Daily Tip: Avoid Medical Marijuana for ADHD

I can't take the idea of marijuana use for ADHD seriously.  The ne'er-do-well pals I have known that use drugs to cope with their ADHD have claimed it helps them, but from all appearances, all I have seen it do for any and all of them is turn them into slovenly, lazy and worthless human beings.  That is my opinion on using marijuana to help combat ADHD.  I think every one of us with ADHD is looking for a quick fix.
Well, friends, let me say, there IS NO QUICK FIX.  For the highly-regarded medical profession to advocate use of marijuana to get people to focus, get good grades, hold a steady job, manage their clutter, and deal with employees and employers sanely, is ridiculous!
All the drug has shown is what doctors have known all along.  Smoking or using only damages the precious brain all the more.
And that is my opinion.  I don't use, and I hope you won't either.
As you know I am doing an experiment called "Sing out, Clean up, and Work out." Today is Day 5 of the project.  I am delighted to say yesterday my efforts at healthy eating and portion-control was a fabulous success.  Thank goodness for modern food production, and that huge bag of oranges I got on sale that are full of fibre, sweet and delish!
Hope you are having a fine Friday.
I just walked the pooches to stretch my hamstrings and calves and to make the dogs happy.
Perhaps you do not know, for comic relief, I share a daily one-panel comic online called, Cole's Kibble
I am also a singer-songwriter with a BIG SENSE OF HUMOR, again, comic relief.  Enjoy this song I performed and wrote a couple of years ago called, "Good Morning Appetite."  I will lick the weight problem with your help and portion-control, calorie-counting and busy blogging! :-)
Have a great day!
Amy Zents
© Amalia Zents

Daily Tip: Expirations and delayed gratification or have nothing and do nothing.

I watched an edition of Frontline last night saying that the world's attention span is shrinking because we are all multi-tasking electronically wasting time on non-thinking pleasurable past-times like checking emails, surfing the net when we should be working.  Also, people still can't stop texting while they are driving, and more and more gamers are forming close bonds with their Virtual Friends, instead of with folks nearby.
Well, what of it?  Does that imply we all have ADHD  No!  There are lots of people doing lots of things in organized, efficient ways, however, I am not one of them.
On Feb. 4th, 2010, my band website http://www.mollyandsonnyboy.com/ was shut-down because I did not renew my website subscription.  I will hopefully reinstate it today, now that I have the email reminding me that my subscription had expired.  Have I mentioned I support my local library because my books are generally overdue, or I need to buy new books, CD's and audiotapes to replace the ones I have lost?
Yes, there are things we ADHD'ers need than more common sense, and practical tips and tactics to get through our day, they are known as "greenbacks."
I won't begin to regale you with all the dollars I have flushed down the toilet to credit card companies, car dealerships, the local cop shop for speeding tickets and parking fines.  Life as an ADHD'er is hell if you don't try and get a handle on yourself.  To confine yourself to an easier life, you need to have nothing, go nowhere, and do nothing, or so it seems.
There are tender mercies though:  I have 2 hobbies.  Cooking and singing.
These things I can do in the confines of my abode, and they are generally inexpensive.
The only problem is with cooking comes dirty dishes and with singing comes the desire to go out and perform.
Luckily, there is the Internet.  The Internet and video games are huge time-killers that can suck you in and wear you out.
Where am I going in all this?  I don't know.  I guess today's daily tip is make sure you pay your bills on time or get knocked off the net, or wind up stuck.
Time to pay my Internet subscription bill.  Last night, I got caught up on cleaning.  I had a huge dish pile-up, HDP only proving the point that what you resist persists.
I wish I could say that I am curing my ADHD.  But, let us just say I am coping with it from day to day.
I will stop back tomorrow with an update on how my music career is going...btw, my band is going to be singing and playing for St. Patty's day at the Loose Moose Saloon in Mankato, MN on Wed. March 17, 2010 from 6-9pm.  I know if we don't get started practicing now it will not be good.
SO, gotta get the set list and the music ready.
Til manana.  Peace and Mahalo!
Amy Zents
© Amalia Zents

