Wouldn't let guy play with my phone and now I'm the jerk

[jonzer]

There's this guy at work, who's really nice, friendly, no reason to hate him and I can't stand the guy. It's like he invents ways to be annoying or to get attention.
He'll forget his badge that lets you in the building...so he'll band on the wall. He sits at his desk and sighs and occasionally lets out an "I-yi-yi" as if checking his email is draining all his energy. He'll eavesdrop on your conversation and butt in with the most stupid questions. The worst thing is if you have food he wants to have a conversation about it and stare at you while you eat. "Oh, is that a tuna sandwich? What's in it? Oh, tuna? Hmmmm...tuna."
And on top of all this he sounds like Kermit the Frog.

About a year ago when I got a brand new Droid phone he asked if he could check it out. I was wary but didn't wanna be mean. He programmed the damn thing to recognize his Kermit voice and downloaded a crap ton of apps...some I probably had to pay for.
Today he wanted to download some Civil War app....that he has on his Iphone but wanted to see if it's the same on a droid. I said no. I told him I didn't want him to drain my battery, I might get a text or a call while he's monkeying with it...and most of all, it's my phone and it's personal. So he gives me a bewildered look and instead of taking my "no", tries to convince me to let him play with it. So I come off looking like a jerk because I wouldn't let monkey Kermit boy play with my phone.

My question is: Am I a jerk? I'm OK with a yes answer as I'm not going to change. Other question: Would you let somebody, not a wife, girlfriend of best friend, play with your phone? Is it just me?
Other question: Would any of you be willing to help me hide a body?

[Lostinthe50s]

Dig the hole first.

[Jakedog]

Not everybody gets along. Like you said, no reason to hate the guy, he just annoys the crap out of you. I know people like this too, and I'm sure others feel the same way about me. Nothing wrong or "bad" about them, just being around them drives me completely insane. It's just how life goes. Sometimes you're forced to be around somebody that you are just totally incompatible with, and cannot stand the sight or sound of.

I don't think you're a jerk at all. I wouldn't let people play with my phone either. It's just weird.

[jonzer]

It is a weird request.

I saw an Onion headline a few months ago that said something like "guy finally finds reason to hate coworker he hates." I thought of myself and this dude.

[robt57]

Fook him, I welcome said interactions so I can take out my frustrations of keeping in my feeling to more polite people.. And allow some rapier wit to say shiett forthwith, and like that...

Best defense is an offense possibly, sauce for the douche, er.. goose...


He's not a black belt or you manager or anything, is he? ;O

[mrboson]

A smart phone is a pretty personal gadget. If you're like me, there are things are your phone that are private.

Nobody needs to be digging through texts to and from my family and friends. Nor my photos, emails, call history, etc. My phone has a pattern lock and mine is set to a complicated pattern. Only my wife and daughter need to know it.

As for the body, we have a cement plant not too far from here...

[jonzer]

I feel the same way. I don't want anyone going through my texts, photos, websites. I'm single and there's a lot of incriminating stuff in there.

I'll describe him like this: He's the kind of guy that would say something as messed up as "sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays."

[imsilly]

Sounds like a dickhead to me, so I guess you can be as much as a dickhead back to him as you want.

Have you asked anyone else if he annoys them as much as you?

And no I wouldn't let some random guy I work with download apps onto my phone.

[stephent2]

You are not a jerk, he is the jerk for wanting to mess w/ your stuff.

Stand your ground, be indignant. My response would be "Are you kidding?"

[jonzer]

Actually, he annoys everyone but I think most have become accustomed to it. Some people actually start conversations with him. But there's kind of an unwritten rule here that if you're not done with an assignment and you're on deadline, DO NOT talk to him until you're done.

I just approached a friend/coworker with "can I borrow your phone and d/l apps on it?" I got "What? Heck no." And then I told him the story. He then started to tell me of his personal annoyances with the guy.

[telepath]

No, you are not the jerk.

We have all experienced 'co-worker we irrationally dislike' syndrome.

Dont let it bug you.

[lewis]

Time to draw the line in the sand, and enforce it.

[emu!]

Tell him he can use your phone IF he comes over to mow your lawn with the riding lawn mower...then make sure the wheels are loose enought to come off.

[Seminole90]

In no way are you being a jerk. As has been said already, your phone and the apps on it are a private matter and he has absolutely no business messing with it. I think you did the right thing and should not worry about it one bit.

[rangercaster]

some people have no concept of personal space or boundaries (meaning extremely important social skills are lacking) ....upon detection, these people should be avoided ...

[Slow Reflexes]

Some people have boundary issues... either they have unreasonable boundaries, or they have no clue about boundaries.

I think your boundaries sound reasonable. A reasonable person would respect that.

Edit: Ok, so I post slowly. ;p

[Just-Jim]

People should not touch your stuff...ever. I don't think the guy in this video crossed the line at all.

[kelnet]

I can't believe that you let him have your phone for so long that he was able to program it. I would have verbally ripped him as soon as I discovered what he did to the phone.
And why does he need your phone to recognize his voice? Surely he doesn't have your number? You don't answer his calls, do you?

[JBOWLES]

Originally Posted by jonzer

I'll describe him like this: He's the kind of guy that would say something as messed up as "sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays."

Probably get his ass kicked if he said that where I work... Even without jacking around with someone's phone.

[jonzer]

He might have my number. I didn't give it to him. He called me once on something work related, which was something so simple all he had to do was look in the same place the object is always located. I pick up my phone at home and dammit...it's him. Totally ruined my night. He guy sighs a lot and can't talk without going "aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh" or "hmmmmmmmmmmm" and when I picked up my phone I get this "hmmmmmmmm...so, clay.....hmmmmmmmmmm." I almost threw my phone at the wall.