The Bridge: Onwards and Upwards (21/22)

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Onwards and Upwards 2021-2022

JANUARY 2022 Vice President of Communications

Director of Publications

Junior Editors

Cover Design

Breanne Bacani

Mariko Gardiner Balreet Grewal Manav Joshi Charles Klak Phoenix Martinez

Contributors

Tahmid Al Hafiz Holly Clark Maria George Julie Lew Delaney MacIntosh Darren Majak Polina Reisbig

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Safiya Ahmad Joel Kayanja

Copyright

All materials appearing in The Bridge bear copyright to their creator(s) under the Engineering Students’ Society (ESS) and may not be used without written consent.

Website

essualberta.ca

Contact

esscomm@ualberta.ca

Instagram

@essualberta

Facebook

Engineering Students’ Society of the University of Alberta

Photo: Tahmid Al Hafiz Photo: Delaney MacIntosh

DEAR READER, Welcome to a new year!

Every year before 2020, I would look forward to the new year and think of everything I would love to change about myself and my life. However, the pandemic took over and my mindset had to change. From 2020 onwards, I made it a priority to remind myself of my accomplishments throughout the last year (yes, even the small achievements like making my bed everyday). In addition, instead of finding things I would want to change about myself, I choose a word of the year to ground my actions. This year I chose “patience.”

From 2020 onwards, like my mindset, the world has chosen to go upwards. From new engineering achievements, to the creation of a COVID vaccine in a year, society has expanded its knowledge tenfold. This year, when choosing your word of the year, think about how as we move onwards, we will also have the opportunity to grow upwards.

Best, Breanne Bacani Vice President of Communications

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CONTENTS 6 Our Community

Annual Engineering Head Shave ENGGYAC Presents: Got A Degree...Now What?

GEER Week 80 Revival Winter Photography

22 Around We Go

A 2021 Recap 2022 Upcoming Movies New Year, New Mindset Tarot Reading

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S 18 Love Galore

Valentine’s for the Engineer Playlist Bundle Valentine’s Day Break Up Unpredictable Scenarios Me, Myself, and I

30 Just For Fun

A Queen in her Tower - Part I Bre’s Book Nook Potato Possibilities

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18th Annual UofA Engineering Headshave This year the Engineering students and faculty were able to raise $8 812 to be donated to the Alberta Cancer foundation. These donations will be used to support clinical trials for new cancer treatment, ease the journey for cancer patients, and provide comfort and care to Albertans.

We want to extend a huge thank you to the 11 people who participated by fundraising and cutting or shaving their hair. This wouldn't have been possible without people willing to campaign to friends and family to jump on the donation bus.

Also in need of thanks is everyone who donated to this year's Headshave event! We were able to collect 144 online donations - that's huge! All of our donors will be receiving a beautiful one-of-a-kind sticker to show how much we appreciate your involvement.

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This event originated in 2003 when Ron Wicentowich, a father of two University of Alberta Engineering Students, was diagnosed with cancer.

The charity headshave event started out as “Razored for Ron” and was organized by an Engineering Students' Society executive who was a family friend to the Wicentowich family.

In February of 2004, Ron unfortunately passed away after a long battle with cancer. His name and memory lives on in the Annual Engineering Head Shave, which has become one of the most important events that the Engineering Students’ Society hosts. To date, over four hundred seventy thousand dollars have been raised to support the Alberta Cancer Foundation, helping hundreds of Albertans access life saving treatment and advancing cancer research.

Once again, thank you to everyone who chose to get involved this year Sincerely, Holly and Polina Co-Vice Presidents of Student Life

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GEER WEEK

Due to the unfortunate circumstances canceled for the foreseeable future. Yo give you a little someth

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s of online school, GEER Week has been our team at ESS Publications wanted to hing to enjoy in its place!

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Celebrate your own Movie Night!

Conduct a Hun

Use Scener to stream with friends and get movie ideas from the 2021 Recap or get cozy and catch up on some romcoms in our Valentine's section!

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Grog, t AT The hover (if A photo

Scavenger nt!

