Shin's Resume
Created: August 26, 2019
Updated: October 6, 2026
Who Is This Guy?
OBJECTIVE:
No, I don't want a job. I'm happily retired. I just thought it might be nice to let y'all know who I am and what I've been. This is fun and somewhat weird to write.
EDUCATION:
1957 - 1963
1963 - 1966
1966 - 1969
1969 - 1973
1974 - 1976
1986 - 1988
Harlan Elementary School, Birmingham, MI
No diploma earned, but they passed me on.
Derby Jr. High School, Birmingham, MI
Again, no diploma. Who knew that 9th grade would count toward my GPA? Pity. It's now Derby Middle School.
Seaholm High School, Birmingham, MI
Somehow I passed. I have the diploma to prove it, not that anyone cares once you get two college degrees. I finished with a 2.2 GPA, a classic underachiever.
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
BS, Psychology major, Sociology minor. I turned things around here, with a GPA somewhere around 3.6. It turned out that studying, doing homework, and reading books and stuff actually helped. Again, who knew? Sociology? It made sense at the time.
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
MBA, concentration in Personnel Administration. I don't remember my GPA but it was pretty good. I actually started at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, but decided that pursuit of a PhD in experimental social psychology wasn't for me. I was there for about two months. I saw a horrible job market for psych majors, so I went back to Eastern to take some business classes. I went up to MSU in the fall of 1975 and between EMU and MSU wound up taking eight straight terms of classes. DON'T EVER DO THAT!
UC Berkeley Extension, San Francisco, CA
SF State University, San Francisco, CA
Lots of computer classes. Took a leave of absence to start on a masters in Business Information Systems, but neither my heart nor my wallet was in it. But it got me a job in computers. Mission accomplished.
JOBS:
Early Years
College Years
1977 - 1980
1980 - 1988
1988 - 2005
1965 - 2018
2018 -
Paper Boy (1 year, most of which the paper was on strike)
Lawn and Misc. Maintenance (at my dad's nursing home business, summers & weekends)
Pizza Delivery
Factory Labor (Martini Tool & Die)
Undergraduate Assistant
Dishwasher (One summer)
Supply Clerk (GM Tech Center, half-year)
Graduate Assistant (2 months, Bowling Green State University)
Personnel Rep. (Chrysler)
Personnel Rep. (PG&E)
Analyst / Programmer (PG&E)
Musician in several bands (Notably the Stolen Moments, Warehouse, Hawks and Doves, Damn Neighbors, The 'Burbs, Earl Oliver and Friends, The John Richardson Band, Void Where Prohibited, The Sign, Joyful Noise, Blues Daddies. Void was my last regularly gigging band, so leaving it marked retirement for me.)
Retiree
Yeah, this is the life. Some work as a volunteer and still play in my church band, Joyful Noise.
I Am:
Born:
Church:
Politics:
Relationship:
BASICS:
Family: Parents - deceased
2 sisters (deceased), brother and family
Residences: Michigan - 29 years (Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Ypsilanti, East Lansing, Beverly Hills)
California - the rest (Salinas, Kensington)
FACTOIDS:
Name: I was called by my middle name for the first twelve years of my life. There are still some holdouts. I wish they'd stop. Lots of people call me "Shin" for obvious reasons. At Eastern Michigan, I had the nickname "José" (after Feliciano). I've been called other things that I won't go into here. In 2024, I got my "Real ID" which used my Passport name, John Graham Shinnick. Prior to that, I was John Graham Shinnick II, after my uncle. It hasn't made any difference.
Music: I've always played stuff though I never had the self discipline to play at a high level. My roots were classical then folk, then rock and roll. I consider myself an eclectic. My principle noisemaker is guitar, but through the years I've annoyed people with bass, clarinet, oboe, flute, tenor and alto sax, banjo, harmonica, keyboards and perhaps most annoying of all, singing.
Diet: Formerly vegan, but now eat anything but mammal meat. Man may not live by bread alone, but if we relied on vegan cheese we'd likely go extinct in about five months. I cut out bread, ice cream and other things that made me "obese" (according to the CDC, 218 at 5'10" is obese) and I'm now under 175, aka "healthy".
Sports I've Tried: Baseball, Softball, Football, Basketball, Badminton, Hockey, Skiing, Tae Kwon Do, Bicycling, Golf, Bowling. Currently I just walk. More strenuous stuff tends to lead to pain. And like they say, "No pain, hey, no pain!"
John Graham Shinnick
March 3, 1951, Detroit, Michigan
Unitarian
(formerly Presbyterian and Congregationalist)
Liberal (flaming)
None (Never married)