Kelly Thompson
Episode 182

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of the Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of the Story & Experience Podcast. Delighted that this guest is smiling. It's a good sign that this is going to go well. If you're brand new to the podcast, we have a hundred questions. They progressively become more vulnerable and lead more into this individual's life, and they really shape and share stories and experiences that shape this leader into the leader that they are today. So I'm going to ask the first 10, and then I'm going to hand over to them and they get to pick between 11 and a hundred where they want to go, and we'll see where the conversation goes. So let me start with this, could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Kelly Thompson: My name is Kelly Thompson. Pretty straightforward name, but I am pretty soft spoken and so a lot of times I get Ellie.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Kelly Thompson: When I tell them my name, they think I said Ellie.

Japhet De Oliveira: I would never have guessed Ellie. That's actually good. That's great. I love these stories. It's fantastic. Well, not Ellie, but Kelly, what do you do for work?

Kelly Thompson: I am a pharmacy informaticist.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. I understand pharmacy a little bit but unpack that for us.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. So informatics is technology. It's how we use technology. So it's making sure that the pharmacists have the technology that they need to do their jobs because this is ever-changing and evolving and so I am that liaison between IT and pharmacy.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. And have you been doing this job long?

Kelly Thompson: I have been doing pharmacy informatics for quite a while, yes-

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Kelly Thompson: ... but not with Adventist.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay. All right. Hey, that's fantastic. So how did you end up inside this career?

Kelly Thompson: Pharmacy informatics, so I'm a trained pharmacist and I worked as a pharmacist for many years and I was working in a small hospital in Southwestern Colorado and the need arised, so they kind of just said, "We have this-

Japhet De Oliveira: Let's train you.

Kelly Thompson: ... project that's happening and we need pharmacy involved in it. Are you interested?" And I said, "Yes, I am interested." And so we were on MEDITECH at the time, and so they're like, "Well, we'll send you to Boston to MEDITECH and get you trained on the back end of this system so that you can help us out with these projects." And it just kind of happened to me and I really enjoyed it and so I was doing that kind of part-time. And then a full-time opportunity arose for me to do pharmacy informatics in California. So I moved out here and I've been doing this for about 10 years now.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Well, welcome to Adventist Health.

Kelly Thompson: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm glad you're working for us and with us and helping us with lots of transitions, right?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Kelly Thompson: Yes. That's why I'm here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Lots of big things. It is fantastic. Now where were you born?

Kelly Thompson: I was born in Saginaw, Michigan.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, so do you do the hend?

Kelly Thompson: I only lived in Saginaw, Michigan for four months.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. So no claim really?

Kelly Thompson: No. No. My parents only lived there for a short time. I was born there and then they moved to Pennsylvania. So I grew up in Duncansville, Pennsylvania.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. So now where you grew up, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Kelly Thompson: Boy, I had all kinds of ideas. Oh yeah, okay. When I was very little, I wanted to be a ninja.

Japhet De Oliveira: A ninja?

Kelly Thompson: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Didn't we all?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Right? So that was very little but then later on I wanted to be a photographer. I was really into taking pictures and developing pictures and things like that, but the chemistry kind of took hold, and so I decided to go into pharmacy, which was a little more stable maybe.

Japhet De Oliveira: Maybe. Do you still take photos?

Kelly Thompson: I do.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh so-

Kelly Thompson: But you know our phones have changed things so much.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's true.

Kelly Thompson: I haven't picked up a 35-millimeter camera in forever.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah. Well, maybe you'll change this year and go back and try it again. Hey, that's great. That's fantastic. Now, are you an early riser or late night owl?

Kelly Thompson: I used to really be a late-night owl a lot. But these days I've been changing lately. I'm happy if I can get my eight hours between 10 and six.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. Hey, that's fantastic.

Kelly Thompson: And that doesn't seem to be too much of a struggle.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. Now, when you woke up this morning, first thought that went through your mind?

Kelly Thompson: Oh.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, yeah.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Where am I?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. Okay.

Kelly Thompson: Woke up in a hotel room and I don't live here, so I was kind of like, uh-oh. And then it all just kind of came in like, oh, I'm going to do this podcast. I'm going to meet a whole bunch of new people today. Wow. Got to get myself prepared for this.

