Posted on 03/09/2006 by Peter Gibbons
Viewed: 681 times
OK I can't take it one more day! The dude that sits on the other side of my very thin and short cubicle wall whistles or hums the SAME SONG EVERY SINGLE DAY. I don't even think he knows he's doing it! But, like a clock ticking or water dripping or some other sound that you've become acutely tuned into, I have become painfully aware of the tune he hums and whistles. It is the old Beatles song, "An Octopus' Garden". You know..."I'd like to be...under he sea..." which is the part he most often hums or whistles. Tell me: how in the HELL do you have the same bloody song in your head day in and day out??? How do you not go crazy? I am thinking about requesting that I be moved because his song is driving me mad!!!!!!!
Should I tell him? He seems so god damn unaware of himself.
POST A COMMENTcnubelevit(03/09/2006)
"In an octopuss's garden with you..." Yeaah, I can understand how that would get annoying. Do your own thing...hum the Battle Hyn of the Republic or whistle Bridge over the River Kwai or any Madonna song (that'll put him in an asylum for sure)
SouthernProgrammer(03/09/2006)
Get out of your comfort zone, go over there and offer him a donut if he will quit whistling that song! He probably does it out of habit and is not aware of it and you will bring it to his attention in a good humored way and you might make a friend.
Walk the Planks(03/09/2006)
I've been humming the theme song from Julia Roberts "Pretty Woman," you know, the one that goes "I'll get over you, I know I will. I'll pretend my ship's not sinking. So I'll tell myself I'm over you. I'm the king of wishful thinking..." Another woman in our department plays with electronic gadgets all day, cell phones, her son's electronic games, watches that just go off for whatever she has planned, and headphones that she wears. You can only hear the whispering emminating from the headphones as she's wearing them, and she looks like a beatle sitting there, by the way, with these antennaes sticking up. When I first started working there, I was wondering where all of the strange whispering/muffled voices were coming from. Then I realized -- from her headphones. It is enough to drive you mad, other people's idiosyncroces! Just tune it out and deal, what else can you do???
C - -(03/10/2006)
even when annoying quirks are pointed out the nicest way possible it may get worse. Some coworkers can get abusive and kick it up a notch. Try hip-hop rap lyrics and beat, that should get his attention when next he tries to drive you crazy.
Dharmadee(03/10/2006)
Get a portable CD player with good headphones (I recommend Sony). Put on your favorite tunes and forget about it. Think about this: I read that songs that spring from a person's subconcious and repeated like that indicate an issue that the person has not yet resolved and refuses to address. Pretty sad for your neighbor, what could his issue possibly be? He must be miserable where he is, is what I am thinking, and wants to be ANYWHERE else. Even if it an octopus's garden (in the shade).
vanilla ginger(03/10/2006)
iPod, STAT!
Peter Gibbons(03/10/2006)
thanks for the comments, everyone. We're not allowed to wear headphones at my job. Don't ask me why we're not allowed to listen to music quietly when I listen to it outloud everyday!! Miraculously today, he is humming something else that I can't quite discern. Another Beatles song maybe?
RedStapler(03/11/2006)
I agree with Souther Programmer. I would crack a joke with him about it, and make sure that he understands that you are joking. But I'd say something like, "okay, because of you I have this song stuck in my head everynight"...see if he laughs - he probably isn't even aware of the problem nor is he doing it on purpose
Dharmadee(03/11/2006)
Maybe the reason this guy is singing is he can't stand the quiet. Why won't the company let you listen to music quietly, or with earphones? If you all brought it up at a meeting or something, they might take it under advisement. Maybe they would go for it if they could make restrictions on the type of music, or how loud it was played.
TheNewGuy(03/14/2006)
Do what I used to do, sing the song that never ends...that'll get them going... Make it a point first thing in the morning and they'll be doing that all day and maybe they'll realize what they're doing annoys you.
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