i hate winter

Winter is the absolute worst, and I will fight you on this

I hate winter. I hate it with the passion of a thousand hot suns –– which is ironic, really, because if winter HAD a thousand hot suns, I might like it a little more. 

You know what’s the worst thing about winter, though?

It’s all the people who love winter.

You know the ones: in fact, you might even be one of them, in which case, all I can say is that you”re really not going to enjoy this post, so please don’t hate me. I don’t hate you, after all: I just don’t understand you. Like, not even a little bit. Especially when you keep using the words “cosy” and “snuggle” all the time, and pretending that getting to wear a pair of boots, or hang “twinkly lights” in your house is a fair trade off for months on end of darkness and virtual house arrest. (Spoiler: IT ISN’T.)

Here in Scotland, you see, no one loves winter. (Cue 875 Scottish people all lining up to tell me how much they love winter. LIARS.) Because we’re not crazy. Oh, and also because, here in Scotland, winter pretty much sucks, really. And, I mean, I know YOUR snow is SO PRETTY and all, but OUR snow is normally just all grey and slushy, and if we get more than 1cm of it, everyone freaks out, then the entire country grinds to a halt. I DO NOT ENJOY THIS. No, seriously, WHY WOULD I ENJOY THIS, SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN?

i hate winter

I don’t care how ‘pretty’ you think it is, I hate winter

Here are some other reasons I hate winter:

Having to get out of bed when it’s still pitch dark outside.

Thinking it surely must be bedtime already, then realising that, actually, it’s only 4pm: it’s just dark again already, GOD.

Being ill constantly.

Everyone else being ill constantly.

Worrying about being ill constantly.

Having to “bundle up” in order to leave the house. I AM NOT A “BUNDLE”, FFS.

Trying to wrestle a toddler into a snowsuit, and then having to pick his hat and gloves out of the slush every five minutes.

When you have to go outside to put something into the bin, but the lid is thick with snow, and when you lift it up, the snow slides down your sleeve and soaks your arms and FML, seriously.

Having to cancel your plans because there’s half an inch of snow on the ground, and the UK just can’t cope.

Mentioning the snow on social media, and everyone commenting to tell you whether or not THEY have snow, too.

Being too scared to drive anywhere, because no one here knows how to drive in snow, so you feel like you’re risking your life any time you try.

Getting out of the shower, and feeling the cold air hit your damp body.

People from the other side of the world smugly pointing out that it’s SO HOT where they are right now.

People from the other other side of the world smugly pointing out that THEIR winters are MUCH worse than YOUR winters, and that you’re not allowed to complain about YOUR winters until they’re as bad as THEIR winters, and not even then, really.

Wet clothes drying on radiators.

Snow that’s turned to slush and is just grey and dirty and sad, really.

Having to scrape the car down and defrost the windows before you can use it.

People repeatedly telling you how much they HATE summer, and wish the infernal winter could last forever. HOW SHOULD THEY DIE?

Here are some things other people claim to love about winter, but which don’t actually make it any better, really:

Christmas: I mean, it’s ONE FREAKING DAY, Sheila: calm down. Seriously, there isn’t a SINGLE THING in the entire world that lasts 24 hours (And you’re sleeping for part of it, anyway!), but is good enough to justify, like, EIGHT MONTHS of freezing cold weather and almost total darkness. Nothing.

Halloween: see above.

Boots and coats. Just… not THAT exciting, surely?

Being “cosy”: So, right now, I’m taking a hot water bottle to bed with me every night, and wearing a jumper and a pair of fluffy socks, and I’ve still somehow managed to develop chilblains. Chilblains, people. I thought that was just something for people in Charles Dickens novels, but no: it’s also for ME, apparently, and, in related news, this is why I don’t want to take my shoes off in your house . Yes. So, I don’t get this obsession with “cosy”. Like, if I’m understanding this correctly, you’re happy to never see the sun, as long as you get to put a blanket over your legs when you sit on the sofa? And this makes sense HOW?

Being able to snuggle up and read books/watch movies: I mean…you can do that at ANY time of year, surely? Well, YOU can, anyway. I read a grand total of two books last year, and both of those were read mostly on planes, and in hotel rooms, during the summer. It’s not like I magically have more time for reading/watching movies in the winter than at any other time, really: is it just me? Do other people not have to work during the winter, or look after their kids? How come they suddenly have all of this spare time for “snuggling” and I don’t?

