Things my officemate does that ANNOY ME:
1. disagrees with me on purpose/brings up sensitive issues she knows we disagree on just so she can voice her opinion once again. E.g. gay marriage, pre-marital cohabitation, when a couple should buy a house/have kids, the fact that Jam and I don't eat pork. I would like to note in the record that I avoid these topics, and do not ever bring up coworkers 1.eating habits 2. religious affiliations/beliefs based solely on the teachings of the church to which she belongs and with which I have major personal issues 3. her marriage 4. her kids (unless it's "how's so and so doing in school")
2. reads the news to me. All of which I have usually read the day before...sometimes days and days before.
3. talks disparagingly about coworkers on our project - I don't care what they do unless their work affects me, which it doesn't
4. reads the weather out loud to me
5. reports on the status of the ladies room after each visit. E.g. "pee on the seat in stall one, in stall two, no one flushed." WTF?
6. plays the radio out loud without head phones. Some Neil Young-heavy station.
Things my officemate does that make me feel guilty about getting annoyed:
1. has my back (most of the time)
2. gossips (and she has good gossip, so as long as she's not purposefully mean, I am happy to indulge.)
3. gives me candy apples at Christmas (which may sound insignificant but they are the most bangin' candy apples ever invented on EARTH the end.)
4. tries to be helpful in my quest for additional domestic skills including cooking (she sends me recipes and bought me a pie plate for a wedding gift)
5. shares candy/baked goods/food with me at least once a week...I think she has a secret quest to fatten me up, but still, it seems like a benevolent gesture.
So while certain days are super-unbearable and I sit at my desk and think "today I am not going to talk about XYZ" or sit there and brace myself for questions I won't want to answer, there are times when I feel really bad about getting annoyed so easily because it could be much, much MUCH worse....like my old supervisor could be my officemate....and she has tics (slurping, tapping her fingers/feet, etc). It could be worse. I must learn a bit more patience. And learn to answer questions and respond to comments strategically.
Today I did fairly well. I shrugged when asked "why do elderly people still have their licenses? Old people are crashing into things all the time." I shrugged twice and said "I don't know. Doesn't the registry test them?" "It's a JOKE" she yelled. I shrugged again. Probably because I know several old people who drive more responsibly that I do....
Anyways, there's a list for today. I promise something more creative tomorrow. Hopefully a project won't eat my soul and three hours of my time tomorrow...
1 comment:
This is kind of how I feel about V - although much less things annoy me about her. Basically she talks too much on the phone and is negative about pretty much everyone and everything in the office. But she 100% has my back and I have hers so, that works. This is not how I feel about R. The only good thing she did was give me the apple pie from Dunks this morning because it had protein in it or something. But I could feel it the whole day. And I could taste the lard they probably used to make it. :P But it was free and I was hungry so, you know.
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