Japhet De Oliveira: Actually, you're presenting today, right? There's a meeting with all the pharmacy directors for the system.

Kelly Thompson: That's right. Yes. Small presentation.

Japhet De Oliveira: What are you going to teach them?

Kelly Thompson: I'm not really teaching them anything, just kind of giving them an update on where we're at with Epic.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Hey, that's fantastic. Good. Now, in the morning when you get up, do you have a liquid green smoothie, tea, coffee? What's your... Water? What's your first... I see in front of you, two large containers. One of them is full of water, right?

Kelly Thompson: Full of water.

Japhet De Oliveira: And the other one?

Kelly Thompson: Coffee.

Japhet De Oliveira: How's the coffee done?

Kelly Thompson: Usually, French press when I'm at home, but I'm traveling here and there's a Starbucks in the lobby, so this is Starbucks coffee. But yeah, I usually start off with my water and drink my water while I'm making my coffee in the morning, and then it's right to the coffee-

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good. That's good. Now, if people were to describe you, Kelly, as an introvert or an extrovert, which would they pick? And would you agree?

Kelly Thompson: I would say introverts. Yeah. I definitely recharge on my own, but I can be extroverted sometimes. So I think it depends on maybe who you ask. My family would say I'm introverted. People that know me well, know I'm introverted, that when I'm stressed out and stuff like that, I really need some alone time in the woods usually.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, in the woods. Okay. All right. All right. Hey, that's great. Fantastic. Now last question in this segment and then I hand over to you. It's a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

Kelly Thompson: No, I don't think so.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Kelly Thompson: I think I'm a pretty good navigator.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Kelly Thompson: I'd like to think I'm a good navigator. I like to help people get to where they're trying to go.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. Thank you, Kelly. All right, so where next now and you get to pick the numbers?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, this makes me feel very nervous.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's going to be great.

Kelly Thompson: Okay. Let's start with 13.

Japhet De Oliveira: 13, my lucky number. Right. Walk us through the ideal end of your day.

Kelly Thompson: Oh, the ideal end of my day. I am a cyclist. I love riding my bike and so usually an ideal end of my day would be a nice ride. It's sunny and warm and I'm getting my exercise and then I come home and I make a really nice meal, take a shower, and I get in bed.

Japhet De Oliveira: And that's it. Okay. All right. All right.

Kelly Thompson: That's it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, it's good. How far do you ride? What's a good ride for you?

Kelly Thompson: It depends on what I'm riding, if I'm mountain biking or if I'm on the road, and what kind of a day it is.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're a diehard biker, right?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. I really love to cycle.

Japhet De Oliveira: I've got to ask, this is a question 13A. Have you broken any bones?

Kelly Thompson: I have, but-

Japhet De Oliveira: From biking?

Kelly Thompson: Once biking.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, I was pretty new at it and I fell over sideways on the end of my handlebar and I cracked my sternum, but after that, I haven't broken any bones. I broke a lot of bones when I was younger, but not cycling. Lots of bruises.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Well, it's a good sign of a mountain biker. All right, brilliant. Where next then after 13?

Kelly Thompson: Let's go to 32.

Japhet De Oliveira: 32. All right. If you were featured on the local news, what would the story likely be? You're back in Colorado or in California? Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: I mean, we were just talking about cycling, so my mind immediately went to some big crash I had.

Japhet De Oliveira: Big crash. A crash that you caused?

Kelly Thompson: I hope that wouldn't happen now.

Japhet De Oliveira: When you get to the traffic lights. As a cyclist, are you excited about the traffic lights or-

Kelly Thompson: Excited about them?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I've heard that some cyclists are like, just let them change. Let me go first.

Kelly Thompson: Oh, I guess my approach to traffic lights is I approach them very slowly so that hopefully I don't have to put my foot down. I can just kind of cruise through them. So it's always-

Japhet De Oliveira: And you stand on the bike-

Kelly Thompson: It's kind of like an obstacle looking around. It's like, when do I think it's going to change? Can I kind of slowly roll up to it so I can just keep going?

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. It's a good strategy. All right, that was 32. So where next?