Are You Smarter Than A First Year?

ese 4 items his edition of ridge!

Although we can't host the classic competition, test yourself with these 5 questions. If you don't succeed, it's okay - C's get degrees, right??

1. Name the 7 Cs of good communication.

2. What is the name of the process used to ortho-normalize a set of vectors?

3. What technique can you use to prove that some identity is true for all integers ≥ 1 ?

4. What trend does electronegativity show across the periodic table?

5. Name the two methods you can use to solve a truss.

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Clear, concise, concrete, complete, courteous, coherent, and constructive Gram-Schmidt 2.

Induction 3.

4. Increase as you go up and as you go right across the table 5. Method of Joints and Method of Sections

Answer Key

the beaver TI-36X r hand photo fykyk) o of campus

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Challenge yourself to post about an interesting engineering topic to you and practice your Science Communication Skills!

As engineers, communication is key in the workplace and to the success of any project. This rendition of a technical display is a great way to get those muscles going.

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Games for the Engineer Take a brain-teasing break from your assignments to solve any of the challenges on the following pages!

Design a Rube Goldberg Machine on SolidWorks!

Try to reproduce it in real life and see how complex you can make it. The options are endless and you can exercise your creativity.

Philanthropy In addition to uniting the dicisplines in good fun, GEER Week is about philanthropy and giving back to your community. You can donate blood or explore other organizations local to you!

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W O RD S EA R CH B E E E B G N I L L E P S A

B T E L L A B E G D O D E R

E G O E E L R A B L R I F R

B T C A N S T R U C T I O N

D U G F G I B A E L I A C T

E G A E G Y A B G L S T E G

TUG OF WAR GEER HOCKEY CANSTRUCTION ASTAFY 16

B O T N B A Y A N A R E S E

A T E N FW A R L A E B H E R Y A L L F B E NW S T A F G S G L L Y O E A E R O B T WO A E C K I C E N O Y E B

F A B Y E G Y E A B C F T B

Y A A D G F G A Y O S E L C

DEBATE BARREL RACE DODGEBALL ENGG BALL SPELLING BEE

C T L S L G C R H G S G A H

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A T E N FW A R L A E B H E R Y A L L F B E NW S T A F G S G L L Y O E A E R O B T WO A E C K I C E N O Y E B

F A B Y E G Y E A B C F T B

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20 21 A RECAP

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IN JANUARY...

On January 20, 2021 Joe Biden became the US President with Kamala Harris as VP From the inauguration came the most precious photo of Bernie Sanders...which of course went viral

THE PANTONE "COLOUR(S) OF THE YEAR" The colours of the year were chosen to convey a "message of strength and hopefulness" after the events of 2020.

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MOVIES & MUSIC HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS: 1. Spiderman: No Way Home ($572) 2. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($224M) 3. Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($212M) 4. Black Widow ($183M) 5. F9: The Fast Saga ($173M) 6. Eternals ($164M) 7. No Time to Die ($161M) 8. A Quiet Place Part II ($160M) 9. Ghostbusters: Afterlife ($122M) 10. Free Guy ($121M) 24

THE ROLLINGSTONE'S TOP 10 SONGS 1. Essence - Wizkid ft. Tems 2. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) - Taylor Swift 3. Drivers License - Olivia Rodrigo 4. Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X 5. VBS - Lucy Dacus 6. Leave the Door Open - Silk Sonic 7. Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish 8. Todo de Ti - Rauw Alejandro 9. I Drink Wine - Adele 10. Rainforest - Noname

TOP 10 ARTISTS ON SPOTIFY BY MONTHLY LISTENERS Justin Bieber (91M)

Adele (66.2M)

Ed Sheeran (80.5M)

Coldplay (62.3M)

The Weekend (78.1M)

Taylor Swift (60.7M)

Ariana Grande (73.4M)

Elton John (60M)

Dua Lipa (66.7M)

Doja Cat (56.7M)

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CANADA AT THE "2020" OLYMPIC GAMES 24 MEDALS WON During the 2020 Olympics, held on July 23 to August 8 Canada achieved their 2nd best medal total at the summer games. 24 medals were won, 7 of them being gold, 6 silver, and 11 bronze.