Playing in the snow, and feeling like a child again: I actually DID play in the snow for a while earlier this week: by which I mean I followed Max around, repeatedly replacing his gloves while HE played in the snow. I did NOT, however, feel “like a child again”, unfortunately. I mean, sure, I did my best to fake enjoyment of said snow for Max’s sake, but here’s the thing: I did NOT enjoy the snow. Because it was cold and wet and uncomfortable, and who actually enjoys being cold and wet and uncomfortable? Seriously, WHO? Because one thing’s for sure: it’s not me. Why is it not me, I wonder?

SNOW DAYS: Literally only fun if they mean you get the day off from work/school: when you work from home anyway, and have a child to look after, a ‘snow day’ just means doing the same things you do every day, but without any additional childcare, or the hope of actually being able to leave your house for very long. No thanks.

Seriously, though: if you’re here to tell me how wrong I am for hating winter, I’m going to ask you to please attempt to do it without using the words “cosy” or “snuggle” or making reference to ‘twinkly’ lights and/or freakin blankets. Can’t do it, can you? 

So, I hate winter, is what I’m trying to say here.

Do you think I made that clear enough, because, honestly, I’m not sure?

I used to think my hatred of winter was due to Seasonal Affective Disorder – or S.A.D, as it’s appropriately known. I’ve never actually been officially diagnosed with that, though, because, if I DID go to see the doctor about it, I know exactly what they’d say: buy a lightbox, take vitamin D, try to get out more, WHAT ABOUT YOGA, THOUGH ? And, well, I’ve tried all of those things, and none of them has made even the slightest difference, so now I think I maybe just hate winter? Because it’s literally the WORST THING EVER?

Who’s with me on this, though? Because I know all the reasons some people love winter, but today I’d like to hear from my fellow haterz: misery loves company after all, and there’s still a long time to go until Spring…

P.S. If you'd like to hear more from me, please consider subscribing to my newsletter…

books by Amber Eve
COMMENTS
  • Yes, with you here. More or less. And I say that because we can’t avoid winter, thus I try to find some things I like about it. As an artist, I do love beautiful snowy scenes and bright blue skies. But once the winter solstice has been I’m thinking ROLL ON SPRING!!

    I can’t cycle to work most of the winter because the canal path is too slippery. Plus when I finish work at 8pm it’s not a nice place to cycle along. And when it is mild enough to cycle I have to put on all my warm gear which leaves me sweaty. In fact, all I want to do is leave the house without thick tights and a coat. That said, I do think autumn and winter are prime time for snuggling up on the sofa with lots of candles.

    I have a friend who loves winter. He’s an artist and particularly likes winter trees. He went to Japan for a three-month holiday from December to March and had a brilliant time. Fancy missing the cherry blossom though!

    February 12, 2020
      • Alice

        REPLY

        I’d find sitting on a sofa with a candle pretty boring, too……

        I like winter in the mountains, I love skiing. But in the UK it’s mostly tedious.

        However, with a very fair skinned child I also dread summer and constantly having to re apply factor 50…….. spring and autumn are best!

        February 12, 2020
  • Cheila Martins

    REPLY

    Hahahaha my name is Cheila (pronounced Shayla) and that kind hurt ????

    February 12, 2020
      • Cheila Martins

        REPLY

        No worries. It’s worse in my country, it’s considered a stripper’s name. Oh, the bullying ???? I’m a good sport about it. Great post!

        February 12, 2020
    • Brilliantly written, Amber! You make me laugh so much! I did a round trip from Dundee to Ardeonaig last night on ungritted roads with black ice, and I can hardly move today because my entire body is so stiff from how tensely I was gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life. Roll on Spring!!!

      February 13, 2020
  • May

    REPLY

    I hate summer more than I hate winter. But talking about summer and winter where I live. For a short summary
    Winter: average temperature between 7 and 15 degree, very rarely below 5. No snow. Not particularly dark or cloudy. Less hours of sunlight, sure, but it’s bright out between 8am and 6 pm so it’s not that bad. You have to bundle up but it’s not like you need snowsuits and boots for eight months (because it lasts five months tops)
    Summer: temperature can be 35 degree and higher. The sun shines with all its hatred between 5am and 8am. So hot can’t wear light enough clothes and sadly can’t leave the house naked. Don’t even try if you don’t have a pool or aircon. Christmas is a sweaty hot mess

    So yeah, I think it’s pretty easy to understand why I prefer winter. But I’m sure if I lived in Scotland I’d like summer better too!

