Going to go postal

I don't know what to do. The noise levels in the office are much higher than in our old building. I used to share an office with one other developer, in the attic of an old Georgian building on Tavistock Square, and despite problems with temperature in the heat of summer and the depth of winter, largely it was good. No-one disturbed us unless the matter was important enough to negotiate 6 flights of stairs.

Since moving into open plan the peace has disintegrated. There are at least 100 people on this floor. One of the marketing department has regular loud conference calls, clear as a bell. Another developer has a well-developed line in inane wittering and he's 10 feet away. A project manager comes over and physically hovers whenever he thinks of a question he wants answered. We all get sucked into the banter, I'm as guilty as anyone. The result is, you can't sink into deep concentration ever. You know, that creative space where you can lay out the shape of your document, or your code, or whatever?

When I plug myself into headphones, that's an equal distraction. I've never used them in the past - music is to be listened to, not used as white noise to blank out the world. Right now I'm listening to the Mozart Mass in C to keep out the interference from a loud application demonstration meeting with four people, taking place about fifteen feet away, and the emotion in the Qui Tollis carries me away. I can't help it - I listen to the notes, the harmonies, all of it.

damned if you do
damned if you don't
aaaaaaarrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh