Happy New Year! I hope this year is much better than last year.

I had a lovely day at the Houston Botanical Gardens. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the atmosphere was incredibly calming and beautiful. I can’t wait to go back again and be able to explore some parts of the gardens that I’ve missed during the last two visits.

Working in the library is always better than working from home

I wrote a brief explanation of my fears and experiences with maskless people on Medium. 📝

I’ve been watching Broadchurch and it’s so good. Chris Chibnall is a fantastic writer and Jodie is, as always, a wonderful actor. 📺

I’ve been dipping my toes into SSB. I’m not extremely well versed in technology based things, but I’m starting to get the hang of (some) things. 🖥

Visited the zoo recently and had a wonderful time ☀️

Enjoyed an evening to ourselves at the roller rink 🛼

Post Soccer Fireworks 💥 ⚽️

Had to draw a neuron for class

Rode the metro rail 🚆

The library I volunteer at is doing a summer reading competition. At first I was just filling it out because I felt bad that there wasn’t a ton of interest but then I got really into it and now I just want to be done with my ten books to get a prize.

Please donate to the Move to Higher Ground Project. Author Stephenie Meyer used elements of the real Quileute legends and traditions while creating the Twilight Saga and has not publicly donated to their cause. Right now, the entire community is in an unsafe area prone to flooding and natural disasters. They are currently trying to raise money to move to a safer area and their first priority is moving their school. Without the school, many of their traditions would be lost since it is the only school in the world teaching the Quileute language. Click here to donate.

To encourage donating, myself and my co-runners created a fanzine (fan-magazine). After waiting three months, we decided to make the zine free and to encourage others to donate on their own. To access to zine, you can download the PDF from itch.io. Feel free to share the link to the zine and to spread the Move to Higher Ground cause to others.

I had an excellent weekend

A lovely creature that is most likely a prototype for the modern seagull.

Triassic period. These creatures had a rudder-like tail that allowed pterodactyls to fly in any direction. Their wife chests and elongated phalanges helped them fly as well. They’re similar to bats; however, their wings are connected to only one digit while bats use four digits for flight.

Visited the Observatory gift shop and exhibits. I surprised myself by learning something new.

Currently reading How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. So far it’s really good. It’s a nice introductory book into racism and how being called a “racist” is not the end of the world. 📚

Sahelanthropus tchadensis. Early human ancestor from six or seven million years ago in Chad.

Butterflies are much prettier and less bothersome when they’re dead

Selfie with a basking shark

This is an ammonite. They’re currently extinct but are a type of mollusk that lived during the Cretaceous period. They have a distinct spiral shape to them.

Amphibious skull compared to modern day Chinese salamander skull

Spending just 10 minutes a day surrounded by nature is said to relieve stress and anxiety. Sometimes it’s nice to walk a nature trail and get a little lost on your way back.

It is assumed that stromatolites were formed in areas with low oxygen by microbes. These microbes likely respirated using sulfur. We can make assumptions of other life forms on distant planets also use a sulfur system to live. This stromatolite was formed in the Precambrian period roughly 540 million years ago.