Sound Off
[2007-05-04 14:00]
Some people, I've discovered, need to talk -- I mean they need to talk, as though they're perpetually starved for conversation.
Apparently, I've been fortunate to not have dealt with many people like this before now. But, like some karmic equalization, I now get to experience three of them at my current job. Unfortunately, two of them sit on opposite sides of me.
The first of the three -- my morning bus driver -- is the easiest to avoid. The bus has a radio that is often tuned in to NPR which helps to keep the driver's attention away from me (there are usually only one or two other people on the bus that early in the morning). Instead, he just mutters his responses to the ether. Yet, on occasion, some story will be particularly comment-worthy and I'll see him look around at the passengers for someone to engage in conversation. Woe to he or she who happens to look receptive.
The second is a co-worker in the IT group (where I work, as well). With him, any interaction is an invitation to converse, about any topic. While that gets really irritating really fast, I must admit that his segu�s are fascinating.
For example, I might have to inform him that there is a new set of configurations which we need to set for some software on all of our computers.
"Just to be clear, I'm talking about new configurations, not a new version of the software," I'd say.
"Several users have had stuff print to the wrong printers lately," he'd respond. "I wonder if this will help. You know John Dvorak said in PC Magazine that he thinks anti-virus makers work with hackers secretly to write computer viruses to help keep them in business. The other day I was walking my dog around Greenlake -- boy it was really crowded the other day, I had to drive around for a half hour to find parking. Of course, my car is kind of old. I had to take it in to the mechanic the other day. At first I thought it was just to fix the brakes but they said they had to replace the whole front suspension. You know I head over the mountains to visit some friends every couple of months. Last month it was raining in the pass and I got stuck behind a big semi and I thought I'd never make it. My friend went to the Jazz festival last year. Boy that [insert name of jazz musician] was really good, but last year they didn't have as many performances as they did the year before. Still he's going to release a new album in a couple of months. Of course, since my CD player stopped working, I now have to listen to it on my computer. I just hope it doesn't come with a rootkit like those other Sony CDs. Ha ha ha! I wonder if they ever got sued for that. Of course I'm still running Windows ME on my home computer..." et cetera, ad nauseum.
I made that bit up about John Dvorak. I don't know if he's actually said that, but that's the kind of thing my co-worker would say. Of course, the worst part about this would be later when I'd hear my co-worker telling staff that we're upgrading software to a new version.
Anyway, the third talkaholic is the one that's the most annoying most recently. She works in a different department but has been put in the server room with us other IT folk because of a lack of office space. She sits behind me with a clear view of me. Unfortunately, that means I don't have to make eye contact with her before she'll start talking.
Actually, her most endearing trait is a mild case of dramaqueenitis. And by "most endearing", of course, I mean "For God's sake -- knock it off!" This usually manifests as bouts of heavy sighing when she has to deal with some difficult situation, extra loud rattling of desk drawers, loud tapping or "straightening" of files and papers on her desk, humming, music-less "doo-dee-dooing", and so on. But, occasionally, I also get to experience the across-the-room conversations she has with the fellow on the other side of me, or with someone who's outside the server room at the time. Or, she and someone will decide to have an impromptu meeting using the stack of computer boxes next to my desk as a conference table. Or she'll just have her coworkers stand next to my desk while they socialize about various things.
Now, to paraphrase a comic bit by Chris Rock, I don't condone murdering one's coworkers... but I understand it.
Interestingly (from a sociological aspect), while they each have their own peculiarities, there do seem to be several traits which these three folk seem to share:
- They're (probably) all nice people, but...
- They have nothing interesting to say. Their observations are usually dull comments about traffic, the weather, something that was on TV last night, etc.
- They're poorly informed. This goes along with the first trait, I think. This is most apparent in my coworker, who'll ramble on about something based entirely off an incorrect understanding of the technology. Of course, if I bother to point out his mistake, that just opens the door for a longer verbal torrent about whatever's on his mind at the time.
- They don't listen very well. None of them are very interested in letting someone else in the conversation. They mostly just want to talk. This probably also contributes to their being poorly informed.
- If you stop looking at them, they'll eventually stop talking. Similarly, if you don't make eye contact, they won't start their diatribe. Ms. Talkalot, however, doesn't always conform to this notion.
All of this, plus the train horns/whistles that I can hear from Union Station all night long, has made me wonder what total silence would be like. While it might be oppressive after awhile, I'd love to try it out for an hour.
To that end, I recently splurged and bought a set of these noise-cancelling headphones. I never thought I'd spend $300 on a pair of headphones, but I appreciate having them, more and more.
Now, they don't cancel all noise, and they don't block voices, by design. This was painfully apparent when Noisy McBeal behind me decided that, in order to talk to me (despite my wearing these very large headphones), she'd have to just talk LOUDER.
Still, the headphones do block a lot of the ambient sounds and they do mute voices somewhat. They're comfortable and they work really well with my iPod. While that's not quite silence, it's better than the alternative.
In other news, I've been experiencing a prolonged bout of insomnia lately. For the last two weeks or so, I've only been able to sleep about 3-4 hours at a stretch. Usually, that means 3-4 hours a night. I haven't yet decided if World of Warcraft helps with this or contributes to it.
Finally, I've upped my Diaryland account to Gold status so there's now a comments page. This is kind of an inside joke, of course, because I don't advertise this blog anywhere. Silence is golden, you know.