Kelly Thompson: Let's see, let's go to... I'm going to keep them kind of low I think. 38?

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Oh, if you need encouragement, who would you call?

Kelly Thompson: I think it depends on what kind of encouragement I need. I tend to go to my dad for certain kinds of encouragements and then friends for other kinds of encouragement. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. You have a good relationship with your dad.

Kelly Thompson: It's gotten better. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: What is it about your dad that you appreciate?

Kelly Thompson: I appreciate the way that he gives me more advice on career and finances and stuff like that and so I appreciate the way he set up his life and so would like to model that.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. Hey, that's great. All right, where next? That was 38.

Kelly Thompson: That was 38. Let's go to 42.

Japhet De Oliveira: 42. All right. Oh, photography. Thinking about your phone, what's a photo on your phone and what's the story behind it?

Kelly Thompson: Just any photo on my phone?

Japhet De Oliveira: I presume you have a photo, like your background or your startup photo, and...

Kelly Thompson: Well, I've been taking pictures of my puppy lately.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really? Okay. So-

Kelly Thompson: I have quite a lot of dog pictures on my... He's not my background yet, but I got this-

Japhet De Oliveira: What dog do you have?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, I got this rescue dog a couple of months ago and he's a border collie mix and he's just the cutest thing. I think he is probably about 11 months right now.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow.

Kelly Thompson: And so we've been getting to know each other. So he's not a very tiny puppy, but he's still a lot of work and he's got a lot of personality and he's got a lot of energy and so I've been teaching him to ride with me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. And out in the forest and jumping up and down off logs and things like that. And so-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, I take lots of pictures of him.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. So is he attached to your bike when you're running or on a leash or are you just-

Kelly Thompson: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: He's just running beside you?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Kelly Thompson: He's become, because he's a rescue, I think he's become kind of attached to me and so he doesn't really want to go very far away from me. Yeah. The recall, we're working on the recall though, when I want him to come back to me, that's sometimes a challenge, but for the most part he stays pretty close.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, good, good. Well done. Well done. All right. Where next? That was 42.

Kelly Thompson: 42. Let's go to 46.

Japhet De Oliveira: 46. All right. Tell us about the best book you've ever read.

Kelly Thompson: Oh, man.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah.

Kelly Thompson: Lord of the Rings.

Japhet De Oliveira: Lord of the Rings. Oh wow.

Kelly Thompson: I love the Lord of the Rings.

Japhet De Oliveira: All of them?

Kelly Thompson: All of them. And I've read the series a couple times.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh wow. Okay. That's dedication.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. I just really love getting lost in that adventure and fantasy.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Hey, that's pretty good. Is it the fantasy side of it? Is it the story narrative? What is it that draws you in? Because those are heavy reading.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, I think-

Japhet De Oliveira: And do you speak any of the languages?

Kelly Thompson: No. No, I do not. I wish I could speak to the trees. I think it's just the mystical, learning about the different creatures is kind of cool and it's really the adventure.

Japhet De Oliveira: The adventure?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you feel the movie series, was it good for the book or did it miss the mark, or-

Kelly Thompson: I think it was good. I mean, no movies ever going to be able to-

Japhet De Oliveira: Hit your imagination.

Kelly Thompson: ... get all the details of what you have in a book but I think they did a good job.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good, good. All right. Where next?

Kelly Thompson: We're in the forties.

Japhet De Oliveira: 46. Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: 46. 55.

Japhet De Oliveira: 55. All right. Oh, share about something that frightens you.

Kelly Thompson: There's a lot of things that frighten me, right?

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure. We all do.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. I travel alone a lot, and so I can be pretty frightened by people lots like-

Japhet De Oliveira: Humans.

Kelly Thompson: ... depending on where I go. Yeah, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: So what's your tactic to deal with humans?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Keep a low profile.

Japhet De Oliveira: Keep a low... That's great. That's great. Okay. All right. We should have a sign when you travel stay away, low profile. Right. That's good. Hey, that's good. All right, where next off that? That was 55.

Kelly Thompson: 55. 61.

Japhet De Oliveira: 61. Tell us about a time in your life that required incredible courage.

Kelly Thompson: There's been some times that even just coming here.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes. The building was scary. Was it?