    February 12, 2020
  • This is hilarious and I am with you on so many of these things (esp the terror of driving in snow and ice, mainly the other moron road users but I don’t really know how to drive up and down steep hills (which my bit of Yorkshire has an abundance of) either, so I basically just refuse to drive in bad weather), and yet….(am I allowed to say it?) I love Winter!
    Hear me out though, I can be found on Stories every morning walking the dog, and professing how every new season that comes around is my favourite season, so it’s not like I am exclusively a winter fan, perhaps just unfussy as seasons go! But there are things I love (and dislike) about all of them.
    In terms of winter, it’s definitely the cosy that gets me. We do watch an episode of something most evenings, so there is a chance to snuggle on the sofa under a blanket with the dog and cat on my knee, with the log burner lit in a nice toasty warm room while the wind howls outside. It makes me feel so safe and snug and at home, I love it.
    So yeah, sorry, I know you just wanted reasons to hate winter – will give you some more – impossible to wear nice shoes even when going out unless you want frostbite/broken ankles – not being able to feel your fingers for a couple of hours after coming in from walking the dog on really cold days – being stuck indoors with a toddler and limited “rainy day” activities up your sleeve – muddy paw prints on my carpets when the dog comes in from the garden (she refuses to wipe her paws, the savage) – having to wait 5 mins in your freezing car before you can drive anywhere because you have to wait to be able to see out. Yeah, quite a lot really! Winter sucks! (Except when it doesn’t!). x

    February 12, 2020
  • Barb W.

    REPLY

    I Hate Cold Weather.

    February 12, 2020
  • Amber I can’t add anything to your list of all the heinous things about winter… you’ve said them all for me. And I live at the opposite end of the country to you, so we don’t get anywhere near as much snow as you, and the days are a bit longer than yours, yet still I hate it!! In fact February is the most horrible month of them all (in a “is it STILL winter FFS??” kind of way). I cannot WAIT for it to be over and for the clocks to change.

    Does this mean I actually hate winter more than you if our winters aren’t as harsh…? I think it does!!!! 😉

    Catherine x

    February 12, 2020
  • Brenda

    REPLY

    Huge Winter Hater here! Plus I am Canadian, so I really feel you. I spend most of the winter looking at my husband, screaming on the inside, trying to be calm on the outside saying, “We live here? Really?” Unfortunately our longest season is not my favourite season. 7 sometimes 8 months of the worst weather ever. It has been known to snow every single month where I live. So even our “summer” months have been hit with the odd skiff of snow. Ugh.

    February 12, 2020
  • Is there room in this comment section for someone who hates winter and summer? I agree with all your reasons for hating winter especially since we have had an odd winter this year and haven’t gotten much snow. The first deep snowfall of the season is the only redeeming feature of winter and we have simply had slush instead. One snowstorm and I am done though. But summer is terrible too. I don’t handle the heat well because I overheat easily and it gives me migraines. What I really like is lovely, dry, 75 degree Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius) days. A nice moderate temperature with blue skies. Is that too much to ask? Meanwhile, we are supposed to get two more inches of slush tonight.

    February 12, 2020
  • Mary Katherine

    REPLY

    I hear you, girl. From February on, I’m pretty much done – give me warm sand, gentle waves and a frosty adult beverage. But the one thing that gets me through winter (aside from the first few minutes of waking up on a weekend to a fresh snow. And I’m sorry you don’t get weekends anymore…) is my FIREPLACE. We crank that thing up every night and it is 1)heat 2)entertainment and 3)company – odd, I know, but it’s almost like having another nice creature in the room. I could bask and watch it through its glass doors for hours – fell asleep on the couch last night because I couldn’t bear to leave it to go into the bedroom (where I could’ve lit the gas fire, actually). OK, that’s just weird….
    That still does nothing about the no-no-nice-shoes-til spring thing, but my boot fetish is helping with that.
    Oh well. Thanks for the good Winter Winge. It’s nice hearing from you more often now – keep up the great work!

