About Me

I'm a 60-ish Danish national, living in the US Pacific Northwest.

I'm a writer, by trade. No... wait... I'm an eBay Entrepreneur. No... wait... I'm a workshop and conference facilitator. No... wait... I'm a dealer in rare postage stamps for collectors. No... wait... I'm a photographer. No... wait... I'm an artist who paints very intricate mandalas on stones. No... wait...

Get the picture?

Here's what I "am:"

I'm an adult, and I happen to be living with the "Inattentive" version of ADD. There's no "H" in there (as in ADHD) because there's no way on planet Earth I'm in any way, shape or form "hyperactive."

I use the word "living with" the condition, rather than "suffering from" or "afflicted by" because I harbor somewhat of a hesitance when it comes to society's tendency to "medicalize" an increasing number of normal parts of the human condition.

I know my brain is wired a little differently from 98% of the population's, and that my brain chemistry is not the same as the majority of people's. Fine. Either way, I have chosen to deliberately work with this condition, rather than against it.

Although "Inattentive ADD" is not a great rarity, it tends to be somewhat overlooked by the medical and mental health professions as well as by the general public. Why? Because it's "quiet" and rarely "obviously problematic."

I was NOT a "problem child." I was NOT "that kid" who was bouncing off the walls and constantly getting into trouble. I was mostly quiet, highly intelligent, appeared studious, and at most got crticized for "not applying myself" and for "daydreaming." As an only child, nobody really thought it strange that I seemed to just "drift away" into a world of my own.

I mentioned "highly intelligent" because an estimated IQ in the 157-163 range (measured several times from grade school through college) allowed me to "skate by" academically, in ways I probably would not have been able to had I not been really smart and highly intuitive, and really really good at reasoning through things in my head.

I managed to get a high honors degree in Finance with a minor in English, but the way I accomplished this might have been yet another thing pointing to the ADD back then: Thanks to having moved extensively around the world with my parents, I was able to test out of some 70 credit hours of languages with all A's, artificially inflating my GPA to lofty levels. Add a bunch of math and economics credits (also with an A), gained thanks to years spent at a swank boarding school in the UK, and I started my college career with the equivalent of three full years with straight A's.

In spite of this, it should be mentioned that aforesaid degree still took me 5 1/2 years to get, and I changed majors five times in the process of getting it.

I also have 90% of a degree in Psychology, and have been a keen student of the human psyche, behavior patterns and industrial psychology since my college days. I have always felt like a total misfit on this planet, and if I have a single "guiding star" in my otherwise confusing and fractured life, it has been a compulsive drive to understand myself at a deeper level... ultimately to gain a better sense of why I feel so different from the remainder of the human race.

Other "factoids" about me include that I am a "Highly Sensitive Person" (or "HSP") which is a genetic neurological trait causing people to experience life "more intensely" than most. It affects around 15-20% of the population-- if you're interested, you can read more about it in this extensive article I wrote and posted on the web (opens in new browser tab): The Highly Sensitive Person or HSP: What Exactly IS that?

Since 1999, I have been working "for myself" full time-- as much as anything, as an attempt to find a way to harness and create something income producing out of my "Too Many Interests Sydrome," matched with my short little span of attention. Yes, I really do own and operate many "micro businesses" and have found it to be an ideal way to successfully USE a "scattered mind" to my benefit. I never had much success at working "conventional" jobs... and realized that I don't really want to, either.

I am happily married to the Great Love of my life-- we've actually known each other since she was 8 and I was 13, although we lived separate lives until reconnecting in 2003. We live in a rambling house with a view of the ocean and mountains, along with two cats, a weird dog and a miracle fish.

My lovely bride also has ADHD-- the "conventional" kind-- and there's a lot to be said for being in a relationship with someone who "gets it." She "manages" hers with a combination of Rock Stars (energy drinks) and Ritalin.