please help me . . . argh

[Bertha Venation]

My cell mate is having shoulder surgery and will be out for the next two weeks. Her replacement is a lovely woman who is already driving me out of my freaking mind.

She wants to play a cd and can't get the speakers to work. I tell her my cell mate never plays music and probably has the speakers turned off. No, they're on . . . I suggest she check the volume control. She says, "Oh, that's a good idea." :eyes: Duh! Turns out that's what the problem was.

So she puts in her cd and then she says -- "she doesn't even have RealPlayer installed!" Like it's a major flaw in my cell mate's character. All the machines have Windows Media Player anyway. I say, "Oh." Like I care. So what does she do -- she goes & downloads RealPlayer. It's against policy to d'load & install ANYTHING here, not that I care about her breaking policy, but what an idiot! I want so badly to smack her upside the head and say "just use the Windows Media Player" but god dammit, I'm so cranky I'll probably come off like a total bitch.

So now she's listening to opera. I have no problem with opera. But I'm listening to Jackson Browne, low, but I can hear her fucking opera and can no longer listen to JB as a result.

Two weeks of this.

Fuck. Just . . . fuck. Shoot me now.

[Sequoia]

1. Explain the rules to her

like if she doesn't comply they'll replace her. Sort of in a "I'm on your side way". That way she may feel you helped her out (and the rest of you too). Otherwise, your work will suffer and you'll be more stressed out when you get home.

[KinkyDem]

2. I feel for ya

The co-worker who you like, this is her computer this other person has broken the rules on? Ummm ... go advocate for your cell mate or she may get the flack for this others actions. Also, hand the newbie a pair of headphones and maybe she'll get hte hint.

[Misunderestimator]

3. Oh man.... that's rough.

I love opera, but to listen to it while trying to do something else... impossible!! Me? I would politely ask her to turn it off because it is disrupting my work. If that didn't work, I would rudely tell her to turn it off. If that didn't work, I would come in early tomorrow morning and disconnect the speakers and hide them in a drawer until she leaves.

Good luck!

[PragMantisT]

4. One word, "headphones".

Put them on, aloha JB, aloha opera, aloha dumbass temp.

Unless you need to hear something besides JB, opera, or the bane of your existence.

[supernova]

13. This is a good idea - n/t.

:-)

[starroute]

5. RealPlayer is effectively spyware

It installs itself all over your system, changes file associations, sets up things that run in the background fulltime and keep trying to dial home . . . basically bad news. I'm not sure I'd want RealPlayer on any office machine unless the work absolutely required it.

Besides, who would use RealPlayer to play a CD? That's just weird.

[Bertha Venation]

6. which is why anyone with half a brain wouldn't d'load anything anyway

Ugh.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

7. Opera is a truly lousy artform.

[Bertha Venation]

8. I disagree

I just can't listen to it while trying to listen to something I want to hear.

[Mrs. Venation]

9. Opera Is The Most Wonderful Art Form

It is a sensory extravaganza! Music, acting, drama, everything about opera is wonderful!

[supernova]

11. Your namesake disagreed with you

:P

BTW, I adore opera every bit as much as a Rancid. So there!

[MikeG]

10. Have you considered farting?

[supernova]

12. Now there's

a productive hobby. ;-)