Daily Tip: Memories of Me, caring for yourself, and #CelebrityADHDSunday

I watched the 1988 movie "Memories of Me," with Alan King and Billy Crystal for the first time yesterday afternoon.  It was about a film-extra actor who never could realy get his act together until the final act of his life when his son, a doctor, comes into his life to try and reconcile his relationship with his estranged father. The lead character played by Alan King, BTW a fantastic actor in real-life and in this role, and a greaat comic, seemed to exhibit textbook ADHD traits in his part as the loose-tongued 63 year old.  Eating tacos for breakfast, smoking and filled with boundless energy, enthusiasm and self-neglect.  He basically acts impulsively and recklessly with no thought of the consequences of his words or actions on others.  He also has such low-regard for himself and such self-loathing that he willingly sits in the shadows whilst lesser luminaries, like his former felow extra actors, move on to bigger and brighter jobs in the entertainment biz while he languishes without an agent continuing to struggle for roles as he ages.
I am a talented singer.  Hear me singing here: Amy Zents Sings "Memory."  Yet for the past 48 years I have not advanced beyound doing local low-paying gigs.  Just like the lead character in "Memories of Me," like the Alan King character in "Memories of Me," at some level, I have been afraid to be "discovered."  Yet, it would matter to me a lot.  But, I think I feel secretly afraid.  Also, I don't take care of my health as well as I should.  True, I quit drinking and smoking, but I eat like a horse and don't get enough exercise.
See me here eating a sm'ore yesterday Amy Zents eatig a S'more.
I hope to start on a healthy eating plan and also a daily exercise plan this week.  I mean I do spend money for a gym membership, but I don't go often enough to make a difference.
Before I show this clip, I want to mention, that Kanye West may or may not have been higher than a kite, so he may not really be ADHD, however, folks who let themselves go, and then give into irrational impulsive (and rude) behavior often do HAVE Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and methinks this may be the case in this instance.  But, that is just my opinion.  ADHD is NEVER an EXCUSE for rudeness, but it can be influential in many cases.
And now here is your #CelebrityADHDSunday video:

Til manana. Peace and Mahalo!


Amy Zents

© Amalia Zents

Daily Tip: Online and Out of Time, or 'Tis the Gift to be simple

Hello my fellow blog reader,

It is amazing how the Internet can be a tool for success and a tool for failure.  It can be a time-sucker or a life-line.  It all depends on you!
If you have ADHD or are prone to being seduced into the magic of the World Wide Web, to the detriment of yourself and others, then let me tell you something: 
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
There is nothing wrong in enjoying yourself, and nothing wrong in enriching your mind, or amusing yourself by surfing, or "networking," playing video games, or socializing online.
There IS something wrong in screwing up at work, neglecting your family and duties in exchange for a headrush or a "computer" fix.
I struggle with this continually because I am mesmerized by Twitter, Facebook and the like.
So, today is the first day I am going to try to limit myself to only 60 minutes of "on-line time."
I will let you know how I do on tomorrow's blog.

     Like a fish in a fishtank, I am going to look out of my glassy manse, from my corner, and soak in the World Wide Web on my computer screen, but then, unlike a fish in a fish tank, I am going to breathe the real air, in my real world.  And in my real home I will set to: cleaning the fridge, showering, tidying up, cooking, and work-at-home teaching my music students, and then rehearsing, and readying for my 3 upcoming music gigs with my music duo Molly and Sonny Boy, instead of, frittering away most of my precious life-time online.  Here is a great discipline quote I found online on Twitter yesterday:
"Self-respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself." — A.J Heschel
Peace to you and yours, and I hope you follow the advice of that old shaker song written by Elder Joseph while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848:

'Tis the gift to be simple

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

 
So, until tomorrow, let's keep turning, turning, and doing what it takes, 'til we come round right, even if it means turning off the 'puter to get our work done.
 
Happy Hump Day, 
I remain yours truly,
(continually coping with my ADHD,)
Amy Zents
© Amalia Zents