Let me preface this with I know little to nothing about hurricanes. From what I've understood, they are tornadoes on water. Tornadoes, now that I know about. I lived in the middle of Tornado Alley in Oklahoma for eight years so those I understand. They don't bother me much. I know what to do, how to prepare, what to tie down, etc. But hurricanes are a different story.
Saturday rolled around and people from New Orleans were evacuating. Since New Orleans is below sea level, people were really concerned about flooding. Meanwhile, in my neck of the woods, my friends were buying stuff and "stocking up." I wasn't sure why they were going to all that trouble if it was only going to affect New Orleans. Once again my naivete knows no bounds.
Sunday comes. I go to church and help out with powerpoint. It's a program that flashes on the wall so people can see the words of a song on a screen instead of bending over hymnals. I love doing it because its service and I think we are all called to serve. But that's another story for a different day. There were 15 people at church. Ok, so maybe I'm being dramatic, but really it was slim pickins'.
Then I head to Sunday School. Its notable that sunday school was chock full of people; it was great. We talked about the Trinity. God being three in one. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It was a spinoff of the service. We finish and then I head home. Usually people go to lunch, but I duck out this time. I'm not really feeling too well at this point. I'm not in a lot of pain, but I can feel it coming. Its on the edges of my mind, tickling my nerve endings. I chock it up to the stress of the past few days. Nicole, my fabulous roomie, comes home and says she's going to go stay with her mother because she's all by herself. In the meantime, the Ring is cancelled. Which means I've got the night off. I serve in the same way sunday nights as I do in the morning. But I get to be a little more creative at the Ring. I'm allowed to pick the backgrounds and videos. I love it! Once again, it goes back to that whole service thing. Anyways, back to my story...
It's around 6pm sunday night. Nicole had left a while back because of the traffic to go stay with her mom. I'd been told to expect power failure and don't drive anywhere. Ok, no problem. I'll be here at home in case something happens. By this time, my head is killing me. I can barely stand up it hurts so bad. You know those headaches you get where your eyes throb with the ebb and flow of the waves of pain in your head? Yep, that was me. So here was my dilemma. Do I take something or just try and lie still and hope and pray it will go away? (On a sidenote, I am the cheapest drunk you will ever meet. No, I've never been drunk, but if I've got a headache, just looking at a tylenol will make me feel better. It's pathetic.)
Let's recap. Katrina is blowing in. I'm alone. My head is knocking me off my feet. If I take something, I will not be able to drive anywhere if something happens. If I don't take something, I just might pass out from the pain. And passing out is not fun. The lack of oxygen kills so many brain cells, and I've passed out too much in my lifetime already. I've got a theory that my IQ has been affected because of it.
I take two tylenol around 6:30pm. Fall asleep in the fetal position and wake up at midnight. Toss and turn and moan and groan for a while. Fall back asleep in the fetal position. Wake up, move to the bathroom and fall asleep on the floor in the fetal position. I'd moved to the bathroom because I thought I was going to blow chunks. Which probably wouldn't have happened because I hadn't had anything to eat since lunch sunday afternoon. But give me a break, I was kind of out of it. Anyways, around 7am, wake up because the power flicks off and the security alarm goes off. So I turn that off, kind of in a daze because the alarm doesn't help my head at all. And then once again collapse into my bed barely noticing that it sounds like a tornado is right outside my window. 10am comes and I'm conscious enough to notice that the power has really gone out this time and I need more medicine, so I wobble down the stairs and find more tylenol and a couch. Katie, in the meantime, had called and sent me a text message seeing if I needed anything. I tell her no, I'd thought about coming over, but I'm too overmedicated to drive at this point. Ann and Nathan drop by out of nowhere to check on me. Which was so nice by the way. Ann tells me later on that I looked like I was dead. I believe it. I seriously felt like shinolah. So Katie comes to pick me up and I go to Katie and Anns where they feed me some soup and I once again pass out. A few hours later, I ask Katie to bring me home so I can see if everything is alright. It is, the power is back on, so I sleep in my own bed monday night. But this time, not in the fetal position...
So that was my first time with a hurricane. May I never go through another one. At least not alone anyways. I'm off to sleep again, my head is starting to throb again....
