nestle

6 Rakuten Shopping Hacks for Ultimate Value!

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Kit Kat Baked Cheesecake

I have been fascinated with Rakuten ever since a friend of mine told me that she got a pack of Kit Kat that’s exclusive to Japan from the site. These are the awesome bakeable (!!!) Kit Kat bars from the Land of the Rising Sun. They’re actually called Baked Cheesecake Kit Kats and they’re mini Kit Kat bars you can bake in the oven!

Snickers Square

You actually have to put them in the oven before you can eat them. I bought a pack for my better half to try.

Taiwan Apple Milk Tea

There’s all sorts of wonderful discoveries to be had on Rakuten. In a sense, their tagline “Shopping is Entertainment” holds very true for people like me who likes to discover new snacks which can only be purchased in certain countries.

Ritz Smoky Bacon

There are specialized shops in Rakuten that offers Japan exclusive products. You don’t have to fly over there to get something which is localized in Japan anymore, for example their Rose Wine Pocky, which is only available in Kobe. You can find it on Rakuten within a click of a mouse or a search string, which brings me to my first hack:

1. Browse often for the best deals

You have to go through your favorite category (mine is Food & Drink) to discover the latest exotic Japanese products. They have a lot of seasonal, limited edition and new items being listed all the time so if you miss going on for a week, you might completely miss out on a certain limited edition item.

2. Become a member and shop for free

Signing up as a member on Rakuten is free. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t become a member since you get rewarded with Rakuten Super Points. Rakuten Super Points is an alternate payment method in Rakuten – it is equivalent to cold hard cash so if you accumulate enough, you’ll be able to buy (redeem) something for free using your Rakuten Super Points!

3. Take advantage of the 5X Rakuten Super Points Giveaway

Rakuten is now giving away Super Points in the form of a 5% rebate! This is equivalent to 5% of your purchase being given back in the form of Rakuten Super Points. 1 Super Point is worth RM 1 and these points are available 24/7 – there’s no limit on the amount of rebate you can get. Yes, you can use this like cash to offset your next purchase!

4. Get additional 5% discount on Wednesdays with Mastercard

Wednesday is the new shopping day coz you’ll get an additional 5% off if you use Mastercard to make your purchases! This little known trick will allow you to stretch your budget further. Here’s a tip for you – hold off your purchases until Wednesday, just remember what you planned to get and pay for your shopping cart when the next Wednesday rolls along for maximum value.
For example, you can get this limited edition Japan exclusive Nestle Kit Kat Red Pepper for RM 69 from Okashi World.

Nestle Kit Kat Japan Red Pepper

You need to pay RM 69 usually but after Mastercard 5% discount on Wednesday, you just need to pay RM 65.55.

You also get 3.45 points from that via 5x points!

5. Grab their weekend coupons

Rakuten gives out coupons every weekend and this is a great way to get more value out of your purchases. Each weekend comes with a different coupon value so check in every weekend and claim your coupon for discounts on top of your purchases.

6. Save on shipping

Look at the shipping options closely. Some shops have free shipping built in, others have a minimum spend, some have free shipping for certain couriers, while some have multiple courier service providers which vary in price for the same product.

Pringles Multi Grain

Do you have any more Rakuten Shopping Hacks? Let me know in the comments and we’ll see how well it works. The best ones going around now are the 5X Rakuten Super Points giveaway!

Cadbury Shortcake

Have fun while shopping for the latest stuff from Japan, whatever your interests are in Rakuten!

My mobile Zumba session at Kelana Jaya Park

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me zumba

I was at Kelana Jaya Park over the weekend for a very invigorating session of Zumba. It’s always good to get a bit of exercise in, and I must admit that I sometimes lack the motivation to get off my lazy posterior and work it.

zumba instructor

However a Zumba session is very different – it features fast bass-driven music and you always feel more energized to exercise when there’s hot and happening tunes playing! 🙂

There was a bit of rain on Sunday but the mobile Zumba session went on anyway after it cleared up! I went ready with my track pants and a workout tee. The certified Zumba instructor is Sharon and I loved the pumping music and fast paced workout! I even got a video of myself at the Zumba session. Heh.

sharon instructor

I loaded up with some NESTUM 3-in-1 before the hour long Zumba session in Kelana Jaya Park too, which helps a lot with energy. There was a NESTUM 3-in-1 Truck at the venue, giving out free cups of NESTUM cereal.

nestum truck

NESTUM is one of my favorite hot cereal brands – it’s something all Malaysians have grown up with! My parents would always get me to eat something before I go off to primary school and when I wake up late, I’ll fix myself a cup of NESTUM and I’ve loved the taste of the fragrant cereal ever since.

