...the lady in the cubicle next to me

by Sassy

I met her when she interviewed for her job. I got to sit on the panel since she would be sitting in close proximity to me. She is older than me, like my mother's age. At first I wasn't sure what to think about her. She is nice enough, but there is a side that I was never so sure of. This woman seemed to have so many problems and so many issues stemming back from her childhood. It was crazy. All I could do was appreciate my situation and be thankful for what I had. I honestly could never imagine being her age, with four kids, and living a life like her. It actually broke my heart and made me feel bad for her.

With her being new, someone had to train her. Our boss at the time was a lazy person that was so wrapped up on herself that she couldn't be bothered with it. So, the responsibility fell on me. I was alright with this as I had trained plenty before her and I knew and still know the office better than anyone else. She took page after page of notes while I trained her. Please keep in mind, at this point I was running the entire by myself. I was fresh out of college and was doing the work of two full time people as well as a student. Yes, that is a lot of work, but it can be done. I never got behind and I never complained about my job. After DAYS of training her, I had her start working on her own and told her to be sure to ask me if she had any questions. I didn't realize that there would be so many questions that came my way. The stuff that we do isn't that hard at all. It didn't help her that she is a slow typer...which still is a problem. What can you do though?

This lady has been a part of my life for about two years now. I have come to the conclusion that I can like her as a person, but have a super hard time dealing with her on a work level. We just don't work well together. She is slow and lazy and that is nothing like I am. I don't try to pawn my work off on other people. I don't wait for other people to do things instead of just doing them myself. I don't complain about my job on a constant basis. I don't fuck off to where I am so far behind in my work that it would take weeks to get back on track. I feel bad for this woman. She has a ton of shit in her life that is so bad. So her home life sucks and work is her escape. But she is affecting other people around her. She is driving other people nuts. She isn't even helping out her own situation. She portrays herself to be this super strong person when really she is weak and about to break. I try so hard to be there for her on a personal level and then she does something at work to piss me off and then I have a hard time even looking at her.

Needless to say, I am beginning to loose my patience and am about to unleash my anger, frustration, and God knows what other feelings I am holding in. I just know that the office is getting more and more tense and something needs to give.