My Neighbor, Thumper

In the ever-changing world of an outsourced office environment, we are constantly letting go and hiring people. The cube next to mine has been empty for about a month now, and this week I got a new neighbor.

Now, the cubicle structure in my office is one that is supposed to encourage teamwork. Someone had the bright idea that if people had to stare at each other all day long, then they would have to work together and be "one team." As a result, the cube walls are only waist-high, and when sitting I have a clear view of my coworkers.

Which brings me to my new neighbor, Thumper. Thumper is friendly and kind, and has the vigor of a new employee. The thing about Thumper is that he thumps. On the keyboard. And I'm not just talking about your run of the mill heavy typer. Thumper is of the hunt-n-peck variety.

I noticed this characteristic the first day he started, but in just three short days, it is slowly starting to drive me crazy. From behind me, I can hear him tapping out an email, and, because of his hunt-n-peck style of typing, his thumps come in spurts. The only way I can describe it is "thump.......thump thump thump thump thump......(you can almost hear him thinking and his nose is now getting closer to the keyboard)....thump thump thump...."

Apparently, I was the only one to notice Thumper's loud habit. And now that I've pointed it out to my other cube neighbors (we sit in clusters of 6), it's starting to drive them a little bonkers too. Sometimes, just for fun, we'll start pounding on our keyboards, but Thumper is so in the zone typing his emails that he never notices.

Not only does Thumper thump on the keyboard, but we also discovered he's a heavy walker too and he's not a big guy (what is it with skinny heavy walkers, anyways?). Good thing he's just my neighbor at work and doesn't live in the apartment above mine.