• Nancy Webb...Pat Bonetar

Hash-Packing the World

Whether you know me as Nancy Webb or Pat Bonetar, I hope you enjoyed my trip through 4 continents and 17 countries! I can't wait to do it again!! Lue lisää
  • Saturday is a hashing day

    29. syyskuuta 2018, Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 90 °F

    Had a great time at the hash last night! Yet again, I it to see old friends, this time several from Hong Kong whom I met at All China Nash Hash in 2012. Terrific!

    Today's trail promises to be wet and muddy because it rained a monsoon this morning, but I'm sure it will be fun. We meet up at our hotel in about an hour. Yay!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Sunday is a hashing day

    30. syyskuuta 2018, Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 90 °F

    The trail yesterday was in town with no serious mud or muck, which was nice. Just after the beer stop, I was alone on trail and running to catch up to the main pack. The locals were mostly laughing and pointing which way to go. Except one lady. She was very upset. She grabbed my arm as I went by and yelled, "I hate you!" When I told the local hashers about the incident, they were shocked. The Myanmar people are very well known for how friendly they are to everyone, so what I experienced was definitely far from ordinary. After trail, we had a great circle with people sitting on huge blocks of ice to atone for their shenanigans. Then we were bussed back to the hotel.

    Saturday evening was an amazing buffet in the hotel ballroom, complete with two ice luges, a birthday cake, and a live band. Terrific!

    Right now, we're having circle for the hangover trail we just finished. After this, we'll walk down the street to a hotel buffet. Yummy!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Monday is a day of rest

    1. lokakuuta 2018, Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 86 °F

    Yesterday's buffet was amazing! Grilled lobster and mimosas, to name only two things. After food, we went to the pool where the champagne kept flowing. Then many of us went to a hasher couple's home. They had two beautiful and well trained golden retrievers, so I was able to catch up on my doggy love. The cat that came with the house was also very friendly and kept climbing into my lap. It was the perfect way to top off an amazing 22 days of almost non-stop hashing.

    Tomorrow I have a flight to Kuching, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. I am so excited to be going to another destination I learned about from National Geographic magazines as a kid. I love my life!

    For today, I plan to give my liver a break and make my stomach earn its keep by stuffing my face with a Hard Rock Cafe cheeseburger. My hostel is purposely only a five-mile walk away. First, though, I have to actually get out of bed. This may be difficult. 😉

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Flying to Kuching, Malaysia (Borneo)

    2. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ 🌧 88 °F

    I had to turn off my phone for the flight and forgot to turn it back on for today's post. At noon I was most likely somewhere over Thailand and definitely heading to Kuala Lumpur where I will catch a second flight to Kuching. I hope I make the connection, but at least this time my bag is checked all the way through.

    Yesterday, I made it to the Hard Rock Cafe when I finally managed to drag myself out of bed...at around 4 pm. Small but decent. Not a lot of stuff on the walls, but what was there was good. A pair of Elvis pajamas, a Lady Gaga dress, hand-written Blondie lyrics...cool. Great burger and fries, too. 😋

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Bruno Mars day

    3. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    "Today I don't feel like doing anything," says Bruno Mars in his song The Lazy Song. (Hear it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fLexgOxsZu0) This is a perfect description of how I feel today. I am so excited to be in Borneo, but I'm so tired I couldn't get out of bed until just a few minutes ago.

    I was finally able to drop off laundry. There's a place downstairs, and I can get it back today. I also cut off the three remaining i.d. bracelets from Mother Hash's Green Dress Run and 80th birthday party and Nha Trang's Mekong Indochina Hash. Great events with great friends that made great memories.

    I'm now sitting in the restaurant below my room and plan to walk around the waterfront nearby. I already have a location to rent a motorbike for tomorrow and want to find a travel company to see what wildlife packages they offer. Then I'm going back to bed.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️

    P.S.: I had my worst civilian flight yesterday coming into Kuching on a Malaysian Airlines 737. I am rarely awake for landings until we touch down, but I was definitely awake for this one. The pilot missed the approach. We were no more than 50 feet off the deck and coming in fast when, instead of landing, the pilot roared the engines and yanked us back into the sky. We went around, got back in the pattern, and landed hard on the second attempt. Geez, guys.
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  • Orangutans in Borneo!

