Yesterday at work, we had a little contest, and both winners and losers got to pick presents out of a pile. The woman who sits on the other side of my cubicle wall got a very nice glass Christmas tree, which also happens to be a music box that plays “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
This morning, people keep coming over to say how pretty it is, and to look more closely. Honestly, this thing is gorgeous, and I understand the appreciation. But for the love of Og, do they have to wind the fucking music box part up every damn time??
I’ve been here 45 minutes. I’ve heard that damn song at least eight times. Shoot me now. I’m not against holiday spirit of any sort–unless it comes with its own music box.
Og grant me the strength to not bust that thing up before lunchtime.
Oh, I’m right there with you. Every time some moron in my office brings in a cellphone or handheld computer or game, or animatronic toy, I get to hear it again and again, all day, and it drives me nuts.
In my office there’s 9 people, 80% of the time there is at least two on the phone, it’s a damn monkey cage, and one of the nice things about having been fired is that I’ll get to hear myself think again.
Yesterday someone brought one cassete tape of Christmas songs. The thing was only half an hour long. After 6+ hours of listening to “los peces en el rio” (the fishes in the river, and yes that’s a Christmas carol), you kind of wish the fishes would drown, or perhaps choke on those jingling bells.
This morning the tape had disappeared.
It wasn’t me, but I would have kissed whomever it was.
A friend gave our new puppy a Christmas present. (Don’t ask - the woman’s a looney). It’s a reindeer/Christmas tree that has a thing inside it when pressed plays “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. He likes to chew on it and shake it. After he set it off a few hundred times, he has discovered that he hates that music. Whenever one of the kids (or I heehee) set it off, he comes running, jumps on it and beats the living crap out of it.
I have a CD of chinese opera. No kidding. Bought it years ago for “special occasions”.
Over the years I’ve had a few cube-farm jobs, and I found that the best solution to cutesy music boxes, or singing bass, or even just Christmas muzak starting in September is a good strong dose of chinese opera on my CD player.
It’s sort of like brandishing a weapon. You only have to wave it around for a few minutes to get everyone’s attention and cooperation. Grudging cooperation, but cooperation nonetheless.
Besides, I’ve finally gotten rather fond of the sound of somebody torturing cats, or whatever it is they do to make that gawdawful noise, er wonderful music. :eek:
That reminds me of some of the “Music wars” that I used to get involved in at my old job. We used to have to test out donated stereo equipment. I and two of my co-workers had a few “special” cd’s that we would have stashed away just to drive crazy our co-workers. Worker 1 would fire up a spice girls cd just to drive us crazy. Worker 2 replied with a selection of John Denver (which always drove me batty) and then I fired back with a cd of “It’s a small world” on cd… on repeat…Loudly.
