Gross work noises

[SneezeDragon]

Maybe I'm just especially irritable right now, but I'm really getting sick of noises at work. I need to vent!

Cubicles, arggh! Economical for the employer, sure, but I think I'd work a lot better without the mucus symphony. There's a guy down the hall from me who has a really dry, raspy cough. When I first moved into this cube I thought he was sick, but after a month elapsed and it didn't go away, I realized I'd never get away from it. Every few minutes, it's HA-HEMMMMMMMMM, HA-HEMMMMMMMMM!

The guy just over the wall likes to clip his fingernails at lunchtime once a week. At least, I THINK he's clipping his fingernails. God forbid he's clipping his toenails or something.

Another guy constantly snorts phlegm down the back of his throat. Yeah, maybe he has allergies or something, but it's the most disgusting sound I've ever heard.

Then there's the woman with the hyena laugh. She thinks EVERYTHING is funny.

So here I am, trying to get work done, and it's HEEHEEHEE, snooooooort, clip-clip, HA-HEMMMMMMMMM! It's like I'm living in some hellish nightmare world. (Or maybe a kids' book?) People, get your health problems looked into, brush your teeth and treat your warts at home, and keep it down! Just let me work!!!! x(

[khakismom]

I am totally laughing at your work noise chorus ("HEEHEEHEE, snooooooort, clip-clip, HA-HEMMMMMMMMM"). :)

But I completely empathize with you. I work in a cubicle too (coming from a workplace where I had an office, tiny as it was, but it had a door that I could close if and when I wanted to). And I have the phlegm guy a couple cubes down too and it's REALLY annoying!

I hope it gets better for you. And if it doesn't, hey you could always start your own work noise and annoy them for a while!! :)

[etwahl]

omg, i have horrible memories of my cubicle days. HORRIBLE. all those things you mentioned and more. my solution was to ALWAYS wear headphones and play my favorite music - LOUDLY! i can't stand silence, but i hate those freakish noises people make even more. where i used to work, the guy in the cube across from me used to make the worst noises while he ate. UGH. i can't even stand the sound of someone breathing (heaven forbid their nose whistles)....i'm very sensitive to sound.

do yourself a favor - get yourself a good pair of headphones and maybe one of those new ipods!!!!

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[smomom]

Clipping fingernails, phlegm, family dramas.... I hear it all here in Cubeville. At least it's better than my former neighbor who had a, ahem, gastronomical problem of astronomical proportions. Not only were the sounds disgusting, the smell would send you running. Thankfully he was relocated to a less populated area. This guy was also the king of goofy phrases. Every phone call would have an expression like "I'm so busy I have to jump sideways just to keep from flying." WTH?????

I totally sympathize.......

[momtoemma]

fingernail clipping at work gets me too! It seems like I am always sitting near a guy that HAS to trim his fingernails at work! I can see clipping it if you break a nail while at work or something, but please, can't we handle personal hygiene issues at home!

[ktdid74]

Hee-hee- Have you ever seen the movie Office Space? That's what your post reminds me of! If you haven't seen it- you *need* to! It's a classic :) (and I've never worked in an office)

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

When I worked at the hospital we had this one therapist that whistled all the time...It would drive me batty!!!!! I think I was the only one bothered by it...when I would cringe and say under my breath to someone that it bugged me they would say "he's happy"...

PLEASE...I know he was happy but nervous whistling does not convince me that one is happy....


Neve
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[papal]

Ugh!! This brings back bad memories of my work-days...eeks! Apart from all the noises you describe, the guy in the cube next to me used to be on the phone talking to his buddies ALL DAY!!! And then when he had no buddies to talk to, he would come flirt with me.. eeeks... and he would proudly tell me how he did not do a stitch of work all day.. WHAT THE HELL??? Here I am, working my tail off and you are wasting my time... gawd.. how i wanted to kill him. People like him and a Boss that was an incompetent imbecile made me lose all hope in working.

But coming back to your noisy neighbours.. yes.. get the headphones!!! Nasty buggers.

[pritchettzoo]

That's exactly what I was thinking! Office Space is hilarious!

If you can't listen to music, how about a white noise machine or these noise-cancelling headphones? http://tinyurl.com/2wjn7 (That's the Sony website, but other places have them much cheaper!)

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[SneezeDragon]

Hmm, I posted a reply to this yesterday, but it's gone today. Maybe Fingernail Guy clipped it off. (He was clipping yesterday at lunch, no kidding! Uggh!)

Thanks for the commiseration. Yup, I've seen Office Space, and I love it! I think I'm going to start bringing in a little personal CD player. Can't afford one of those noise canceling thingies right now (too much budget spent on teething rings and plastic furniture for tiny bums), but they look cool.

Dana, you had a guy next door who farted? Audibly? I thought that was such a major faux pas in the office that anyone who did it was required to immediately die of embarrassment. Most of the women here at my office will flush the toilet repeatedly, just so others in the bathroom won't hear the tiniest of sounds. Maybe it's a male thing? LOL

[KYBelle1102]

I too totally empathize with you on the cubicle thing. My last employer spent OODLES and OODLES of money to redecorate the office, and he (The owner and CEO) decided that EVERYONE should have cubicles, except for the President and himself. I'm in Human Resources and I had a cubicle--actually, I had 3 because I had so much stuff I took over the 2 next to me. Forget having a private conversation with employees.

Anyway, I was on the other side of a partition from our Finance and COLLECTIONS department. So I had to listen to Brunhilda, the Evil Collections Witch call customers all day trying to collect money. This woman was awful! Not only did she have one of THE most annoying voices ever, she was also 48 years old, never-been-married-and-bitter-about-it, obsessed with her horse and her dog, and just an all-around %itch. She's one of these co-workers who has been with the company so long, you could never fire her and she longs for the Good Old Days when <insert former bosses name> ran the show. She even named her DOG after the former president of the company!

I think I could cope with other odd noises better than Brunhilde, the collection witch.

[Kieransmom]

Wait...don't you work at my old job? :-)

Michelle
Mommy to Kieran, born 5/9/03