petty pet peeve

Or maybe not so petty.

One of my colleagues is ANGRY. It is, apparently (the best I can determine from his ranting) because he effed something up that is going to negatively impact one of the benefits he receives.

He is stamping up and down the hall, cursing, and saying stuff he probably is best advised not to be saying when students are around.

I've closed my door because I'm tired of it. He gets like this maybe once a month. And it's always the same: some little, potentially fixable thing becomes this GIANT MASSIVE HUGACIOUS PROBLEM that comes about SOLELY because the bureaucracy is doing it to SCREW HIM OVER. And him only.

Oh, I've told him: dude, it's BUREAUCRACY. Bureaucracy, by definition, is stupid. It has stupid rules. You just kind of have to roll with it sometimes.

But no. It's always someone's FAULT and it's always done to thwart his happiness and well being.

And the other thing I've done, that I'm tired of doing and will do no more: I offered a suggestion. Call the folks in HR, I said. They're happy to help, I said. I bet they can resolve this for you in two shakes of a lamb's tail. (Because the minor benefit-related issues I've had? HR HAS resolved them snappy fast. And they're pleasant about it. And they always act like it's no effort at all for them, and it's something I shouldn't have to deal with, that it's their job to fix it.)

But no, he won't listen. I guess he'd rather be angry, rather walk around cursing and suggesting this is somehow Bush's fault (but then, isn't everything, these days?). And how it will only get worse in the future.

And you know? Crap happens. This is extremely little crap, at least from what I've seen of it. And yeah, I realize, we're all carrying heavy loads and what is "roll with it" to me is "big massive unsolvable problem" to someone else (and perhaps sometimes vice versa), but I'm really tired of his TONE and his CURSING and his stomping around yelling while I'm trying to work.

(And no, saying "Dude, step off before you have an aneurysm," even said in the politest and gentlest of terms, does not help. He's one of those people who gets MAD and who can't be placated. So I just close my door.)