December 8, 2009

Whine Bitch Moan Complain

this is about my coworker..... She's in her early 40s and has 2 kids, ages 11 and 8. She worked here for something like 10 years and when she had her second child she decided to be a SAHM for a few years (I was actually hired to replace her) and is now back to work part time (for the last 4 or 5 years). We share a double wide cubical which is great when she's not here, cuz I get the center table all to myself :)
She doesn't talk about anything except her kids schedule, all the running she has to do and coordinating and how her H doesn't do any of it (she does talk about gardening in the spring/summer and she's given me a ton of plants over the years and is a nice person but she can be so annoying). 
you can't bring up any story with out it somehow turning to her and her kids, and God forbid she actually talk at work about work....anyone who stops by to talk about work will no doubt wind up talking about horse riding lessons or piano lessons, or left wondering if soccer practice will be cancled or who the new basketball coach will be. My God, it doesn't stop! and I get to hear it all. I will sit here somedays with my fingers in my ears and reading aloud if I can't concentrate with the babbling about what kids have whos birthday party this weekend and how she's trying to keep the christmas presents fair.
I get it, her kids are her life, work means nothing to her, fine...no problem...work isn't my life either, my crafts/hobbies/friends are - it's not like I'm a career-woman, if I didn't have to work I really don't think I would (and that has nothing to do with being a mom, even if I never have kids, if I didn't have to work I know I'd be perfectly content with my projects and hobbies and visiting my grandmother across the street when I'm bored :)).

And the fact that she's part time just kills me, she spends maybe 15 hrs a week here, and without exageration (yeah, no idea how to spell that) she spends at least 5 of those hours a week talking about her kids and looking up dinner recipes online. that's 33% of her time here. While I may spend a lot of time on the internet and email throughout the week it's usually only a total of maybe an hour a day, which is also 5 hours a week but I work 40 or more hours in a week, so it's not nearly as obvious.

I don't know where I'm going with this, I just felt like I had to get it off my mind, maybe I'll stop bristling under my skin when I have to hear how busy her weekend was and the million and one after school activities she has to fit in this week. I really do like her, she is a nice person and there could be way worse people I'd have to share my space with, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

1 comment:

  1. That would drive me up a wall. I love the visual of you sitting at your desk with your fingers in your air talking to yourself! Priceless!

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