What little things drive you completely up the wall....?

[siamesecat2965]

I have a coworker on the other side of my cubicle wall who insists on chatting with her BFF every morning for at least 30 minutes. Frustrating enough, since she doesn't really bother lowering her voice. TODAY she told the birth story of one of her friends who was in labor last weekend. With WAAAAY too much TMI. I've had a baby, and I'm not squeamish. But I really don't to hear about how someone's water exploded and the nurses had to clean it off the walls.

Ewwww. That would have squicked me out, and not much does.  I have a boss who sits right behind me, and we are treated on a daily basis, all day, to her various phone calls with her 18 year old daughter. I think she feels that the louder she speaks, the better her child will understand her. and don't get me started on her text message notificaiton or phone ringing. and asking her to put it on vibrate has not helped either. she just does what she pleases.

[BabyMama]

I feel your pain, Siamesecat! The same gal who told the labor story also leaves her phone on all day. And I guess her daycare person calls or texts her several times a day so that's why it goes off so much. It's a very "tinny" sort of ringtone, too, the kind that perks your brain up at the first note.

My old boss left her phone on all the time and her kids would call her at least once a day. She was always "bailing them out" of really mundane problems. One day she used her lunch break to go to the grocery store because her high school-aged son was at home and he was hungry and they were out of bread. And he really, really wanted a peanut  butter sandwich  They forgot their band instruments a lot too. I think we were all relieved when her kids graduated and went off to out-of-state colleges!

[BabyMama]

Sigh. I finally politely asked them if they might please lower their voices (they were starting into the third not-quite-consecutive--but between 8 and 11 a.m.--hour of talking at this point.) They apologized, but both told me that it had been nearly 2 weeks since they had spoken to each other last and were just very excited/happy to see each other. I get it--but why not call each other on the phone if you miss each other so badly? Go out to lunch together--we have flexible schedules, there's no penalty for taking a long lunch. Chatting for 3/4 of the workday in nonmuted tones is just annoying! It didn't help that most of a whole department was off doing some kind of training, which meant there weren't any normal "people" noises to detract from their conversation. It's quiet now though.

[Shalamar]

BabyMama, I didn't know that you worked in my office!  I have a co-worker about whom I believe I've posted before - she's the one who decided to share with everyone who'd listen about how her daughter's dog had worms, and they looked like bean sprouts.  I don't think I've ever been so grossed out in my life.  Plus, she and another co-worker are best buds and talk for ages all the time.  If anyone ever says "Uh, guys, you're being kind of loud" or "Hey, how about getting back to work, huh?", she'll reply "Oh, we're just having fun!" 

(Once, she made the mistake of pulling that "we're just having fun!" bit on my supervisor, who is an awesome lady and tolerates no bull.  My supervisor's response was, shall we say, blunt.)

[2littlemonkeys]

When people stand right next to my cube and hold a 20-minute whispered conversation.  I couldn't leave my desk to give them privacy (nor should I have to, I think) and I kept trying to not hear what they were saying.

If the subject matter is so sensitive you can't talk in normal voices, please find a private place to have your conversation!

That said, it also annoys me when people stand right in front of my cube and chit chat.  But not as much as the above.

[The TARDIS]

People who say bow ties are uncool. I find them rather dapper on men.

That one person in a group whose foul mood brings down all the fun.

[CrochetFanatic]

It bugs me when I come home and really need the bathroom, and I'm just in time to see someone else go in before me.  And they were there first, so there's nothing I can say.  We have another bathroom in the basement, one with just a toilet and a sink, and I've even had it where someone is in that one too.  Upstairs, it's "Sorry!", then downstairs, "Sorry!", and I'm there, "Well, darn..."

I guess having someone get in ahead of me in general annoys me, because it seems to happen all the time, especially in the kitchen. 

Me: *waiting on the coffee pot, all alone in the kitchen, and buttering some toast*
Mother: *comes into the kitchen, and begins fixing her breakfast in front of the coffee pot, effectively blocking it*
Me: *trying to reach around her for the coffee, which is now ready* Excuse me.
Mother: I'll be out of your way in just a second.
Me: *waits, anticipating cold toast and eggs when all is done* -.-'

[snowflake]

What bothers me is when a co-worker comes into my office and says, "Are you busy?  Oh no, thank goodness you're just eating lunch."

