Suffering in silence?

Well, well, well... we meet again.

One of the perks of working in a cubicle is that we are not confined. The lucky cubicle dwellers, such as myself, are subject to the open air, a fresh breeze, the constant din of the office, and of course we have the privilege of easy communication with the other cubicles in our network. It's so simple; if I lose my pencil I can just call out, "Aw, shucks, I lost my pencil." Like clockwork, a dozen hands will crest above the cubicle maze, and walah! - the cubicle is your oyster!

It's beautiful to be a part of such a close knit community, a group of people so willing to help out in a time of need. And, with no limits to communication among group members, conversation, and company are in no short supply.

However, this brilliant circuit of cubicle dwellers have to face some adversity too. For instance: you may ask yourself what happens when two people are on the phone at the same time? Wouldn't it be difficult to know if you are being talked to by your cubicle buddy, or just eaves dropping on an important conference call?

Well, I'm glad you asked. Because, quite frankly, I've unintentionally eaves dropped on many conversations, daily. I know Robert doesn't wear the color blue because his ex-wife bought him a blue vest the day she took off with their Hispanic gardener, Manual. I know Marge was born with six fingers, and every time she goes to shake someones hand, she thinks they're looking at her hand-scar. I know that Greg watches YouTube videos during work of cats doing silly things because he genuinely missed his cat while he's not home. I know Missy listens to Oprah on pod casts. I think you get the picture.

The worst is when the person beside me is talking on the phone at the same time as I am. We end up trying to compete with each other, desperately trying to listen to what the person we are trying to talk to is saying, while tuning out the cubicle talker next door. It ends up being a boxing match of sorts. The workers ( or audience) in cubes close to us, trying not to listen to what the two people on the phone are saying, and the manager (referee) making sure to walk by and stop at each of our cubes to gesture with his finger in front is lips that we need to talk softer. And finally, the two competing (boxers) to talk loud enough so their client can hear what their saying. We usually end up turning away from the noise, our backs to whatever direction the other guy is located. We are constantly getting tangled in the damn phone cord. Its a bloody brawl which ends in both boxers irrationally resenting each other, as if it was their fault that a customer called at the same time.

Which, by the way, who invented the blasted phone cord? Right? I just looked over at mine and its a mangled mess. I am constantly grabbing the cord and letting the phone helplessly unwind as I stand up tall enough so the phone has enough space to completely untwist without hitting the ground. Sometimes I'm standing up with my arm as high in the air (over the cubicle) as I can get it and the phone still hits the floor *thud, thud, thud*, while other cubicle sympathetics watch in silence as they can completely feel my pain. This may be one of the offices biggest downfalls.

It's a different world, here in our little community. Isolation and absurd bonding make for a cult like atmosphere. And phone cords, knotted up in sticky platic blobs, have us picking and unwinding, uncoiling and cursing throughout the day.