Daily affirmations of a word mercenary

At work, there’s this shared music server. Coworkers can queue up music to play on speakers through-out our corner of the office. Anyone can load up whatever they want from the collection on the server.
Cool idea, except I HATE THE MUSICAL TASTE OF MY COWORKERS. (Sorry, everyone.) This is because I’m obscenely picky about the music I listen to when I’m working. Lyrics fuck me up when I’m writing or editing. And I find guitars jangly. And emo makes me depressed. And classical can get screechy with the violins. Etc etc etc. Basically, I’m a prissy, particular bitch who needs complete and total auditory control over her workspace.
Luckily for me, my boss is the same way. An email thread went around a couple weeks ago asking who felt strongly about the public music, and my boss and I were two of the only people who came out on the side of intolerance and grumpiness and said “WE HATE IT.”
And so what happening? My boss and I were offered the option of relocating away from the open-floorplan part of the office to our own little room around the corner, which we will share. My boss was a little dubious at first (the little office gets almost no natural light and is isolated) but then I started talking about how we could swank it up — make a little seating area with nice chairs and a rug, bring in some plants, some floor lamps, etc — and we decided we’d do it.
So now we’ve moved into our own private “grumpy bitches who don’t like everyone else’s music” room. We’ve got big plans. I’ve already got my lenticular virgin Mary up on the wall, and we’ve got my boss’ awesome orange chair. But there’s also an orange rug and some Blik on order. As for music? It’s Groovesalad or nothing in our little room.
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, is in bookstores now.
You're reading a page from the archives. Check the homepage for current content.
Will Merydith
December 6th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
I’m in your corner Ariel (pun intended).
Music at work is always complicated that’s why I believe in the headphones only policy. I mean remember the garbage Mike Standish listened too?
Brodie
December 6th, 2006 at 3:00 pm
Oh my. So MUCH Rolling Stones! Ah! Ick! I can not stomach that band. I don’t blame you for one second. Plus, I always sit in the corner, even at Thanksgiving dinner.
yelahneb
December 6th, 2006 at 8:54 pm
you guys totally deserve this - right on. i should start a ‘jobster cribs’ flickr set of pimped offices - they’re starting to get plush!
lily
December 7th, 2006 at 9:36 am
thank gaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwd i don’t have to deal w/ THAT. girl, go get your sexy back on.
michelle
December 7th, 2006 at 10:23 am
i can’t listen to song with lyrics during some writing/editing projects either. i start to put stuff like, “i’m bringing sexy back…” into the copy. this does not amuse my clients.
L.
December 7th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Try the Me, You and Everyone We Know soundtrack, minus the two songs with lyrics. Great, and totally relaxing for wod work.
L.
December 7th, 2006 at 1:59 pm
WORD work
bloodiedbutnotbroken
December 7th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
I had a boring DTP job with great people once, we had a boom box, and everyone could put whatever they wanted on–for a CD…then it was someone else turn…You also had the right to politely say, could we put something else on? I learned alot about music at that job…
Can stand wearing headphones for more than an hour ,but its radio commercials that drive me postal…
btb
and lotuswasacoolmag