Just eating lunch?  I work when I eat lunch.  I don't have a whole lot of spare time so if my work is going to spill over, most of the time I'm catching up on email. If I wasn't working than I'm taking one of my few breaks of the day and want to be left alone.

But this particular co-worker will gab on and on and on.  In the meantime my leftover enchiladas are getting cold.  So I'll either have to eat them chilly or re-microwave them (I think half the flavor leaves with each microwaving.)  I can't bring myself to eat in front of someone no matter how rude they are being.

[The TARDIS]

Snowflake, is it possible to close your office door during lunch to keep people out, or do they barge in? Does your office have a door? (Some don't!)

[ladyknight1]

It bugs me when I come home and really need the bathroom, and I'm just in time to see someone else go in before me.  And they were there first, so there's nothing I can say.  We have another bathroom in the basement, one with just a toilet and a sink, and I've even had it where someone is in that one too.  Upstairs, it's "Sorry!", then downstairs, "Sorry!", and I'm there, "Well, darn..."

I guess having someone get in ahead of me in general annoys me, because it seems to happen all the time, especially in the kitchen. 

Me: *waiting on the coffee pot, all alone in the kitchen, and buttering some toast*
Mother: *comes into the kitchen, and begins fixing her breakfast in front of the coffee pot, effectively blocking it*
Me: *trying to reach around her for the coffee, which is now ready* Excuse me.
Mother: I'll be out of your way in just a second.
Me: *waits, anticipating cold toast and eggs when all is done* -.-'

The camping toilet is your friend. I refused to live anywhere with only one bathroom, but even with two, DH and DS are often on the same schedule, so to speak. I hate coming home from work, to find all of the bathrooms occupied, so I made them buy me one of these!*

http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Luggable-Portable-Gallon/dp/B000FIAPXO/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1357259977&sr=1-1&keywords=toilet

*I have yet to use it, but just knowing I have it keeps me sane.

[ladyknight1]

What bothers me is when a co-worker comes into my office and says, "Are you busy?  Oh no, thank goodness you're just eating lunch."

Just eating lunch?  I work when I eat lunch.  I don't have a whole lot of spare time so if my work is going to spill over, most of the time I'm catching up on email. If I wasn't working than I'm taking one of my few breaks of the day and want to be left alone.

But this particular co-worker will gab on and on and on.  In the meantime my leftover enchiladas are getting cold.  So I'll either have to eat them chilly or re-microwave them (I think half the flavor leaves with each microwaving.)  I can't bring myself to eat in front of someone no matter how rude they are being.

I deal with this quite often and it is the downside of bringing in my lunch.

O/T: I love enchiladas!

[AmethystAnne]

It bugs me when I come home and really need the bathroom, and I'm just in time to see someone else go in before me.  And they were there first, so there's nothing I can say.  We have another bathroom in the basement, one with just a toilet and a sink, and I've even had it where someone is in that one too.  Upstairs, it's "Sorry!", then downstairs, "Sorry!", and I'm there, "Well, darn..."

I guess having someone get in ahead of me in general annoys me, because it seems to happen all the time, especially in the kitchen. 

Me: *waiting on the coffee pot, all alone in the kitchen, and buttering some toast*
Mother: *comes into the kitchen, and begins fixing her breakfast in front of the coffee pot, effectively blocking it*
Me: *trying to reach around her for the coffee, which is now ready* Excuse me.
Mother: I'll be out of your way in just a second.
Me: *waits, anticipating cold toast and eggs when all is done* -.-'

The camping toilet is your friend. I refused to live anywhere with only one bathroom, but even with two, DH and DS are often on the same schedule, so to speak. I hate coming home from work, to find all of the bathrooms occupied, so I made them buy me one of these!*

http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Luggable-Portable-Gallon/dp/B000FIAPXO/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1357259977&sr=1-1&keywords=toilet

*I have yet to use it, but just knowing I have it keeps me sane.

I checked it out. A used one is about $2 cheaper.     Ookkkkaayy.

[CrochetFanatic]

Camping toilet?  Good idea.  Used camping toilet?  Ehh, not so much.   

[ladyknight1]

A use for all those plastic shopping bags! 

[Snooks]

20 minutes on the phone to the bank to find out what the terms are for my current account with them, you'd think that sort of thing would be easy to find out but at least 80% of that 20 minutes was spent on hold.