August 30, 2005
August 24, 2005
Church Politics Make Me Nauseous
Tonight I went to my first church business meeting. The ironic thing is that I was really excited about it. The community I'm involved in, the Ring, was going to be affected one way or the other with the way the voting went, so I went to show my support.
Here's how I thought tonight would go. I'd go to church, hear a message, and then have a meeting afterwards. During the meeting, I thought that a friend of mine, Josh, would talk a little bit about the future of the Ring to the rest of the church, have everybody vote, and then everyone would high-five each other and we'd all hold hands and skip out of the church. One big happy family.
I'm pathetically naive.
Not about the vote, that went fine. Without a hitch. What sucked was after the vote. There was a time for any other motions to come before the church. A man walks up and asks if "Mr. White" can finish out his study on Ezekiel. This is my first business meeting and I think, man, that's a little weird, to ask about some guy being able to finish out his bible study. The reaction from the crowd was even more weird. They asked how long he would take to finish it. Wait a sec. Huh? Since when do we (church body) decide how long a study should be? When did we get that responsibility? Aren't we as the body supposed to be led, not lead? Sorry, I'm digressing. So the vote passes and Mr. White gets up there. He says, "I'm not sure how much time I've got." People speak out and tell him to be finished by 7pm. Its around 6:45pm at this point. So this man starts talking. From what I've heard tonight, he is following God's call. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which side (that's right, I said side) you're on, that call seems to be calling out the church body itself as a whole as to what's going wrong. He's not pulling any punches. And apparently has made some enemies in the process. Because every two minutes he would look at his watch to make sure he was keeping to the proscribed time. My heart broke a little each time he glanced at his watch. I just wanted to stand up and yell, it's ok to speak God's truth!! Sometimes reproach is a necessary tool. God's word even tells us how to go about it the right way. So he finishes his message in his allotted time. I'm heartsick at this point, but it gets worse. After everything is over, there are two men in front of me who are whispering to each other. They are very intense and have a malicious air about them. One of them is whispering behind his styrofoam cup into the other man's ear. That's when I wanted to throw up. How does a church get like this? I don't understand it. I just want to throw something and sob at the same time. The Bride should not be acting like this. We should not look like the world. And from my perception of this evening, that's what I saw in my church tonight. A whole lotta world, and not a lotta God.
Here's how I thought tonight would go. I'd go to church, hear a message, and then have a meeting afterwards. During the meeting, I thought that a friend of mine, Josh, would talk a little bit about the future of the Ring to the rest of the church, have everybody vote, and then everyone would high-five each other and we'd all hold hands and skip out of the church. One big happy family.
I'm pathetically naive.
Not about the vote, that went fine. Without a hitch. What sucked was after the vote. There was a time for any other motions to come before the church. A man walks up and asks if "Mr. White" can finish out his study on Ezekiel. This is my first business meeting and I think, man, that's a little weird, to ask about some guy being able to finish out his bible study. The reaction from the crowd was even more weird. They asked how long he would take to finish it. Wait a sec. Huh? Since when do we (church body) decide how long a study should be? When did we get that responsibility? Aren't we as the body supposed to be led, not lead? Sorry, I'm digressing. So the vote passes and Mr. White gets up there. He says, "I'm not sure how much time I've got." People speak out and tell him to be finished by 7pm. Its around 6:45pm at this point. So this man starts talking. From what I've heard tonight, he is following God's call. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on which side (that's right, I said side) you're on, that call seems to be calling out the church body itself as a whole as to what's going wrong. He's not pulling any punches. And apparently has made some enemies in the process. Because every two minutes he would look at his watch to make sure he was keeping to the proscribed time. My heart broke a little each time he glanced at his watch. I just wanted to stand up and yell, it's ok to speak God's truth!! Sometimes reproach is a necessary tool. God's word even tells us how to go about it the right way. So he finishes his message in his allotted time. I'm heartsick at this point, but it gets worse. After everything is over, there are two men in front of me who are whispering to each other. They are very intense and have a malicious air about them. One of them is whispering behind his styrofoam cup into the other man's ear. That's when I wanted to throw up. How does a church get like this? I don't understand it. I just want to throw something and sob at the same time. The Bride should not be acting like this. We should not look like the world. And from my perception of this evening, that's what I saw in my church tonight. A whole lotta world, and not a lotta God.
