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[cosmolinguist]

When I had to apply for mitigating circumstances last week for the essay due last Friday, I got the sweetest email from Student Support services the next day:

Hi Holly



Thank you for submitting your mitigating circumstances form. I’m really sorry to hear that things are so difficult for you at the moment. I wanted to email to offer support as although our office is physically closed due to current circumstances we are responding to emails via this address.

If you could provide your mobile number I can ask the counselling team to give you a call?

We will be in touch once your application is reviewed however due to the sheer number of applications this is taking longer than usual. However, please don’t worry and continue to work on your assessments the best that you can until you hear back from us.

Best wishes

I thought hearing from the counselling people was a very good idea. So they called me Friday afternoon, told me to do the (very crude) online intake questionnaire and email them with the results over the weekend. I got another call from them today and I have an appointment (telephone, of course) tomorrow morning.

I'd tried accessing this counselling a few times before but they only ever did same-day appointments and if you didn't call them first thing you wouldn't get one. And there aren't many days that I had free enough to make it easy to work an appointment around my schedule. I appreciate them offering that short-notice support, but surely there's a case to be made for booking appointments at specific times in the next few days? Anyway, I've done that now. And my schedule is a lot emptier now! My uni lectures are continuing but I don't have to watch them at any particular time.

Indeed I'm struggling to engage with any uni work, the new lectures or the overdue assessments, at all. Partly this is my brain just rebelling (turning on my computer today was enough to make me feel sick) but partly it's software shenanigans. My magnification/screenreading software isn't working, and it's practically impossible for me to do anything uni-related without it. Of course this would have to happen when I can't use the few uni computers that have similar software, and when the only way to access my lectures is via my laptop... I sent some emails about this but the crucial screenshot with the error message took three tries to send (bloody Outlook!) and I haven't heard back yet from that third email.

It seems very unfair to still have "normal" problems like this, or like the shower leaking into the kitchen again (which also has started happening!) at a time like this. I don't know how I'll cope.

Comments

[barakta]

Arg!

I am glad you have a nice email from disability services even if it's long overdue for them to proactively say anything nice. And yes to stupid barriers to counselling, but take what you can at this point. I am not surprised at the number of mit circs apps, EVERYONE is stressed, disabled or not, but disabled more than most. Universities are STUPID, they should have allowed everyone to just defer everything for 3-4 weeks and pushed it all back. (Universities are SO stupid!).

I am sorry about the computer, hopefully Batty Bennett will get back to you in a day or so with some option for them to remote in and fix the fucker. If there is anything I can do to convert materials so they zoom in Word or whatever, hit me up. And it's OK to say "right, I'm taking X days completely off trying till Batty Bloody Bennett sort the laptop kthx"

If a chat with me would help on any of this LMK. Also do you do text chat? If so, what platform is best cos I would love to catch up with you in general. I also need to test video so if 1:1 video works then we could try that too.

And ARGH to the fucking plumbing, that's SO UNFAIR. I believe plumbers are still coming out for emergencies and that counts. And if money is tight, your uni hardship funds should be expanded at this time.

No wonder you're stressed, all of the stuff in this would be stressful even without the fucking apocalypse!

[cosmolinguist]

I am glad you have a nice email from disability services even if it's long overdue for them to proactively say anything nice.

Ahaha, that's because it's not from them, it's from the people who (among other things) process the mit circs, for everyone not just the crip students.

Universities are STUPID, they should have allowed everyone to just defer everything for 3-4 weeks and pushed it all back.

I mean, this is effectively what's going to happen to me. Especially with the computer problems too (about which more in a second!), I've basically just given myself the last ten days "off." This isn't very noticeable for one class (just lectures and reading to catch up on and I'm permanently behind on reading anyway), one I have that overdue essay, but the third is one of those classes where we have to do a little bit of a big project every week, with a deadline every week, and I'm two weeks behind now. Not that I've heard anything from my lecturer on that; he's only got about eight people in the class but he confused me with someone else for a week, kept forgetting what I was working on, and I think honestly has mostly forgotten about me all together. :) So I've got to sort that out; I've just done the seminar for that class and gosh am I glad everything is recorded now because I didn't understand any of it. But it sucks feeling like I'm so behind even when I know I have good reasons for it.

hopefully Batty Bennett will get back to you

At least it's not that bad; since it's a Supernova licensing problem I've just gone straight to Dolphin instead. They have tended to be pretty good when I've needed to use them before, and actually pro-actively sent out an e-mail the other day saying "we're still open and can support you." (I think all their interaction with customers is phone/remote anyway, but the reassurance was nice.) I did just get an e-mail back from them now; I don't think he quite understands my problem (probably my fault; I wasn't braining at all well yesterday) but it's progress and I can have another bash at it after my counselling appointment this morning.

And it's OK to say "right, I'm taking X days completely off trying till Batty Bloody Bennett sort the laptop kthx"

This is what I did yesterday. A couple of friends were full of helpful suggestions or other things I could try and I was just like "nope!" I cannot cope with this on top of everything else.

I do text chat, and I'm happy to video too. I've got Skype and FB Messenger and Signal as well as just SMS.

[otter]

*hugs* That was a helpful email, especially with the follow up from the counselling people.

I can relate about the leak - our roof still isn't repaired and it will be raining here again now that it's spring.

[tarasacon]

Sending your choice of: hugs, commiserations, sympathy, general affection, and good wishes, in whatever combination works for you, if you wish.

[cosmolinguist]

Thank you, all of those sound good. :)

[silveradept]

It is entirely unfair that life continues, despite the fact that there is a crisis that requires attention to deal with as well.

[sfred]

<3

[cosmolinguist]

<3

[gonewithoutjam]

IT problems and bad plumbing on top of everything else going on in the world right now is a lot to be dealing with. Shout if there's anything useful I can do.

[cosmolinguist]

Thank you. <3

Luckily the IT problems are fixed, but I don't relish the idea of trying to find a plumber who'll come over and be very careful about hygiene just to re-seal a bath (which is apparently what needs doing).

[gonewithoutjam]

Yeah, most plumbers are a bit rubbish about tiny things, to the point where I saved up 3 broken taps out of 4, a broken toilet flush and a leaky sink as well as a leaky bath, plus wanting a shower installed, before I called one and I just managed somehow.

It always helps if someone you know can do that kind of stuff, but I bet there's video of how to fix it on Youtube.