# Fruitcake in next cubicle sings all day. What would you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 19, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545 "2008-08-19T12:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/41 "2008-08-20T03:43:42Z")
What I woud do is what I did several years ago now to a co-worker who I didn’t mind but who was a bit loopy and would both hum and sing: tell her to stop. For the most part, she didn’t even realize she was doing it. After I told her it was annoying me she was much better,but every once in a while she would start again. It would be followed by me telling her to stop and/or tossing a paper clip in her general direction to get her attention. The way that I see it you’ve got two choices, suffer in silence or address it. I picked the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/42 "2008-08-20T03:47:33Z")
I worked with a guy that was like her. He sang nursery rhymes. :eek: A 40 year old guy that sang frick’n nursery rhymes. 😕 I don’t know what I’d done to him had he been around me all day. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/43 "2008-08-20T04:23:10Z")
[QUOTE=nd\_n8] That is wonderfully evil, I love it. Being an offsite warehouse manager is a great advantage as I am alone in my office. I can sing whenever I want. Don’t tell no one. [/QUOTE] I was the victim of of it myself and for 2 days I tore my desk apart. The perp moved it while I was at lunch INTO my cubicle divider. What makes it evil is that it doesn’t beep at the same interval so you end up trying to time it so that you can listen for the next one. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/44 "2008-08-20T05:09:22Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Smith] The woman that sits in the cube diagonal from me, on the other side of a partition (rather than across an aisle) _sings_, and hums, and bangs her feet _all day long_. She’s 60-ish, with a “bubbly” personality, and I’m certain she regards herself as quirky and charming. In reality, she’s hugely fucking annoying. [/QUOTE] Awwwww. Someone has a case of the Mondays. ---
**Author:** ![FourPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e0b2c6/32.png) [@FourPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FourPaws)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/45 "2008-08-20T10:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=Glory] However, when she’s on the phone she often nervously clicks her mouse - rapid fire mouse clicking, she can keep it up for at least an hour at a time. Drives me bonkers and I really need to work up the gumption to ask her to PLEASE PLEASE STOP THE CLICKING. [/QUOTE] One of my coworkers also does this same thing. I often wish I could unplug the mouse and smack her with it. Alas, I can’t; she has a wireless mouse. I will be taking out her battery and putting small pieces of tape over the contacts, though. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/46 "2008-08-20T11:15:04Z")
Sing show tunes over her singing. OR sing the same song she’s singing, but just a few words behind her. And a little louder. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/47 "2008-08-20T11:50:06Z")
[QUOTE=lieu] Tomorrow morning when you wake, put on a nice shirt and slacks, shave extra close, use mouthwash and wear a nice cologne. Then at work, when you first hear her start to sing, quietly walk up behind her with a Zippo and light her hair on fire. [/QUOTE] ROFLMAO Other than that, I’d suggest start singing yourself, then ask her if you’re annoying her, because you know how annoying it is when people sing at work … ---
**Author:** ![BrknButterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BrknButterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrknButterfly)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/48 "2008-08-20T14:14:50Z")
[QUOTE=FourPaws] I will be taking out her battery and putting small pieces of tape over the contacts, though. [/QUOTE] Please don’t. Then I will have to listen to the constantly giggling once they realized you played a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/49 "2008-08-20T14:30:48Z")
A guy I used to work with would occasionally start singing aloud while working. It wasn’t excessive, but I honed my Simon Cowell imitation to spring a “That was the worst thing I’ve ever heard” on him. He either stopped or I forgot to do it, so I never tried it out. You could get two other people and try to get all three to critique her “singing”. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/50 "2008-08-20T14:43:14Z")
Sousa. What you need here is some John Philip Sousa. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/51 "2008-08-20T14:51:37Z")
[QUOTE=Sigmagirl] Sousa. What you need here is some John Philip Sousa. [/QUOTE] Or get a copy of [Classical Thunder](http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/6840639/a/Time+Life+Presents+-+Classical+Thunder.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/52 "2008-08-20T14:53:21Z")
Or if there’s a Wierd Al version of whatever she’s singing you could alway join in with that. ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545/53 "2008-08-20T15:19:23Z")
Yikes. I am suddenly wondering if I ever annoy co-workers. I tend to have a few minor problems with anxiety and nerves. But I am usually not in very close proximity to other people. I do play with the computer mouse a lot, and I do a few minutes of gum chewing during especially stressful parts of the day, but I spit it out pretty quickly since I don’t want to chew it in front of students. I listen to music after school, but I use my headphones if people are around. Hmmm… I’ll have to pay more attention. I wouldn’t want to get stabbed with a pencil. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruitcake-in-next-cubicle-sings-all-day-what-would-you-do/460545.md?page=2)