New to the Office Mill

I have worked for myself as a freelance writer for over 10 years. Just this fall I started working in an office. At first it was just for a day or two, then built up to a week at a time. But, still, I came home, 1,000 miles away, and never had to deal with the intricacies of office relationships.

As of March 15th, I became a full-time employee of this office. It was an easy transition since I had come to know most of the people I'd be working with. Well, I knew them in a surface way. I knew their basic job descriptions and the topics they liked to discuss when not writing math problems. But that was about it.

I have never been one who appreciates gossip. Wait, I need to say that another way. I love to be "in the know" about the company. So, when one of my colleagues starts to fill me in on something...I want to know the dirt. But that dirt often slips knee-deep into mud before I know it. Then I'm stuck. I don't know what to do. I've found out something I don't want to know and I can't un-know it.

There are other times when I get caught in the office mud on the giving end. I really just need to vent about a certain someone who is supposed to be working for me and isn't getting anything done. Again, I go to a trusted colleague to vent and to ask an opinion. But I get into my story and my venting a bit too energetically....and, there I am, waist-deep in mud.

So, tell me, how does one avoid that slippery gossip slope? Or, is it not gossip if you never intended it to be?