Just let me squeeze this one out

The Co-Worker Who Sits Next To Me gets calls all fucking day long from bill collectors from every far-flung corner of this great Earth, so when I'm in before The Co-Worker is, I have the fantastic honor of either listening to his phone ring incessantly or answering it and taking a message. Fifty times. Since I have a low threshold of tolerance for phones ringing right fucking next to me, I generally answer the phone using my Pleasant Phone Voice (you know the one) that is totally nicer than I could ever claim to be in reality, and ask to take a message, thinking it will quiet the ringing for the day. The bill collectors on the other end (who I suspect are on the other side of the Earth) always decline to leave a message. I tell them that this is his work phone and that he will be in much later. And then they call back 30 minutes later. And it's driving me crazy.

Would it be poor office etiquette to disconnect the phone altogether? I've already tried turning the ringer down but it didn't work. (These phones sort of suck. My transfer button doesn't work and it's the source of much consternation and ribbing for me in the office.)

I have told this guy on several occasions that the bill collectors have been calling all day, but he laughs and says, "That's why I just don't answer." It's funny, all right. Just now when I got a call from one of the bastards, I let fly a few nasty, frustrated words after hanging up, and not a single person around me even flinched. Granted, one person is hearing impared, but still. It's like everyone's an office zombie and the phone joke's on me.

In other less depressing office news, I got Thanksgiving and Christmas off, which is pretty awesome considering I'm the rookie here. I'll miss the annual Christmas eve family fun, since I'll be working 3-11:30 that day, but I'll deal with it.