Go Long!...

"Hello. It's nice to see everyone again-O it looks like we have a new member. And what might your name be?"

"Uh..yea. Brian. Brian Shellenberger"

"Very nice to meet you Brian. Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Um...er-..yea. Uh, My-my name is Brian Shellenberger and I-I am not a sports fan."

That's right people. I, a 21 year old man (or young man), but man nonetheless, am not a sports fan. The little intro I came up is supposed to be like a support group, like AA, or drug rehab...just in case you didn't catch it. Clever, I know. Anyways, I know it may seem a bit blasphemous to modern day society, but it's the truth. I don't follow sports. I never have followed sports. And I never will. I like playing some of them but frankly, I have little interest in following them. I watch SportsCenter for the TopTen just as I read the newspaper for the Opinion section. I don't know what it is about em, I just can't keep interest in learning the latest poll standings, roster changes, or offensive coordinator transfer. Who cares? They're all gonna change in a year anyways, so why fill your mind with useless info that's going to be different in 12 months? Granted, I do follow KU Basketball a little since I do attend KU. I'd be crucified if I didn't. Also, I've always thought if (and when) I live in Europe, I will become a football (soccer to all you non-cultured Americans....just kidding. But seriously, that's what they call it so that's what Ima call it.) fan. Shoot, I'll probably be a football hooligan...maybe not. Soccer is a sport I've always wished I followed, just never have. But as for basketball, football, baseball (puke. baseball players-double puke), I could ultimately care less. I realize this puts me a bit on the outskirts of conversational topics among the 'bros' but who am I kidding?...I'm not your average dude....

I don't wanna grow up

Writing resumes sucks. I was never one to be super involved with things that my school offered. Clubs, organizations, groups- none of 'em really struck a big enough nerve to gain (and keep) my attention. This fact has never been more apparent than now, while I'm writing this stupid list of accomplishments that is my RESUME. (And yes I know the last 'e' is in italics but I don't know how to put a little smudge mark above it to make it an 'ay' sound, rather than an 'e' or silent 'e' sound) Granted, I have a work (w)rap sheet (sp?) that could rival in length Santa's naughty or nice list (I don't know why I used a Christmas reference there...nor do I know why I'm using so many parantheses. If it's distracting, you can stop reading. I fully understand.). I mean, I've held a steady job since I was 14. I've been....-this is me inhaling as much air as I can in order to say this in one breath-....a concessions worker, an after school counselor, a summer camp counselor, a drumline instructor, a drum teacher (only for a lesson, but made 20 bucks off of it. I got paid. It was a job.), a sales associate at GAP, a teacher for kids who couldn't read (no lie), a moving specialist (hardest manual labor ever), a house-boy at a sorority, a bus boy, a door-guy, and soon I will be serving and hopefully bartending. I may not have the best GPA, and I may or may not be in any clubs or organizations but I'm a worker and a good one at that, if I may say so myself. I've dealt with such a broad range of people, I'm confident I could be dropped in any crowd, and be able to connect with them on some sort of level.
So my question to my next employer is this 'How do you choose your employee? Do you solely rely on a piece of paper to decide your next financial investment...afterall, that's what an employee is. Or do you dig a little deeper. Do you look past the traditional shortcomings like GPA, involvement in extracurricular activities, and the like, and look to see what kind of person wrote that resume?....I hope they dig.
Maybe I'm just a little aprehensive because, let's be real, this economy isn't getting any better any time soon. I just hope potential employers look past the paper, past the ink, and find out who I am and what I've done..good and bad. Where's the section for that??

A lil som'm, som'm...

The Preacher-

and as i rose from the pew, the preacher caught me by surprise

he stared directly into my heart, he didn't bother with my eyes

he asked if i heard what he just said, it kinda put me in a bind

i said, 'im sorry pastor...i had an angel on my mind.'

O NO HE DIDNT!! O yes, I just did....

Wuh Oh...

I have a few things I wanna address...

1) I was caught off guard earlier tonight. To be completely honest, it kind of scared the hell out of me. I was filling out some stupid extra credit survey for one of my classes and a question came up that went something along the lines of "do you regularly attend a religious service (i.e. weekly to bi-weekly)?" There was a 'yes' option and a 'no' option. Instinctively I went for the 'yes' but then I caught myself. I'd be lying to myself if I clicked yes. WTF? When did this transformation happen? I rarely skipped a Sunday service and now, I can't, in good faith (pun unintended), click 'yes'. What happened? Who happened? What changed? It was humbling and it was a little scary. The thought of 'Man, I really need to find a church here in Lawrence' has always been in the back of my mind but it never materialized. In a nutshell, I put 'going to church' on a mental post-it and treated it as though it was as important as getting new drumsticks or sunglasses. I'd need it eventually, but it's not that pressing of an issue. When did I allow myself to put God in the back seat?

2) Somewhat similarly, I've noticed a trend amongst some of the kids I went to high school with. I'm not sure how to approach the topic so I may come off a bit...brash. Shocking, I know. I dunno if it's all a part of growing up, but it seems as though the cool thing to do nowadays is to find God. Girls who could be compared to the Plastics on MeanGirls (just saw that today mind you...) and Guys who would give the Jersey Shore boys a run for their money are now posting Bible verses as their statuses on Fb. I mean, I guess it's a good thing. It's never too late to accept God and rely solely on Him for His grace and mercy BUT....I can't help but to think that this is just another piece in their fake, shallow, little lives. For the sake of their, well, salvation, I hope this is the real deal but if history could tell me anything, it would show that this is, in fact, just not going to last. Finding God isn't 'cool'. It's essential. I hope they realize this.

ps. I promise I'm not an angry person. It's all cupcakes and kittens on this side of the screen...