Happy Thanksgiving! You wouldn’t know it from the decorations on display. Santa Claus is already poking his fat ass into everything since Halloween. Jeezus, can we have just one holiday at a time? Please?

I thought that I would catch you up on things, to prove that I’m not dead… yet. I was supposed to be a “celebrity judge” at this year’s Planet 9 Film Fest in Hamtramck, again. But, I never made it out of Taylor. I got halfway across town and unexpectedly had to turn around because the transmission was failing. I barely crawled the car home and had to push it into our parking lot, alone. A few weeks prior to this I had taken it to the repair shop. The undercarriage is rotting apart (that’s Michigan for ya). When they had made the initial repairs I brought it in for, it was returned to me with severe transmission problems, just like now. I took it back and they fixed it for free. But, they only half-ass patched up the transmission line with some hose. I think that the sudden cold weather caused the line to break again. Anyway, I took it back again a third time, being pushed the entire way by the mechanic’s car. But, the damage was done. This time, when I got the car back, it only had the first two gears and reverse. The shop warned me to get rid of the vehicle before. It is not worth dumping money into. But, I had limited options, and went deeper in debt to have it worked on anyway. Now, this junker can barely get to 30mph, making it useless for anything but grocery shopping. The debt payments are sucking away half my income, now, as I look for a way to consolidate them into something more manageable.

The timing of this is really terrible, too. I had recently found a guitarist and a drummer who want to collab with me. But, now the guitarist has backed out and I haven’t heard from the drummer in awhile. Without reliable transportation, I can’t blame them for leaving.

The monitor used with my main computer crapped out on me, only months after buying it. So, I have relocated the studio computer next to it. They now share a monitor together, with a KVM switch. I have moved the Korg Workstation / Sampler next to them, as well. So, my home recording setup is mostly collected together in a corner of my bedroom, now. The living room feels a lot bigger since doing this. There are lots of other repairs and upgrades needed for my gear. But, as always, I make do with what is available and add stuff to it as I go.

I know that you’re not supposed to self-diagnose yourself. But, the more I have looked into it, the more it appears like I may have been misdiagnosed (partially) by a previous psychiatrist. The symptoms that I have correlate very much with ADHD. Adult ADHD symptoms may include:

• Impulsiveness
• Disorganization and problems prioritizing
• Poor time management skills
• Problems focusing on a task
• Trouble multitasking
• Excessive activity or restlessness
• Poor planning
• Low frustration tolerance
• Frequent mood swings
• Problems following through and completing tasks
• Hot temper
• Trouble coping with stress

Another common one is hyperfocusing. Hyperfocus is highly focused attention that lasts a long time. You concentrate on something so hard that you lose track of everything else going on around you.

Doctors often see hyperfocus in people who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but it’s not an official symptom. One study looked at brain activity in people who were concentrating very hard. It found differences that could mean hyperfocus comes more naturally to people who have ADHD.

People with ADHD aren’t the only ones who have hyperfocus. Just about anyone can get lost in something that interests them. You shut out the rest of the world and lose track of time. People with ADHD have trouble breaking out of it, though, and switching their attention to something else.

It also can make it harder to diagnose ADHD, especially in kids considered gifted. They do better in school because their high IQs help them get past the issues with learning that usually go along with the disorder, and their ability to hyperfocus can make it even harder to spot.

Maybe my depression and social anxiety are just co-morbidities? I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my current psychiatrist about getting properly tested for this. Some of the psychotropic medications that I’m already on are used for treatment of ADHD. Maybe a dosage adjustment could make a difference. Until I get my hypothesis confirmed or disconfirmed I will treat this problem accordingly, as if I do have ADHD, with any recommended tips that may be useful. Some of these I do already, anyway.

Well, guess that is all I have to say, for now. Enjoy your food. Try not to argue with your family over dumb bullshit. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!