DEAR ABBY: I love my co-workers, but several of them have an aggravating habit of walking into my office, uninvited, while I'm eating lunch at my desk. They then proceed to tell me their latest news, joke or war story.
Abby, those of us who eat at our desks do it so we can keep working and be ready to respond to work-related contacts as they come in, not to socialize. Besides, isn't it just as rude to interrupt someone while they're eating as it is while they're talking? I wish my beloved co-workers would save it for the water cooler. -- "SANDWICHED" IN SAN DIEGO
DEAR SANDWICHED: I don't think it's rude. But because you do, it's up to you to tell your well-meaning co-workers that when you're working at your desk, you'd prefer not to be interrupted because it breaks your concentration. If you speak up nicely, I'm sure they won't love you any less, and then you will love them even more.