nestum drink

There’s a huge range of delicious and whole grain products such as NESTUM 3-in-1 and All Family Cereals now. I personally love the fragrant aroma of the Original but you can also get Oat, Honey and Chocolate. All of the NESTUM 3-in-1 variants has the goodness of whole wheat, corn and rice and it’s a great way to uplift your day!

nestum samples

I couldn’t get the NESTUM tune out of my head too – you might have seen the tummy tapping dance on TV and online and I tried to incorporate into the Zumba workout. I was even humming the tune the entire night, which drove my better half nuts! Haha.

nestum guys

The Zumba session is actually organized by NESTUM and it’s FREE for all members of the public to attend. The NESTUM Truck has been going around town every weekend now – there’s two slots every Saturday and Sunday (8:30 am and 5 pm).

era fm

The Era FM crew was there to get the members of the public at Kelana Jaya Park to join in the Zumba session and soon enough there’s a whole crowd of people moving to the beat. It’s a great way to get some exercise in – a healthy lifestyle does wonders to your body and mind!

Here’s a video of me at the Zumba session.

zumba me

My first experience with Zumba was actually at the Club Med Bali resort and I’ve loved the concept ever since. If you haven’t tried it out, I can guarantee you that you’ll love it! You can burn calories while doing exercise that’s actually *fun*.

nestum zumba goodie bag

Come and join the enjoyable and invigorating mobile Zumba session with certified instructors every weekend! There’s going to be a NESTUM Truck around the corner offering samples of NESTUM 3-in-1 Original and you can purchase limited edition NESTUM 3-in-1 Zumba Goodie Bags for just RM 10 (worth RM 18).

zumba session

Best of all, you’ll get a wonderful workout fit for all ages and the Zumba sessions are open to the public at no charge. Get more information on where the next mobile Zumba session is going to be and catch the NESTUM Truck at the NESTUM Malaysia FB or www.nestum.com.my!

Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge @ Sunway Pyramid

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slide out

I literally *slid* out feet first, like a baseball player sliding into the home plate. I wanted to get out of the obstacle house within 5 seconds so that I could win an instant RM 50 note and an adult ticket to Sunway Lagoon. I was at the Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge at Sunway Pyramid and I really wanted to win!

rm50

I had analyzed how the previous people who attempted the challenge did on the LCD video screen outside. There’s a camera attached to the helmet of every person who went into the wet adventure tent and live footage was beamed to the TV.

drumstick extreme challenge

The rules are simple – get out within 5 seconds or less.

gearing up

I geared out in safety knee and elbow pads, donned a helmet with a small camera attached and got ready to dash into the tent. I had only seen one guy who managed to get out within the allocated 5 seconds…all the others took slightly longer.

safety gear

It was really dark inside – I had to take a second to orient myself but I knew the countdown wouldn’t start until I actually picked up the Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC.

I saw the “treasure chest” (which is actually an ice cream freezer) in front of me and rummaged around for the single drumstick inside. I looked back at the exit to plan a speedy exfil.

helmet

That was my mistake. The countdown started and I frantically swiped around, got the Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC and ran hellbent for leather.

run in

5 seconds….

I had planned to just muscle through all the obstacles – after all, I had enough safety gear on to push through the padded obstructions.

4 seconds…

That plan went south however, since I tripped on a wet patch. I had been warned that I’ll need a change of clothes since the theme of the challenge will involve water.

3 seconds…

I tried to get up quickly and was slimed with starch and powdered with several handfuls of flour.

2 seconds…

I managed to get up on one knee, with a slightly mashed Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC clutched tightly in my hand – the exit was in sight!

1 second…

…and flew through the exit feet first!

slimed

It turned out that I had clocked 6 seconds so I didn’t qualify for the RM 50 note. However, everyone who attempted the Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge got an adult ticket to Sunway Lagoon and the new Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC – that’s a great consolation prize. 🙂

win

This challenge was held on a Sunday at Sunway Pyramid and there are still heaps of prizes to be won! There’s mini tablets and Sunway Lagoon Entrance Passes up for grabs each week in addition to the RM 30,000 cash grand prize with RM 10,000 and RM 3,000 for the first and second runner ups and RM 300 consolation prizes for 97 people! You just need to text:

DRUMSTICK ADVENTURE CODE POP CODE MyKad

contest

to 36300 the first time to register yourself. After that just send:

DRUMSTICK ADVENTURE CODE for the Grand Prize and
DRUMSTICK POP CODE for the Weekly Prizes.

rules

The Adventure Code is the alphanumeric code that can be found on Nestle Drumstick Ice Cream Freezer in various stores. The POP Code is the code you find under the top cover of your Nestle Drumstick. The campaign period for the contest ends at 10 November 2013 so submit your entries now! I have eaten quite a lot and submitted all the entries.

extrem choc drumstick

The new Nestle DRUMSTICK EKSTREM CHOC is sinfully delicious too! There’s lots of chocolatey goodness inside that ice cream plus you’ll get a chance to win those nifty prizes while you enjoy the latest offering from Nestle Drumstick! Get more details at the Nestle Drumstick Facebook and the Nestle Drumstick Most Adventurous Challenge Website.

