diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Welcome to the CSV Normalizer
+
+Using the normalizer is simple as naming the CSV you'd like to read from and write to:
+
+```sh
+ruby ./normalizer.rb < sample.csv > output.csv
+```
+
+to test the broken utf-8 csv the command is
+
+```sh
+ruby ./normalizer.rb < broken_sample.csv > output.csv
+```
+
+This PR should achieve the following conversations:
+
+- [ ] The entire CSV is in the UTF-8 character set.
+- [ ] The Timestamp column should be formatted in ISO-8601 format.
+- [ ] The Timestamp column should be assumed to be in US/Pacific time; please convert it to US/Eastern.
+- [ ] All ZIP codes should be formatted as 5 digits. If there are less than 5 digits, assume 0 as the prefix.
+- [ ] The FullName column should be converted to uppercase. There will be non-English names.
+- [ ] The Address column should be passed through as is, except for Unicode validation. Please note there are commas in the Address field; your CSV parsing will need to take that into account. Commas will only be present inside a quoted string.
+- [ ] The FooDuration and BarDuration columns are in HH:MM:SS.MS format (where MS is milliseconds); please convert them to the total number of seconds expressed in floating point format. You should not round the result.
+- [ ] The TotalDuration column is filled with garbage data. For each row, please replace the value of TotalDuration with the sum of FooDuration and BarDuration.
+- [ ] The Notes column is free form text input by end-users; please do not perform any transformations on this column. If there are invalid UTF-8 characters, please replace them with the Unicode Replacement Character.
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diff --git a/broken_sample.csv b/broken_sample.csv
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index 0000000..6e80948
--- /dev/null
+++ b/broken_sample.csv
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+Timestamp,Address,ZIP,FullName,FooDuration,BarDuration,TotalDuration,Notes
+4/1/11 11:00:00 AM,"123 4th St, Anywhere, AA",94121,Monkey Alberto,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,I am the very model of a modern major general
+3/12/14 12:00:00 AM,"Somewhere Else, In Another Time, BB",1,Superman übertan,111:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,This is some Unicode right h�xxx ü ¡! 😀
+2/29/16 12:11:11 PM,111 Ste. #123123123,1101,Résumé Ron,31:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,🏳️🏴🏳️🏴
+1/1/11 12:00:01 AM,"This Is Not An Address, BusyTown, BT",94121,Mary 1,1:23:32.123,0:00:00.000,zzsasdfa,I like Emoji! 🍏🍎😍
+12/31/16 11:59:59 PM,"123 Gangnam Style Lives Here, Gangnam Town",31403,Anticipation of Unicode Failure,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,I like Math Symbols! ≱≰⨌⊚
+11/11/11 11:11:11 AM,überTown,10001,Prompt Negotiator,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,"I’m just gonna say, this is AMAZING. WHAT NEGOTIATIONS."
