My family cannot believe that I have been out of work this long  and I am just as  shocked stunned or whatever word you can use.

The job market today  is  different employers are cruel they picky  extremely selective, and to be honest some discriminatory.  The last few interviews where there Manager has been younger I knew right away I would not get the position.  In fact one place put in some words without saying I was to old that the  fit would not be right.

What can you do to be honest I am trying I do want to work but it just seems that I cannot get the breaks. I am willing to do anything to get back but I just cannot walk into Macdonald’s  and asks for a job. Well I did that the manager just looked at all the computer experience and said why do you want to work here.  That has been the reaction of most places that I have applied there were not IT related.

Back in the 80′s  you could walk into anywhere and just get a job, sometimes the same-day.  Not today, even for the most menial of jobs  companies are requiring experience and a long winded interview process. In UK there is a good word for it – “Taking the Piss ” .  That is what companies are doing now and are enjoying it because they know they  can.

It’s quite sad actually that employers are throwing kindness, understanding and respect out the window today. People need a chance a break and the bottom line it’s  good for the overall economy.  Getting people off the welfare or unemployment roles should be a priority  but companies are using this recession now as an excuse.

I know people are getting upset with me , my family has been helping me out there is times where I have no food in the house.  I now eat most times just one meal a day money  is tight the main thing is figuring out paying the rent and just go from there.

It’s  not easy  but at least I am loosing weight and that can’t be bad can it.

I do not  want this life  who would I am not so sado-masochist do you think I like being hungry frustrated and angry!

I am trying to remain positive I wake up check the job boards sent resumes out get the odd call but nothing pans out. That has been my day  for the last year so think about who would like it .

This is the side of unemployment that people never hear but it’s easy for people to make comments when they are on top of the mountain looking down. But let’s see when they at the bottom how they would react;  trust me It will be an awaking experince.

Keeping the Faith Always

Bri

I found this statement profound and really conveys why the UK is in such a state of disaray.

“Well, it’s true that we are sailing together into the squalls but not every vessel in the convoy is in the same dilapidated condition. Other ships used the good years to caulk their hulls and clear their rigging – in other words, to pay off debt. But you used the good years to raise borrowing yet further.

Further to this he uses the words perfunctory  and apparatchik with this statement

“You cannot spend your way out of a recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we are well placed to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev era apparatchik giving the party line. “

To clarify perfunctory  it can be defined  as is follows  Done routinely and with little interest or care:2. Acting with indifference; showing little interest or care.

With the word apparatchik An unquestioningly loyal subordinate, especially of a political leader or organization.

What a  brilliant choice of words but this is not only the British Prime Minster but other leaders who continue to act in this manner.

The UK is in a terrible state The Prime Minister is just sweeping the dirt under the carpet but it will not go away.  The huge financially deficit will have to be address one day and that will mean tax hikes. Great Britain is already one the highest taxed nations in the free world. Labour has  failed economics both on a micro and macro scale.

If I can get some credit and this might shock many is to fomer Libreal Finance Minster Paul Martin, during the good times he fought to pay down the debt. It is those sound fiscal policies that will have Canada has a leader in the global economy.

Canada will not escape this global crisis  no but it it will come out of sooner  and better then most countries .

Back to my day so far well nothing really going on no calls for jobs no nothing.  Living in this home is like waiting for a bomb to go off , it is all frustration, anger .

As I wrote in my previous blog it is liked a mired of dead ends right now, it is are human nature to fight back when we are threaten. When there is no hope and all we have is survival skills there comes a time when we realise that will not help. Then that is when you succumb to fate and realization that you have fought the good fight and  maybe just maybe it is time to move on.

Being out of work effects you on every level from your health to your relationships.  The frustration is growing everyday, every corner is a dead end  and you do not see any hope, that is when you get scared.

There is options and choices that might have to be realised.

On a lighter note my adventure with Ubuntu sadly came to a strange end.

Yesterday my Desktop PC would not shut-down not I tried everything.

A strange error on the var/ log something to do with Bios on my motherboard being corrupt well I find that a bit strange. The motherboard is fully updated and has been running fine.

I am not giving up on Ubuntu I still feel it is a great Operating System but it is probably one those strange anomalies that happens.

