Let's bitch about our stupid, annoying co-workers

like tapping your pencil and squeaking your chair is textbook passive aggression 101

Mr. Que it's great that after all this time together on ILX you know how much I care about different things at work

Umm you guys are seriously weird, though: I would only have told her it was annoying if I were annoyed and wanted her to leave; I didn't really care that much so I didn't -- I just found it sorta weird and then later asked weirdos on the internet if they thought it was weird and rude. The tapping and coughing wasn't intended to say "go away," it was intended to say "just so you know, there's still someone over here, so you probably don't want to steer your conversation in the direction of your sex life or anything, it'll be embarrassing for both of us"

I mean if I am taking a personal call someplace I think is empty, I would 100% appreciate anyone in the area doing a polite little throat-clear or chair-shift to let me know I am not alone

The tapping and coughing wasn't intended to say "go away," it was intended to say "just so you know, there's still someone over here, so you probably don't want to steer your conversation in the direction of your sex life or anything, it'll be embarrassing for both of us"

wtf dude, that's when you start a thread and type out lurid details combined with blatant lies so we can all lol

(I think people are assuming that you found this annoying because you posted it on "Let's bitch about our stupid, annoying co-workers". This is just a hunch, though.)

The tapping and coughing wasn't intended to say "go away," it was intended to say "just so you know, there's still someone over here, so you probably don't want to steer your conversation in the direction of your sex life or anything, it'll be embarrassing for both of us"

just think how much MORE awkward this would have been if you were masturbating

also d@n OTM--you left some crucial details out. and i think we all agree with you that it's weird and annoying

Ach, I'm totally with Nabisco on this one. I don't think his coughing was necessarily passive-aggressive; similarly, I think his colleague's behaviour was a little thoughtless (though it is easy to stop paying any attention to your surroundings when you're on the phone: literally thoughtless, then, rather than pejoratively so?)

Actually my "start a thread, wtf" post reminds me that a dude called into the morning show I listen to to brag about how he had to break up with his girlfriend today because he accidentally slept with her twin sister on Friday and then intentionally slept with her mother on Saturday. It was a total lie but still completely compelling listening.

haha I know, it doesn't rise to some of the gold on this thread, I just wanted a place to ask if it was as weird as I thought it was :(

I'm gonna continue to assume I'm not alone, though, in terms of having stuff happen in life that's not quite annoying enough to say anything about at the time, but just annoying enough to complain about on ILX

xp: (that has nothing to do with co-workers; I did overhear one of my employees yelling at his mom about how she should have actually filled out some paperwork if she expected to tap into Medicare to pay for her medical expenses and how it was now her own damn fault that she is getting massive bills that he is now responsible for since he's taking care of her, that was fun)

meanwhile, my co-workers are openly musing about the best way to research making plastic explosives and nobody finds that even mildly odd

"so, I saw another UFO last night"

honestly not sure why you were so concerned abt alerting her to your presence--if she is oblivious enough to wander around the office having a personal convo than i wouldn't really feel bad about overhearing her.

also instead of coughing or tapping you could have just stood up and stretched or paced up and down the aisle a couple of times, which i do all the time.

i get that she wasn't "annoying" you but still yr reaction confuses me.

I am complex and full of mystery, I guess

as an ilx poster you were already in that league

as we all are

I totally get what Nabisco is saying, is it that unclear to other people? No wonder this board gets such clusterfuck threads sometimes.

I get what he's saying, it's just weird. Once a year or so nabisco is like that. Last year it was the Master and Commander thread.

It's like his left eyebrow went up 3 mm, and he's all weirded out that everybody else's went up 4 mm.

I agree that letting someone know you are there is polite and not p-a

I went through something similar yesterday when I was sitting there, minding my own business, when two co-workers started to loudly talk about some staff changes and marketing strategies basically right in my ear.