Kelly Thompson: At time requires courage going into situations that you don't know what you're getting into.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. So I travel alone a lot and I like to do it, but sometimes just to get out the door takes a lot of courage.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. Are you an international traveler or...

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, I have traveled internationally.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is that where you prefer big trips or you like the US?

Kelly Thompson: I like the US. I really love visiting national parks.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Kelly Thompson: But I also really international travel for just really seeing different cultures.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Hey, that's great. Good. All right, where next now?

Kelly Thompson: 67.

Japhet De Oliveira: 67. All right. I don't know how you picked this one, but what's the best picture that you've ever taken and why? You're like, oh, well, all right.

Kelly Thompson: There's a photography there.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know.

Kelly Thompson: The best picture I've ever taken. I don't have one that really sticks out in my mind, honestly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Too hard.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Because I take so many pictures. The first images that popped into my head are some close-up pictures of flowers. So yeah. When I can get a really nice, sharp, close-up picture of a flower that I'm trying to capture, that's-

Japhet De Oliveira: You feel really good, chuffed about that.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, that's good. That's good. What about your early photography? Is there anything that stood out when you started?

Kelly Thompson: Not really. I wasn't very good at it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, fair enough.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. I think is maybe why I didn't pursue it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: That's great-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's okay.

Kelly Thompson: I liked doing it and I think I liked doing it because I took a lot of pictures of flowers and butterflies and nature, and I think I liked that it connected me to nature really-

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, I'm glad you're very good at chemistry. [inaudible 00:15:42]. That's great. All right, no worries. All right, where next then? That was 67.

Kelly Thompson: 67. Let's go to 72.

Japhet De Oliveira: 72. Tell us about what you want to do when you retire and why are you waiting.

Kelly Thompson: That's a good question. Why am I waiting is a good question. No, I think about retirement quite, I can't really ever imagine myself not working at all.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Isn't it interesting?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. And so I've often thought of my retirement owning a larger home and having a bed and breakfast.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Because I really like to travel and I really like to meet people that are traveling and hearing their stories. And so I've done that a little bit at that in the house that I have now. I've opened up one of my rooms and I take visitors in occasionally.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic.

Kelly Thompson: And so I could see doing that in my retirement. I'm just not quite there financially to be able to do it. So that's why I'm waiting.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, wise wise. Hey, that's great. It's great. A good B&B is fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. And usually, the owners have a lot of character. They're really interesting. They want to hear your story, so yeah, it's kind of fun.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's good. Good.

Kelly Thompson: It's really fun.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, where next then? That was 72.

Kelly Thompson: 74.

Japhet De Oliveira: 74. Oh. What gives you hope?

Kelly Thompson: That's a really hard one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good.

Kelly Thompson: I think thinking about the future can give me hope. My friends give me hope. Yeah. I'm not really sure how else to answer that.

Japhet De Oliveira: What does hope look like? If you had to sit down with someone and say to them, "Hey, I want to teach you., I want you to experience, I want you to understand hope."

Kelly Thompson: I haven't really ever thought of this before.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know this is good.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, it's really good. I think I correlate hope with dreams.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Making your dreams come true. You have to hope that it's going to happen to be able to push yourself forward to make that happen.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: So I think that's how I think of it. So yeah, having the encouragement of people gives you hope to move forward towards your dreams or things that you want to accomplish.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. That's good. Love that. Thank you, Kelly. All right. Where next? That was 74.

Kelly Thompson: 74. Okay. Let's go to 80.

Japhet De Oliveira: 80, right. How would you like to change in the future?

Kelly Thompson: How would I like to change myself in the future?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, maybe.

Kelly Thompson: Or just change the future?

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that. Either way, you get to interpret it. Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: I mean, I'm constantly learning about myself and growing, and so I hope that I can continue to do that to constantly become the better version of myself, the best version of myself, better and better and better. I don't know that we ever reach the very best. Right?

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's good. That's good. So I've got to ask you an extra question here. What are you learning right now?

Kelly Thompson: Boy, I've been in this position for three months, so I'm learning a lot about this company and about the people in it and how they've previously done things and how they want to do things. So that's huge.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. That's fantastic. All right. Good. Where next?

