Go Ahead! Follow me @ChickADD44

Woh! Twitter is messing with my head! I’m trying not to be intimidated by all the super-smart, super-cool people who are Following me. I feel like my fly is down.

I’m trying to be conscious of my lifelong (pre-ADHD diagnosis) pattern of striving for a goal, approaching it, then abandoning same – LOOK! A tree! – through distraction, fear of failure, boredom, whatever.

So now I’m watching my Twitter list grow and feeling those old familiar feelings of shyness, inferiority, and social ineptitude. I’m resisting the urge to go hide in the basement and take my Tweets with me.

Remember when I said it takes me forever to learn anything new? I wasn’t just “whistling dixie” (as my mom used to say, whatever that means).

I’m on a warp-speed learning curve at the moment, and given how fast we put this webinar thing together, I’m actually pretty happy with it (and yes, kind of proud. At least you could hear both me and Melissa Orlov, my special guest, and that’s the main thing. That, and the info is gold!).

I also admit that I’m pretty proud that last night’s ADHD, Anger, and Marriage was not only mine, but Psych Central’s 1st-ever webinar. How cool is that?!

My guest, Melissa Orlov, was superb. I admire her calm, cool, and collected manner; her depth of knowledge and her warmth; she was the perfect choice as my first guest. (she even laughed at my jokes, bonus!)

Melissa and I will be presenting again on Thursday, May 24 @ 8 p.m. EST, details coming soon.

For those of you who missed last night’s webinar, ADHD, Anger, and Marriage,
here’s a link to the audio
I’m sorry there aren’t any spiffy visuals, but hey, I’m new at this! It was my maiden voyage, so please cut me some slack.

Webinar Thurs., May 10 w/Zoë Kessler and Melissa Orlov

I’m super-excited to be presenting a webinar this Thursday (May 10th) with author Melissa Orlov, whom I recently interviewed. When I spoke with Melissa, it was abundantly clear that she’s a wonderful resource, so I asked if she’d be interested in co-presenting with me.

Much to my delight, she said yes!

In classic be-careful-what-you-ask-for style, instead of working on my book tonight, I’ve spent 6 hours setting up the webinar (one of two we’ll be doing this month, unless I turn out to be so incompetent she dumps me!) using a platform I’ve never used before; writing the webinar description, e-mail notices and Tweets to let everyone know about it; re-sizing and cropping photos for same; updating my website pages; talking to Melissa; e-mailing Dr. Grohol here at Psych Central (we’re hosting it); and so on.

Today is May 1st, Beltane. What better time to review the status of my balcony garden?

As some of you know, I’ve blogged about my balcony garden since I first conceived of it. I’ve been looking at its progress (or lack thereof) as a metaphor for my life and in particular, for my ADHD symptoms.

Last year, the balcony was in dire need of repair. After having received numerous assurances from my former landlady that she would make the necessary repairs, she instead sold the property, as is, out from under my feet.

I just got home from a visit with my friend Dave. Even though I’d spent (three times) longer with Dave than I’d planned, it was well worth it. I walked home with a bounce in my step, feeling refreshed and relieved.

I’d been able to express things to Dave that I’d been only half-aware of; things that have been burbling around in the background, waiting to be shared with someone who spoke my language.

Talking to Dave is always a voyage of discovery, unlike speaking with anyone else except – another person with ADHD.

I’ve always loved to teach – and loved to learn.

Last Friday, I had a total, teary, ADHD adult-learner meltdown.

You’d think after blabbing and blogging about having ADHD for so long, I’d be ok with sharing that I learn more slowly than others. Not so, as my recent bass guitar lesson proved.

Zoë thinking about putting the laundry away. Honest. Photo: ©Jake Chegahno, 2011

I had the privilege of interviewing Melissa Orlov, author of The ADHD Effect on Marriage recently (blog post to follow). Melissa and I talked about her upcoming course (starting April 25) for couples in a mixed marriage (i.e., one ADHD spouse, one non-ADHD spouse).

Discussing the trials and tribulations arising from the ADHD elephant in the room, I was inspired to come up with some of my own marriage-saving tips.

Here are some of my ideas to rid your home of these ADHD traits:

• distractibility
• lack of structure
• allergies to housework
• frequent mood swings; and
• poor memory

I hope these tips help you. If not, there’s still time to sign up for Melissa’s course.

Zoë Kessler speaking at the ADHD Through the Lifespan Public Forum, with Dr. Timothy Bilkey, April 4, 2012, Barrie, Ontario, Canada

If I’m supposed to be getting paid to pay attention, I’m pretty sure my paycheck will be docked this week. Or at least that I’m on an apprentice’s salary because there’s no way I’m up and running just yet.

In this follow-up report to my April 3rd blog post, Solo Business Owner? Get Paid to Pay Attention!, I’m going to look for the positives in an effort to encourage myself to keep going.

Why? Because I’m still excited about Marilyn Strong’s approach, and I want to give it a fair shot. Quitting at this point would not only be premature, it would be unfair to me, to my business, and to Marilyn’s hard work.

I was having a great day. Then, I sat down to fill out a form. It was a week overdue, but I called the company that was waiting for it, and bought myself more time.

Things were humming along grandly, then Whammo! I hit page two. Page two contained a line of legalese which meant nothing to me, yet I was supposed to check yes or no. Yes or no to a statement I understood about as well as I understood William Shatner in Incubus (shot entirely in Esperanto). It took three phone calls to find out that no one at the company wanting me to answer this question had any clue what it meant either.

This week felt like slow motion PMS. Instead of being condensed into three days, the emotional rollercoaster chugged along from Friday to Friday, punctuated by highs and lows, with various heights and depths in between.

Step right up…

Are you someone who is pretty much on an even keel most of the time? Yes? Then let me give you a taste of the truly enchanting existence of an ADHD woman, who is also a highly sensitive person (HSP), and going through a deeply emotional experience (death of a loved one. Again. Three in nine months, to be exact), but contrasting that with a natural propensity for joy and happiness.

Seatbelt strapped tight? Here we go…