    February 12, 2020
  • I’m neutral in theory (it’s pretty; getting dressed requires less thought; can justify more hot chocolate; but also so damn cold brr) BUT I have raynaud’s so the cold weather is a real problem for me. I couldn’t throw a snowball, even if I wanted to (which I don’t – yay, aggression is fun…?). That was fine before I had kids, but now the slightest hint of snow and the eldest one wants to be OUT THERE playing with it, and I have to either be the horrible parent who refuses to take her outside or I have to sacrifice my toes for the sake of her enjoyment. Catch 22. Luckily, we’ve had no snow this year… YET… *crosses fingers while I still have them*

    February 12, 2020
  • Minda

    REPLY

    I could have written this. I’m Jewish, so Christmas and all the ways it dominates everything just makes it all worse. lol In Seattle, we don’t get much snow, thankfully, but I’m still sick of dark, gray, and being chilled! People may kind of like autumn up until Christmas, which is barely even in winter. I think most people don’t even mean actual winter when they say they love it. Meanwhile, I’m literally counting the days to spring.

    February 12, 2020
  • 1004239751% with you on this one. I’m basically already always cold because I’m apparently some sort of reptile in Human clothing. So the last thing I want? Is more cold when I’m already struggling to stay warm at 70 degrees F in the first place- let alone every. Single. Freaking. Day. For 3 months straight.

    Having a ceramic bathtub with no shower head? THE ABSOLUTE WORST; want a nice hot bath on a cold winter day? Better make sure you temper the tub with the hottest water possible at least 30 minutes in advance otherwise your ass’ll be freezing quicker’n you can blink- even if you’re intentionally trying to scald your skin off like you’re on the 30th level of hell. Ain’t fun.

    I have joint pain made worse every time a cold front comes in, to the point I can barely walk most days. And my cold sensitive teeth hurt like hell when I open my mouth- not to mention the bone pain in my jaw from the wisdom teeth I had removed. Which, for some reason, act like my joints when it’s cold.

    And oh, gods, peoples’ advice on what to do to stay warmer. IT’S SO GRATING; I have a fireplace going near 24 / 7. I sit wrapped in a heated blanket turned on high… It does nothing.

    “You can always put on more layers if you’re still so cold”? Congratulations, I own 10 pairs of double insulated wool socks with sherpa lining, 5 adult onsies, 3 winter robes, and a jillion sweaters and sweatpants of varying thicknesses- some of which are double insulated too. Every one item type of which I wear in combination at the same time and no, it does not help one single bit.

    But besides, that? After a certain point, the layers reach a level that restricts movement, and I can’t move… And I panic whenever I don’t have full range of motion and movement, because of years of trauma. Literally the last thing I want to do regardless of what season it is, is relive that trauma. But I especially do not want to do it while trying not do what basically feels like freezing to death to me.

    So yes! Screw the cold. screw winter; I would literally rather be naked and still boiling than in a constant state of sheer terror and panic, and cold, and pain. NO THANK YOU.

    February 13, 2020
  • Myra

    REPLY

    I hate winter too. I hate being cold, I hate being wet. I hate the dark nights and the feeling that it will never end. Spring is my favourite season because it feels like the world (and me) is coming back to life as winter feels like a long death.

    February 13, 2020
  • Lizteabee

    REPLY

    I like winter ok where I live but honestly Scottish winter seems like the worst. Your weather is roughly equivalent to Washington DC’s which is the worst. Not enough snow to get good at it but enough that it really impacts going about your business. My nieces get more snow days in the DC area than I do up in New England (570km north). Meanwhile you get less sunlight than almost anywhere in the US. The lack of sunlight is what gets me.

    February 13, 2020
  • sophikita

    REPLY

    YES. Winter sucks. Summer is the best. The end.

    February 16, 2020
    • Parker

      REPLY

      LIES YOU ARE A FALSE PROPHET

      August 22, 2022
  • Tracey

    REPLY

    I hate winter and if I could I’d go live in the tropics and laugh at all the people being “cozy” in the cold. Idiots.

    February 19, 2020
    • Jacob

      REPLY

      Why not do it? I just brought my ticket to Cairns Australia. You only live once.

