"Blah blah"s not so bad.

Why is it that this person has to be irritating? Unless they have a voice like a megaphone, I don't see why we have to assume a person is irritating or uninteresting. That said, I would be sure to pack a lot of distractions that would hold me over if I couldn't tolerate this person. My very nice sound-cancelling headphones would be in the bag for sure. Maybe they'd give this person a hint.