The first week on my internship was a good one, although I didn't do much. I'm supposed to be logging 40 hours a week and this week I logged 16...the internship advisor isn't going to be happy about that, but there just hasn't been a whole lot to do around here. Mark (my boss - the youth pastor) is on vacation and Patrick (my other boss) was basically looking for things for me to do. It's ok - I know I'll have enough hours logged at the end of the summer. Plus, I really needed more of a break - I was more tired from the semester than I thought. Since I haven't had much to do, I've spent my time watching season 2 of 24 (it's a good one!), hanging out with my family, especially Josh, working out at the local YMCA, trying to navigate around the Birmingham area, and Skyping with Meagan.
That being said, I'm really excited to get the summer kicked off! The staff and other interns are really cool, and I think we're going to work really well together. I've already met some of the students and they're awesome - I'm going to enjoy investing in them this summer.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Make the World A Better Place, Punch Finals Week in the Face
Two blogs in three days...Adam's on fire. I can do this when I don't have anything else going on. Plus, it's fun to write, and I guess I have a knack for it. Writing is what has boosted my GPA from mediocre to acceptable. Now that I'm done with classes forever, I can tell you that it feels phenomenal. I woke up this yesterday morning, realized it was Friday, and then realized that it's been a week since I've gone to class. Finals week is the best week of college.
In my profile about me, I said that this blog would contain some of my personality and how I look at the world. I have not graduated yet, but my degree will be in human development and family studies. Basically, I am a people watcher. That is how I look at the world - I notice what other people do. Penn State is good for people watching.
There is this one person group my roommate Ryan and I are fascinated by - we call them Snugs. Snug stands for "Spandex, Northface, and Uggs." This is a common outfit on a college campus, and I've never quite understood it. In addition to that, all Snugs tend to talk and act the same way. You can frequently find Snugs strutting down the sidewalk with their blackberry/iPhone attached to their ear, wearing sunglasses that cover half of their face, waving their free hand wildly as they make hand motions, brushing their dyed blond hair out of their face, and readjusting their huge bag on their shoulders - they carry their lives in those things. It is common to see that free hand holding a Starbucks coffee or a small container holding a salad. While on the phone, they talk loud enough for everyone to hear - they usually complain to their moms about how their roommates are awful because they don't clean up after themselves. Or they complain about their boyfriends, how ridiculously stupid their professors are, or how excited they are for the weekend to come so they can party and get mad drunk.
I had to tell you that to tell you this:
I had my last final on Thursday, and it was a pretty terrible experience, actually. Not because I was completely unprepared, not because it was ridiculously hard, but because some Snug waltzes in (what I'm saying is completely true), Blackberry in hand, whining about her exam, massive sunglasses holding her hair back, tosses her survival bag down and sits right behind me. Not a big deal. I have made a lot of friends with Snugs - my major is dominated by girls, so I have gotten to know a few of them. Also, I do not hold a personal vendetta against Snugs, they are just fun to talk about because they stick out more than the other groups on campus. I could talk about a lot of different groups on campus...anyways, I did not know this particular girl, but she loaded on the perfume - apparently she wanted to impress someone there, because it was strong. Lucky me - it made me itchy, and I was dripping and sniffling for 90 minutes, trying to finish my exam. I sat there, going through the questions, filling in my bubble sheet, listening to other people sneezing and sniffling. I was trapped and I could not leave until I finished. I had no tissues or handkerchief - I was tempted to wipe my drippy snot all over my exam booklet, but we had to turn those in at the end so I used my shirt instead. By the middle of the exam there was a nice wet and gooey puddle around the collar of my shirt. By the end of the exam, I was no longer drippy, and my shirt collar had solidified to crispy, crusty, flaky nastiness.
As I walked home, I reflected on the last hour and a half of torture, I began to realize that what happened was actually pretty funny. It was a very 'Adam Jepson' way of finishing my last finals week.
Stay tuned for some highlights of my college career.
In my profile about me, I said that this blog would contain some of my personality and how I look at the world. I have not graduated yet, but my degree will be in human development and family studies. Basically, I am a people watcher. That is how I look at the world - I notice what other people do. Penn State is good for people watching.
There is this one person group my roommate Ryan and I are fascinated by - we call them Snugs. Snug stands for "Spandex, Northface, and Uggs." This is a common outfit on a college campus, and I've never quite understood it. In addition to that, all Snugs tend to talk and act the same way. You can frequently find Snugs strutting down the sidewalk with their blackberry/iPhone attached to their ear, wearing sunglasses that cover half of their face, waving their free hand wildly as they make hand motions, brushing their dyed blond hair out of their face, and readjusting their huge bag on their shoulders - they carry their lives in those things. It is common to see that free hand holding a Starbucks coffee or a small container holding a salad. While on the phone, they talk loud enough for everyone to hear - they usually complain to their moms about how their roommates are awful because they don't clean up after themselves. Or they complain about their boyfriends, how ridiculously stupid their professors are, or how excited they are for the weekend to come so they can party and get mad drunk.
