Another cubicle rat here...
I work in a rat's maze of cubicles too and have since 1985, so it's normal to me, but I hate all the same stuff about it that you do.
The guy that sits across from me grazes ALL day. Crunch, crunch, munch, munch, now popcorn, now fruit, now nuts, it never stops. When he's not crunching, he's on conference calls, all completely legitimate and work-related, but I get to listen to them all. On the plus side, he doesn't sit anywhere near his co-workers, so he doesn't socialize at all. I am sure I drive him crazy because I sit near people I work with and people I'm friends with, so we talk more, mostly about work, but also about TV shows and the weather and whatever else. I feel self-conscious the whole time knowing that "the cruncher" (whom I really don't know) is listening and probably being bugged by the chatter, much as I am by his crunching!
And the personal phone calls to the doc and such is also really annoying. I've told my friends not to even call me at work since there is zilch privacy, and I just don't care for people to know my personal business. I make calls to doctors on my cell phone in my car or outside, but when they have to call back, yeah, that can be very inconvenient!
Cubicles suck! :mad: