I just can’t

A recent publication mentioned the inability to do nothing. It might have made this character trait out to be something negative, but I took no offense. Indeed, I am surrounded by many who also are ingrained with the inability to do nothing.

For example, the beautiful lady with me in the photos below. The left photo is semi-polished, “professional”, if you will. The right? Well, that’s our normal day-to-day ops. Laughing like hyenas. Usually while others stand back and watch the show. Typical.

Which brings me to my next point. Mini won student of the month for integrity. Super proud Mom moment. She, too, has an inability to do nothing, especially concerning righting wrongs. She is a loyal friend, a kind human, and a rule follower dujour. I am exceptionally proud – an “A” student, a book lover, and easily one of the most creative, bold children I know. She makes me proud, and laugh so loudly.

Course change.

For several nights, nightmares and sleeplessness plagued me. I dreamt my boss was the devil, my previous boss was seriously ill, and I kept hearing phantom knocking. Real exciting times, Kel. I wracked my brain for what could be bothering me, but arrived at zero answers. Perhaps it was just a bout of insomnia, or weather change, or general unspecified anxiety. It eventually passed. My only takeaway was this: some are frustrated where they are in life, professionally or personally, or both. I think learning to play the game is imperative, in whatever way it is for you. Some go on to live nomadic lifestyles, or expat themselves within another’s borders. That’s all well and good. But you can’t hate the game. It’s the game, it’s doing what the game does. You either learn to bend a little or you spend your entire life fighting it, most likely to succumb to death (like the rest of us) with frustration. No one is forced to play, and you certainly don’t have to like your hand, but if you choose not to change, then you can’t be surprised when the house wins.

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I ask you –

Do you have someone in your life who makes you laugh wildly?

Tell me – do you play the game or do you expend your energy fighting it?

(The post I just can’t first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Monthly Recap – September Edition

Not a humble brag, but I must share how funny it is to me when people act shocked I do strength training. My claim to fame – does infamous count – is running, not lifting.

For many years, I would run during the warm weather, then lift during the cool months. It was a cyclical balance and how I was trained. It worked so why not.

During last October’s 43-day furlough, who’s counting, I devoted more time to strength training, specifically employing a two-a-day method: a run/walk and a lift. For mental health, it was awesome! For physical health, holy crap! I got stronger, leaner, and the scale began to budge in incremental decreases.

When I added creatine this past Spring, I felt as if I unlocked the code for my body. Sure, there are days when I don’t have a lot of motivation. Creatine can’t fix that! But I regularly complete two-a-days, and I’ve now completed 8 strength training routines of 5-6 weeks each. I genuinely enjoy lifting, even if running is my true love.

So what else happened in September? I don’t know, I slept some? I completed a leadership cohort course, I was well on my way to death by heat, and I was selected for a fitness course slated to begin the end of October – the AF equivalent of a Navy CFL, which I was in my prior life. Definitely more to come on that subject.

I might have completed one puzzle in September, but I’ve picked it back up again. My closet collapsed – an entirely other ordeal of epic crap. I’m on a self-imposed shopping sabbatical. And I recall eating a lot of cake.

September was busy, but not as busy as the next few months, I’m sure. More to come!

____________________________

I ask you –

Tell me a few things about your September.

(The post Monthly Recap – September Edition first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

KelGPT

We arrived with eager anticipation to be poured into, perhaps with divine words, or at least something that made us go hmmmm. Our fearless leader would be imparting wisdom on our weary souls, granting us access to a much higher level of thinking, sharing some valuable insight into the other world of doers.

Instead.

Meh. Barely meh. Minimal meh. I should have known when it didn’t begin with any pomp and circumstance, devoid of proofreading, and dare I say cross-communication between party lines.

A swing and a miss implies they were there to play ball. I think the wrong sport was articulated. Something briefly Roman with a hint of cluster(you know what).

Additionally

First, we were encouraged to liberally use AI. “Just change a few words, you know” was the original instruction. AI generators appeared on our desktops, as if by magic. Suddenly, every program, bulletin, and advertisement looked exactly the same, as if copied from one main document.

But now? Instructions were issued to please stop using AI. The explanations: too lengthy sentences, repetitive wordiness, and glaringly obvious errors, much like copy+paste would indicate. Shocking. So tell me why a recent PowerPoint was “updated” using AI, rendering my work basically plagiarized. I am a published author in a journal, and have Dr. preceding my name. I don’t need AI to create a PowerPoint or any kind of paper, really. My way around words is well-documented!

