Congratulations on your new job, Carrie!

This scene plays out a minimum of 2 times a day:

I am at my desk, with the handset of the phone crooked between my ear and shoulder, pen in hand, writing fast and furious, and some ignoramus comes up to me and just STARTS TALKING at me.  HELLOO!  I am ON THE PHONE!  

It seems they think that if you're not talking yourself, that nobody else is talking either.  I always want to throttle them and say, "Hey, you knucklehead, just because YOU can't hear the other half doesn't mean there isn't a conversation going on that YOU just interrupted!"

I don't get how these folks, who insist on having the latest laptops, handhelds, and whatever other gizmos they want, can't understand the simple concept behind a TELEPHONE.