Since awareness of this ADHD 'friend' being present, I have spent significant time feeling down, remembering significant events in my life that reflected being ADHD, and generally dealing with the realization of it all. However, there are times, like this morning, where it is sunny and warm, when I remember the advantages of it...
For instance several years ago (late 90's), I was a customer of a bank that was promoting use of its electronic banking services for paying "bills". One such promotion was for the telephone banking system. The promotion was such that after the transactions were complete, you were transferred to a contest: press 1, 2, or 3, for "piggy bank" 1, 2, or 3, and you won 2$, , , the grand prize of K, or nothing at all. The only catch was each banking transaction cost 50 cents to complete. My ADHD brain kicked in...
What if I made a number of calls, kept track of service charges, and kept track of winnings, and if I remained 'ahead' of the curve, I could make money?
End result? I spent four days, one call at a time, transferring one penny at a time "from" my checking account, "to" my line of credit, thereby qualifying as a "bill payment". I don't know if they had jacked up the odds or whatever, but I ended up winning quite often. I was actually up by 00 or so, service charges accounted for, before the bank called and shut me down. Started on Friday, out of business on Tuesday morning. Apparently I had caused the central computer to start an error checking loop after the close of business on Monday evening (when it processed the weekend's transactions).
The computer, seeing hundreds of transactions for one penny tranferred from one account to the other thought that it was a "glitch", and for some hours that Monday evening, no one across the bank's network, could use its electronic banking serices...oops!
Although the bank didn't see the humour in it, they did square up with me, and my statement arrived in the mail the next month, some 55 pages in length. And I got 00 tax free...
Apparently none of the bank's other customers had spotted the loophole. I did, me and my ADHD and its creative side. The hyperfocus side allowed me to spend those days endless dialing, although I did go out on that Saturday and buy a phone with memy functions to shorten the call length.
Anyway, an amusing story for a Saturday from a fellow ADHDer who can't find his keys or lighter, remember to zip up his fly, but can spot details at times that others miss.
Cheers
notanexcuse38507.3472337963
way to go!! i needed a grin like that.
OMG - that's hilarious!