My plan initially was to run Ubuntu on my HP NX 6325 Business Laptop it is low end with the Sempron Processor but it has 1.5 Gigs of Ram and ATI shared video card so it should run fine.

For now I will continue to search the forums and see if anyone else has the issue besides me .

Well back to job search.

Latter

Funny on the way down I decided to take the train and park the car be a little green and make the tree huggers happy.

Well I get to train station proceeded to purchase parking pass of  £2.00 to park ( parking is run and owned by the Town Council ) and well the machine was broken. You have to understand the council have this little gnome that drives around looking for ways to line the Council pockets so I was a bit nervous. It is a shocking  £25 pound fine if you are over your time.  So I went purchased my train ticket and the ticket agent wrote me a  small note for my dash. Wellwith the the ticket was purchased I have to be at Nottingham City Centre at 10:30 am .  To make a long  short as they say I was thinking that little council parking gnome  would  see the letter that is all I needed was a   £25 fine.

Well I did the usual  boring registering in agency  my hands tired from writing. Yah writing that lost art that people forgot, I mean that what is the purpose of it when we have computers and keyboards .  We do not need to write on paper  and continue to kill tree’s. See I do care for the environment !

Well that was over and back home sat in the train it was late they could not find the train operator well that is good to hear. Anyway at the station the moment of truth well no  ticket but nerve racking never the less.

Now why did I say Microsoft and Ubuntu well here is why.

Today was the first day I did not go into my  Windows Vista system to make things easier to understand I will try to explain in simpler terms. I have one large drive and basically I dived into two, on one half Vista and the other Ubuntu. Now Grub which basically helps divide the two and gives this black screen to decided which system to run. Now isn’t that simple to understand .

Well back to Ubuntu  now I am a member of a Ubuntu user group and one member said Vista sucks. Now I found that a bit harsh so I proceeded to give my reply in saying Vista does not suck.

You probably wondering is there some sort of sarcasm coming out this maybe but let me explain.

I run Vista it runs great no problems it has all the lovely eye candy that sucks resources out of your pc .  It has millions of lines of code but still it looks good.

But does it suck no let me continue.

People get so excited when a new Microsoft Operating System comes out, some rush and download beta system’s(Windows 7) full of bugs but that does not deter them.

Hardware and software-vendors  mark it down on their calenders because they know they will make millions on all the hardware and software upgrades needed for new requirements of a new Microsoft Operating System.

But it still does not suck again let me continue.

After the first 6 months or so the love affair dies down people realise what morons they were getting  dupe into getting this new system. But now they are commited they just spend maybe a few hundred pounds on that additional memory, powerful graphics card and new hard drive since the new Operating System requires more space.

But people continue on this journey of madness it is brain washing at it’s  finest.

Now another bloated system comes out and new Operating System madness begins  again.

Are you getting my point Vista does not suck it is you the user that suck!

Some people even go out and by a new pc just to get that new system or simple because that old system just will not run that shiny new Windows Operating System.

Back to Ubuntu it’s  simple to run it  does not require intensive hardware requirements  to run it  and best of all  it just works . Oh did I mention it is free and comes with loads of software that just does the job.

The user’s do not suck because it is a community that tries to improve the system everyday.

Now I will not need a upgrade for a long time my Dual Core AMD X2 4800with 3.5 Gigs of Ram will do for good long time.

I know the hardware and software vendors that deal with Microsoft  hate Ubuntu Linux or Linux in general.

Ubuntu  is not perfect  I will tell you that my Logitech Webcam STX does not work hopefully with Junty 9.04 the new kernel will solve the issue.

But does or could Microsoft offer a full  Office Program or a full photo edit software or hundreds maybe thousands of free software.  Well you know the answer.

Getting back to my point you the user suck your the ones that  continue to get baited in by Microsoft  corporation and all the press.

I have nothing against Microsoft their product is not bad  but it’s not really needed.

Lets go Open source folks and lets not suck and not be brainwashed and get caught into the hype.

Oh do not start with Macs that is another blog subject on it’s own.

latter

These are crazy times but I sometimes feel the press has had a major say  had in this. The press loves to report negativity that is what sells,  if you think about it your brain is being constantly brainwash about how bad the economy is.

It will get better once the banks starting lending money again  the economy will turn. It is very ironic that the greed from banks is what caused this mess and now we depend on the banks now to get things started again.

