The House Of Odd

There are times in the life of those unfortunate enough to spend their waking hours working away as an office drone that they need some sort of escape. Some days the weight of the endless paper shuffle, inane meetings, and artificial lights has taken their toll.

When lunchtime approaches it can be a welcome respite. But there are days when you’re not in the mood for another sandwich from the deli, or value menu. Feeling unmotivated and tired, there has to be some way to use this break to rekindle the muse.

What about a nap? Ah yes, a ‘power’ nap, as business folk like to refer to them as. Where can this sweet sounding respite take place? The cubicle is small and open to prying eyes of the general office populace. Under the desk perhaps? That might work but it won’t help out the bad back and it would be a tad mortifying to get caught. An unused conference room is quiet and generally dark but being interrupted by the impromptu meeting will warrant explanation.

Another option might be resting your head on the desk just like in kindergarten. It might work but people will constantly poke you to see if you had died at your post. This is also not good if you are a snorer.

The car is the only logical place to sleep. It is not economically feasible for most to get a hotel room. Besides most places that rent rooms by the hour don’t attract the most upstanding clientele, however, if sleep isn’t what you are looking for this might be a good option as well.

Now if you have tinted windows you can just stay in the office parking lot. You’ll have enough privacy and you’ll be able to maximize your sleep time. Otherwise it’s best to take the nap off campus and find a local park or maybe a lightly populated shopping center parking lot.

Cars naps are only comfortable for two short periods of the year in most climates. That is the spring and fall. Otherwise during the summer or winter it requires the car be left running. Which is ok, but it can be difficult to relax knowing you’ve left the car running.

With time ticking you’ve got to make the most of your ‘alone time’. For most cars the best place to ‘lie down’ is the back seat. Unless you have one of those subcompact deals, in which case you can just stay put in the driver’s seat and fold the seat back.

Set you mobile phone alarm to ensure that you don’t extend your lunch hour into 2 or 3 hours.

Put on your favorite tunes and slip away to dreamland, escaping reality. If you plan ahead you can bring a spare pillow or throw blanket to make it more like home.

Before you head back to work make sure you check your hair and give your face a quick check. You wouldn’t walk back into work with some serious ‘sleep’ marks across your cheek.

Lunchtime car naps can really help the weary cubical jockey make it through the workday. As with any short nap you run the risk of feeling groggy or potentially worse than before you went horizontal, but if an escape from reality is what you need, it may be worth it.