office etiquette

sometimes i worry that i'm talking too loudly at my desk, and i am bothering other people... this stems from the loud T.M.I. talkers i sit or sat near-- for example, the co-worker who spoke to the daycare center loudly about breast feeding... enough. but now there is another individual near me who shares too much... be it about the temperature, computer issues, what's for lunch, weekend plans, running schedule-- simply too much. when i get on the phone, or talk to another person, i do have a bit of a fear that I am too loud. as a strategy when i make personal or semi-personal calls i try to speak very quietly directly into the phone, as if i am speaking to a spy about top-secret information. that, or i take a cell phone call in the stairwell.

note: after i wrote this post, i received a call from a co-worker who could not hear me and asked me to speak up. i ended up yelling about net and gross square footage and feeling like a hypocrite.