    4. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    One of my dreams came true today. I saw wild orangutans in Borneo! Meet Edwin, a 26-year-old really big male who is the next contender for the throne, having already defeated King Ritchie once in a recent fight. The mother is Saddamiah, a 16-year-old with her first baby Ruby, who is 5. I did not get the juvenile's name or age. In one of the pictures, Saddamiah is holding something over her face. She's drinking from a coconut she bashed against the side of the tree. It only took her three smashes. The last two pictures were of two pals in another feeding area. These guys/girls are about a quarter of the size of the big male Edwin, yet as large as the human Ranger who is about 5 and a half feet tall.

    The Semenggoh Nature Reserve (http://semenggoh.my/) is home to 30 orangutans, all of whom are free to come and go as they wish. The Rangers provide food at 9 am and 2 pm every day, but there is no guarantee any of the apes will appear. We were very fortunate to have seen them at all.

    The Rangers provided a briefing before allowing about 75 of us to head up the path to the feeding platform. Basically, if they come at you, run. The Ranger briefing us has been bitten severely twice, once that put him in the hospital. Since most of the apes were rescued, some have attacked visitors who had items that looked--to the apes--like a gun, such as selfie sticks and walking canes. Also, the Rangers provide the apes with milk in former water bottles, so if they see a water bottle on you, they will go for it. And since a water bottle isn't worth being maimed and killed for, they will get it while you run for your life. The Ranger was bitten when he attempted to interfere with these attacks. Yet, even with warnings about hiding or not taking water bottles and selfie sticks, people still took them and used them in plain sight of the apes. I did not stand next to those idiots. Fortunately, there were no incidents today.

    It was absolutely amazing to see them, almost to the point of tears. I was so excited that I came straight back to the hotel and downloaded my pictures so I could put them in this post. Just incredible.

    Tomorrow I'm going on another tour, this time to Bako National Park on the northern coast to see proboscis monkeys and other wildlife. Last night, I was so excited about today that I didn't get to sleep until about 3 am. I really excited about tomorrow, too, but I hope I sleep tonight. Maybe I'll take a nap after lunch.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Bako National Park

    5. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Check off another amazing sight: proboscis monkeys! And silver-leaf monkeys and a sleeping flying lemur and a green viper and a gray whiptail snake with a red tongue and fiddler crabs and termites and mystic lizards and mud skippers and hermit crabs and a wild boar and a monitor lizard! WOW! What an awesome day in the park! Absolutely incredible!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Saturday is a hashing day

    6. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    I'm chilling out before today's hash at around 4 followed by an On After for dinner and drinks.

    I was wiped out after Bako yesterday, so just a quick bite to eat before having a hot shower and a long sleep.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Sunday is a day of rest

    7. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ 🌧 81 °F

    Well, the Borneo Hash House Hazards-Riettes (BHHHR) certainly do know how to throw a On After. Trail was very good, in the jungle with ups and downs that weren't so steep that you had to crawl up or slide down. Lots of flat bits, too. About 1.5 hours for 6 km. Nice. After a very short circle at finish, we cleaned up and went to a nearby restaurant that is often used by the many hash kennels here in Kuching. Good food and great laughs. The Whip, elsewhere called the Religious Advisor, continued with the down downs, and the hash gave me a sarong and a t-shirt. They are awesome people!

    As typical, I woke up around 3 am but managed to get back to sleep until around 6. I've walked down the street to the nearest KFC because they have the bowls (chicken strips, mashed potatoes, corn, and cheese). Yummy! They also have chicken and waffles served as a sandwich. I kind of want to get one just to try it (see pic).

    Although I really should walk around more today, I'm pretty sure I'm going back to bed for a movie and a nap, not necessarily in that order. 😉

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • So long and thanks for all the fish.

    7. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

    Several people have asked me about my sign off phrase, "So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish." It's from Douglas Adams's book "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy," which turns 40 next year. The 2005 movie was a terrific adaptation with Alan Rickman (Professor Snape) as the depressed robot.

