I had promised myself that I'd wander over to the campus pond this afternoon but I hadn't banked on the rain. The Met Bureau had forecast it but ... pffft! ... who believes them after the last couple of misses. Well, it did rain. Not very heavily—we only received about 4 mm—but enough to stop me from sticking my toe out of the door until it was absolutely necessary. So I didn't go to the pond. In fact, if I wait long enough, the pond will probably come to me.

Still chaotic at work. But the good news is that I've got two weeks of leave coming up very soon. Don't know if I'll get away but I think I should. I'll see what the GP says tomorrow when I go back for a check up.

I haven't been writing lately. Not only the blog but the fourth (fifth?) draft. Not-writing is easier than writing—for a couple of days. Then not-writing becomes the more difficult task. But right now, I can't do it. I can't string sentences together to tell a story. I'm sure it will pass but it's bloody frustrating. It's not helped by memos from work that turn nouns into verbs (or should I say, memos that verb nouns). Nor those that list approved verbs for use in describing learning outcomes for units of study. (Understand is not one of them.)

Still, it's sort of reassuring that we're not alone in this madness. Don Watson's Weasel Words site will either entertain you or drive you to the edge of insanity. (I recommend that you watch the whole intro. It doesn't take long.)

Maybe a few days off work will clear my mind enough to be able to tell stories and revel in the natural world again.