This is a paid advertorial by Nestle.

Roots

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travel

I love to travel. It’s not exactly a big secret, everyone who knows me well (or even not so well) knows that I have them itchy feet that just leads me to do the planes, trains and automobiles thing. I guess I’m not someone who feels content with being sedentary at home. I’m more the travel the world and the seven seas type.

However, I do have a day job and it takes up a lot of my time. Heck, most days I just get my dinner from the 7-Eleven opposite my office and crash.

I was there one day to get my usual instant noodles (middle of the month la, broke dy) when I saw this Safari trip in the ice cream section:

safari

*cue Dr. Alban – Born in Africa*

Images of giraffes, hippos and zebras flashed through my mind’s eye (interspaced with The Lion King scenes) and I did a mental inventory to see if I have consumed anything I shouldn’t have.

africa-safari

The next thing I did was to check my wallet (yes, I start running out of money in the middle of the month) and I had enough. It was a bit of a internal struggle – food or ice cream with a possible trip to Africa?

My nomadic spirit won in the end and I grabbed a Nestle Drumstick KIT KAT and Vanilla Classic as my dinner. There is a code is located inside the sleeve of the drumstick. You can use the same code for the FB game (to score higher) and the SMS contest.

drumsticks

Eh, don’t look at my code, I used it already, go get your own.

The SMS contest is a holiday package for 2 to be won weekly to South Africa. There’s ten (10) x 9 days/6 nights Safaris to be won, I’ll never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try! Check it out at http://www.drumstick.com.my.

code

You can use this code – I haven’t used it, first come, first served. 😉

Nestle Drumstick is also running a FB contest called Holiday for the Brrr…ave which can get you an iPhone 3GS 32 GB. It’s really easy to play, I was intrigued by the game. There are three stages and it’s a bunch of fun. I’m not just saying that, you know how Facebook games can be addictive.

In a Vanilla’s got nut(shell) it’s 3 stages of clicking fun.

distracted-gorilla

The first one requires you to steal Drumsticks from the gorilla when a fellow primate distracts him.

gorilla-watching

That’s coz he’s got that whole I’M WATCHING YOU thing going.

grumpy-gorilla

Don’t make the grumpy gorilla angry. 🙁

This is Feeding Time. Crazy Music and Night Safari are the other two levels. You have to win all three levels in the contest so go check out all the Facebook game here!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Nestle Kit Kat Strawberry Limited Edition (Japan)

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kit kat strawberry japan

Nestle came out with a limited edition strawberry flavored Kit Kat in Japan. fish fish [blogspot.com] kindly brought it back for me but I forgot to take it the first time and only managed to get it when I went out for dinner with her a couple of days ago. The Japanese Kit Kat box is very well designed with images of strawberries and a photo of the actual Kit Kat Strawberry bar printed in front.

kit kat strawberry japan box

Nestle Kit Kat Strawberry Limited Edition is packaged in the specially designed cardboard box pioneered by Japan that has evolved into the standard limited edition Kit Kat packaging now. The distinctive packaging is filled with kanji and hiragana characters and has a side perforation which opens up to reveal the individually wrapped twin bars that has become the benchmark for limited edition Kit Kats around the world.

kit kat strawberry japan bars

The Japanese Nestle Kit Kat Strawberry Limited Edition cardboard box contains 2 x 2 wafer bars in a nicely designed wrapper which features a pink color scheme and strawberry outlines in bright aluminum foil interspaced throughout the wrapper. The back of the individually wrapped twin bars is inscribed with “Have a break, have a KitKit” and it’s really nicely designed compared to Malaysian efforts.

kit kat strawberry japan open

Nestle Kit Kat Strawberry Limited Edition (Japan) opens up to reveal the familiar Kit Kat layout with a distinctive strawberry scent wafting out as soon as the foil is perforated. It’s amazing…they got the strawberry fragrance spot on, and I immediately felt like eating it! The bars are nicely pressed too, with speckles of bright red containing bits of strawberry pieces in a pink strawberry flavored coating.