Kelly Thompson: 82.

Japhet De Oliveira: 82. All right. If you could keep only three possessions, what would they be and why?

Kelly Thompson: Well, I'd keep one of my bikes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Good, good, good. Mountain or road?

Kelly Thompson: Oh, gravel actually.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, gravel. Oh, gravel. Okay. All right. All right.

Kelly Thompson: Gravel bike. I can get around by my gravel bike. I'd have to have my dog.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good.

Kelly Thompson: I think if I had my gravel bike and my dog, and I'm thinking like cookware I could probably survive.

Japhet De Oliveira: You could survive. I like how you've gone to survival. That's good. You're stranded somewhere. You have your dog, your bike, and a pot. Right. That's good. Yeah. Yeah, that's a bleak question. All right. That was 82. All right. Where next off to? 82.

Kelly Thompson: 84.

Japhet De Oliveira: 84. Oh, where do you go to find peace?

Kelly Thompson: Oh, I go to the woods, 100% always. I live on the coast. I live by the redwoods. I have always just found so much peace in nature.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's pretty powerful and the coast, there's something about the water crashing against the shore that just...

Kelly Thompson: Yeah, the beach is very nice, and I do really love the beach. And I mean, we get great sunsets. When I moved to California, I was obsessed with watching the sunset into the ocean. I was like, you guys know this happens every day right here, five minutes away and so I went down there constantly. But yeah, it's really the forest for me.

Japhet De Oliveira: The forest. Beautiful. Good. All right, where next? That was 84.

Kelly Thompson: 84. Yeah. Let's go to 86.

Japhet De Oliveira: 86. All right. Ooh. Who's the most influential person that's been shaping who you are now and why?

Kelly Thompson: I've had so many people shape me. I've moved around a lot. And so I think everywhere I go, there's been people that have shaped me. I can't really say there's been one very influential person.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do those individuals know that they've shaped you?

Kelly Thompson: I try to tell people whenever they've had an impact on my life.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, that's good. That's good. That's great.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. I like to have those sort of deep conversations with people.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good. That's good. So what would be one example of a transformation or something you learned or discovered about yourself because of someone else?

Kelly Thompson: I think having the courage to go after my dreams has been something that I've learned from people. One person in particular who has never really given up on her dreams through COVID and all of this stuff, and has been pretty influential to me in that way to watch her to pursue things has just been inspiring to help me do that as well.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good. That's good. Yeah. There are a lot of external circumstances that can slow us down and to persevere through those it's inspiring to others as well. Yeah, that's good. Good. Good. All right. Where next then?

Kelly Thompson: I think I'm going to go backwards.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure. No, that's fine. You can go up and down.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. Let's head back down to 58.

Japhet De Oliveira: 58. All right. What is something really small that you're really passionate about?

Kelly Thompson: I think lately I've been learning about herbalism a little bit. So little herbs, little plants. It's the first thing that came to my mind.

Japhet De Oliveira: Are you able to grow plants yourself and look after them? I can't.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah. I have quite a few houseplants. I really like to be surrounded by that. As far as growing food and herbs and things like that I have in the past, but that's more challenging. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's good. Good. All right. Where next then? That was 58.

Kelly Thompson: 58. I'm going to go to 47.

Japhet De Oliveira: 47. All right. You just met someone. What would you want them to know about you and why?

Kelly Thompson: I mean, usually one of the first things I talk about is cycling.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. But you're a cyclist.

Kelly Thompson: I'm a cyclist and I love a good adventure and I think I would want them to know that because I like to be with people that like to go out and have that sense of adventure. And so I want to get a sense for what excites people in that way. And I like to help people get to where they want to be. And so if somebody wants to have a big adventure or something like that and they feel afraid to do it, I'm like, "Well, how can we get you there?"

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. I never got this answer from you, but I'm curious, what's the longest bike ride you've done?

Kelly Thompson: I've done some centuries, which are a hundred miles. So just over that, like 112 miles.

Japhet De Oliveira: And are you one of those people that takes a vacation and cycles every day to-

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, you are? Okay. You're one. Okay. You like to take your bike and you go to another country and cycle every day. Oh, okay. All right.