BIG WINS IN WOMEN'S EVENTS Out of the 24 medals won

by Canada, 18 were won in women's events. Penny Oleksiak won her 6th and 7th olympic medals in the pool and the women's eight rowing team brought home a gold. To top it all off, the first gold medal in women's soccer was awarded this year as well.

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TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERING BREAK THROUGHS IN 2021 STEEL PRODUCTION OF HYRDOGEN-REDUCED IRON ORE: The company, HYBRIT, created steel which uses hydrogen instead of carbon to transform iron ore. This process is said to have 2% less carbon dioxide emissions than the standard coke fuelled processes.

MODEL OF VERTICAL OCEANS In an indoor shellfish farming operator, shellfish live in large tanks which are stacked vertically. Algae, seaweed, and bottom-feeding fish are used to filter waste and nearly 100% of the water gets recirculated without the use of a sewage system. A prototype in Singapore was able to deliver 10 harvests of shrimp in 2021.

AUTOMATIC FAILURE SENSORS Inspection bots move through the rebuilt Genoa bridge on a carbon based track, taking 25000 photos of the undercarriage every 8 hours. With the photos taken and the use of software, faults are detected before any catastrophic damage is done. As a bonus, 95% of the energy demands are met by solar energy.

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ENTERING THE EYE OF THE STORM A 23-Foot sail drone became the first robotic vehicle to enter the eye of the storm. The vehicle entered Hurricane Sam (category 4 storm), with winds hitting at 120mph. Footage and readings were taken by the machine and with the help of data from satellite imagery.

2021 GADGETS

Samsung's Galazy Z Flip3 single handedly revived the flip phone in 2021. While Apple, created the Airtag, so you will never lose your important belongings again.

Taking a step towards accessibility for all, Microsoft created an accessibility kit for Surface computers which included textured keycap labels and adhesive tabs with rings. With this kit, it should be simpler to open and adjust the laptops and find specific buttons without needing to see them.

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A NEW DIGITAL PLATFORM

A PIVITAL YEAR FOR CRYPTOCURRENCY

The popularity of nonfungible tokens (NFT) reached an all time high in 2021. Unique digital tokens were created by celebrities, popular personas, and even digital artists, with some being sold at outrageous prices. In 2021, the most expensive NFT was a digital collage called "Everydays The First 5000 Days" by Beeple, selling for $69.3M

The total cryptocurrency market cap hit the "trillion milestone" in the beginning of 2021 and touched $3 trillion in Novemeber.

The Crypto top 10 by market capital: BTC ($922B)

SOL ($55B)

ETH ($477B)

USDC ($42B)

LUNA ($31B)

BNB ($88B)

XRP ($41B)

AVAX ($28B)

USDT ($77.3B)

ADA ($39B)

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POP CULTURE Justin Bieber collaborates with Tim Hortons, releasing 4 different TimBit flavours and an assortment of merch.

James Corden hosts the Friends Reunion. The cast of the TV series "Friends" revisited old sets, reunited with special guests of the show, and performed table reads.

Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, revealing shocking information about stepping into royalty.

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The South Korean Drama, "Squid Game" took over the world.

More LGBTQ+ representation in hollywood!

Jojo Siwa, Demi Lovato, Kehlani, and so many more individuals came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Additionally, the NFL and NHL meet their first openly gay players - Carl Nassib (NFL) and Luke Prokop (NHL).

The #FreeBritney movement, saved Britney Spears' life.

She revealed that she was under conservatorship, meaning she had little control over her personal or financial life. In court she spoke out about how she had been forced to perform against her will and take birth control.