Banks need to be controlled, and maybe Great Britain and United States take the Canadian example  of keep regulations on banks.

Think of this would you give a bunch of kids the keys to a toy shop or a candy store obviously no. The same theory must  to be applied to banks and people who control are major financial institutions.

On another note have you notice all the recent crocodile attacks in Australia. It is ironic that when the late Steve Irwin passed away that there seems to be a rise in attacks.  I am not from Australia but I am sure many Aussie’s would agree would agree with my point. Steve Irwin was a conservationist and from what I understood of his work he went out searching for rouge crocodiles.

Well it is a sunny day today in the Midlands temperature might go as high as 52 that would be nice.

Have a good one !!

Individuals with ADHD essentially have problems with self-regulation and self-motivation, predominantly due to problems with distractingly, procrastination, organization, and prioritization. It is a chronic condition, beginning in early childhood and persisting throughout a person’s lifetime. It is estimated that up to 70% of children with ADHD will continue to have significant ADHD-related symptoms persisting into adulthood, resulting in a significant impact on education, employment, interpersonal relationships, and in social settings.

Adults with ADHD are often perceived as chaotic and disorganized, with a tendency to require high stimulation in order to diminish distractibility and function effectively. As coping mechanisms become overwhelmed, some individuals may turn to smoking, alcohol, or illicit drugs. As a result, many adults suffer from associated or “co-morbid” psychiatric conditions such as depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. ^[2] Many with ADHD also have associated learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, which contributes to their difficulties. In 2004, it was estimated that the yearly income loss for adults with ADHD, and the subsequent loss in productivity in the United States was over $77 billion USD.^[3]

Many adults are aware that “something is wrong”, but are unable to find effective solutions. A formal diagnosis of ADHD by a trained professional (usually a psychiatrist,psychologist, or general practitioner) and understanding the disorder as it applies to them offers an adult insight into their own behaviors in order to effect the changes they need. Successful treatment of ADHD is usually based on a combination of medication, behavior therapy, cognitive therapy, and skills training.^[4] Associated conditions also require treatment.

ADHD in adults (as with children) is recognized as a disability under U.S. federal legislation including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Appropriate and reasonable accommodations are sometimes made in the workplace or educational institutions for adults with ADHD, which help the individual work more efficiently and productively.

Ultimately, an individual’s ultimate learning potential or overall intelligence is not affected.

Now this is the definition from Wikipedia now what I want to express is my journey and my feelings.  First I truly believe Adult ADD or ADD in general is  a disability for the simple fact it prevents a individual from having a normal everyday life.

I never knew I had ADD till someone close to me was diagnosed with it, from there is it was suggest that I go and get myself tested. The test I had was very straight forward nothing involved or complex. From there It was determined that I have Adult ADD.

I can tell you the anger that I had inside me, I remember being in school and being placed in special education classes; the reason was I had problems paying attention.

I cannot blame the school or the system since ADD was not really heard about or discussed.  Though I can only imagine if I was treated at a young age where would I be today.

I floated through many schools, relationships, and even being consolation with a well know pychirist  dealing with my pent up anger.

I want to keep this blog short ADD without treatment is a disability, our brains are different. We just cannot sit still as they say we need help, lucky today Dr’s are more aware of this and now  proper treatment is being made.

If employers had a better idea and understanding could imagine the benefits not only to employee but to the tax payers.

Think about the jobs lossed from people with add I am not sure if there is a statistic out there but  it would be shocking.

People with Adult Add would love to be open with there disability but fear the reprecussions of telling there employer.  Even mentioning it to friends or love ones labels you instantly as having some form  mental instability.

People with ADD must be protected as with all with disabilities from discrimination .

Just reading a site from Learning Disabilites Association of Ontario Canada

ADD, officially known as ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a separate condition from learning disabilities, but there are people who have both LD and ADHD.  Also, some characteristics, such as difficulties with organisation, can be common to both.

Learning disabilities are diagnosed through a series of psychoeducational tests administered by a psychologist or psychological associate (see previous question).  A psychologist may also be involved in diagnosis of ADHD, but since this a medical diagnosis and medication can be part of the treatment plan, diagnosis may be through a medical doctor.  This might be a psychiatrist, or even a pediatrician who sees adults as well as children.  There are some tests that specifically target attention and impulse control, but the diagnosis relies mainly on the history, presenting symptoms and ruling out other diagnoses which could explain the symptoms.

