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Original poster

Colleagues horrendous attention seeking baking

168 replies

WittysMrs · 17/12/2021 07:41

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.

OP posts:
MaryHingey · 17/12/2021 11:15

Let it run its course, it sounds tedious and inwardly I'd be screaming but others are enjoying it

whynotwhatknot · 17/12/2021 11:24

why do the others egg her on though have you ever mentionedit to them like oh dont encourage her or she wont stop

Biker47 · 17/12/2021 11:32

The fact she got defensive over it, makes it sound like to me you hit the nail on the head and she didn't like being called out on it.

DrSbaitso · 17/12/2021 11:35

@Biker47

The fact she got defensive over it, makes it sound like to me you hit the nail on the head and she didn't like being called out on it.
What's to "call out"?

She's not hurting anyone. She's making some people laugh and feeling included, at nobody's expense but her own (and she clearly doesn't mind). What's worse, a self-deprecating joke that makes some people laugh even though it grates on others a bit, or deliberately embarrassing somebody?

BigYellowHat · 17/12/2021 11:35

And you’re still following her on FB? Just let her get on with it, just because you don’t like it don’t be a grinch and spoil it for everyone else 🤷‍♀️

DrSbaitso · 17/12/2021 11:38

@whynotwhatknot

why do the others egg her on though have you ever mentionedit to them like oh dont encourage her or she wont stop
Well maybe, just maybe, they find it funny.

I can see why it would get grating for some people after a while, but I can also see why some people would think it was entertaining. There's lots of clicking about hilarious cake fails. It seems she only does it once every few weeks?

I would imagine that everyone realises it's probably intentional to a degree by now, but that doesn't mean it can't still be funny. It's performance.

ArblemarzipanTFruitcake · 17/12/2021 11:40

Everyone else will soon be fed up with it too and she'll stop doing it when she no longer gets attention.

I agree, an over-milked joke is very irritating and she's probably doing it deliberately now.

SlashBeef · 17/12/2021 11:45

Oh god I couldn't tolerate this. I can't stand the faux goofy "Oh what am I like?!" types.

Hellolittlestar · 17/12/2021 11:48

You sound grumpy to me for no good reason.

LaChristmasBella · 17/12/2021 11:51

You sound both jealous and judgemental.

FFS find a hobby of your own.

FestiveFruitloop · 17/12/2021 11:55

I can see how that could have got a bit irritating by now (especially the constant talk about it at work), but blimey if it's giving her and a few other people a laugh then I think that's a good thing in the kind of times we're living through. I don't really understand the strength of your response OP.

shatteredmama · 17/12/2021 12:00

You don’t sound like a nice colleague at all. How about you just politely smile and say thank you when offered one.

Did a tough night shift last night, a smiling colleague bringing over a home made mince pie was just what I needed to get through.

bluebell34567 · 17/12/2021 12:03

@Soubriquet

Certainly sounds like attention seeking

My cakes never look brilliant. But I don’t go on about how they are supposed to look like X but came out as Y

exactly.
Jux · 17/12/2021 12:09

People will stop talking about it when they get bored with it; apparently they haven't yet. You have, bad luck.

2bazookas · 17/12/2021 12:15

I'd make some FB remark along the lines of "When there are families going hungry and struggling financially , is it really appropriate to deliberately waste food ingredients for laughs? "

or " You'd be more popular if you just gave the ingredients to a food bank or shelter instead of wasting them"

TheOldRazzleDazzle · 17/12/2021 12:15

I agree with pps who have said this sort of tedious prolonged in-joke is just what happens in offices. I bet many of the people involved don’t really find it funny either. It’s just a way to pass the time. A reliable go-to.

Reminds me of the thread where the op was wondering whether to go in for her first day at a job with a UTI - someone said at their work missing your first day would never, ever be forgotten and still brought up ten years later. The very thought that a workplace could be so dismally dull that this is comment-worthy years later is pretty bleak. I think it’s the same phenomenon as the cakes here. Something, anything, to talk about.

Yes, it would annoy me too and while I wouldn’t say anything I don’t indulge this sort of stuff.

DrSbaitso · 17/12/2021 12:22

@2bazookas

I'd make some FB remark along the lines of "When there are families going hungry and struggling financially , is it really appropriate to deliberately waste food ingredients for laughs? "

or " You'd be more popular if you just gave the ingredients to a food bank or shelter instead of wasting them"

You'd look like a twat and nobody would be fooled that you were annoyed only because you care so much about food banks.

Agree that OP is just going to have to wait until everyone else is as bored as she is.

TheFairPrincess · 17/12/2021 12:28

Wow it sounds like you were really nasty.

With things like that, most people have similar suspicions but choose not to voice them because it's unkind, awkward and ultimately pointless anyway. You're not above other people by being the only one to spot this, you're just the only one mean enough to voice it to her face.

What you did was spiteful. It's not wrong to find it annoying, it's wrong to react the way you did, and now you've caused a work place conflict by being that way. Or you've upset another person who is just enjoying themselves and yes, might be seeking a bit of attention.

Dearblossom · 17/12/2021 12:35

headphones

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 17/12/2021 12:37

You sound horrible. You don't have to buy into the baking thing. If it's not your thing just don't engage! You don't have to be so bitchy about it.

RoseJam · 17/12/2021 12:39

How long in the office are you interrupted over conversations about her baking? If it is a couple of minutes, surely you can zone out or check your emails or something? If it is longer, perhaps then you can excuse yourself and make a cuppa or ladies or whatever.

As for facebook - you can choose to keep scrolling or unfollow. I have a cousin who constantly posts on FB and Insta about every sodding dish she cooks or prepares. Some are not even home-cooked - think a nice layout of chopped fruit, or cheeses and artfully arranged grapes. I wouldn't dream of saying anything to her, however. I'm sure judging by the number of FB friends she has vs the number of likes she gets for her cooking that it is not just me who finds her posts irritating.

Dontgetyerknicksinatwist · 17/12/2021 12:40

Well it doesn’t sound like anyone else in the team finds it boring…

sonjadog · 17/12/2021 12:42

Don't make any comment about foodbanks or wasting ingredients when families are going hungry. You will look like a complete twat and then you will be the person everyone makes fun of at work for the next six months.

TeddyTonksGirlfriend · 17/12/2021 12:50

Maybe suggest a fun sponge for her next bake?!? Grin

KeepApart · 17/12/2021 12:54

She's right. If you don't like it, mute her. It's not up to her to mitigate her social media because you find it tedious. This is definitely a you problem, it's just some shittly decorated cakes, no ones getting harmed

Work can be boring, it's not like you'd be having a deep and meaningful stimulating conversation otherwise. It's just some minor amusement to get people through the day