But I was pretty much stuck since Hormel dinner and morning coffee were taking their toll on me.

having a co-worker scapegoat the rest of my dept to our superior by saying that we haven't given him all the data he needs = fuck u liar, watch me fwd this 3-wk old email in which you were asked if you had everything you needed to finish the gd project -- which you never bothered to respond to

I mean if I am taking a personal call someplace I think is empty, I would 100% appreciate anyone in the area doing a polite little throat-clear or chair-shift to let me know I am not alone

I think it wld be appropriate to play Michael Jackson's "You are Not Alone."

familiar behavior from this guy -- totally maddening

<3 abbott

addendum to Abbott's suggestion: walk in slow motion toward the offending person while the song is playing

some of you will be glad to know that just now, as it's getting late and a bit empty in the office and there didn't seem to be anyone around, I started listening to music very quietly, and after about forty-five seconds I heard a slight cough from an office across the way, and then shortly after that I turned the music off.

We have an espresso machine in our breakroom. Now, I know making espresso cofee can be tricky, but with this machine you srsly cannot go wrong - it has 3 buttons for 3 levels/sizes of coffee to pour out. Thats it.

The *sysadmin* of all people stood in front of it and whined that he didn't know how to use it to make a coffee. OK, somewhat fair - the levels buttons arent obvious and theres 3 other buttons that do the milk froth and such. So that was explained to him.

So he pours a large into his mug. Then he stares at it, and says "now what do I do?"

I mean, WTF? Drink it maybe, you A-grade ditz?

He was honestly saying shit like "why is there hardly any in here?" and "what do I do now, put milk in?", it was like he'd never had a coffee before in his life.

he pours a large and then complains that there's hardly any in there? how big is his fucken mug??

A "large" espresso is a small cup o' Joe. I think I had the same reaction on my first espresso.

Well TBF it was a rlly big coffee mug, and being an espresso machine even a large is still only about 1/3 of the total volume. Tried to explain to him that thats normal, and lattes usually have the rest as just milk, he still looked at me like I was speaking martian.

And haitch you shuld know this things ;P

try speaking to him in perl next time

I suspect that might be all he understands.

oh god i've never made a proper coffee in my life, i leave that to the experts! working in carlton spoils you a bit, it must be said.

Haven't you ever watched a barista do his thang, though? Maybe I'm just curious, being a cookery type.

oh i have a look but it goes in one eye and out the... hang on i've picked the wrong analogy. i just watch as an admirer rather than take mental notes!

Now I want a coffee :(

i could do with a tea actually.

haha just had a look up at my long-ago moaning at the old job. everyone here is lovely, nothing to complain about really!

He was honestly saying shit like "why is there hardly any in here?" and "what do I do now, put milk in?", it was like he'd never had a coffee before in his life.

― seagulls are assholes (Trayce), Monday, August 3, 2009 10:53 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

i would probably be saying the same thing but then ive never had a coffee before

The *sysadmin* of all people stood in front of it and whined that he didn't know how to use it to make a coffee. OK, somewhat fair - the levels buttons arent obvious and theres 3 other buttons that do the milk froth and such. So that was explained to him.

Awwwwww. (I completely know what this feels like. It's like the more servers you configure or whatever the more it pushes basic consumer electronics knowledge out of your head.)

i would probably be saying the same thing but then ive never had a coffee before

― Hillary had Everest in his veins (sunny successor), Tuesday, August 4, 2009 8:47 AM Bookmark

Sunny one time offered to pour me a coffee. It was a very thoughtful gesture on her part since she hates coffee, the smell of it and everything.

She's in the kitchen for awhile and finally says, "Does it always take this long to pour out?" I don't know what she's talking about. "Does it have to drip like this into the mug?"

Turns out, she wasn't pushing the button on the lid down with her thumb, the button that acts as a stopper for the pitcher. I would have laughed in her face had the whole gesture not been such a genuine one.

"Opposable thumbs are a signature feature of the primate family, and played a large role in the ancient humans inventing and using tools."

Nice work with the quotes. Wouldn't want to think that you were trying to pass that off as your own.

he's not really annoying, maybe not stupid, but there's this gloomy eeyore type who's been here for several months stalking sullenly around the office, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else, refusing eye contact. i came upon him the other day leaning against a wall in the hallway, staring angrily at closed door (which is a now-empty office being used as storage.) he's kind of creeping me out, tbh.

If she asks me if I would like a slice of an apple one more time I am going to take the apple slices and shove them down her happy little throat.

If you share an office space with another person, and you are going to use the phone in said shared office space to make a personal phone call, at least try not to talk AT THE TOP OF YOUR FUCKING VOICE. alskdjfa;lksdjf;alksdjfal;ksdjf