+5/12/10 4:48:12 PM,Høøük¡,1231,Sleeper Service,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,2/1/22
+10/5/12 10:31:11 PM,"Test Pattern Town, Test Pattern, TP",121,株式会社スタジオジブリ,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,1:11:11.123
+10/2/04 8:44:11 AM,The Moon,11,HERE WE GO,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/normalizer.rb b/normalizer.rb
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/normalizer.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+require 'csv'
+require 'time'
+require 'date'
+
+class Normalizer
+  def initialize
+  end
+
+  def read_file
+    text = $stdin.read
+    text = encode_utf8(text)
+    csv = CSV.parse(text, headers: true)
+    new_thang = csv.map do |row|
+      sample = []
+      sample << format_timestamp(row['Timestamp'])
+      sample << format_address(row['Address'])
+      sample << format_zip(row['ZIP'])
+      sample << format_fullname(row['FullName'])
+      sample << format_duration(row['FooDuration'])
+      sample << format_duration(row['BarDuration'])
+      sample << total_duration(row['FooDuration'], row['BarDuration'])
+      sample << remove_invalid_chars(row['Notes'])
+    end
+
+    new_thang
+  end
+
+  def encode_utf8(file)
+    file.encode('utf-8')
+  end
+
+  def write_file
+    file = read_file
+
+    output_file = CSV.generate do |sample|
+      file.each do |entry|
+        sample << entry
+      end
+    end
+    $stdout.print output_file
+  end
+
+  def format_timestamp(time)
+    # need method to convert timezone to EST
+    begin
+      time_obj = DateTime.parse(time)
+      time_obj.iso8601
+    rescue ArgumentError
+      # return to this, allowing valid leap year dates
+      time_obj = "Invalid Date"
+    end
+  end
+
+  def format_zip(zipcode)
+    if zipcode.length < 5
+      num  = 5 - zipcode.length
+      zipcode.insert(0, ('0' * num))
+    end
+    zipcode
+  end
+
+  def format_fullname(fullname)
+    fullname.upcase
+  end
+
+
+  def format_address(address)
+    address = encode_utf8(address)
+    address.unicode_normalize
+  end
+
+  def format_duration(duration)
+    duration.split(':').map { |a| a.to_f }.inject(0) { |a, b| a * 60 + b}
+  end
+
+  def total_duration(foo, bar)
+    format_duration(foo) + format_duration(bar)
+  end
+
+  def remove_invalid_chars(notes)
+    if notes.respond_to?(:encode)
+      notes.encode("UTF-8", invalid: :replace, undef: :replace)
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+# Method Calls
+normalizer = Normalizer.new
+normalizer.write_file
diff --git a/sample.csv b/sample.csv
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8050a3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sample.csv
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+Timestamp,Address,ZIP,FullName,FooDuration,BarDuration,TotalDuration,Notes
+4/1/11 11:00:00 AM,"123 4th St, Anywhere, AA",94121,Monkey Alberto,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,I am the very model of a modern major general
+3/12/14 12:00:00 AM,"Somewhere Else, In Another Time, BB",1,Superman übertan,111:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,This is some Unicode right here. ü ¡! 😀
+2/29/16 12:11:11 PM,111 Ste. #123123123,1101,Résumé Ron,31:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,🏳️🏴🏳️🏴
+1/1/11 12:00:01 AM,"This Is Not An Address, BusyTown, BT",94121,Mary 1,1:23:32.123,0:00:00.000,zzsasdfa,I like Emoji! 🍏🍎😍
+12/31/16 11:59:59 PM,"123 Gangnam Style Lives Here, Gangnam Town",31403,Anticipation of Unicode Failure,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,I like Math Symbols! ≱≰⨌⊚
+11/11/11 11:11:11 AM,überTown,10001,Prompt Negotiator,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,"I’m just gonna say, this is AMAZING. WHAT NEGOTIATIONS."
+5/12/10 4:48:12 PM,Høøük¡,1231,Sleeper Service,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,2/1/22
+10/5/12 10:31:11 PM,"Test Pattern Town, Test Pattern, TP",121,株式会社スタジオジブリ,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,1:11:11.123
+10/2/04 8:44:11 AM,The Moon,11,HERE WE GO,1:23:32.123,1:32:33.123,zzsasdfa,
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/normalizer_spec.rb b/spec/normalizer_spec.rb
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index 0000000..a839551
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+++ b/spec/normalizer_spec.rb
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+# require 'spec_helper'
+require_relative '../normalizer'
+
+describe Normalizer do
+
+  describe "#format_timestamp" do
+    it 'should return a timestamp formated for ISO-8601' do
+
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '#format_zip' do
+    it 'formats zipcode with preceeding zeros when under 5 digits in length' do
+
+    end
+  end
+  describe '#format_fullname' do
+    it 'formats fullname with all uppercase' do
+
+    end
+  end
+  describe '#format_address' do
+    it 'runs unicode validation on address' do
+
+    end
+  end
+  describe '#format_duration' do
+    it 'converts duration to total seconds' do
+
+    end
+  end
+
+end
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