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“Inside the Box”: Google Engineer Saves 90 Percent of Salary By Living in Truck

"Because home is where ... you park it:" The 23-year-old says he's not a crazy loner

By now, you might have heard about the Google engineer who is saving 90 percent of his income by living in a truck parked inside the company's headquarters.

If not, here’s a refresher.

Twenty-three-year-old Brandon (he has not disclosed his last name) quickly became the talk of the town when word broke this week that he was living in a 16' box truck to avoid paying rent in the Bay Area.

After photos of Brandon's living situation went viral, people began wondering: Does Google know he lives in the parking lot? Does he have friends? Is he insane? Why are there stuffed animals in his truck?

Brandon unwittingly found himself in the limelight – and the target of criticism. So, like many 21st century tech aficionados, he recently turned to his blog to explain himself. 

As it turns out, Brandon is not living in the truck so much as sleeping in it. The only time he's there, he writes, is when he's sleeping or doing laundry.

"If you're living a large portion of your waking hours inside a small box, you're doing it wrong," he writes rationally. He also confirms that he uses Google office perks -- such as gourmet food, 24 hour gyms with showers and a bathroom, and arcade games -- to supplement his truck's scant amenities.

Still, he received a lot of flack from people asking if he had a social life, and if people were weirded out by the whole truck-living thing.

"People seemed really eager to paint me as some sort of goblin who works 16 hours a day and is afraid of sunlight and women, which I probably should have expected," he writes. But apparently that's not the case. He says he has a great social network (a real, live, offline one!) and that "people are far more accepting" of the truck life than anonymous commenters have been.

As for Google, the company hasn't endorsed the idea of living in a truck parked in the company parking lot, but security hasn't kicked Brandon out either, and it doesn't appear that there are plans to. After all, he may live inside a box, but he still thinks outside of one, and that's a trait Google has cultivated for years.

So, for now, the engineer will continue to live on the premises with his stuffed animals.

"I'll admit, as a grown man living in a truck, stuffed animals are about the only decoration that could possibly make my living situation look any creepier," he writes. "The reality is that they were given to me by a friend, and they're one of the few possessions I've attached sentiment to."

He also says he will be glad when his 15 minutes of fame are over, and that he appreciates the tips people have sent in on how to improve his truck.

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