Tech Life The single nap situation

The Sleep Token

Not quite horrible weather in California… we can got outside and a few folks at work are still wearing shorts as some type of strange “We will not admit defeat to Winter” protest.

What I miss from warmer days is this: I get up ass early and drive over the hill for a couple hours of waves. Once that’s done, I drive back over the hill toss the surf gear out of the car and toss the hockey gear in. Truck up to the old Netscape campus and play two more hours of pick-up hockey.

By 3pm, I’m exhausted. I walk in the front door and begin to fortify the house because I need to protect something. Turn off the phone, mute the Mac, lock the door, and close the blinds. I’m safe, but I’m not accessorize. A quick shower, a glass of water next to the couch, and something mind numbingly dull on the TV… golf works… football, too.

I am now prepared to cash in my Sleep Token.

The Sleep Token is some bizarre physiological doo-dad which assures that I am only going to get ONE SHOT at taking a nap in the middle of the day. I can be falling-over-tired, but I can only truly fall asleep once when it’s not night time. Any interruption of the falling asleep process and I’m fully screwed.

No, it doesn’t matter if I’ve only been asleep two seconds or two minutes. If I’m interrupted, the Token is gone. I’ve laid on the couch for hours after a three second nap interrupted by the Dad calling to ask about the surf and nothing… my body is done. The Token has left the building.

The family is well aware of my Sleep Token issues. During the holidays, I go out my way to tell everyone that “Ok, I’m going to cash in a Sleep Token downstairs in front of the tube. Let’s KEEP IT DOWN, shall we?”

Clearly, we all have Sleep Tokens. Hell, the country of Spain has a nationally sanctioned Sleep Token redemption program — they call it, “the siesta”. It’s two hours in the middle of the work day when everyone heads home for a nap. Fuck yeah.

My only question is this, “What evolutionary advantage do I get by only have a single Sleep Token?” What up Mother Nature?

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15 Responses

  1. Lloyd 20 years ago

    You’re lucky to even get one. I seem to be incapable of napping despite enjoying it as a child. Perhaps I should look into investing in a carpet square.

    I imagine has more to do with my sedentary lifestyle and high caffeine intake then any childhood trauma.

  2. Nick Douglas 20 years ago

    I can’t nap either. I can fall asleep in class, sure, especially if I’m in the front row. The more embarassing the situation, the more likely I can fall asleep. But when I tuck myself in during the afternoon, full of food, with a book in front of me? Can’t get a wink.

  3. some 20 years ago

    I think I’d choose Italy over Spain because I heard Italy has midday naps AND nice shoes.

  4. meek 20 years ago

    This article was truly fascinating. I’m a big fan of winter myself so it’s always interesting to see another Point Of View!

  5. josh 20 years ago

    I am also one of those who are only given one token per day.

    Yes, it sucks when you were hoping to get a little more value out of it than a 15 minute nap; but there is an upside.

    If you have been working late, or sitting around in one of those “I’ve just smoked a shitload of dope to get to sleep, but now my mind is just running around in circles and i can’t sleep” states, then the 15 minutes of sleep you eventually do get before the new day does tend to tide you over until you next chance to cash in a token.

    On a totally unrelated issue, the URL field doesn’t check for “http://“ or “ftp://” or whatever. That may be a political stance, but I think the status quo is if there is no “http://“, thats what it should be, rather than “http://randsinrepose.com/mt/URL“

    Meh. I just previewed again, and it detects “http://“ as a HyperLink(tm), and inserts href’s, but does not do the same for “ftp://”

  6. Eli Sarver 20 years ago

    Italy has nice shoes, yes. But Spain has Spanish women, and that’s much better.

  7. Shafer 20 years ago

    As to what the evolutionary advantage is, my guess would be a survival trait probably hardwired into us at a mostly technology-free phase of human existence. If you try to sleep in an ‘unprotected’ (grassy plains, living room, etc) area, and something is significant enough to rouse you, you need to not sleep again while youre in that area lest you be ‘eaten’ (roaming lions, brother’s children).

  8. Jo-Pete Nelson 20 years ago

    You’re lucky that you get that one sleep token. In general, I can’t go to sleep during the day if I ever want to fall asleep at night. So, if I want to be awake the next day, I just have to wander around tired today.

  9. TheNintenGenius 20 years ago

    I’ve never been able to nap, even when I’ve been flat-on-my-back, wishing-I-were-dead sick. I don’t really know why I’m incapable of doing it. Maybe it’s because I’ve always had trouble just falling asleep, and when I finally manage that there’s no getting me out of bed until at least 10 or 11 AM if it’s not a weekday.

  10. Jeffrey J. Hoover 20 years ago

    Ah, sleep. I knew it well. I don’t know if you have kids, but it get’s harder once you do. I’m blessed with a wife who knows that I do better if I get a nap at least once a week. Sunday afternoon I get a bonus token sometimes. 🙂

  11. Klaatu 20 years ago

    Dear Rands;

    Although I like the snow in Winter, I like Summer so much at 28 degrees latitude that I resent sundown at 5:30 PM. All Surfers seek the endless Summer.

    Even though you could be robbed of a sleep token, there’s always the weekend for sleeping in….mmmmmmm,Ambien!

  12. Martin 20 years ago

    I want some wake tokens…zzzzzzzzz…..

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