August 22, 2005
God's Drum Kit...
It all started when I tried to take a nap. Sundays are chock full of stuff and I love every minute of it, but I try to catch a few winks between 2ish and 3:58 because I need to be up at the church for 4. I'm dragging once 9pm rolls around if I've not gotten my cat nap. Which probably means I'm old, but I'm in denial. So I go have lunch at Cane's, wishing the whole time they had gravy instead of Cane's sauce to dip my chicken strips into, but I digress. Then I head home and snuggle into my bed. Ok, the way my room is set up, I've got my bed running parallel to the windows. I like to see the moon and stars before I hit the hay. Anyways, there was a thunderstorm rolling in. A really strong thunderstorm. When the thunder rolled, so did the house. It was amazing. It reminded me of that verse (Luke 19:37-40) about the rocks crying out if we ever stopped with our worship. I never did get my nap, but I got some great me and God time. It was the coolest thing to just lay there and listen to the sound of the rain coming before I could see it and to feel the rumbling as the ground shook with the thunder. I'd like to think it was God's version of a drum kit. That's what it sounded like to me anyways. I should probably insert the fact here that I know nothing about music, so the fact that I just used the term "drum kit" may make it sound like I do, but really I know squat. I just like to use hip buzz words to make it appear like I'm cool. Like hip, and cool, and jet.....
August 18, 2005
A Rat at my Door
Yesterday, I came home from work and noticed something odd.
There was a ginormous dead rat by my AC unit!! So I poked it with my toe hoping that it was just taking a nap. Nope. No such luck. It's dead.
Yes, God has blessed me in the fact that He made me a capable, intelligent, beautiful, funny female. However, no where in that description does the term rat carcass picker-upper appear. So there is still a dead rat right outside my front door. I just can't pick it up. Logic tells me to just not look at it, just scoop it up and trash it. But I can't. The mere thought of picking it up by its 8 foot long tail has me gagging. And since it rained yesterday, the fur is matted and there are creatures starting to eat on it. And I'm pretty sure it's starting to smell.
Ewww......
There was a ginormous dead rat by my AC unit!! So I poked it with my toe hoping that it was just taking a nap. Nope. No such luck. It's dead.
Yes, God has blessed me in the fact that He made me a capable, intelligent, beautiful, funny female. However, no where in that description does the term rat carcass picker-upper appear. So there is still a dead rat right outside my front door. I just can't pick it up. Logic tells me to just not look at it, just scoop it up and trash it. But I can't. The mere thought of picking it up by its 8 foot long tail has me gagging. And since it rained yesterday, the fur is matted and there are creatures starting to eat on it. And I'm pretty sure it's starting to smell.
Ewww......
August 17, 2005
What's Fun About Baton Rouge?
Alright, Ya'll.
In case we've never met, I drive around a lot with my job. Statewide, not really Baton Rouge. In fact, I was in Lake Charles today and I'll be in New Orleans friday. I've been in BR for a wee bit over two years. I know where the libraries, malls, and movie theaters are, but that's the extent of my knowledge of BR.
So, what's fun to do in the big BR?
And for all of you who are going to tell me LSU games are fun, I almost believe you. But not enough to actively pursue tickets to them.
In case we've never met, I drive around a lot with my job. Statewide, not really Baton Rouge. In fact, I was in Lake Charles today and I'll be in New Orleans friday. I've been in BR for a wee bit over two years. I know where the libraries, malls, and movie theaters are, but that's the extent of my knowledge of BR.
So, what's fun to do in the big BR?
And for all of you who are going to tell me LSU games are fun, I almost believe you. But not enough to actively pursue tickets to them.
August 15, 2005
Someone else's weirdo
My mother sent me an email today that made me giggle. It was full of one liners and the one that jumped out at was simple and to the point. Kind of like me if you think about it.
Everyone is someone else's weirdo.
So I was thinking....what makes me weird? So the following facts, in my opinion, qualify me for the kingdom of weird.
Everyone is someone else's weirdo.
So I was thinking....what makes me weird? So the following facts, in my opinion, qualify me for the kingdom of weird.
- I love the smell of formaldehyde. (If you see something dead in a jar, chances are good the liquid its floating around in that looks like pee is actually formaldehyde.)
