Colleagues horrendous attention seeking baking

[WittysMrs]

Last year a colleague decided to try her hand at baking during lockdown. It went terribly wrong and she posted the results on social media. It was funny at the time and the post was shared and went pretty viral. When she came back into work everyone kept going on about the muffins she’d made (Peppa Pig that ended up looking like Mr Blobby) and laughing about it telling her to make some more.
The weekend after she made something else and posted it on social media. These ones looked like turds. Everyone laughed.

Since then she’s been doing it every few weeks and it’s got really tiresome. It’s not just Facebook, it’s the constant talk about it at work. It’s got boring. She’s been baking now for over a year and is still making the same mistakes that ruins whatever it is she’s trying to make. I suggested yesterday that she’s ruining stuff on purpose now for the laughs and likes. She got quite defensive over it and said I could always unfollow her on Facebook. I said that would be an option if it wasn’t for the constant talk about it at work!! The latest one is some elf muffins she’s made that look like piles of snot on a muffin. She’s “promised” everyone that she’ll bring them in to work today. I’m so tired of it now. I have to work closely with her all day so when everyone is coming over to talk “baking fails” i have to sit and listen to it too.
Enough now ffs. It’s wasting food for a start and it’s ridiculous attention seeking. It’s been over a year, she should know how to avoid creating messes by now.

She's right. You should unfollow her. Better still, unfriend her. For her sake.

You don't find it funny, fine. The joke has been overdone, fine. But you don't need to be mean.

I don’t think your colleagues or the woman’s baking is the office problem here, it’s scrooge mcwitty here unable to allow others joy, happiness and a laugh in what is essentially the shortest year of this century.

I think people saying she might be lonely etc could be speaking from experience. I know how hard it is to be lonely and isolated and just not part of groups. I think I probably have done things on purpose to get noticed in some way, and it has made me feel more part of the group and less invisible. It can be a road in to making closer relationships or feel like you belong somewhere. I know attention-seeking can be irritating, but it can also be a sign that the person does need something. If you don't want them to get attention in a way that you find irritating and inappropriate, then perhaps trying to give them other ways of feeling noticed or visible or whatever - meet the need in a different way.

Ruined cakes, wet blankets, ehh.

She's setting herself up to be a scapegoat/patsy.

The only way she gets attention is by being the worst at something.

I think I used to behave in this way (not as extreme) it was more subconscious and I wasn't doing things badly to later advertise them, but I had that thing going on where if the first time anybody paid me any attention in years was because of some failure that I took with good spirits. I'd laugh along like yes it was all an hilarious pantomime that made them feel good

I know now, for some people, I'm so below their radar that my only useful purpose to them is to make them feel good about them selves so I avoid playing along.

Took me til my late 40s to GET this though.

*shitest

Why does this bother you so much?

@2oldfordrama

I don’t think your colleagues or the woman’s baking is the office problem here, it’s scrooge mcwitty here unable to allow others joy, happiness and a laugh in what is essentially the shortest year of this century.

Exactly.

Working in an office can be shit and stressful. Being around other people you don’t particularly like or who you’d choose to spend time with is hard. But there’s no need to make others feel bad about themselves or cause misery just because you don’t find something funny. It really isn’t worth being mean over.

*you wouldn’t choose to spend time with

At least there's no need for her to attempt to bake a fun sponge.

Just roll your eyes and ignore it.

I thinn that's just part and parcel of office life, if its not colleagues baking there would be bants over whose turn it was to make the tea, what someone's having for tea, or some other such nonsense.
Change of career op?

You sound very bitter OP. We all laugh at my mum’s terrible attempts at cooking after 39 years of my life and I’m sure there were many before!
Lighten up, if it makes her laugh and a few others around her, leave them be.

Unless the others are getting loads of tasty cakes out of it, I am sure others will get fed up of it in time too. I would.
YANBU

Buy some ear plugs for you and a baking cookbook for her!

I get why you’re irritated but you won’t be able to stop it.

Well, you sound like a barrel of laughs OP, and, if I’m honest, a little bit jealous of the attention she is getting.
You choose how you feel, and by getting annoyed about it, you’re probably not coming across well at work to everyone else who finds it funny.
You could, instead of showing your annoyance, be kind and tolerant - yes, you’ll need the patience of a saint, but your behaviour will be noticed much more positively and you won’t be dragging your own reputation down.

@SoupDragon

At least there's no need for her to attempt to bake a fun sponge.

Just roll your eyes and ignore it.

YANBU. After a year or so of baking regularly she should be a expert now definitely doing it for attention. Just let it go over your head op.

She sounds as tiresome as fuck op. I get it. It was funny the first couple of times but its overdone and boring now. She is definitely doing it for lolz now

So every few weeks she bakes something shit then people talk to her about it?

Hardly office crime of the century, is it?

Unfollow on FB, don’t make a big deal about it. You’ve made your opinion clear but other people seem to enjoy it so don’t be an arse.

I suggested yesterday that she’s ruining stuff on purpose now for the laughs and likes. She got quite defensive over it and said I could always unfollow her on Facebook.

I'm with you - i bet she's going it on purpose too and I'd have said so. The think is, there is genuine incentive with this nonsense because some people actually make a living out of fabricating stuff on Instagram and facebook. Even is she isn't she's probably hoping she wil, and still dining out on her fifteen minutes of viral fame.

Like all these couples who constantly prank one another (it can't possibly be a genuine surpise after the 18th time) or do stupid experiments that go on for about 25 minutes keeping you hanging on with the promise of amazing outcomes, all so their sponsors can do a bit of data mining. And people fall for it.

It's tedious, but then I am a grumpy old woman who loathes any form of blatant attention seeking and it never ceases to amaze me how gullible some people are.

It's uniting your work colleagues which is always a good thing.

'look like turds' . 'look like piles of snot'

You're being mean.

I think that's the intention - to make the baking look as much of an hilarous fail as possible.

Agree it's annoying but nobody's aware of what's in their own blind spot.

Perhaps your comments will change her behaviour. Wait and see. Perhaps there will be no more shit cakes.

She just overstayed her welcome at the shit joke a bit too long.

She might have been defensive in the moment but later thought, ok, yeh, i milked this one good. I'll rest this joke now.

Why does this bother you so much?

Probably the same reason blatant attention seekers and people who constantly try too hard to be funny but aren't bother me.