      January 6, 2023
      • Vi

        REPLY

        Because not everyone has the money or ability to just move to the other side of the world? Because not everyone wants to leave family and friends? Because not everyone has the necessary qualifications or meets the requirements to emigrate? Great that you can, obviously, but that’s a privilege not everyone has.

        January 6, 2023
  • Oh my goodness, I can relate to all of this! I used to love winter, actually, until a few major life changes occurred…having kids, working from home, hitting menopause and experiencing daily cold flashes instead of the typical heat flashes, and moving to a snow belt in northern New York State where it literally snows 10 months out of the year with temperatures that can plummet to -40 degrees and snowstorms that dump feet of snow on us every single time. Yep, I am over it. I also hate winter. Great post!

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    February 27, 2020
  • Helena B

    REPLY

    Yep. Me too I even hate cold summers and I hate June because it’s always bloody windy and raining. I want to live in the desert seriously.

    June 6, 2020
  • Nat

    REPLY

    F#@%$ing hate winter too. Bored AF, and chilled despite my layers. Already took the dog for a long walk, trying not to slip in slush most of the time.. Not sure how many more Netflix I can watch, and its already dark again! Eh.

    January 2, 2021
  • Anonymous

    REPLY

    I happened to visit this page by accident.
    I started reading for curiosity.
    Then, I read it all because this summarises perfectly everything I think about winter.
    Spot on!

    January 3, 2021
  • STEPHI

    REPLY

    i also hate winter and im tired of feeling exhausted all the time and im tired of this frozen hell. yes gray slush everywhere snow storms even worse ice storms cause man ice that’s a b**** to get off of the car i hate the dark i hate to cold the ONLY thing i can find to like about winter is no mosquitos but even then it doesn’t have to even get that warm for them to show up shoot. other than the reprieve of not being pelted with mosquito bites i can’t think of one good reason to not hibernate like a bear all winter…why isn’t that a thing?

    February 11, 2021
  • Tim Bennett

    REPLY

    I’m not a fan winter ???? person myself in fact I hate living in North Carolina I would rather live in Florida for good tired of the bitter cold ???? temperatures the freezing rain sleet and snow I hate that too

    February 17, 2021
  • Adam Stryker

    REPLY

    Excellent post! Surely, something is resonating with folks out here in the brutal world. The fact that your post was the first to appear in my browser search ” I HATE WINTER” is very revealing. Either the Interwebs AI sees a pattern here or the AI hates despises winter too! ❄️🥶
    I learned to hate Winter when growing up in New York State, in spite of the blizzard that just passed through, the plows have come through and you’re still going to school today! Plus, my dad loved the winter. So he would take the snowblower and build us igloos to “play” in for hours on end! To the doubters out there, yes, it snows so much that upstate New Yorkers own snow “removers” like they own toasters.
    So once you’re done carving a path out the front and back doors, you get to carve out the car garage door. Worse yet, if you live in downtown Syracuse without a snow blower, you have to dig out your car from the 6 feet high “snow dunes” left by the city plow. Maybe, you’re lucky enough where the plow doesn’t pack you in. Instead, the 7 feet high wind drifts leave you guessing where your car is.
    Not to worry, your boss just called, she’ll “give you an extra hour to get to there.” See ya soon! Click.
    Who wouldn’t want to go through that at least twice a month? Sometimes, is every week or every blessed day.
    From October to April or even May. Sounds like utter hell to me.
    I guess I spoke to soon. It wasn’t long before we moved to the Allegheny grey and Monongahela brown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ahhh, yes, it was there that we got to be equally terrified with our mother as a panic attack gripped her whole body.

    It’s Friday morning at 5:06 am in November. It’s my mother’s turn to drive us all to morning swim practice. We got the season’s first snow/freezing rain mix on the roads. The Pittsburgh roads are not nice a flat like in Syracuse with an occasional rolling hill. No. In Pittsburgh, the roads are steep 55 to 60 degree inclines with a sharp 90 degree turn about three quarters of the way down. So here is my mother gripping the steering wheel of her silver Chevy Nova (with red velour bench seats) with one foot on the brakes and the other on the accelerator. She hasn’t applied the brakes nor the gas, yet we are still sliding down the hill fishtailing and barely coming to a stop one inch behind the blue Ford Pinto in front of us. Oh, fun times indeed! After a harrowing half hour, we get to put on our skimpy Speedos to dive into a toasty 76 degree F swimming pool. Our workout was a mere 5000 yards for the next 45 minutes. Then shower. Then go to school for 7 hours with our wet, damp hair starting off the day. My poor mother got to drive all the way back home in the sleet and snow.
    Yup! The good Lord above has got some explaining to do when I die.