- I could eat a hamburger every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
- I love chocolate milkshakes and french fries. (Dip the fry into the shake....yum.)
- I can drive a backhoe.
- I hate rollercoasters, but ADORE the ferris wheel.
- I will always be proud to be from Texas.
- I'll take a good shoot 'em up over a romance any day of the week.
- I used to be an archer.
- I'm a hopeless romantic but have never been in a relationship.
- I can mix anything chemically, but am a horrible cook.
- Pink is not my favorite color even though I am a girl. (Green is.)
- I type/blog like I talk.
- I am not good at lying.
- I love playing Mortal Kombat (xbox) chess with my father.
August 13, 2005
A Surprising God
Tonight I got a random voicemail. It was from a guy who I used to work with at Coca-cola. To catch you up to speed, I used to work quality control at the lab at Coke. It was great and I had the opportunity to meet some great people. But I only worked there for three months. I knew I wasn't there longterm, but that God had a reason for me to be there. I don't think it was to make Coca-cola better. I think I was there to talk about God, so I just followed my heart and looked for opportunities to talk to people. No, I didn't hand out tracts, or stand on the coke cart professing my faith. I just listened to people as they talked about their lives. Most people just want an ear to listen and God gave me two, so I used both of them. But I also looked for ways to point them to the God I serve.
Fast forward to tonight. I get a phone call from this guy who shall remain nameless. I haven't talked to him since I left coke 8 months ago. He says that he wanted to wish me a belated happy birthday and that he wanted to thank me. But on the voicemail, he doesn't say what he's thanking me for. So I sit there for a second, praying about if I should call or not. I don't call boys, but for some reason, I felt like I needed to this time. So I call him back. He wishes me happy birthday and then said he just wanted to thank me for believing in him. I said, Huh? And he says, "One time we were talking and you asked me why I had stayed at coke for so long. I was too scared to try to find anything else. But you asking me about it made me think that I could find something better with a little faith. And so I started looking around for another job. And I got one, so I start on Monday. I just wanted to thank you for encouraging me. You made a difference." So then I told him that I thought God had brought me to coke to meet everyone there at the plant. He told me that he thought God had brought me to coke for him. To encourage him to find a better life out there. Who knows? I might have been there for him. I think the lesson in all of this for me tonight is that everything I do or say has an effect. And that God can take a comment that I make and turn it into exactly what that person needs to hear.
Encouragers need some encouraging sometime too and I'm thankful He gave that to me tonight. God is so surprising and I love when He does that.
Fast forward to tonight. I get a phone call from this guy who shall remain nameless. I haven't talked to him since I left coke 8 months ago. He says that he wanted to wish me a belated happy birthday and that he wanted to thank me. But on the voicemail, he doesn't say what he's thanking me for. So I sit there for a second, praying about if I should call or not. I don't call boys, but for some reason, I felt like I needed to this time. So I call him back. He wishes me happy birthday and then said he just wanted to thank me for believing in him. I said, Huh? And he says, "One time we were talking and you asked me why I had stayed at coke for so long. I was too scared to try to find anything else. But you asking me about it made me think that I could find something better with a little faith. And so I started looking around for another job. And I got one, so I start on Monday. I just wanted to thank you for encouraging me. You made a difference." So then I told him that I thought God had brought me to coke to meet everyone there at the plant. He told me that he thought God had brought me to coke for him. To encourage him to find a better life out there. Who knows? I might have been there for him. I think the lesson in all of this for me tonight is that everything I do or say has an effect. And that God can take a comment that I make and turn it into exactly what that person needs to hear.
Encouragers need some encouraging sometime too and I'm thankful He gave that to me tonight. God is so surprising and I love when He does that.
Enough Fluff
My friend, Jake, recently posted on his blog about evangelism. I replied that I don't do it enough and so hopefully this is me practicing what I preach. The dilemma is how personal do I go with this? Do I just tell you about my job, the Ring, my friends, my family? Or do I talk about my personal walk with Jesus Christ? The mere thought of being so vulnerable makes me want to run and hide.
I'm great at running. Not the track and field kind. The "avoid getting too close to people" kind of running. Having been raised in church, I was taught that I was to be strong and not let people know if I was hurting or not. Any type of softness is a sign of being weak. I was never told that in so many words, that is just what I have walked away with.
