Are you there aliens? It's me, Olivia.
Hello there!
Still sick today. My head feels the worst. I've taken two ibuprofen and am just pushing through and being productive anyways. When I keep moving about I don't feel as sick.
I've already cleaned, mopped, and set up one of the Christmas trees (the smaller tree in the office where both of our desks are). I need to run to the store to get some last minute food items. I also want to swing by Jamba juice to get a ginger shot and pick up a fresh orange/carrot juice mix. I like to infuse myself with immune boosting things every hour or so. I also make a fresh ginger, tumeric, lemon, and cayenne tea that I drink 3 times a day when I'm sick. Coupled with elderberry syrup three times a day, and a green tea with dandelion twice a day. And a chicken soup with fresh made bone broth for lunch and dinner... It's so much work when I get sick because of my little protocol.
Still need to add the ornaments to it.
Anyhow, I just took a break from grading. Students have turned in the first draft of their last major essay (a research paper). I try to grade in chunks of two at a time then break. Only half of them turned in the first draft. Their work and study habits stress me out. Although I'm an instructor I still have the mind and thinking inclinations of a student. So when they miss assignments or wait until the last hour to turn something in before its due, I get secondhand anxiety. I don't understand how anyone can have less than an A in class and be ok with that. Why aren't they trying to excel? Why aren't they reaching for perfection? I see it in my son too, as he has some lazy habits, and I don't relate to that mentality.
At any rate, I'm invested and obsessed with their success. They've had countless extra credit opportunities, and I take late work up to two weeks late, and I keep emailing any student under 70% in my classes. And now we're at the end of the semester and I want them so succeed so badly that I've told the ones who aren't passing to go ahead and complete any missing assignments they want, and I will accept and grade it no matter how late it is.
Es is also almost done with his semester. He is taking two classes this semester but will be full time next semester. I've had to work a lot on his work and study habits these last few months. It has definitely gotten better over the months. He has a little system now and sitting down to do work for hours at his computer is not so foreign to him anymore.
Missing so much school for that COVID year really did a disservice to students. it got so many of them lazy and into bad habits.
Jacques is in Santa Cruz today to have Thanksgiving with his family. Last year I went with him, but this year my schedule was too hectic to leave for 2.5 days and not do any work. So I've been home, but its a good thing anyway since I got sick and feel nearly useless.
Yesterday I spent all day in bed watching alien documentaries and working off my laptop. I am so obsessed with alien stories and documents. Netflix's Unsolved Mysteries has two really great episodes about aliens (https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/unsolved-mysteries-something-in-the-sky). Showtime also has a show called UFO that's produced by JJ Abrams(https://www.sho.com/ufo). Ever since the release of the pentagon papers about the existence of UFOs a few years ago, theres more content about it, and I love it! I feel so seen! Me and Es had like a 1-2 hour conversation yesterday about aliens and ghosts. Lol. We are on the same wavelength about certain things!
Chatting about aliens while I was sick in bed with all my animals yesterday.
Anyhow I better get going. There's a long list of "to-do" to check off today, so ta ta for now!