When you were a teenager running around with your friends, dreaming of the day you’d be a “gr’up,” did you imagine there’s be so much minutiae and busywork involved? ^[i]

It’s the beginning of the week again, and the beginning of the month, and that means stuff needs doing. There are bills to pay, banking to do, cleaning to take care of, laundry to ruin, and grass to cut too short. There’s grocery shopping, dentist appointments, haircuts, and that annoying thing you’ve been putting off at City Hall.

It’d be nice to do more of the things you thought you’d do as an adult, but required busy work means you don’t have the time.  

It’s the ultimate joke – you’re old enough to do what you want to do, but every free moment is spoken for. God help you if you have a yard.

At least it never ends.

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I’m pretty sure we’re doing adulting wrong.

We need time (and money for our time) for all the garbage (required) work that comes with living an adult life. It’s not like it’s work we choose for ourselves. It’s imposed upon us and there are negative consequences for not partaking. Decide to not pay those bills for a month or two and see what happens. Nothing but good times.

Since we’ve no real way out (I’m not interested in off-the-grid), I think it’s time we were compensated for the work and drain.

Yes, I am a princess, why do you ask?

The paid half-day a week would be a taxable benefit provided by your employers. Money for the personal work that needs doing. If one was self-employed, done with work, or between jobs, a government allowance paid quarterly would fit the bill. Because requiring us to spend our precious weekends (or split days off) on housework, yard work, errands, appointments, and paperwork seems rude.

Especially considering the options available to us in the developed world (did I hear you say, “universal basic income?”).

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Doing adult administration without a reward puts me in a bad mood. Bad moods are a societal negative. Not that I’m that impactful, but multiply me by an order of millions, each one spreading the grump.

Stressing about lives outside work also reduces workers’ productivity. Happy, calm workers are what make companies spin around in an excellent and profitable manner. Perhaps not as grossly profitable as they are now, but that’s a recent, Reaganomics development.

Once upon a time, work was a team effort. There were still levels of owners, managers, and those doing the work, but everyone knew they were on the same side, trying to get to the same destination. Things are more adversarial these days, with more demands by employers who are offering less remuneration (comparatively) and little in the way of perks. Workers are seen as “less than” by the upper levels who need them employed for continued profitability and survival.

This has been mostly driven by the greediness of the manager class. I think we’re supposed to call them “elite” now. I refuse. They’re lucky, and they mostly started halfway to home.

It’s time to revisit how we define success. It’s time to start talking about how much money people really need or should have. The billionaire class is a mistake, but since they’re here, administrative days are also a paid perk whose time has come.

That’s a lot of words to say, “I want an allowance.”

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I was planning on changing my site appearance. It’s been a bit since I’ve tweaked anything and I thought perhaps a new theme might fix the world. When one’s mood is garbage, puttering can seem like a solution. Plus, my brain treats changes to my blog as akin to writing – I did something with Word Press. I can therefore give myself a mental tick instead of a mental demerit under the “blogging” column in my brain.

Unfortunately, I kind of like it as is. Back to drawers and closets.

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New to my playlist (which doesn’t always mean newly-released music);

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^[i] “Gr’up” is from an episode of “Star Trek.” It referred to the rather terrifying grown-ups the children of the settlement feared. Luckily, Captain Kirk saved the day.

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