After two years at the Ring, I've come to an ephiphany of sorts. That whole misconception about being soft equals weak is a load of crap. Jesus Christ was many things. I personally would not put the word weak anywhere near a description of Him. And as His daughter, yes, I'm a warrior. I'm to put on the full armor of God every day. But I'm also called to love and serve and be gentle and kind. I can't do that without opening up to people and as an end result, being vulnerable. I'm having a hard time with that at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I love to love on people. I just don't take many risks when it comes to love. I'd much rather bolt than take a chance. The kicker is that God did not call us to be chickens. Love is risky. Love is scary. Love hurts sometimes. God has put people in my path that I can take a risk on and love. And yes, they might not love me back. I might get my feelings hurt. I might get pushed away. But I also might make relationships that will have an eternal effect. Can I take that risk? Will I choose to take that risk? God took a big risk on me when He sent His only Son for me. It's my choice to love Him. That's the beauty of free will. What will you do with that choice?
I'm great at running. Not the track and field kind. The "avoid getting too close to people" kind of running. Having been raised in church, I was taught that I was to be strong and not let people know if I was hurting or not. Any type of softness is a sign of being weak. I was never told that in so many words, that is just what I have walked away with.
After two years at the Ring, I've come to an ephiphany of sorts. That whole misconception about being soft equals weak is a load of crap. Jesus Christ was many things. I personally would not put the word weak anywhere near a description of Him. And as His daughter, yes, I'm a warrior. I'm to put on the full armor of God every day. But I'm also called to love and serve and be gentle and kind. I can't do that without opening up to people and as an end result, being vulnerable. I'm having a hard time with that at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I love to love on people. I just don't take many risks when it comes to love. I'd much rather bolt than take a chance. The kicker is that God did not call us to be chickens. Love is risky. Love is scary. Love hurts sometimes. God has put people in my path that I can take a risk on and love. And yes, they might not love me back. I might get my feelings hurt. I might get pushed away. But I also might make relationships that will have an eternal effect. Can I take that risk? Will I choose to take that risk? God took a big risk on me when He sent His only Son for me. It's my choice to love Him. That's the beauty of free will. What will you do with that choice?
Missed my calling?
Phase 10. It's a card game that has ten different "goals" you have to make before advancing to the next "phase." First one to make all ten phases wins the game. Anyhow, last night, I played it for the first time.
I totally dominated.
I might be the heiress to the Phase 10 fortune. Being part of the Ring and loving on people to point them to my God? That's my day job. My new moonlighting job is going to be sharking people at Phase 10.
I totally dominated.
I might be the heiress to the Phase 10 fortune. Being part of the Ring and loving on people to point them to my God? That's my day job. My new moonlighting job is going to be sharking people at Phase 10.
August 12, 2005
"Holiday" Inn?
I'm in Shreveport, Louisiana. If you look at a map of the state, I'm at the top leftish of the state. I'm at a Holiday Inn. Every time I stay at one of these, I always wish it was like the 1942 Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire flick, Holiday Inn. This movie first introduced the song "White Christmas." Its a great "snuggle up to the fire and grab a cuppa hot chocolate" flick. Plus there are no parts in it that make me blush.
However, in the real world, I'm stuck in this hotel room until its time for me to drive to my meeting. It's in a few hours and then I get to drive back home to Baton Rouge. Its so weird to me that I just used the word "home" and "Baton Rouge" in the same sentence. But the big BR has become my home. Stranger things have happened.....
Well, I'm going to go. The maid has knocked on my door twice and I don't think I'll be able to keep her out for much longer. I need to roll my butt outta bed and get dressed, but I always set the temperature really cold so I can snuggle under the covers when I sleep. The downside is its about 60 when I wake up in the morning and that doesn't really encourage anything except my resolve to not get out of bed.
However, in the real world, I'm stuck in this hotel room until its time for me to drive to my meeting. It's in a few hours and then I get to drive back home to Baton Rouge. Its so weird to me that I just used the word "home" and "Baton Rouge" in the same sentence. But the big BR has become my home. Stranger things have happened.....
