  $18.75! $18.75! As in, nearly a month's worth of allowance (I have cheap parents). As in, two cheap CDs.
As in, one hardcover book. As in, a pocketful of drugstore makeup.
$18.75!
I love that. I really do. It is so kick-ass that for an afternoon of easy labor (computer filing! ) I can get away with this much dough. Moola. Dinero. Loot. Muahahaha! &nbsp; The sub-minimum $5-an-hour wage might strike some as unimpressive. Even I felt a little gypped. I've worked with my dad before, and I know how draining his tasks can&nbsp;be.&nbsp;I swear I fell asleep once while standing up and trying to operate a paper cutter.
Oh, the boredom. But today far exceeded my expectations. I spent most of my 4 hours filling in the little squares in an Excel grid with my dad's customer information. (He runs his own printing business. ) This wasn't boring in the least, 'cause I had to figure out the formulas for gross and net and taxes, and reformat it whenever it started messing up.
Okay, I'm a dork, but this should come as no surprise. I mention it right in the title. &nbsp; Now, lest you assume that everything in this job is perfect (besides the $5&nbsp;pay I'm sure some people are scoffing at), let me assure you that there are flaws. For one thing, I suffered several minor heart attacks when a mispressed computer button led to a black screen with strings of nonsense letters across it.
I also had the same rake hit me in the head and give me a splinter while I was raking up disgusting leaf goop in the driveway. I had to deal with disgusting leaf goop in the driveway. I had to deal with my dad's atrocious handwriting (many of the little boxes in Excel read '???'). My hands got coated with sticky rust-dust that has yet to wash off while I was throwing spare printing press parts into boxes. I probably got sunburned while standing around outside. I had several more minor heart attacks when huge hornets&nbsp;insisted on flying around near me.
I had a pretty good time though, so it was definitely worth it. &nbsp; Oh, and the best part? The splinter is on my middle finger, so when I go show it to my sister, I can flip her the bird accidentally-on-purpose. Now that I have a job, I really am mature. 