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2 2 2OM0ING MOVIES

UPC

THE BATMAN | MARCH

CAST: ROBERT PATTINSON, JEFFREY WRIGHT, ZOE KRAVITZ, PAUL DANO, JOHN TURTURRO, PETER SARSGAARD, ANDY SERKIS, COLIN FARRELL

MORBI US | APRI L

CAST: JARED LETO, MATT SMITH, ADRIA ARJONA, JARED HARRIS, AL MADRIGAL, TYRESE GIBSON, MICHAEL KEATON

AMBULANCE | APRI L

CAST: JAKE GYLLENHAAL, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, EIZA GONZALEZ, GARRET DILLAHUNT

DOCTOR STRANGE I N THE MULTI VERSE OF MADNESS | MAY

CAST: BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, ELIZABETH OLSEN, BENEDICT WONG, RACHEL MCADAMS, CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, XOCHITL GOMEZ

TOP GUN MAVERI CK | MAY

CAST: TOM CRUISE, JENNIFER CONNELLY, JON HAMM, VAL KILMER, JAY ELLIS, MILES TELLER, MONICA BARBARO

JURASSI C WORLD DOMI NI ON | JUNE CAST: CHRIS PRATT, BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD, LAURA DERN, SAM NEILL, JEFF GOLDBLUM, JUSTICE SMITH, DANIELLA PINEDA, OMAR SY, BD WONG

ELVI S | JUNE

CAST: AUSTIN BUTLER, TOM HANKS, OLIVIA DEJONGE, GARY CLARK JR., KELVIN HARRISON JR

LI GHTYEAR | JUNE CAST: CHRIS EVANS

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THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER | JULY

CAST: CHRIS HEMSWORTH, TESSA THOMPSON, NATALIE PORTMAN, CHRISTIAN BALE, CHRIS PRATT, DAVE BAUTISTA, KAREN GILLAN, POM KLEMENTIEFF

FANTASTI C BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE | JULY

CAST: EDDIE REDMAYNE, JUDE LAW, KATHERINE WATERSTON, EZRA MILLER, MADS MIKKELSEN, DAN FOGLER, ALISON SUDOL

NOPE | JULY

CAST: KEKE PALMER, DANIEL KALUUYA, STEVEN YEUN

MI SSI ON: I MPOSSI BLE 7 | SEPTEMBER CAST: TOM CRUISE

SPI DERMAN: ACROSS THE SPI DERVERSE ( PART ONE) | OCTOBER

CAST: SHAMEIK MOORE, HAILEE STEINFELD, OSCAR ISAAC, ISSA RAE

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER | NOVEMBER

CAST: LETITIA WRIGHT, DANAI GURIRA, LUPITA NYONG’O, ANGELA BASSETT, WINSTON DUKE, MARTIN FREEMAN

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KI NGDOM | DECEMBER

CAST: JASON MOMOA, AMBER HEARD, PATRICK WILSON, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, TEMUERA MORRISON

AVATAR 2 | DECEMBER

CAST: SAM WORTHINGTON, ZOE SALDANA, SIGOURNEY WEAVER, KATE WINSLET, VIN DIESEL, MICHELLE YEOH, GIOVANNI RIBISI, STEPHEN LANG

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New Year, New Mindset Tips to Creating a Positive Environment

Practice Self-Reflection Things to Ask yourself: 1. What did I do today that made me feel good?

2. What am I grateful for today?

3. What emotions did I feel today? What caused them? What did I do when I felt that emotion?

Do 1 Selfless Act a Day Compliment someone on their efforts that day.

Pick up garbage that you might see on the way to your next location.

Make a small donation.

Buy someone's coffee Say thank you to your professors.

Put a note in the GEER Store's "Kindness Jar"

Be Aware of Your Surroundings It is easy to have tunnel vision, especially when you are stressed or busy (or both). Remember to take a look around and notice that you are not alone - you are not the only person existing, suffering, struggling, etc.

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Check in on Your Friends Check in on your friends about something other than school. Do they have a personal project they are working on? Is there an important holiday coming up in the religion they practice? Show them that you acknowledge and support their passions and their interests.

Understand What Others Prefer Some individuals prefer to go by a different name and/or specific pronouns (or no pronouns at all). Other individuals may have allergies, are sensitive to smell or are easily stimulated. When you understand what others prefer, you are helping to create a safe environment.

