Dear Queenie,
One of the guys I work with takes the same bus as I do to go to work. He always manages to sit next to me and then walks with me to our office.
The problem is he is a non-stop talker and talks about personal things I would rather not hear about. I would appreciate some peace and quiet on the bus to get ready for the workday. I don’t want to be rude to him but I do wish he would leave me alone, or at least shut up.
Queenie, what do I do? Tell him to leave me alone? Go to work later, which would mean leaving later and maybe have trouble catching a bus?—Harassed colleague
Dear Harassed,
When you get on the bus, make a point of sitting next to someone else so that there will not be an unoccupied seat next to you for the chatterbox. And when you cannot avoid him, explain that you are trying to meditate or to concentrate on some kind of job-related problem and ask him not to distract you. If necessary, carry a laptop or other digital device and work on it, and again, ask him not to distract you.