kit kat strawberry japan bite

Nestle Japan Kit Kat Strawberry Limited Edition tastes great! The taste test does not disappoint – it seems that the wafers in the Japanese edition of Kit Kat is much better than the ones we get over here…it has an almost melt-in-the-mouth texture and the middle of the wafers is coated with strawberry paste too, making this one extremely strawberry-licious Kit Kat! 🙂

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Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition X1 Cappuccino Flavor

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kitkat limited edition cappuccino jusco

Nestle Kit Kat Cappuccino Flavour Limited Edition X1 is the first one in the new line of Malaysian Kit Kat limited edition series. I have only seen the other one (Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor Limited Edition 02) on the shelves and it seems that Nestle Kit Kat Cappuccino Flavor Limited Edition X1 is a Jusco (the hypermarket) exclusive.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino stand

I was walking around in Jusco when I saw this rack of Nestle Kit Kat Cappuccino Flavor Limited Edition X1 on a promotional stand. The normal box (2 x 2 finger wafer) retails for RM 2.29 and the new larger format box goes for RM 4.29. This batch of Malaysian Limited Edition KitKat runs seems to have only two flavors in the lineup.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino size

The packaging looks impeccable – the new line of limited edition Kit Kat cardboard boxes are done well, much like its Japanese counterpart. It is indeed a leap from the simple design of the first Malaysian foray into the limited edition Kit Kat market. The normal 2 x 17 g box and the larger 4 x 17g box have similar side perforations to open up the box.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino box

Nestle Kit Kat Cappuccino Flavor Limited Edition X1 has a more elaborate design compared to the minimalist Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor Limited Edition 02 – there are intricate swirls and symmetrical patterns adorning the cardboard box with a cup of frothy cappuccino in the form of a raised imprint as the centerpiece.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino bars

Nestle Kit Kat Cappuccino Flavor comes in individually wrapped 2 x 2 wafer packs with KitKat logo and the words “Cappuccino Flavor” on the right extreme tapering into a pure brown color palate to the left, much like the other limited edition KitKat in this series.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino open

Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition X1 Cappuccino Flavor opens up to reveal dark brown twin Kit Kat wafers. The chocolate coating is slightly darker than the standard Kit Kat bars.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino bite

The Kit Kat Cappuccino Flavor tastes like coffee flavored Kit Kat bars. The official description is printed as “Wafer fingers in milk chocolate – Cappuccino Flavor“. It tasted alright, but it’s too plain compared to the Cheesecake Flavored Kit Kat.

kitkat limited edition cappuccino end

Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition X1 Cappuccino Flavor can be found at Jusco hypermarkets on cardboard stands printed with “It’s out there – ENJOY The rarest of breaks“.

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Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor Limited Edition 02

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kitkat limited edition cheesecake shelf

Nestle KitKat Lemon Cheesecake Flavour Limited Edition 02 is the latest promotion of the Kit Kat line of chocolate wafers. I have no idea where Limited Edition 01 is – I only saw Limited Edition 02 in the Kuching airport before I took a flight to KL. Perhaps the numbering is just arbitrary. *shrugs*

kitkat limited edition cheesecake size

The Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor Limited Edition 02 comes in two sizes – the standard 2 x 2 finger format we’re all familiar with (RM 4.50) and a larger 4 x 2 finger format that I’ve never seen Kit Kat being packaged in, which was what caught my eye in the first place.

kitkat limited edition cheesecake design

The packaging looks great – the Kit Kat cardboard box is light yellow and has a lemon slice imprinted on one side of the box and random see-through holes to allow the individually wrapped yellow wafer fingers inside to be visible through the plastic window. There is also a perforation on the right which opens up like a flip-tip cigarette box.

kitkat limited edition cheesecake box

This Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition is only available in Malaysia. It marks the first time Malaysia has its own individually wrapped and boxed Kit Kat Limited Edition runs, which are very popular in Japan. Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavour Limited Edition 02 is officially dubbed “Wafer fingers in Lemon Cheesecake Flavored Confectionary“.

kitkat limited edition cheesecake bars

Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavour Limited Edition 02 comes in individually wrapped 2 x 2 wafer packs with words on one side tapering into a pure yellow color scheme. The design looks good and it marks a nice debut for Malaysian Limited Edition Kit Kat confectionary.

kitkat limited edition cheesecake open

Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavour opens up to reveal a whitish yellow Kit Kat wafer in the dual wafer format. The consistent color scheme is great!

kitkat limited edition cheesecake bite

Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor tastes like cheesecake on the inside with the lemon flavor coming from the coating. It really tastes like cheesecake! I was amazed at the taste and texture, which resembles a cheesecake (a good one to boot) so closely. The wonders of modern artificial food flavoring! 😉

kitkat limited edition cheesecake end

Nestle Kit Kat Lemon Cheesecake Flavor Limited Edition 02 tastes great! Get it while you can…it is limited edition after all.

