Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ADHD. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Ordering Out

My wife is so weird in some ways.

For example, she ordered Chinese food, and I’ve just picked it up.  Normally, when food arrives, the bag is ripped open, and people descend upon it.  Then they start to scarf their meals like a pack of hungry wild dogs.

Not my wife.  She continues doing whatever she was doing before the food arrived.  It’s a lot like how a cat will feign disinterest in dinner and then sneak in later to gulp down the food.

I can’t abide this behavior.  So I’ve decided to leave her alone and write this blog post about it.  Let’s see how long it takes for her to start her meal. 

Is this difference in behavior a male/female thing?  Is it because she’s from New England and I’m from New York, where we open a box of pizza, take a piece, fold it in half, and rip out a huge bite while walking away, causing painful burns on the roof of our mouths in the process?

I came home with the food at least 15 minutes ago.  She asked just now, “Do you want to eat with me in the living room?”  “Okay, sure.”   Then she walked in the opposite direction of the kitchen.

Now she’s back in my office with a fistful of papers that need to be filed.  She’s talking about hiring a new helper.

[tick, tick, tick…] Now, finally, I hear her in the kitchen, more than twenty minutes after I’ve set the Chinese food onto the table.  But still there’s no indication that food is on her mind.

It’s as if the food is a visit to the dentist, or a tax return to be filed.  Why is she avoiding it?

I’m shaking my head in total confusion.

[much time passes]

She finally sits down.  Then she abruptly gets up, “I forgot a plate for the cat.”

She sits down again.  Then, once again, she abruptly gets up, “I forgot my drink.”

She sits.  She fidgets a bit, then uses the remote to switch channels.  Commercial.  Switch.  Commercial.  Switch.  Commercial.  All this time she’s still not eating.

Finally she started to eat more than 30 minutes after I came home with the food.

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Wonderful Weirdos Day

Today is Wonderful Weirdos Day.

According to National Today, “Wonderful Weirdos Day is celebrated across America on September 9.” 1

Why is it celebrated during an ordinary unit of time such as a day. Isn’t that boring and totally not weird? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to designate it as Wonderful Weirdos Nychthemeron? 2, 3

1 https://nationaltoday.com/wonderful-weirdos-day/

2 https://english.stackexchange.com/a/595618

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nychthemeron

Saturday, January 5, 2019

Dear APA -- Let's Rethink ADD

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. (Attributed to Albert Einstein by author Matthew Kelly)
This is an open letter to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which came up with the term “Attention Deficit Disorder”...

How dare you!  I see myself as Perception Enhanced.  You so-called normal people have a deficit.  I can’t imagine how you can endure such a severely filtered experience.

My inability to block out distraction is my Superpower.  While I might not catch every word said to me in a conversation, I’ve listened to five other simultaneous conversations and determined that the car trouble that the woman is describing is probably due to a clogged fuel filter.  I’m referring to the woman in the red dress who’s standing by the window who’s been nursing the same drink for 45 minutes.

Also I’ve been hearing excess noise from the vacuum pump in the factory.  It sounds like the bearings are wearing out.  It’s been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks.  Why doesn’t anyone else know about it?

I’m wondering which of my idiot coworkers put the toaster oven right under the paper towel dispenser.  It’s an obvious safety hazard!

As well, why is the clock on the fax machine 1 hour 15 minutes ahead?  I can understand how it can be exactly 1 hour ahead as we’ve switched away from Daylight Savings Time 8 weeks ago.

What if Perception Enhanced individuals were in the majority?  You APA folks who are Perception Deficient would have to live in our world.  Suppose I were your boss: “Why didn’t you advise that woman to have her car’s fuel filter checked?  Why didn’t you have the pump serviced before it failed?  Didn’t you notice the sound it was making?  Relocate that toaster oven before it starts a fire!  Why haven't you fixed the clock on this fax machine yet?”

Anyway APA, instead putting so much energy into devising derogatory terms for us, tweaking diagnostic criteria, and developing treatments and therapies, you should direct most of your resources into changing society.  Promote acceptance of Perception Enhanced people and help us find ways to be rewarded for our strengths.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Attention Deficit Disorder Quiz

Results of My Attention Deficit Disorder Quiz: 58
You appear to be suffering from a moderate amount of attention and concentration difficulties according to your responses to this self-report questionnaire. You should not take this as a diagnosis of any sort, or a recommendation for treatment. However, it would be advisable and likely beneficial for you to seek further diagnosis from a trained mental health professional soon to rule out a possible attention disorder.

Moderate ADHD Likely