One of the best ways to destress after a tiring or stressful (duh!) time at work would be to do it with cartoons. Yes, cartoons. Preferably one that you thoroughly enjoy watching. It doesn't have to be funny, smart, well drawn or one that makes sense, so long as you enjoy it.
My favourites are Phineas and Ferb (disney channel) and Chowder (cartoon network).
Phineas and Ferb
Stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb are engineering prodigies who produces engineering marvels during their summer vacations, right in their backyard. Candance, their sister tries to get them 'busted' by running to their mother every time she finds them 'up to no good' with one of their projects.
Lucky for them, mom never really gets to see any of their projects (unless they are making it for her) and they get away scot-free while Candance vows time and again to 'catch' them on their next attempt.
It's predictable after awhile, but the formula really diminishes any form of suspense (and in at least one of the episodes, they actually got caught!) which gives you peace of mind after a long day at the office. The writers' level of creativity in trying to replay the formula in every episode is also mind-blogging. And they write damn good songs too!
Oh, and before I forget, that teal and orange coloured animal at the edge of the surfboard with the two lead characters is their pet platypus who is a secret agent, Agent P. Got your attention yet? Here's what he looks like when he is not Perry, the platypus.
Agent P receiving orders at his headquarters interrupted by the Disney Channel crew.
Some of the favourite catchphrases that fans of the show would know are:
Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today - Phineas
Busted! - Candance
Hey, where's Perry? - just about anyone in the cast
Oh, there you are Perry - just about anyone in the cast who sees Perry
Mo-o-om! Phineas and Ferb are [insert current project description] - Candace
What-cha doin'? - Isabella, girl who has a crush on Phineas
... and etcetera
Keep an eye out for Perry's nemesis, Doofenshmirtz in some of his crazy, wacky schemes to take over the Tri-State area (he's starting small, people), his tendency to monologue to Agent P before he carries out his plan, and his inability to trump Perry every single time (just gets better every time).
Doofus... I mean Doofenshmirtz, Agent P's arch enemy and playmate
Professor Doofenshmirtz's wacky contraptions (usually machines that end with the word -enator) destroys Phineas and Ferb's projects, right before they get caught by mom. So, he's good for something after all!
Chowder
It's Chow time!
This is Chowder. I don't know what he is. Some say he is a cross between a bear, a cat and a rabbit. I just call him a boy with an incredible fascination for food who is an apprentice to a chef that makes weird food for their customers. Anyways, he gets to work in a kitchen and does not complain about anything except being denied access to any food, tasty or not. He lives with his si fu, Chef Mung (although I think that sometimes Chowder just calls him Mom - Mung and Mom sound alike to my old ears), Shnitzel (a stone-like monster that only says Radda radda but the characters still understand him anyways) and Truffles (Mung's wife who seems to have forgotten that women were supposed to be the feminine and weaker sex).
From left: Schnitzel 'Radda', Mung 'Mom', Chowder and Truffles 'Hardcakes'
Chowder also finds a friend in Gazpacho a fruit-seller who looks like an elephant and who works at the market, and a girlfriend (although he usually screams at her that he is not her boyfriend) in Panini.
From left: Gazpacho
From left: Chowder, and Panini in one of her hyperventilating mode
Panini and Chowder probably shares the most powerful love story in the history of cartoon network. I kid. His level of panic-ness speaks for itself about how much he loves her deep down inside. I kid again. Basically, he shows openly what most men feel deep down inside (especially after a one-night stand with a psychotic woman).
Have fun, people!