More Commencement Shenanigans

The continuation of my previous post –

Iron Clad Coffee Roasters, Lynchburg, VA
Lynchburg, VA
Aroma House, Virginia
Night 1 dinner, courtesy of Publix

Please allow me to rave about this incredible restaurant in Salem, Virginia: Mac & Bob’s. It’s a local establishment with quite an interesting history. Our 3 dishes below were incredible. I hate that this place is in Virginia, or maybe I don’t?, because I would eat here weekly.

Unsurprisingly, mini can match me drink for a drink. Or coffee for a coffee rather. This girl enjoys it and pretty much knows what she likes. She did allow me to order for her once, and although I don’t think it was her favorite, she was gracious. Life is better with caffeine.

_____________________

I ask you –

How many states have you traveled to/through?

(The post More Commencement Shenanigans first appeared here at Running on Fumes.)

© 2026 Running on Fumes

Commencement Fun

I have an insane amount of photos from graduation week/day/weekend prior.

Many of my photos from the Liberty University campus in Lynchburg, VA, are places I “spent” time at during my PhD program. Having not seen them in person until recently, I had a picture in my head. However, this could simply be the most beautiful campus I’ve ever seen.

We drank so much coffee driving to VA from TX. Not pictured: an additional 2 or so coffee shops in Virginia.

It was an incredibly long drive with a very short day of ceremonies, but I would encourage anyone to walk the stage at whatever school one graduates from. It’s such an honor to be surrounded by others who probably experienced many of the same headaches and who also celebrated some of the same wins.

We survived a 2500+ mile round trip (in under 4 days) to arrive home to this surprise. Not entirely pictured: a ginormous key lime pie cheesecake. Might have eaten 3 pieces at once. Parts may give me the hardest time but her support is immeasurable.

I’m saving the food and extra coffee photos for my next post. Standby.

____________________

I ask you –

Even though I graduated in 2025, I waited a year to walk the stage. Hope you have much success in all your life’s endeavors!

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

© 2026 Running on Fumes

Deja Vu

It hasn’t happened yet, but I know it’s only a matter of time. I’ll probably be investigated again for my search history related to writing all these papers. Apparently information systems research is a hot topic. Haha who knew? As I plug in key words, even in well known journal publications, the message regarding tracking appears instantly. And these are university sources!

Snow #1

I keep writing all the words my manic brain throws at me and it seems to be working. As I approach week 3 of 8, occasionally I feel like I’ve got the hang of time management but then a potential snow day turns into a bust and I scramble for more hours in the day. Work is jam packed so there is absolutely no way I can even brainstorm words to lengthen the page count. Any takers? At first, I took great offense to the B I received on my initial assignment. Overachiever. I spent some time trying to prove the professor wrong, that his feedback was not correct. Spoiler: I made some mistakes. So a perspective shift was in order – I came to the grand conclusion he was right and just trying to make me a better writer. As he’s the program director, perhaps it’s a valuable lesson. Better to learn it now than later. Perspective. It’s everything.

Aside from that hellish course about advanced budgeting, this school stuff isn’t too difficult. Really, it just requires a nervous breakdown or ten, an insane drive to accomplish things, and where was I going with this? Oh right. Other ridiculous traits that indicate a real whackadoo. Me. I’m the whackadoo.

Did I mention I’m doomed to be investigated? Seriously. It’s coming. I was exploring nefarious terms for where the internet can take you and it hit me like a ton of subpoenas. All I could think was … If I end up on the cannot fly list, then this better get me another A!

__________________________

I ask you –

Have you searched anything suspicious lately?

How often do you try to prove someone else wrong? Be honest!

On a scale of 1 to Biden’s desk, how likely am I to survive this program unscathed? I realize how political I could take this, but it wasn’t my intention.

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

© 2023 Running on Fumes