I Think I May Have ADD

I have never been officially diagnosed with ADD, but there are some things I’ve noticed about myself that lead to believe it’s possible. I may have never had the official diagnosis, but I do remember teachers at school labeled me as “hyper”. And to top it off, I’m pretty sure at least 75% of them hated me. It’s true. I was the kid that would finish all my work as fast as I could, before lectures and instruction were even over, and then cut up with the kids that didn’t care about school. I remember having issues with talking back and being distracted all the time, too. My parents would get calls all the time about it, but there wasn’t too much anyone could do because I got straight A’s up until I got into later years of high school. That may sound arrogant and all, but it was actually the demise of my social life. I was a nerd and socially disadvantaged for most of my childhood.

Fast forward twenty years or so… I am now realizing some things I think I’ve ignored for quite some time. Take for instance, one example (of many I could share) of how a typical couple of hours normally unfold for me. Just a typical day at the office…

As I sit down in my desk chair, I begin to open an email. Before reading the contents, I realize that I haven’t gotten my pencil and notebook ready. My notebook has all this crucial information that I gathered from meetings and research earlier. As I look in the drawer to grab the pencil, I notice that I have a whole thing of breathe mints. Ice Breakers! These will definitely help with the coffee breath. Speaking of coffee, I probably shouldn’t have spent almost 6 bucks on that triple shot pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks. Man that was good coffee, though. A friend in a nearby cube recommended it to me, and he is right - they’re amazing! Oh, that reminds me, I better make sure he got his scale back that I borrowed yesterday to make measurements on a machined part in the factory.

After returning the scale to my buddy, I then decide I better go to the restroom while I’m up. Might as well try and save some time so I can get back to being productive!

After I have finished washing my hands and head to my desk, I walk back down the hallway and run into another co-worker. I needed to ask him how in the world he was able to work out the problem we struggled with the other day so easily. After some explanation about the solution, we move on to joke about the similarities between our workplace and the one in the movie, Office Space. Good times!

Okay, now back to that email. I start reading through it and suddenly, I hear footsteps stomping down the aisle way in between the cubes. I know exactly who it is because I know that one foot stomps hard on the floor and the other drags across the floor before a slight tap about a second and a half later. I look up, and yup, it’s the lady that works 4 cubes away. I knew it!

Alright, now I’m back to the email. I got through it, but have to re-read it because there was some technical information that I need to verify from a file on my computer’s hard drive. So, I minimize the window and then go to find the file. It’s then that I remember I need to re-build a CAD model of a part I’m working on, and get that into my teammate’s que by lunch. I click on the CAD software and wait for it to boot up. Unfortunately, it takes about 5 minutes to load, so I decide to check my calendar and see if there are any meetings coming up this morning, while I wait. The schedule looks pretty clear, so that’s good. Just then, I hear more familiar footsteps down the aisle. I know who it is, because this dude is always trying to get my attention and waste my time. I have gotten really good at ignoring him because he’ll make dumb faces at me and try to get me talking about fighting another co-worker in a cage fight. I don’t have the time for it, so I’m going to ignore it. …

Man, it is really hard to do. Every part of me wants to turn and see what he’s doing. He even stomped his feet and slammed one fist into his other hand just to get my attention. I almost turned, but I tried my hardest not to do it. He finally left, though, and I held out in victory!

Okay, back to the modeling exercise. I remembered what modifications I still need to make, but it’s gonna take a little bit of time. Just as I get started, I get thirsty. Man, I really need a Mountain Dew. I have 2 chillin’ in my lunch bag, so I grab one and open it. Mmmm, delicious!

Alright, now back to work. Just then, my lead and another teammate start discussing a job they’ve been working. I’m listening in on the conversation, because it’s a really interesting topic. It’s pretty great being in this group. I learn so much from these guys and appreciate all the mentoring opportunities. I’m think back about some of the jobs I’ve had in the past. I remember this one time, at the grocery store I worked at, how I would try and impress the boss by working faster and more efficient than anyone else. It never worked though. I was never in the clicks he was in. Which reminds me, whatever happened to that guy? He was fired for stealing one day, and I could never figure out for the life of me why. It’s not like he didn’t have stuff going for him. Oh well, I can’t worry about it.

Now, the guys on the other side of me, in the cube next door are talking about the latest news headline. It turns out the economy still sucks and there’s really no hope for America. Or at least that’s what they’ve agreed to. I’m kind of in the same camp, but I’d like to think my love for Jesus will pull me through tough times.

Anyway, the model…Ah, dangit, I have that email open. Well, I’ll get back to it in a few minutes. I start into the modifications and realize one of the parts kinda looks like a robot face. Weird. I wonder if this is how the extraterrestrial scientists come up with their ideas on Ancient Aliens. They see something that looks like it belongs in space and put 2 and 2 together to formulate a theory about extraterrestrials creating humans.

Okay, I need to really get going on this project. I have to grab my mp3 player to get motivated here. It helps soooo much, to have the tunes going, to occupy my mind while I work. This way I’m only concentrating on two things: the background music and the job at hand. Much easier than a dozen distractions!

Several minutes later, I finish the work. Once I send this off I can move on to the next task….

cleaning my desk.

Man, the dust has collected in some places and I have 3 or four drops of Rooster sauce smudged onto one side. I need to clean that off, because I can’t stand looking at it anymore! So, I grab some cleaner and wipe the desk down. Just then, I hear more chatter from the next cube over. They’re talking Husky football. I can’t resist!

So I walk over and we talk a few minutes about how the Apple Cup is going to be epic. We discuss in depth how my fellow co-worker, who is a WSU Cougar fan, is going to be extremely disappointed. The Dawgs are going to pretty much slaughter the Cougs this year - again. It is gonna be nasty! Speaking of the Dawgs, man, Keith Price has become a pleasant surprise and might even be better than Jake Locker. At least I hope so! That would mean some great Bowl games in the future.

Okay, now I’m back to the email. Oh yeah, I have to check out those notes again. As I’m flipping through the pages, I start thinking about how bad the Broncos have become. I will never forgive Josh McDaniel’s for destroying the team and setting it back years. I’m glad we got Tebow, but man, the team has to undergo major rebuilding to make it competitive again. Man I miss the ’97 & ’98 Broncos. Those teams made me so proud to be a Broncos’ fan.

Email! Okay, found the data in the notebook. I’ll just make a summary of this, create a quick spreadsheet showing what I found out, share the results in the email and hit send.

Done! And look now, just in time for lunch. For some reason I feel as if I didn’t accomplish anything, but the replies I just received were refreshing to hear. They were glad for the quick response and appreciate my input. Sweet! Thank you.

Now, for lunch. While I’m eating, though, I think I will catch up on Facebook, Twitter, BroncosBus blogs, read some news, catch up on Jon Stewart & Steve Colbert video clips and take a look at my fantasy football lineups.

So, what’s the verdict? ADD or just clinically insane?