If you’ve made it to the end of this tirade, the headings in italics are significant. AI tends to flag work that uses large descriptive words. The bad news is I’ve been using these words, appropriately, for decades.

Some call me KelGPT, a fitting compliment.

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I ask you –

Has your organization walked back the press for AI-use?

(The post KelGPT first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Still surprised!

For someone who doesn’t like surprises, occasionally it turns out well. But don’t get any ideas.

Throwback photo to the big book

In March 2026, I was contacted regarding publishing my dissertation in a journal. It’s a big deal to have your work peer-reviewed, selected, and published. Fast forward to 15 Sep 2026, my work is published here in the United States Public Administration Journal.

The truth is I didn’t actually downsize the thousands of pages to a manageable 50 pages until I had become so thoroughly disgusted with myself for blowing the opportunity. I waited. And waited. I kept telling myself I wasn’t ready to relive the writing experience again. I had excuses for not enough time, not motivated, not … (fill in the blank). Blah blah blah. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. I just didn’t want to. Makes no sense.

All’s well that ends well, but I’m a poster child for procrastination.

____________________________

I ask you –

Name something that has surprised you!

(The post Still Surprised! first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

The longest 24 hrs

I cannot count the number of times I heard “it’s a privilege to do this”. This refers to the 24 hour run/walk vigil held annually to remember the more than 81,000 POW/MIAs across several conflicts. Indeed, it was a privilege to serve on this year’s committee to plan, orchestrate, and accomplish a ceremony that would do justice to our POW/MIAs. When I think about my long 24-hours, I am incredibly humbled by knowing many gave their every hour, their days, their weeks, and their very lives to our country. 24 hours is nothing compared to their sacrifice.

As if my team and I had nothing better to do, we also accomplished the 9/11 Run to Remember/Air Force Families Forever 1-mile event at the culmination of the 24-hr event. I need someone to pump my brakes.

Team Fitness

Parts and I have been going through a Bible plan titled “When serving leaves you tired”. Timely. One main point was admitting some days you will leave needs unmet. This was a tough notion for me because I ask myself each day have I done everything I could? And, it sounded like saying no, I haven’t is an acceptable answer. But it must be. At the end of the 24 hrs, I was exhausted, “peopled-out”, and craving silence. Looking back, I loved hearing the stories of new people I met and I hoped I was the listening ear they needed. Maybe some felt as if I didn’t meet their needs that day. And it’s ok.

But I think as long as I meet more needs than don’t, I’ve done all I can.

________________________

I ask you –

Do you require time away to regroup after spending your day being around people?

(The post The longest 24 hrs first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Trade Agreement

Latest and greatest Blue Bell offering –

Spoiler: it is really really really good! Not as good as the Chocolate Lava Cake, but very good indeed! Tastes like cold coffee which is probably what they had in mind. I’d like to see (ahem, taste) a chocolate coffee mashup. Maybe I can sell this idea.

Blue Bell also brought back the Cookies n Cream Cone flavor. Of course I bought it. I also found Kimberly’s Bake Shoppe sugar cookies which coincidentally taste just like their cupcakes. It’s not going well for me.

What else can I sell? All this crap that broke my closet at 0430 one Sunday morning. I thought someone was breaking in. Then I thought someone was dead. It was early, ok? After a purge, maybe a few tears, and Home Depot’s online ordering, I’m the proud new owner of a closet organization system. Rated for 1K lbs.

I have another fantastic idea! What if we nix all trade tariffs between us and Canada in favor of them sending us a polar cold front? We can call it La La Canada.

On the subject of training, ’tis NFL season again! I didn’t watch any preseason because a) what’s the point and b) my streaming services didn’t offer the games.

Go Bears.

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I ask you –

What is your favorite ice cream flavor of all time? As much as I love Blue Bell, my favorite is the Cappuccino Chunky Chocolate frozen yogurt from Braum’s.

Who is your team? The Bears, right?!

(The post Trade Agreement first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Only way is up

Recently, I encountered someone who stated, during the course of a conversation, that they didn’t believe in ceilings. Not the roof kind. I smiled politely but it struck a nerve. Obviously, this person has no clue what it’s like to be a woman in a male-dominated field. This person didn’t join the military. Admittedly, they had many jobs where they worked their way to the top. But to state you don’t believe in ceilings is unrealistic. I am no feminist. But I am a realist. And ceilings are real.