    In the meantime, watch this: https://youtu.be/N_dUmDBfp6k. ✌️
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  • Last day in Kuching

    8. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Picking up from yesterday's post, I didn't get the chicken and waffles sandwich, but I did take home a Pizza Hut pizza for dinner, which meant once I got back to the room, I didn't have to go out again. And I didn't. I feel like I've been resting a lot on this leg of my journey, but it feels so good. The three weeks of hashing must have tired me out more than I thought.

    Right now, I'm buying a car ride to the port and a ferry ticket to Sibu, another city to the northeast. The ferry is only about $3 US more than the bus, so why not, right?

    I have no plans for the rest of the day or tonight. More rest probably.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Fast boat to Sibu

    9. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ 🌧 84 °F

    I'm on a boat to Sibu. Not really sure "fast" is an accurate description, but it's waaaay faster than the Slow Boat to Laos I took on 3-4 July. (Wow. Has it been that long already?) The beginning of today's trip was on the ocean until we turned upriver. Despite the clouds and sprinkles, the waves were okay and I fell asleep about 20 minutes after we left port.

    I thank my parents for my ability to fall asleep in moving vehicles--all of them. As the story goes, when I couldn't/wouldn't sleep as a kid, my dad would put me in the car and drive around until I was out. It worked then and it stuck with me. My ex-husband used to gripe because I would fall asleep during the 10-minute work commute, and my Airmen laughed when I slept through a C-130 combat landing in Iraq. Now, I'm out on a boat in the South China Sea off the coast of Borneo. Awesome.

    Nothing else to tell you today. Let's see what sleepy, small Sibu has to offer this evening.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Sleepy, small Sibu is correct

    10. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ 🌧 88 °F

    This is a pretty small city, although it's large for this area. Yesterday, almost immediately after arriving, I bought a bus ticket to Miri for tomorrow morning.

    Last night I went to the Night Market, which was full of amazing smelling foods, like chicken/pork/seafood chunks on sticks, Chukaman (as called in Japan, which is white puffy deliciousness filled with various stuff), yogurt/fruit desserts, and canned beer. There were also stalls with clothes, toys, etc., but the food is always the best to look at and to smell.

    Today, I walked around the Taoist temple. Right on the water and.visible for quite some ways. Neat. The giant turtle made me think of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series and other books:

    "See the turtle of enormous girth!
    On his shell he holds the earth.
    His thought is slow but always kind;
    He holds us all within his mind.
    On his back all vows are made;
    He sees the truth but may'nt aid.
    He loves the land and loves the sea,
    He even loves a child like me."

    Right now, I'm at the Central Market eating a lunch of a pork roll (weird, not great) and semi-sweet, sticky rice rolled in leaves (okay). I have a feeling I will be visiting Pizza Hut later, this time for a nice big fresh salad (the pizza is really good though 😉).

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Bus to Miri

    11. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    I'm on a bus bound for Miri. Yesterday was uneventful. I spent about two hours trying to figure out how to add another seven days to my cell phone sim card, an adventure that ended in a 7-Eleven. I should know by now to go there first for everything.

    I was up really early this morning, 4:30. Yuck. I want to leave the hotel by 5 to get a Grab to the bus station before 5:30 to get my ticket printed for the 6 am bus. I thought I could just leave the hotel. Nope. The steel bar door at the top of the stairs--the only exit--was not just closed; it was padlocked shut. Fortunately, the proprietor lived in the very first room, so I was able to wake him up to let me out. I have to admit, fire exits are something the US takes for granted. I got.to the bus station in plenty of time, but still. Wow.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️

    P.S.: I did go to Pizza Hut and had a nice salad...then got two McDonald's cheeseburgers to take to the room for breakfast. I'm good and bad. 🤣
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  • Walking in Miri

    12. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    Well, breakfast sucked. Two pieces of toast and tea. The lady was really put out that I wanted something to eat, even though it comes with the lodging. Wow.

    I'm on my way to KFC again to get some real food. I still haven't gotten that chicken and waffle sandwich; I stick to the bowl. After food, I'm planning a self-guided walking tour of the city center and probably a Grab ride to the beach area and the Coco Cabana place, which is one of the big tourist places here.