Always Ask for Permission When greeting someone with a hug, handshake or anything physical, it is important to ask before you do so. This is a simple way to incorporate and practice consent in your daily life. Remember that some people are not comfortable with physical contact.

Create a Comfortable Environment Create an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing. Be an attentive listener, ask questions, and make sure that the individual knows that they do not have to answer if they aren't comfortable. Be open to sharing your own stories and opinions. Lastly, remember that you may not always have the same opinion and that’s okay!

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Support Local Businesses If you are looking for a place to purchase local vegetables, fruits and more, The Bountiful Farmers Market is an indoor farmers market located in Edmonton. They are open every Friday - Sunday and feature many local makers and producers.

Read Books This is a great way to broaden your perspectives and learn how to put yourself in other people’s shoes. Both non-fiction and fiction books have something to offer when it comes to learning something new. If you are looking for a place to start - check out the article “Breanne’s Book Nook”

Declutter your Environment Start fresh everyday with a clean environment. From your physical desk to the tabs open on your computer, reduce the overwhelming feelings by clearing out what has to be cleared.

Set Your Own Boundaries Don't be afraid to cancel plans or postpone a meeting if you know you need to rest.

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2022

THE BRIDGE

TAROT READING The Coming Year for the University of Alberta Community

HORSESHOE SPREAD: This reading uses 7 cards to guide us from where we were in the past year, through our present situation, and where the rest of the year will take us. This reading was unusual because it was performed with the entire University of Alberta community in mind, rather than for a specific person.

THE PAST

THE PRESENT

INFLUENCES

The King of Swords suggests that during the past year we showed intelligence and maturity. We performed as logical judges, counselors, and policymakers, and we implemented our strategies fairly. How does this make you feel about our pursuit of education last year, or our reaction to the ongoing pandemic? How did we fare between online classes, summer break, and in person classes?

The Nine of Pentacles tells us that in the present we can reap rewards. By putting in work, we are transitioning from humble beginnings to abundant wealth. We can realistically assess our circumstances and limitations, and know we are worthy. Unexpected luck is in our surroundings, from which we can draw satisfaction. Will we look around ourselves, take action, and celebrate?

Strength guides us to draw balance from those around us, and tame strong emotions. External or outside influencers will see our struggle and bring support.

By holding ourselves accountable, we can recognise our own ability, and use the power around us.

Is there strength we need to see in ourselves? Will we accept help?

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2022

THE BRIDGE

2022 IN TAROT For the University of Alberta community

OBSTACLES

EXTERNAL PERCEPTION

The Chariot shows both aloof and furious forces before us.

We must choose when to be calm, and when to be passionate. Without balance we will fall into apathy, or anger. How will we react to socio-political division? How will we transition between isolation and reunion?

The Sun is the positive image we present to the world.

Outsiders see brilliance, youth, and creativity when they look upon us. Others will wish to embrace the opportunities our community offers. Will we provide health and happiness? Will we be worthy of such optimism?

GUIDANCE

The Queen of Wands implies generosity, vibrancy, and wisdom, Her appearance in the reverse warns us to consider our outwards energy. Too much expansion can be draining. Taking time to look inwards can rebuild our sense of self. Will we hold back our enthusiasm, and consider where to spend our energy?

OUTCOME The King of Wands in reverse is our final card. Two noteworthy parts of our reading was that is began and ended with Kings, and its ending also showed two reverse Wands. The Kings suggest the importance of publicity, and reversed Wands warn that enterprise will have unexpected results.

The King of Wands presents leadership, vision, and depicts entrepreneurs who honour themselves. These qualities have been reversed in some way, which implies that we will be brought out of our comfort zone. We can use that excitement as fuel to reach our goals, but unrealistic expectations of ourselves will set us up for failure. Will we maintain a good attitude, when forced into leadership unprepared?

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IMAGES SOURCED FROM: JOANNE WALMSLEY "SACRED SCRIBES" (AUSTRALIA) 2010 - 2021. [ONLINE].

