Really?

Today is what many call 'Blue Monday', but I didn't know that till this evening, when I saw all kinds of 'Blue Monday' posts on FB.  Looking back on how the day went, I'm tempted to agree, were it not for the fact that I was in quite a good mood.  Parked my car at the Noordereiland (Northern Island) as planned.  It's in the middle of the Maas River.  Walked to work, where everything was not in a mess but quite close to it.  Temporary HQ was on the 6th floor.  As no one had any office, we simply occupied any empty room that was not a classroom when we weren't teaching.  I even managed to take a 20-minute nap in the same room where two Supply Chain lecturers were in discussion.  There was no WiFi and our computers hadn't been transported, so not much to do.  After the nap, I took this shot, then went out for some fresh air before my next class, which went surprisingly well.  We used up the entire double lecture hours, by which time the wind and rain had picked up considerably.  By the time I stepped out of the building, I knew it was going to be a long walk back to the car, and I was right.  This time, the walk took a full hour, during which I was constantly trying to keep my umbrella sane, and myself, too, by literally singing in the rain.  By the time I was back on the island, I had to give it up and simply put it in one of the public bins.  The poor thing was beyond repair.  The small handcarry I used (instead of my usual rucksack) kept its contents dry, for the most part, but I was glad I had double trousers on.  My coat was soaked and so were my boots.  It was a rather tired Ellaphant who made it home.  In Dutch, we have countless words for the weather, and today was what we call 'druilerig' = combination of 'dreary', 'depressing', and 'damp'.

By the way, a colleague told me today that the parking fee isn't 15 euros but 35 euros, per day.  15 euros is only when you make a reservation.