In this long paragraph they mention a separate condition from learning disabilities.

Their position clearly states that  ADD is not a Learning difficulty or a disability but feeling there is some explanation of the symptoms.

It is clearly stated in countless medical books there is no clear reason for ADD.

From this link.

http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/39/1/26

It shows the clear differences of children’s brains with and a without ADD.

May 27 2008 on USnew.com it has been reported

Adults with ADHD loose  3 weeks of work annually

“Altogether, between 3 percent and 4 percent of adults worldwide have ADHD, according to survey data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Researchers say the condition can cause a serious loss of concentration at work due to chronic hyperactivity, forgetfulness and impulsiveness.”

But many adult workers with ADHD may not know they have a problem, the team noted.

“While surveying mental disorders around the world, we’ve interviewed close to 200,000 people in almost 30 countries, and we’re discovering that an enormous number of adult workers — more than 3 percent on average — have untreated adult ADHD,” said study co-author Ron Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Kessler is also the director of the WHO’s World Mental Health

Survey Consortium, which is based at Harvard.

“From a societal point of view, it’s a pretty big deal, because ADHD affects work performance even more than depression does,” he added. “It’s more persistent and severe than many mental disorders, and it results in more sick days, more accidents, and more problems interacting with colleagues. So given that employers are increasingly thinking about health care costs in terms of investment opportunities, we think it’s useful to point out that it’s probably a very smart and profitable business move for employers to screen their workers for ADHD and get them into treatment.”

Results of the WHO survey are being published Tuesday in the online edition of the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Kessler and his colleagues conducted country-by-country ADHD diagnostic assessments on more than 7,000 employed and self-employed workers between the ages of 18 and 44.

The ADHD screenings were held in Belgium, Columbia, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States. All the participants were also asked to describe their work performance over the prior month.

An average of 3.5 percent of those interviewed had ADHD, a condition whose initial onset typically occurs in childhood. Among Americans, the rate rose to 4.5 percent, Kessler noted.

ADHD was more common among men than women, more common in developed than developing countries (such as Mexico, Lebanon, and Columbia), and more common among blue-collar workers than white-collar professionals. Age did not appear to be associated with ADHD risk.

Very few of the diagnosed patients said they had received any treatment for ADHD in the prior year. In fact, only some of the Dutch and American patients indicated having received any treatment for ADHD, and in those countries only about 3 percent and 13 percent of the Dutch and U.S. workers, respectively, reported any treatment history.

Those diagnosed with ADHD spent more than 22 fewer days per year working compared with non-ADHD workers. This included an average of more than eight days during which ADHD employees said they simply could not carry out their routine tasks; almost 22 days with reduced productivity; and nearly 14 days of reduced quality in the work they produced.

“The fact is that adult ADHD hasn’t been on people’s radar screens,” said Kessler. “The feeling was that somehow magically when kids with ADHD grow up they grow out of it. But this survey shows that this is not the case.”

Dr. David W. Goodman, director of the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder Center in Luthersville, Md., agreed that ADHD is an “under-diagnosed and under-recognized psychiatric condition that causes a tremendous amount of disability in the work environment.”

And while he supports the idea of screening workers for ADHD, Goodman, who is also an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, worries that “identifying workers with ADHD raises the possibility for discrimination.”

He also wondered whether people who are diagnosed with the condition, especially in the developing world, would have doctors available to help them.

It is very clear that ADD is a disability and adults with ADD should be protected from the law.  Any adult with ADD should be able without fear or consequence tell there employer of their  condition.

As a result I truly and firmly believe that including Adult ADD and ADD as legal disability helps everyone.

Imagine how many people that go through constant job loss and have to rely on the social welfare system always as a result of their ADD.

One thing I do want  to make clear ADD should not be a crutch or excuse in conclusion if you feel you have it get properly tested.

Lastly to families we need your support and love that is very important.

I hope this Weblog sheds a little light on the subject of ADD and also shows the importance of ADD being recognized as a  legal disability.

I have since been tested again with a further more in dept test here in the United Kingdom.  I am now back Ritalin and feeling much better now more focused and more determined.

I hope with this Weblog you have learnt a little bit more on Adult Attention Deficit Disorder.