AVAILABLE: HTTP://TAROT-THEROYALROAD.BLOGSPOT.COM/P/MAJOR-ARCANA.HTML

love galore WHETHER YOU'RE ALONE, CELEBRATING WITH A LOVED ONE, OR HOPING TO ASK OUT YOUR CRUSH — WE'VE GOT YOU COVERED. READ ON!

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A Valentine's Day Playlist Tenerife Sea - Ed Sheeran Hey Stupid, I Love You - JP Saxe this is how you fall in love - Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler Cave Me In - Gallant x Tablo x Eric Nam forever&more - ROLE MODEL Adore You - Harry Styles this is what falling in love feels like - JVKE I Think I'm In Love - Kat Dahlia I GUESS I’M IN LOVE - Clinton Kane Daylight - Taylor Swift You Are in Love - Taylor Swift no song without you - HONNE Euphoria - BTS Butterflies - MAX & Ali Gatie 40

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abcdefu - GAYLE Breakeven - The Script Easy On Me - Adele drivers license - Olivia Rodrigo talk 2 me - Montell Fish Hold Me While You Wait - Lewis Capaldi Breaklights - Omar Apollo Ghost of You - 5 Seconds of Summer Don't - Ed Sheeran Fix It to Break It - Clinton Kane Babe - Taylor Swift broken parts - Clide You Were Beautiful - Day6 Film Out - BTS 41

A playlist for when: You’re S/O takes you to a seafood restaurant for a Valentine’s date, when you sit down and it’s time to order food you look at your S/O and tell them you are allergic to fish and shellfish.

Somebody that I Used to Know - Gotye (ft. Kimbra) All to Well (10 min version) - Taylor Swift thank u, next - Ariana Grande See U Never - NIKI The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel Ex - Stray Kids

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ME, MYSELF, &I A playlist for a self love Valentine's Day

Me, Myself & I - G-Eazy x Bebe Rexha Good Thing - Zedd & Kehlani Single Ladies - Beyonce friendship - carwash Waterfalls - TLC Motivation - Normani energy - Tyla Jane We Got Love - Teyana Taylor Summer Girl - HAIM Sorry - Beyonce Eternal Sunshine - ATEEZ

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Valentines For the Engineer USE THESE TO WIN OVER YOUR VALENTINE

00000001 I love you just a little bit.

Roses are red Some quarks are blue The strong nuclear force is what attracts me to you

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I CAN HARDLY RESIST YOU 0 __ 0 It's hard to define how much I like you.

My heart is zoned exclusively for you

x

I think of you periodically

I was supposed to solve for x, but I'm so glad I found u instead

This engineer Is engi-here for you I wheely love you because you are axle-lent 45

The Queen in Her Tower Part I Mariko Gardiner Jorge and Deirdre walk along a worn-out path, their way illuminated by a full moon overhead. They walked all night in silence, and when the sun rose it found them on the same path, 40 miles away from where it left them.

Jorge fully intended to continue walking all day and another night, but a quick glance down was enough to tell him Deirdre wouldn’t make it. “Let’s stop for breakfast” he tells her, and she immediately collapses on the ground and falls asleep.

While she sleeps, Jorge collects some berries and mushrooms from the woods lining the path and starts a small fire. By the time he’s done making breakfast, Deirdre is awake again, although tired and clearly worn out. They eat quickly, and soon they are walking again.

“Can you tell me a story?” Deirdre asks, stifling a yawn. “You said you’d tell me what happened to your family.”

“I did, didn’t I? Okay then, I’ll tell you the story. Do you know anything about the last great war?” Deirdre shook her head in response. “It was a long time ago, long before you were born, even before the oldest person you know was born, and as such has fallen out of history. The war was bloody and long, with elves, fairies, and magical beasts on one side and humans on the other. But I cannot tell you of an entire war in one day, you would need to study for years to know everything, so I will start in the middle.

“The story starts with a young girl, a human girl, alone in a tower. At least she thinks she’s alone, because there is no one else around, and she thinks it’s a tower,

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because she can see the sea far below her barred window. She can’t remember anything, her memories are blank as though she had come into existence that very morning, although the scars on her arms prove otherwise. The room she is in is clearly a prison cell of some sort, that much is obvious from the bars on the window and locks on the door, but she can’t imagine why she would be in such a place.

