Some days, it feels like the world is unraveling—headline by headline, crisis by crisis. It’s hard to stay grounded when the air feels thick with anxiety, and every scroll brings something else to worry about. I try to hold onto little things: a quiet cup of coffee, the way the light hits the trees, a silly meme.

There’s a lot of noise lately—frustration, outrage, opinions stacked on top of more opinions. I get it. I feel it too. But I’m trying to keep my balance, to let joy sneak in where it can. It’s not ignorance. It’s survival.

I didn’t intend to start my day with complaints, but I needed to get that off my chest first. Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. Today, I’m dealing with some back spasms. I took some Naproxen, and it seems to have provided some relief. I’m feeling much better now! Alex kindly made breakfast for everyone today. Yes, I realize it’s lunchtime! He whipped up pancakes and spam. I enjoyed two pancakes and a slice of spam. Now, I really should tackle my laundry; I haven’t even started that yet. Perhaps I’ll do that now before I dive back into coding.

I started the laundry and came across my medallion holder—the Hello Kitty one I use for holding my medallion on the cruise. I’m glad I found it. I put it on my desk so I know where it is.

Last weekend was quite relaxing. On Friday, we enjoyed burgers and spent the Fourth of July at home. Honestly, I didn’t feel particularly patriotic this year. Saturday and Sunday were low-key as well; Tommy wasn’t feeling well, so we didn’t have the chance to finish the desk project. We need to apply the polyurethane now.

I also need to note the weather in my planner. I set it up last week, organizing it through the middle of August so that I won’t have to worry about it while I’m on my trip. I use my planner as a sort of journal, jotting down daily activities to help me remember everything when I write here. I’m beginning to feel the excitement about the trip creeping in a bit. While I still have some anxiety, I can sense that excitement growing.

Here is some code that I did today. It’s a student grade code to figure out the grade of a student, average scores out and tell if a student is passing or failing.

function getAverage(scores) {
  let sum = 0;

  for (const score of scores) {
 sum += score;
  }

  return sum / scores.length;
}

function getGrade(score) {
  if (score === 100) {
    return "A++";
  } else if (score >= 90) {
    return "A";
  } else if (score >= 80) {
    return "B";
  } else if (score >= 70) {
    return "C";
  } else if (score >= 60) {
    return "D";
  } else {
    return "F";
  }
}

function hasPassingGrade(score) {
  return getGrade(score) !== "F";
}

let passFail;
 if (hasPassingGrade(studentScore)) {
 passFail = "You passed the course.";
 } else {
 passFail = "You failed the course.";
 }
 return "Class average: " + getAverage(totalScores) + ". Your grade: " + getGrade(studentScore) + ". " + passFail;
}

I encountered some challenges, even though the task itself was relatively straightforward. I had to rewrite some of the code due to persistent syntax errors. Once I corrected it, the code functioned properly.

We experienced a brief power outage that interrupted my laundry, requiring me to restart the cycle due to a power failure code. I was looking forward to moving the clothes into the dryer, but it seems I’ll have to wait a bit longer for that. I have a blanket that I usually keep on my desk chair, and it’s currently in the wash. I had hoped to have it fresh out of the dryer soon, but now I’ll need to wait a while longer for that.

Sigh. I went to check on the washer, which had just started the spin cycle. There was a bottle of scent booster beads that was about to tumble to the back of the washer, and since I couldn’t reach it, I used a towel to catch it. Unfortunately, the bottle tipped forward and fell to the floor. I didn’t know the bottle had no cap and the beads spilled everywhere. I had to sweep them all up and dispose of them. Thankfully, the bottle was mostly empty, but it was still quite a lot to clean up. On the bright side, the laundry area now smells nice! Lol!

I’m currently wrapped in my cozy blanket that just came out of the dryer. I love the feeling of warm blankets fresh from the dryer. I also have some clothes to put away, which I plan to tackle at 5 PM. Later, Tommy and I will go for a walk when he gets home from work. We typically walk two miles, though it wouldn’t be so challenging if it weren’t for the hill we have to climb to get back home. I often suggest starting at the opposite end of our route so that we can finish with a downhill walk, but he never seems to agree. Mostly, it’s because the path begins just outside our house, and it doesn’t make sense to drive.

It wants to rain outside. We brought Merlin inside. It was sunny today, but the clouds have rolled in.

I’m going to make myself some tea, finish up coding for the day, and put away the clothes.