::A Geek in Korea::

The CRT monitor at work is a large boxy relic. The computer itself is functional for email and document creation, but the monitor is a relic. The screen is offset to one side, preventing you from seeing scroll bars. The buttons on the front of the monitor are broken, so you can’t realign, readjust, or change anything. It also produces an EXTREMELY high pitched whine that annoys me all day.

My desk is closest to the computer. I have to sit and listen to this dog whistle like whine. I can make the sound stop briefly by smacking the side of the monitor like Fonzie. The foreign coworker in the room can’t hear it, so he thinks I’m crazy for smacking the monitor a dozen times a day.

My coworker is around ten years older than me. The secretary, director, and accountant for the school all are unable to hear this sound either because they are older than him. My two younger Korean coworkers are busy on the phone, talking to parents most of the day. When the school is quiet, they said they can also hear it, but a quiet school is the exception, not the rule.

I asked several children to come into the office and verify that I’m not the only one that can hear this noise when there are students running around the school. 90% of the students polled could hear a high pitched sound when they listened for it. When I smacked the monitor they agreed the sound had gone away. They don’t spend enough time in the office to notice it, but once you “hear” it, you notice it right away.

I asked the director if there was any way to switch out the monitor, or to buy a new one for the office since it was driving me crazy listening to it all day. It doesn’t even have to be a nice monitor, just quiet.