“With nothing else to do, she sits and waits for something to happen, and eventually something does. A small panel in her door is lifted and someone slides in a bowl of sludge with a spoon. She eats it and it tastes disgusting, like pureed bugs, although she can’t remember ever eating such a meal. She sits and waits again, meditating on her situation here. She hates it here, she realizes with a start. It’s not just that she hates it now, but she hated it before. She latches onto that and lets it grow.

“She is there for several days doing much of the same. Every day she gets a bowl of food, if it can be called that, and nothing else. The rest of her time is spent trying to remember anything at all, but all she can remember is a hatred that still burns like coal in her soul. A hatred for a million things she can’t remember, now all focused on that bowl of food and whoever is feeding it to her. Then her door is opened, fully opened, and she sees a guard in the doorway, a small guard with heavy armor. She makes a break for it, and everything goes black.

“When she wakes up, she is no longer alone. Sitting cross legged near the door is another person eating food. ‘Where’s mine?’ she asks him, gesturing to the bowl in his hands. He looks at her briefly before continuing to eat, no expression on his face.

She looks around and sees another bowl beside him. She goes over and picks it up.

It’s empty. ’You ate my food.’ She says flatly, but underneath all the hatred she’s been carrying around is transferred onto him and her visions goes black, not with anger but something else, something deeper, and she falls unconscious once again.

“When she awakens its dark outside, but she can still see from the feeble light outside the door, flickering like a candle. In that light she sees the man, but he’s not

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eating. In fact, he’s not doing anything because he’s dead, although there is not a mark on him. The girl tries to figure out what happened before she blacked out. One minute he was sitting there eating his food, then she was wishing him dead, and when she woke up, he was dead. ‘Magic’ she whispered to herself, the realization coming like rain in a drought. ‘I can do magic’.

“She could indeed do magic, and she found that it came back to her like riding a bike. Now when she would sit and wait, she would try using magic, testing her limits. The first few days she would black out every time she tried but was growing stronger every time. She had two meals a day now, since the guards either didn’t notice or didn’t care that her cell mate was dead, and she found she had more energy to try new magic. Most of her practice involved the dead body by the door. She tried making it go away, but it didn’t seem to do anything except knock her out. Then, as she was getting to get her food one day, she noticed that it was starting to smell and wanted it gone, and suddenly it was on the other side of the room.

“By the end of the month, although she hadn’t been counting, she could do all sorts of things. She had mastered moving the small things, like the man’s limbs, which were no longer attached to his torso. She had figured out how to break things apart and practiced by dissecting him and putting him back together over and over.

She could freeze him then reheat him. Then one day she gets tired of practicing on a corpse and fed up with the smell of rot and throws all his little bits out the window.

She’s a little upset about the loss, like a child when they kill a pretty bug, but feels no remorse has he falls into the sea to be eaten by fish.

“After losing the corpse, she decides to escape. It’s surprisingly simple to do.

She reaches out and finds the sea far beneath her, and the torches withing the tower.

She spends the day counting them. 27 torches in the tower, surprisingly few, but it will have to do. Then during the night, she wants the torches to burn brighter, and they do. She’s not sure how, but something deep within her pushes the fire to grow and it responds in an explosion of light and heat. The door to her cell grows white hot, and

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she pushes it back, destroying the door. She doesn’t really have a plan after that, so she runs through the chaos, down the stairs, and out into the waiting sea, throwing herself into it’s cold embrace.”

Jorge looks down and sees Deirdre almost asleep on her feet. “Maybe we should take a break now and resume tomorrow.”

“Mhm” Deirdre nods sleepily, leaning up against Jorge. He leads her to a small clearing in the woods and she lies down on a patch of moss.

“Come on, I’ll start a fire and get some food, you watch over my stuff, okay?”

