The department doesn't have student assistants they could assign to you for a couple of hours a week? Are there graduate students you could pay a lot less to? (It is probably wrong that I think of grad students as cheap labor, but when I worked at a university, there were always grad students scrounging for money.)

I can't see the university (the one that has taken four months to get me academic support workers and caused all manner of hassle over it) agreeing to give me grad student time for this, especially as there are very few grad students in my department. I could use your idea of sorting out volunteers myself in exchange for meals or similar, Andi, but it would probably be frowned upon by the university as it wouldn't be officially-sanctioned volunteering (but maybe I could organise it very informally with friends of friends). And yes, Ginger, you have a good point that I could possibly pay students less, much as I'd hate doing that. That's another option I can think about if the government agency turns me down. I'm focusing on trying to get them to agree, for now.

Right now I am utterly losing the plot over this. The Girl is downstairs writing out my detailed list of reasons why I need this support worker, in the hope of persuading the government agency. I have to go back to church to sing Evensong tonight, and I just want to sleep. I should go to the doctor's tomorrow, but I am a) afraid of being forced to see a psychiatrist (never goes well for me) and b) worried about all the PhD work I'm missing at the moment. Oh and c) doctors make me cry.

{{{Seska}}}

Sorry I don't know the British university system well enough to have any actual advice for you. (It seems like it's really different from the system at American universities.)

{{{{{Seska}}}}} I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. I hope you can find a solution that works for you.

Thanks for the support, all. You are truly wonderful.

Seska, I hope that wasn't an overload of helpfulness, and now you are having to say "thanks" when what you really want to say is, "shut the hell up".

roomie says he smudged with sage. Bleh. One more reason for me not to be a hippie.

Suggest he go with chamomile next time - it has a much more pleasant burning smell - like a really nice wood fire, only with a sweet, flowery note to it. Or, maybe he should do it when you are out of town so there is plenty of time for it to dissipate before you get back.

I once watched four of my aunts friends get into all but a shouting match over which sage was best to smudge with.

Hippies. What are ya gonna do?

Hippies. What are ya gonna do?

Tell 'em to use salt water, because smudging with sage isn't needed?

(Trust me, I hear these arguments with the Wiccans I hang out with.)

I like the smell of burning sage. But, you know, growing up in the California desert was kinda hippie already.

Best was that I always ask my mom to bring me sage from her gigantic shrub when she visits. First time she did, I took a leaf out and smoldered it. Just because I could. Because I had a ton of wonderful fresh sage to cook with again.

She walked out of her room a few minutes later, "Do I smell pot?" "Um, sage. The sage you just handed me?"

My mom wasn't a very good hippie, clearly.