    I went to a restaurant/bar across the street from my hostel last night. They serve Kilkenny (my absolute all-time favorite beer in the world), so I'll be back again tonight. The sign in the pictures was in the bathroom. Ha ha ha!!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Saturday is a hashing day!

    13. lokakuuta 2018, Malesia ⋅ ⛅ 86 °F

    [I gave breakfast a second chance. Nope. Two slices of toast again, this time with one burnt.]

    I had a great time walking around yesterday, visiting most of the nearby tourist sites. I was caught in the rain while walking out to the seahorse lighthouse, but it wasn't heavy enough to get my phone wet. Who cares about the hair or clothes, right? Priorities.

    I'm sitting in Pizza Hut again, which is next door to this Kenny Rogers place I've never heard of before. It is very difficult to find fresh salad in restaurants, and PH does a Ceasar salad...with Thousand Island dressing and chicken bacon (almost no pork here).

    Anyway, the hasher I've made contact with is picking me up at 3, so I'm eating then packing until then.

    My bus to Brunei leaves at 8 in the morning, but I'm not really looking forward to going there. Hard core Muslim, so no nightlife/bars/music at all. And it's expensive. The cheapest accommodation I could find was $35 US per night. Luckily, I'm only there two nights until my flight...TO BALI!! 🌊🌊🌊🌊 🦎 [Explanation of the lizard will come later, fingers crossed 😉.]

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Arrived in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

    14. lokakuuta 2018, Brunei ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    I just got off the bus from Miri at the waterfront in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capitol of Brunei. This is the first bus stop I've been to that wasn't surrounded by taxi drivers. I guess I'm walking to the hotel. (Only 10 minutes away.)

    I had a great time with the Miri Hash yesterday. Trail was in primary jungle. When we popped out in a clearing with grass well taller than my head, I felt like I was in Jurassic Park and that Velociraptors were going to hunt me if I went into it. Lol. We went to a parkside restaurant afterwards for circle and dinner. One of the hashers runs or owns the place, so lots of beer was provided, naturally. Dinner was a feast of deliciously tender wild boar (better than what I had in Germany), freshly caught snapper, some green chunks that tasted kind of like green beans, and white rice. Yummy!!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Around Town

    15. lokakuuta 2018, Brunei ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F

    I did nothing yesterday except search for and not find an ATM. I found one today, though, just in time for lunch. It's called mee goreng, and my first bite was delicious and not so spicy that I can actually eat it. There are fried prawns and a chicken leg. Sadly, two slices of cucumber and one slice of not quite ripe tomato consitutes the salad.

    I'm walking around a little today, and I was at the beautiful mosque at noon, but my true goal is to pack for my flight in the morning...TO BALI! Have I already mentioned this?! 🦎😉

    I have to eliminate some clothing and other things I've gathered along the way or figure out a different way to pack it all. Right now, everything is spread out around the room either drying for being washed in the sink or in piles of Keep, Don't Keep, and the troublesome Maybe. The Malay hashers were almost too nice, giving me four shirts and a sarong. I gave one of them my water container from Yangon's 1600th event, but that doesn't come close to evening things out. I've given or thrown away 6 other shirts and another sarong. It adds up so quickly. Yikes!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Bali!!!!

    17. lokakuuta 2018, Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    I finally made it to the Southern Hemisphere! And it's true! The toilet water swirls counterclockwise! Lol 😂

    At noon, I was on a rented motorbike heading to Tanah Lot, a temple built on the rocks in the ocean. As I'm typing this [about 2 pm], I'm at a restaurant inside the cliffside complex having an Island of the God's "cocktail" (no alcohol) and lunch. The waves are pounding. Man, it's great to be back to the ocean.

    I arrived around 10 pm last night, so by the time I got situated at the hostel, I was beat. I had to go out, though, because there was an open air bar with a band that was absolutely rockin' the house with Led Zeppelin, Guns n Roses, etc. Great guitars and tremendous singer. I wasn't there long, but it was memorable....

    Now, here's how small the world is. I'm in Bali, Indonesia, for the first time in my life. I meet an American (Henry) who lives in the Republic of Korea. Turns out, he's in the Air Force. Turns out, he was at Volkel Air Base, the Netherlands in 2010. Turns out, he knows a great friend of mine from Okinawa who was also at Volkel. Holy crap, Batman.