Kelly Thompson: I've done that a couple times, essentially.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Impressive. Great. All right, where'd you want to go next?

Kelly Thompson: Let's go to 22.

Japhet De Oliveira: 22. All right, here we go. If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?

Kelly Thompson: Anywhere right now.

Japhet De Oliveira: In the studio. Right? No.

Kelly Thompson: I really don't know because I'm so grounded in being here right now and having prepared myself to be in this space. I mean, but usually, the answer's somewhere in the woods, somewhere near mountains.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's good. It's good. Is there any forest in the world that you would like to travel to?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. I can see you're nodding and you're like, yeah, I can see you're thinking.

Kelly Thompson: Well, it's funny because I've never had anybody ask me what forest I would want to go to. It's usually like, "What country do you want to go to? What city do you want to go to?" But to be asked what forest do I want to go to is a different... I'm like, I like that actually because I'm thinking national forests there's some national forests in Oregon, Washington, that I've ever been to before.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sherwood Forest. Notting Forest.

Japhet De Oliveira: They have great forests.

Kelly Thompson: Maybe Sherwood Forest would be pretty cool.

Japhet De Oliveira: It would be great. You may like it. You'll have to go explore for sure.

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, where next?

Kelly Thompson: 39.

Japhet De Oliveira: 39. All right, here we go. If you didn't need to sleep, what would you do with all the extra time?

Kelly Thompson: I'd just do what I do. I'd just do more of it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do more of it. Fair enough.

Kelly Thompson: Because I mean, if you didn't have to sleep, you'd have to have more meals. And I'm learning how to cook better and so I'm liking to cook. Yeah. I cook more. There's more time to go out explore. I'm thinking you're probably, maybe you're going to work more. Do your work days get longer if you don't have to sleep? I don't know.

Japhet De Oliveira: Maybe. Maybe. We'll stay with the sleep. It's good.

Kelly Thompson: I like sleeping. I really like it a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's good. It's good.

Kelly Thompson: And I'd really, really like to have at least eight hours of it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, it's wise. All right, we've got time for the last two. So where do you want to go with your last two numbers?

Kelly Thompson: Okay. The last two numbers we'll creep back up. Let's go to 77.

Japhet De Oliveira: 77. All right. Oh, share one of the most cup-filling experiences with us.

Kelly Thompson: I don't see my family very often because I live in California and they're all on the East Coast and so whenever I get to go and spend some time with my family and I've got a niece and nephew that are pretty young, and so when I get to go and visit them and we go hiking and play games and do stuff like that, that's pretty cup filling for me.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Good. Good. All right. And then the last number.

Kelly Thompson: And the last number.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: 84.

Japhet De Oliveira: 84.

Kelly Thompson: Did I do 84 yet?

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah, you did. You did.

Kelly Thompson: I did?

Japhet De Oliveira: It was a really good one. Where'd you go to find peace? So it's great. It's okay. There must be something significant about the number.

Kelly Thompson: Must be.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Kelly Thompson: Oh, let's go into 90.

Japhet De Oliveira: 90. Do you want 90?

Kelly Thompson: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Tell us about how you overcame a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

Kelly Thompson: Oh boy. When something seems insurmountable to me, I really have to take a step back and look at a very small part of it. I think taking it day by day, sometimes minute by minute when something seems so large and just trying to be very present really helps with that because I can't think of the whole picture and the whole big thing or I'll just become overwhelmed with anxiety.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's true.

Kelly Thompson: So really slowing it down-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. That's fantastic.

Kelly Thompson: ... it really helps. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Kelly, thank you so much for taking the time to share. It's been brilliant.

Kelly Thompson: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's been fun. I want to encourage people to do the same thing. Sit down with a friend, maybe have a coffee, a cup of tea, or something. Ask good questions. We do learn, right? And I say this to every guest and I believe this, that not only do we learn something, but we are changed by meeting other people. It's good for us.

Kelly Thompson: Yes, it is.

Japhet De Oliveira: And I love your passion for peace and your vision of hope and dreams and so I encourage people to find a good place of peace as well. We all need that every day.

Kelly Thompson: Oh, we do.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. God bless you and thank you again.

Kelly Thompson: Thank you.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for the Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health for the Office of Culture.