Adventures in Accounting
I used to sit next to a lady who looked amazingly like a broody hen. This image was reinforced by her laugh, which sounded a lot like clucking and her mouth, a tiny little bow, that had an almost beak-like appearance.

Some coworkers can be safely ignored. Others can be befriended, but Henny Penny fell into neither category.

As a mildly disgruntled low wage accounting widget, she amused herself by complaining about things, all things. There was no aspect of the work environment too trivial to merit attention and comment. If it wasn't the temperature, it was the lighting or the desk spacing, or the tepidness of the water in the drinking fountain.

What was really maddening was that she never 'did' anything about the conditions she professed to abhor, probably because she was having far too much fun complaining about them.

If a gum wrapper was left lying on the hallway floor she would comment on it, repeatedly. She would comment on its inappropriate location, its inherent untidiness, the possible characteristics of the person who dropped the wrapper in question and she would always close with the phrase, "Someone should do something about it."

I can only guess that she never thought of herself as 'someone' because never, not once, not in a single instance in my 2.5 years sitting next to her did she ever stoop to pick up the wrapper.

Some people will be tempted to jump in at this point and comment that I should have suggested she pick up the wrapper or perhaps I should pick up the wrapper myself. Now those voting for me to confront my coworker have obviously never sat next to a complaining, chicken clucking, Henny Penny before or you would know how deeply such a suggestion would have offended her and how she would give me the silent treatment (not so bad) or how the future complaining would be focused solely upon myself.

As for the people thinking I should pick up the wrapper myself. This might seem an obvious solution that would end the immediate problem at hand, it fails in three major respects:

1. It simply leaves Henny Penny free to start in on the next area of complaint.
2. It ends her fun. (Remember, she enjoys complaining.)
3. It would make me her personal butt monkey, slave to all her future whims and endlessly assaulted with requests.

No, I got my revenge in other ways. Devious and ultimately satisfying ways, which I will relate when I get back from my vacation.