Comments on Lunch on the Lam

• Posted by introvert on June 30, 2009 at 8:15am EDT

• Happily, I live close enough to campus that I can go home for lunch. But, I have worked at places where I couldn't do that. There, I would sit in an empty conference room on occasion if I couldn't get off campus. I would also sometimes go to a small park nearby when the weather was nice.

• everyone needs to recharge
• Posted by extrovert on June 30, 2009 at 9:00am EDT

• I had to laugh while reading the entry! Not that recharging isn't essential, it is. However I MUST regularly lunch with people I know/trust in order to stay sane. If this is over a brown bag (not often) or out to eat (yes, the calories and dollars do add up) is irrevelant. What is key to my sanity is some time talking to people who I can share the day's insanity with. My friends can either confirm that yes, the latest decision/meeting/faculty comment is in fact lunacy or no, I need to get a grip. Either way their wise counsel and good cheer is essential to my mental health. I've learned to schedule at least one or two lunches each week.

• Try your local library
• Posted by stevenb on June 30, 2009 at 9:15am EDT

• I bring lunch every day, except when there are lunch meetings, but I don't feel the need to get out for lunch. If I do, that's when I head to the gym. I'll just eat lunch while I walk over there (a sandwich on the way there, fruit on the way back). But I was going to suggest a local public library if you have one within a few miles. Most will allow food these days (especially if it's not messy or aromatic) and since you probably have a campus library I doubt you'll run into students or colleagues at the local public library.

• Lunch on the Lam
• Posted by shygal , Coordinator/Counselor at John Jay College on June 30, 2009 at 9:15am EDT

• I identify with you 100%. One of the things that I do is go to the local bookstore (which has a built-in coffee shop) and just bring my lunch there while reading a book or just relaxing. There are also public atriums around where I can go in and just relax and eat in peace. It definitely gives me more energy for the afternoon meetings and completion of paperwork/projects.

• Lunch on the Lam
• Posted by Guy , Assistant Dean at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on June 30, 2009 at 10:15am EDT

• I enjoy using my lunch hour to go for a run alone or with a colleague. Honestly, there are others in my area who are much more faithful about getting their daily exercise in. Often they drag me away from my desk--threatening to demolish my cpu if I don't sooperate! Also, on occasion I'll take a book to a quiet place on campus to get a little escape in during the day. As Steven Covey likes to say, we need to keep our saws sharp!

• The best battery charger
• Posted by Beth on June 30, 2009 at 11:15am EDT

• As a new mom, I go home every day to feed and play with our son. (My husband has pointed out that I rarely came home just to have lunch with him...) I often don't even have time to eat something myself, but I feel ready to face a hectic afternoon after doing so.

  However, before we had our son, I would occasionally drive to a nearby park and sit in the car to eat lunch if the weather was too hot, too cold, or too wet...watch the birds and squirrels, listen to the radio, and not talk to anyone.

• Me too!
• Posted by The Game on June 30, 2009 at 11:45am EDT

• I can totally relate to this. I used to eat on campus all the time. Over time, I found it more and more necessary to get away from campus. I don't even have to get away from my co-workers. In fact, they often go out to eat with me... but getting away from campus is essential to my mental health and it does make the second half of the day more bearable. It costs more and I gain more weight than I probably should, but I am happier. My personal costs/benefits analysis tells me to keep eating off campus.

  p.s. There is nothing "sad" about eating by yourself in your car. I do that sometimes also. You need to be comfortable being alone. The difficulty is finding somewhere to park that is pretty and scenic.

• lunch AND dinner
• Posted by Peg at Montana State University on June 30, 2009 at 2:45pm EDT

• A faculty friend used to take the departmental secretaries out to lunch every Friday. Since the town was not large, he had to get creative. So they had lunch at places like the middle school and the county jail (reservations recommended, I assume). An interesting way to learn more about your community, even if the food isn't all that great.

  I had the same experience Dean Dad reports when I had jobs that required an evening stint on campus (that happens when you work with programs for non-trad students). Even if I only had half an hour, I would go home, take off my suit and put on my robe. Then I'd have a microwaved dinner and glance at the mail before heading back to the office. I didn't feel nearly as "oppressed" by going BACK to work as I did when I had to stay right on through. That was easier when I was single.

  A colleague who ALWAYS ate lunch in the departmental break room instituted a rule that there could be no "work" conversation in the lunchroom. I found I missed that extra dimension in getting to know my colleagues when I moved to a workplace that had no breakroom and no habit of incidental congregating.

• Pick your spots
• Posted by sibyl on June 30, 2009 at 5:30pm EDT

• I share the need for escape, and I have used the following choices:

  • A public park, like others. On rainy days, I use the roofed picnic area; they are always empty on those days, and even in the winter it's usually tolerable for an hour.
  • The food court at the local mall. Nobody checks on your food sources there, and if I forgot my soda pop I could easily get a replacement. (Just had to avoid "forgetting" my french fries or ice cream.)
  • My church, which was luckily close to campus. I explained my situation to the clergy and they were glad to let me use one of the classrooms or conference rooms. (Not recommended for atheists and agnostics.)
  • An empty classroom or conference room. A pal in the registrar's office gave me a list of open rooms during lunchtime; as long as I waited until after classes had changed I could usually avoid meeting colleagues and students.
  • A remote and ill-used corner of the student center or certain classroom buildings. At a college where there were one or two physics majors per year, the physics lounge was a good bet.
  • When I worked at a large research university, I ate in the student center at the medical school. No one knew me there, and since I wore "work clothes" (even without a lab coat) no one challenged my right to be there.
  • A study carrel in the library. I went in and closed the door and I was instantly off stage.
  • An AV carrel in the library, in a library where study carrels were hotly contested. If I put a DVD in the player, I had privacy, even if I didn't actually watch the video.

  Finally, eating in your car is less sad than eating at your desk. I know this from experience.

• more ideas
• Posted by Erin on July 7, 2009 at 8:00am EDT

• great post, as usual, dean dad. i echo some other posters' thoughts:
  -go for a good powerwalk or run for about 30 minutes. you can figure out the logistics later (for example, if you need to shower or clean-up, the course you'll take so as to avoid people, and the like). there's nothing like a good cardiovascular awakening to recharge those batteries!
  -if there's a mall nearby, go there and either a) eat in that food court, by bringing your own lunch or buying from one of the vendors and/or b) powerwalking/strolling through the mall concourse.
  -this may sound a bit odd (if not mean), but if you find yourself in public places and don't want to be bothered (sometimes i've found that having a solid 30 minutes free of stimulation is a great respite!), you can always wear headphones to your ipod, mp3 player, etc. but not actually be listening to anything. :) i've done this several times on public transit.

  good luck.

• Getting off campus
• Posted by Lou Reibling , V/P emeritus at Schoolcraft on July 7, 2009 at 11:30am EDT

• I had many similar experiences with working out on campus. Oftentimes, faculty would come up to me during my workout to interrupt and indicate "I was going to call you , but since you are here" and then present a problem that I was supposed to finalize. The solution is easy--Don't workout on campus.

• Posted by Alan on July 12, 2009 at 9:15am EDT

• Actually, though you dismiss is as "sad," I'd recommend the car. Drive someplace pleasant, bring a book or listen to the radio (or media player of your choice, if your local NPR station isn't very exciting around lunch time), and relax in your own roving little bubble of home. It's not the best thing in the world for the environment, but when it comes to maintaining your sanity, you couldn't do any better.