I'm back at work again after a long hiatus.  I'm suitably stuffed with Cylert 
and Wellbutrin.  I'm on a crash project with the phone company, with so many 
consultants that we're literally stuffed into closets.  I'm working in a 
former supply closet with five other people, six phones, six computers, etc.  
Sometimes a loud conversation ensues with visitors, and I can't take it.  
When I protested, the talkers expressed great surprise that I asked them 
firmly to quiet down.  In addition, my neighboring writer (a depression 
sufferer), has one of those super commercial info services that goes into 
action as a "screen saver," when his machine's inactive.  When he leaves, I 
catch his display in my peripheral vision.  The rapidly changing colors, 
patterns, and advertisements drive me bonkers.  He doesn't understand.  All 
this is foreground for me.
One project, on which I lasted two days, involved a group of programmers who 
intended for me to sit with them and instantly update their design documents 
as they thought of changes.  Being certainly as creative as they are, I got 
bored as hell, and said so.  I told them that I take terrible notes, and had 
trouble with this in college.  I made a few cracks that I was the world's 
most expensive lousy stenographer.  At one point, I got so bored that I 
changed from their design document to creating a glossary.  They could see 
everything I was doing on a large monitor that faced them.  In fact, they'd 
requested a different tech writer, and got me instead.  After their 
rejection, I went out for lunch with their supervisor (he's a truly wonderful 
boss -- supportive of his people).  He gave me some office-politics 
suggestions that, amazingly, have worked for me.  I'm still on the job, 
making good money, waiting for the axe to fall.  And trying to engineer the 
situation so that I can do most of my work at home.
The project's very intense.  I worked two 11-hour days this week, followed by 
a 9 hour day.  It's trying.
Any comments?
PS: To me, any traditional phone company is a hell hole for a person with 
ADD.  There are traditions in these companies of corporate cruelty and 
intolerance of deviant behavior.  Note that here I'm talking mostly about 
management.  The worker bees tend to be ok.  There are so many entrenched 
absurdities -- I could go on for pages -- that the ADDer is constantly 
exposed to triggers.  It's hard to get any work done because of all the rules 
and regulations.  I have to get permission from two people in order to bring 
my own trackball instead of using their mouse (I hate mouses -- super hate).  
The timesheet procedure is so intricate that it took me six hours of work.  
 
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