P/S – I wrote this before I found the Nestle Kit Kat Limited Edition 01 in KL. The review of the other limited edition Kit Kat in the series is coming up in the next post.

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Nestle Trophy ice cream promotion contest

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nestle promotion sibu

Nestle has a range of “premium” ice cream under the Trophy brand which is considered a poor man’s Magnum [sixthseal.com]. They are running a two day promotion at Wisma Sanyan in Sibu to promote the Trophy ice cream, in particular its latest strawberry flavored Trophy.

nestle promotion sibu ice cream

I was at the shopping mall with my gf just now and decided to get an Almond Choc Ace Trophy and the new strawberry flavored Trophy. The Trophy ice cream by Nestle is based on the concept of Magnum ice cream and comes with the cringe inducing tagline “You deserve a Trophy“. *groans*

nestle promotion sibu trophy

The promotion is anchored to an instant draw prize collection (or “Sure Win” as they so eloquently dub it) for every purchase of RM 5 worth of Nestle ice cream OR two Trophy ice creams. Our Trophy purchase entitles us to one “Lucky Dip”. I was so excited I nearly creamed my pants, pardon the pun.

nestle promotion sibu box

The list of prizes in the instant draw box starts from a Mountain Bike and ends with a Sarsi Frizz in descending order of monetary value. The last three items are Nestle ice cream products. The entire promotion boasts a payout amounting to the grand total of RM 1,000!!! Talk about big budget promotions!

nestle promotion sibu win

I wasn’t surprised when I stuck my hand into the “Lucky Dip” box and came up with Sarsi Frizz. The box probably has Sarsi Frizz printed on almost all of the little pieces of folded paper. It’s one of the lowest priced Nestle ice cream products – a frozen ice water stick vaguely tasting of sarsaparilla.

nestle promotion sibu purchase

Oh well, it’s better than nothing…

(and the promotion DID keep its word about every instant draw being a sure winner)

P/S – My apologies about the sarcasm laden post. I just bought a Nintendo GameBoy Micro on an impulse and I can’t wait to check it out. I’m not a big fan of consoles or handhelds but it looks so amazingly small that I couldn’t help getting it. It’s cheap enough for impulsive purchases and yet packs enough value for a few hours of fun. Full review coming up soon on sixthseal.com. 🙂

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Nestle Kit Kat Dark Luxury Limited Edition

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kit kat dark luxury bar shelves

Nestle came out with a limited edition variant of their Kit Kat product line – it’s called Kit Kat Dark Luxury and it’s made with dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

kit kat dark luxury limited edition

The Dark Luxury Kit Kat bars retail in the standard Kit Kat size but instead of a wrapper, it comes in a nicely packaged box with a perforation on one end and the text “Limited Edition” emblazoned beside it.

kit kat dark luxury wafers

The Kit Kat Dark Luxury cardboard box opens up to reveal individually wrapped 2-finger wafers.

kit kat dark luxury bar

Kit Kat Dark Luxury tastes like standard Kit Kat made with dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. I didn’t find it exceptional as I do not like the Kit Kat bars over here.

I’ll be flying to KL on a business trip tomorrow morning for a 4 pm meeting and I’ll be coming back again on Saturday. I won’t spend the weekend since I have obligations in Kuching but I’ll probably head out Friday night. See ya!

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Nestle Extra Creamy & Fruity Fruits of the Forest Yogurt

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nestle extra creamy yogurt range

Nestle came out with an “Extra Creamy & Fruity” addition to
their existing range of yoghurt – which is a good thing, with all the
“Low Fat” and low carbohydrates trend in the food industry. Some of us like
our food to be rich and indulgent. I personally prefer the decadent, if
you will, versions of food instead of the healthier choice. You only
live once. 😉

nestle extra creamy yogurt

Anyway, to support this move towards catering for the more
hedonistic palates in the consumer market, I bought one of the Nestle
Extra Creamy & Fruity Fruits of the Forest yoghurt. They have a
wide range of different flavors, but Fruits of the Forest sounds good
to me. It just evokes this image of various different fruits, fused
into the yoghurt.

nestle extra creamy close

Nestle Extra Creamy & Fruity line tastes great too! It is
exactly what it claims to be – extra creamy and fruity. I loved it. It
also comes in the smaller packaging with a plastic foldable spoon.

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