    Oh, here's the food!

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️🦎

    P.S.: The rooftop pic is from the breakfast area at my hostel! Yay!
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  • East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

    18. lokakuuta 2018, Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 90 °F

    I am currently on the Indonesian island of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, having arrived at about 9 this morning in an ATR79-600, a prop job. My seat was on the Cut Here line. A little nerve racking. In military prop aircraft, there are dotted lines painted inside where, if they come off the engine while rotating, the props will slice through the fuselage. No person is allowed to stay other than to walk by and there I was, sitting right on the line. Yikes.

    But why did I come here, you ask? It contains the closest airport to 🦎🦎🦎 Komodo National Park, indigenous home of the prehistoric Komodo Dragon, which is where I am going tomorrow!

    Right now, I'm at my hostel, but I can't check in until 2 pm, so I've been forced to sit by the pool with a beer and a book. Terrible. 😉

    Yesterday evening I spent on Kuta Beach for sunset then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. They've been here for 25 years and have some magnificent guitars and other memorabilia. Nothing from Sting, Collins, or Henley, but still great.

    I'm all set for my dragon excursion and absolutely cannot be more excited. Yet another wildlife adventure learned about in my youth come to fruition.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Komodo Dragons!!!!

    19. lokakuuta 2018, Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F

    Check another one off the bucket list, folks. Absolutely, positively incredible. I really don't have the words for this one.

    We left on an overnight boat from Labuan Bajo around 0830 and arrived here just before 1100.

    All I did yesterday was hang by the pool. Sweet.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the DRAGONS!!! ✌️🦎
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  • On the boat

    20. lokakuuta 2018, Indonesia ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F

    After seeing the dragons on Rinki Island, we went to Komodo Island and saw more, along with the adults' primary food sources: water buffalo, wild boar, and deer. Then we visited Pink Beach, also on Komodo Island. There were two piglets foraging on the beach. They would wait until our backs were turned, then scamper down, grab something, and hightail it back into the bush. So funny and cute. After the beach, we made our way to a quiet cove for a yummy dinner on the deck and a lulling sleep on the roof.

    This morning, the boat engines started up at an ungodly hour of darkness so we would arrive at Padar Island in time to climb to the top for sunrise. The tour guide woke me up at 0445, and I had already missed breakfast. I got about halfway up, took a picture, and went back to the boat to sleep some more. Wake me up that early when the sun is NOT coming up.

    After that, we snorkled at Manta Point, a spot known for its Manta Rays. Unfortunately, we didn't see any, but it was still nice. I hope my pictures turn out; I can't wear my glasses with goggles.

    Now, we're almost at our last stop, another swimming/snorkeling area by another very small island. The water, reef, and fish are pretty, but no where as gorgeous as at locations around Okinawa, so I'm going to pass on this one and go back to the roof to sleep some more.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Another flight

    21. lokakuuta 2018, Indonesia ⋅ ⛅ 88 °F

    I'm on a flight to the island of Lombok for a three-night stay in a bungalow near the mountain. I'm really looking forward to what should be a peaceful retreat.

    Nothing to report from yesterday evening. I was out early because I had to leave for the airport at 6 am today. Yuck.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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  • Lazy Day on Lombok

    22. lokakuuta 2018, Indonesia ⋅ 🌧 86 °F

    Another lazy day for me. I'm on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, in a very quiet, secluded village in a thatched roof bungalow. I arrived without issue yesterday and had dinner across the street last night accompanied by some chickens and several dogs wandering through the place. It's nice, but too remote for me to stay here longer than I am (3 nights, sort of).

    Today is looking more and more like a YouTube day. Now that I've taken out my earphones, I can here the noon call to prayer. Muslim appears to be, by far, the predominant religion on this island and the last. The women wear hijabs but not burqas; the men are dressed like whatever and without facial hair. Different.

    There are some waterfalls within walking distance. I should go see at least one tomorrow.

    Oh, the earthquake that hit the island a couple of weeks ago was on the north shore and didn't do anything here but crack a couple of walls.

    So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️
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