Well, I'm going to go. The maid has knocked on my door twice and I don't think I'll be able to keep her out for much longer. I need to roll my butt outta bed and get dressed, but I always set the temperature really cold so I can snuggle under the covers when I sleep. The downside is its about 60 when I wake up in the morning and that doesn't really encourage anything except my resolve to not get out of bed.
August 11, 2005
Platinum Blond Buzz Cut
My dad called me today. He's fun. I like him. We were both driving north on the highway. Different states, and roads, but hey it was still cool. Thinking of my dad reminded me of when I was little. Aw, I was so cute. I guess I should start at the beginning. July 24, I "escaped the womb" as one of my friends so eloquently told me the other day at my birthday party. I was born in a hospital in Bryan, Texas. I'm the oldest of two girls. My sister, Leanne, is eleven months and two weeks younger than I am. Which means we are "irish twins." And ever since she was born, for the two weeks we are the same age, she never stops reminding me. She just turned 23 and I just turned 24, but for those couple of days, she still chirped in my ear that we were the same age. Its amazing that siblings can still irritate while they are so far away.
The first thing my mom talks about when I was a wee child was the fact that I was bald as a baby. Oye vay, you should see the pictures. Talk about humiliating. But I think God got the last laugh because now I have a huge mass of curls on my head. I try to keep them tamed, but really, they have a mind of their own. So growing up, my mother never let me cut my hair. I think it was because she was worried it might not grow back if I cut it off. Therein began the hair battle. I wanted to chop it off every chance I got, meanwhile, Mom insisted that I didn't. This lasted till about high school, when I think I wore her down and she let me make the decision about how I wanted my hair cut. So I would get it cut, shorter and shorter. So for about the first two years of high school, I looked like a cherub that you see in old paintings. You know, the ones holding garland or smiling at random clouds. They just have ringlets. That was me. And then, I thought, hey, I kind of look like a 12 year old boy, I think I'm going to change my look. So I got my strangest haircut ever. My dad goes to a barber shop to get his haircut, so I tagged along with him. He got his hair done, and then I plopped down in the chair. The barber looked at me and I said, please cut it off. I walked in with a crop of curls and then walked out with a buzz cut. I then dyed what little hair I had left platinum blond. I've never seen a look like the one my mom gave me when I walked into the room with my new 'do. It was a mixture of "why?" and "clearly my oldest daughter has lost her mind."
Sheesh, the things we do when we are young.
The first thing my mom talks about when I was a wee child was the fact that I was bald as a baby. Oye vay, you should see the pictures. Talk about humiliating. But I think God got the last laugh because now I have a huge mass of curls on my head. I try to keep them tamed, but really, they have a mind of their own. So growing up, my mother never let me cut my hair. I think it was because she was worried it might not grow back if I cut it off. Therein began the hair battle. I wanted to chop it off every chance I got, meanwhile, Mom insisted that I didn't. This lasted till about high school, when I think I wore her down and she let me make the decision about how I wanted my hair cut. So I would get it cut, shorter and shorter. So for about the first two years of high school, I looked like a cherub that you see in old paintings. You know, the ones holding garland or smiling at random clouds. They just have ringlets. That was me. And then, I thought, hey, I kind of look like a 12 year old boy, I think I'm going to change my look. So I got my strangest haircut ever. My dad goes to a barber shop to get his haircut, so I tagged along with him. He got his hair done, and then I plopped down in the chair. The barber looked at me and I said, please cut it off. I walked in with a crop of curls and then walked out with a buzz cut. I then dyed what little hair I had left platinum blond. I've never seen a look like the one my mom gave me when I walked into the room with my new 'do. It was a mixture of "why?" and "clearly my oldest daughter has lost her mind."
Sheesh, the things we do when we are young.
August 10, 2005
Camera Phone Pic
This is a picture I took of myself with my camera phone. I was still in college in a house in London when I took this. Random, I know, but I wanted a picture of me since I post on everyone else's blog and the only way to do that was to put one on my blog. So you just have to endure it, or just look away......
Is this thing on?
Hi Everyone.
I'm horrible at technology. Really. But I'm going to see how this works, so if it fails miserably, that's ok because I've got big shoulders. Ok, not really, but you know what I mean.
I'm horrible at technology. Really. But I'm going to see how this works, so if it fails miserably, that's ok because I've got big shoulders. Ok, not really, but you know what I mean.
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