Jorge asks her, but Deirdre is already sound asleep. Jorge gently places his jacket over her and goes to find food. It takes some time to gather enough for the two of them, and when he comes back, he sees that Deirdre has started to assemble some twigs in a stack, presumably for a fire. Jorge comes over to help. “You can’t stack them too close, or the fire can’t breathe,” he gently deconstructs her stack and makes his own, showing her how to stack the largest in an ‘A’ shape at the bottom.

“Why does fire need to breathe?” Deirdre asks, watching Jorge intently. “It’s not alive.”

“Everything is alive if you look closely enough.” Jorge responds as he lights the fire, blowing gently to make the flames grow. “See?” Deirdre joins him in blowing, and soon the fire is going strong. Jorge cooks their food, and they dine together on the mossy floor.

“Jorge?”

“Deirdre?”

“Thank you for taking me with you.”

Jorge smiles at the small girl. “You’re welcome.”

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MOST RECENT READ

SHADOW AND BONE LEIGH BARDUGO NOTE: BOOK 1 OF 3 IN THE SHADOW AND BONE TRILOGY AND NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL!

BREANNE'S DECEMBER READ

THE NATION OF RAVKA HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO TWO BY AN UNCROSSABLE DARKNESS, FULL OF CREATURES WHICH ARE HUNGRY FOR HUMAN FLESH. WHEN ALINA STARKOV'S REGIMENT IS SENT AND ATTACKED ON THE SHADOW FOLD, ALINA DISCOVERS AN UNCONTROLLABLE POWER.

THOUGHTS & OPINIONS WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS

TO BE HONEST, I DIDN'T THINK I CARED FOR FANTASY BOOKS AS MUCH AS I DID WHEN I WAS IN ELEMENTARY READING THE PERCY JACKSON SERIES OVER AND OVER AND OVER. HOWEVER, WHEN I PICKED UP THIS BOOK I WAS IMMEDIATELY HOOKED AND BOUGHT THE REST OF THE TRILOGY AND THE SIX OF CROWS DUOLOGY. THIS BOOK WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD (AND A LITTLE BIT PREDICTABLE) BUT BARDUGO'S DESCRIPTIVE WRITING STYLE REALLY HELPED ESTABLISH THE SETTING AND KEEP READERS ENGAGED. OF COURSE, KEEP IN MIND THIS IS A YOUNG ADULT BOOK.

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THE PLOT WAS PREDICTABLE AND THE MAIN CHARACTER WAS STUBBORN BUT DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM EXPLORING THE GRISHAVERSE. THIS TRILOGY IS GREAT TO READ BEFORE "SIX OF CROWS" TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE WORLD THEY LIVE IN, I ALSO SAW A LOT OF PARALLELS WITH THE STARWARS TRILOGIES.

HOW TO START A BOOK CLUB 1. Choose a book of the Month 2. Read!

3. Talk about your thoughts and opinion of the book and deep dive on all the details!

4. Choose a new book every month.

5. Repeat!

YOUR NEXT READ BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD TOSHIKAZU KAWAGUCHI N A TOKOYO ALLEY WAY, IS A COFFEE SHOP THAT HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. EVEN WITH THE CAREFULLY BREWED COFFEE THEY HAVE SERVED FOR 100 YEARS, THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT ONLY HAVING 3 TABLES IN THE CAFE. LEGEND HAS IT, THAT THIS COFFEE SHOP OFFERS THE CHANCE TO TRAVEL BACK IN TIME. THIS BOOK IS SEPARATED INTO 4 STORIES WITH 4 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS WHO HOPE THE LEGEND IS TRUE. HOWEVER, THEY JOURNEY THROUGH TIME COULD NEVER BE THAT SIMPLE. 51

Poutine

French Fries

Possibilities o t a t o P s o sibilitie P o t a t o s P Possibilities o t a t o P

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Baked Potato

For those of you who made it a resolution to learn how to cook, this is a place to start!

Gnocchi

Chips

Tater Tots

Hashbrowns

Croquettes

Aligot

Roasted

Scalloped

Potato Boats

Pancakes

Hasselback

Mashed Potatoes

Hash

Wedges

Potato Salad

Potato Bread

Soup

Sweet Potatoes

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