Questions Without Answers

Today, a friend of mine asked me if I enjoy working with the Mat-Leave-Replacement-Lady.

“She’s okay I guess.” I said.

“You make it sound like there’s something wrong with her.” My friend replied.

“Yeah, she talks to herself.”

I just don’t understand it.

I’m constantly hearing my fellow employees talking to themselves. Or, at least I think they’re talking to themselves. For example:

1) Mat-Leave-Replacement-Lady will be in her office and all of a sudden I’ll hear her speaking very loudly about something-or-another that isn’t right or “Odd, that doesn’t belong there.” There won’t be anyone around but me, so what the hell do I do? Is she talking to me? Who’s she talking to? Is she a Think-Out-Loud sorta person? I don’t want to seem rude and make it seem like I’m ignoring her, but at the same time I don’t want to respond and have her think, “Bitch, I ain’t talking to you.” Good God, could you imagine?

2) Today, I’m doing my work when another employee walks right up to my desk, stands there and looks at some papers, mutters something about printing something twice? and continues to stand there is a confused state. Honestly, I don’t know if this man printed something twice. So, I look at him; give the groan and shrug that translates to “uh, I don’t know…”, and look back at my work while hoping that he’ll leave ASAP. I certainly hope he wasn’t expecting a real response from me or an answer to explain his paper mystery.

And it’s like this for nearly all of the folks I work with. I hope it’s not contagious and that I’ll start talking to myself too.