I had to tell you that to tell you this:
I had my last final on Thursday, and it was a pretty terrible experience, actually. Not because I was completely unprepared, not because it was ridiculously hard, but because some Snug waltzes in (what I'm saying is completely true), Blackberry in hand, whining about her exam, massive sunglasses holding her hair back, tosses her survival bag down and sits right behind me. Not a big deal. I have made a lot of friends with Snugs - my major is dominated by girls, so I have gotten to know a few of them. Also, I do not hold a personal vendetta against Snugs, they are just fun to talk about because they stick out more than the other groups on campus. I could talk about a lot of different groups on campus...anyways, I did not know this particular girl, but she loaded on the perfume - apparently she wanted to impress someone there, because it was strong. Lucky me - it made me itchy, and I was dripping and sniffling for 90 minutes, trying to finish my exam. I sat there, going through the questions, filling in my bubble sheet, listening to other people sneezing and sniffling. I was trapped and I could not leave until I finished. I had no tissues or handkerchief - I was tempted to wipe my drippy snot all over my exam booklet, but we had to turn those in at the end so I used my shirt instead. By the middle of the exam there was a nice wet and gooey puddle around the collar of my shirt. By the end of the exam, I was no longer drippy, and my shirt collar had solidified to crispy, crusty, flaky nastiness.
As I walked home, I reflected on the last hour and a half of torture, I began to realize that what happened was actually pretty funny. It was a very 'Adam Jepson' way of finishing my last finals week.
Stay tuned for some highlights of my college career.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Just Got Owned in Halo, now I Need to Vent
It's been a while since i've blogged - and i need to stop starting every blog of mine with that statement. But there is a reason that I don't write in it much - School, ACF leadership, leading the GUM youth, Bible study, relationships, Halo, sports, guitar...and sleep. All of those things happened almost every day this past semester. That is why blogging has not been high on the priority list lately,
Also, I've been wrestling with why I even have a blog. I've been reading lots of things written by everyday people lately - most of them are Christians. I read their blogs, Facebooks, tweets, and they all sound the same to me. Everyone has their own personal flair, but the tone and message is really pretty similar. People like to tweet (or retweet) quotes from C.S. Lewis, John Piper, G.K. Chesterton, Donald Miller, and other pastors and writers, sharing some creative outlook on life or approach to Christianity. People like to talk about what new and interesting experiences they had, or share a verse that stuck with them from the morning's quiet time and attach with it a small challenge to those who are following them - and to themselves of course...that's why they posted it in the first place. I get things like this multiple times a day, and frankly, it's getting pretty old for me.
I continue to read them because they force me to think and wrestle with my own thoughts. I've been wrestling with why I really don't enjoy these blogs/tweets/facebook/etc. anymore. I think it comes down to the authority with which one uses to get a point across. The authority itself does not frustrate me - I admire the confidence and assertiveness people have to share those thoughts and inspirational nuggets. What bothers me is that authority connotes leadership, and so we have a ton of leaders telling everyone who follows them everything that they think is important. I think this is a problem because, to me, everyone is trying to lead and follow at the same time - and I include myself in this. You can't be a leader and a follower in the same circle of people - you can't do both. It's too confusing for everyone, and that makes leadership (and following) less effective.
This why I haven't been blogging or even tweeting as much Christianity stuff. I imagine some people feel the same way as me, and being flooded with these messages that many of us have already heard is tiring. I feel like I need a detox...maybe this is because I'm already so incredibly involved in ministry things - it is a huge part of my week.
Whatever it is, those are my thoughts, and I basically just weakened my argument by writing this. Why do we all have an agenda that we feel needs to be heard by everyone?
Also, I've been wrestling with why I even have a blog. I've been reading lots of things written by everyday people lately - most of them are Christians. I read their blogs, Facebooks, tweets, and they all sound the same to me. Everyone has their own personal flair, but the tone and message is really pretty similar. People like to tweet (or retweet) quotes from C.S. Lewis, John Piper, G.K. Chesterton, Donald Miller, and other pastors and writers, sharing some creative outlook on life or approach to Christianity. People like to talk about what new and interesting experiences they had, or share a verse that stuck with them from the morning's quiet time and attach with it a small challenge to those who are following them - and to themselves of course...that's why they posted it in the first place. I get things like this multiple times a day, and frankly, it's getting pretty old for me.
I continue to read them because they force me to think and wrestle with my own thoughts. I've been wrestling with why I really don't enjoy these blogs/tweets/facebook/etc. anymore. I think it comes down to the authority with which one uses to get a point across. The authority itself does not frustrate me - I admire the confidence and assertiveness people have to share those thoughts and inspirational nuggets. What bothers me is that authority connotes leadership, and so we have a ton of leaders telling everyone who follows them everything that they think is important. I think this is a problem because, to me, everyone is trying to lead and follow at the same time - and I include myself in this. You can't be a leader and a follower in the same circle of people - you can't do both. It's too confusing for everyone, and that makes leadership (and following) less effective.
This why I haven't been blogging or even tweeting as much Christianity stuff. I imagine some people feel the same way as me, and being flooded with these messages that many of us have already heard is tiring. I feel like I need a detox...maybe this is because I'm already so incredibly involved in ministry things - it is a huge part of my week.
Whatever it is, those are my thoughts, and I basically just weakened my argument by writing this. Why do we all have an agenda that we feel needs to be heard by everyone?
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