Taking a step back, I began to evaluate privilege. I am extremely privileged to have had some opportunities for career development, to have reached personal milestones, to live in the greatest country on Earth. Lest I ever forget my privilege, having a full (traditional) weekend off is numero uno. For years, I worked weekends and any other day I could to make ends meet. Attending church is a privilege. How many others forgo spiritual needs to work a shift that pays their bills? We no longer live in a place where weekends are sacred. It’s 24/7 ops, baby!

You know what else is a privilege? Feeling certain a brand new puzzle, straight out of the sealed box, will contain all the pieces necessary for completion. Ha. There goes that idea.

____________________________

I ask you –

Share your definition of privilege.

(The post Only way is up first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Random wo(man)

Rando #1. A man cannot claim to be self aware without having male friends. Part of self awareness comes from social cues. Look around. Any man with a close knit group of friends (even 1!) tends to be more self aware than a man with no friends. Trust me. And for the man who probably meant well when he saw me in the grocery store then said “Being as how you’re a woman, where’s the lemon juice in this place?”, I forgive you but you were very close to serious injury. Asshat.

Rando #2. Do you know what’s calming to me? Sweeping. I genuinely enjoy it, always have. In fact, a few years of high school I spent just sweeping. Down and back inside the huge shop. It’s monotonous, simple, and allows me to think through things. Some people like vacuuming. I like sweeping.

Rando #3. Early 2026, a PhD scholar and journal writer reached out to me about publishing a peer-reviewed article created from my dissertation. Fast forward a bunch of months, I finally dedicated about 4.5 hrs to reducing the ginormous manuscript to 50 pages. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be (fluff, anyone?). I slept on it for a few days, then submitted. More to come!

____________________________

I ask you –

What’s monotonous chore do you enjoy?

Share something random!

(The post Random wo(man) first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Monthly Recap

Let’s start off with the fun stuff, shall we?

Crickets.

I did a lot of things – runs, work outs, some volleyball. A few runs at the beach in the early part of the month. Creatine is still doing its thing with daily intake. I attribute it to less muscle soreness and an improved overall recovery time.

Apparently I missed a day. I remember it well – it was the Thursday before Hotter’n Hell and I was everywhere doing all the things but never hit the button to start an activity. I really think Garmin could do a better job with auto-starting activities, or at least asking if I’d like to. Maybe it does. Let me research this more.

courtesy of Strava highlights

The heat has been absolutely brutal. Not good for me, for my body, for anyone really. I woke up on September 1st, dreaming it was raining. I was wrong. No rain, no cool air. Just a repeat of every day prior, temps soaring over 100°, dry air that feels like a blow dryer. Despite daily electrolytes and staying out of the direct sun, I’m over it.

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I ask you –

What’s on your August recap?

(The post Monthly Recap first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

Follow Up to You have been summoned

All Rise –

Last Monday, I published a post titled “You have been summoned“. I considered naming this update “You have been released”. Because I’m clever.

Opening Comments –

Obviously, I didn’t get selected for jury duty. Slightly bummed. A myriad of reasons probably put me on the naughty list, just a few being my nearly 10-yr career working with abused and neglected children, as well as my PhD study. And also…maybe…probably… because I accidentally walked into the courtroom before we were called. Truly an accident. The bailiff told me to enter the double doors to the right. I entered. And found myself in the midst of prosecutor/defense pre-trial deliberations. It’s possible they thought I overheard something I shouldn’t have. I didn’t. Guess you can’t take that type of chance though.

Based on the limited and vague information provided, I wouldn’t have chosen a jury trial but I’m also not on trial. There were some funny moments though. For example, when asked if we (the pool) were related to anyone in law enforcement, a lot of dirty laundry was aired. (paraphrasing) My daughter’s ex boyfriend’s mother in law (how is this possible) is on trial for blah blah blah. (more paraphrasing) My coworker’s nephew is a police officer in blah blah blah. Wish I had a gavel – objection, relevance? And attorneys are so polite with jurors – continually apologizing, and thanking the jurors, and basically invoking therapy-level mannerisms and phrases. It was a lot.

Closing Remarks –

Speaking of therapy, a few hours with 60 of my county-wide peers elicited many responses. Mostly mine. I have concluded that a majority of the juror panel don’t need to serve on a jury, instead they need targeted therapy. I am certainly not saying there is anything wrong with them. But, their stories were fascinating. I think you mean scary. May I suggest a licensed therapist or mental health counselor give out business cards when the jurors are released from duty? Perhaps a quick check in a few days post-panel by a qualified medical professional? Even better, how about we ask more questions on the original summons? This process could have been much more efficient. But nobody asked me.

Court Adjourned.

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I ask you –

Please share your wildest jury duty stories!

(The post Follow Up to You have been summoned first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)