finally turned?
Would you say:"I told you so, oh I told you so
I told you some day you come crawling back and asking me to take you in
I told you so, but you had to go
Now I found somebody new and you will never break my heart in two again".
IA
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Dear Lee Sihan,
We are pleased to inform that you have been shortlisted as a candidate for the IA progamme commencing in Jan next year.
However, we would like to provide some brief notes to you before hand so that you will know exactly what to expect as well as if you are still interested:.
1. Working location will be at Menlo Warehouse located at 60 Alps, Changi.
2. Scope of work : Logistics & warehouse distribution
3. Project: Integration processes, work with 3PL and any other assigned work
Let me know your interest soonest. Alternatively, you may want to share with me your attachement whilst at ST Aerospace so that we can allocate you similiar job scope, etc. Look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Mae Leong
Manager, Human Resource
Embraer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
News has arrived!!! after a long wait, i've gotten the news. Apparently i got my first choice of an interviewing company without an interview. But strangely, they are still doing interviews... according to Zhao ling. therefore i have reached the conclusion tt my job scope was never written on the list of choices. somehow it just appeared outta nowhere. Oh maybe it was created just for me!! (wishful thinking Sihan... *slaps herself back to reality*) I first had the impression that the head office of Embraer being in Orchard meant that the job was more of an office kind of job. But upon clarification with the human resource manager, it appears tt most students would assume tt work location is at orchard office. BUT NOOO! haha. (lesson learnt: as mummy often says, NEVER ASSUME!!!) Oh well, its still my first choice after all. So HELL YEH!.. Brazilian company, tt markets executive and private jets? no dealing with component repair? Sounds good enough for me.
on the downside, its miles away!!! Changi?!?! my gosh.. i'm gonna have to wake up reallie early again for the coming few months. Sad.. haha. i need ample rest and loads of shut-eye. Dun knoe how am i gonna adjust to tt. *bleah*.. but then again its a good learning opportunity. So Slp would have to be compromised. *sobz*
Spent time today with babe. we made a short visit to the zoo before its closing time. Sorrie babe for being late. Next time just get mad at me k.. its okie de... Photos will be uploaded tmr. now its time to catch some shut eye. Just hope mummy will come home soon, its getting late....
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