    November 28, 2021
  • Richard W

    REPLY

    Superb post, really enjoyed reading it. Found it after searching for “I hate winter” in Google. Through my life I’ve gone through something of a conversion from a child who liked winter. As time went on I felt that changing and in recent years I’ve become a full on winter hater, there I’ve said it! I hate winter, I even have a bobble hat with that written on it. It’s too dark, too damp and too grey. I actually don’t mind the cold if it comes with clear and bright sky, but that’s so rare in Britain.

    December 8, 2021
  • Anonymous

    REPLY

    I grew up in Southern California, and now I live in the Mountain West. Winter was kind of interesting the first or second time I experienced it here, but now, many years later, I’m through with it.

    February 24, 2022
  • Mr winter

    REPLY

    Yea, it does not snow here but it still suck to be constantly ill all the time, waking up with a sudden surprise from the gracious cold weather outside and having a sore throat and a runny nose.

    April 17, 2022
  • Virginia

    REPLY

    🤣🤣🤣
    Nesh!
    I live in Northern Scotland – Winter’s my favourite season – Nesh is the only word for you!
    🤣🤣🤣

    February 24, 2023
  • Lisl Madeleine

    REPLY

    Girrrrrrl, I feel your pain. I don’t actually hate winter as much as you do, but I still feel you. Usually I start winter like, “oh cool, coz that rainy season/hot summer* really sucked,” but then by about mid January I’m so over it. Taking fluffy pj bottoms and a jumper to bed, to crawl into in the morning, isn’t romantic, it just keeps me from going into thermal shock when I pull the covers away. Still, I think Scotland must be worse (I’ve actually experienced it, but the distance in time is great) because of the humidity (it’s very dry in this part of Alaska). So even if the temp is lower, we can layer and that really helps. But the wet gets deep in my bones in places like Scotland. Maybe we should start asking *you* lot things like, “How does the fireplace not melt your igloos?” 😂

    February 25, 2023
    • Lisl Madeleine

      REPLY

      Forget to add: *our summers are probably a joke by your standards, but high 70s is pretty hot to us 🥵

      February 25, 2023
  • Jolene Jensen

    REPLY

    I also think Winter has an unrefutable wickedness. Just for context, I live in Central California, where it’s supposedly tame and yet, it has been cloudy, cold, rainy most days and today was apocalyptic, with the power going out intermittently from an atmospheric river. If you don’t know what they are it’s rain and wind dumping and your backyard furniture is most certainly derrangly disarranged. The dogs refuse to go outside to potty cuz they’re just as miserable about it. So I can only imagine how worse winters are elsewhere, cuz tame CA is still a no go for me.
    My wife is an ICU Dr and went in for a tree falling on a lady’s car, so it’s dangerous. And she’s had to work almost everyday since Christmas and it’s the end of the first week of February because literally everyone is sick.
    I feel concern and compassion for parents. I’m childless vaccinate wear masks and wash my hands, but others behavior eventually gives me COVID every other year now.
    It’s exhausting trying to meet all the holiday expectations, not get sick or feel resentful of the whole situation. My pain is worse, my mood and energy levels tank. I gain weight cuz of need for warm blubber.
    If I could hibernate the entire time it would be more tolerable.
    And yet, I think having a mindset that it’s temporary and even the scroogiest person like me, finding ways to make it more manageable, if for no other reason than my mental health, because it’s a long time.
    I try to do a vacation somewhere warm, could benefit from hot yoga again and introvert activities like journaling/reading and watching tv that I feel guiltier doing when the sun is enticing the rest of the year.
    It’s also hard cuz my spouse enjoys it, Tho likely helps pull me out of my funk a tad better than if she despised it too.
    I get it. I think whatever you can do boundary set or self care helps quite a bit. ❄️🙏
    And so we survive for another hopeful spring!

    February 5, 2024
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