Lack of Podcast, Some Lessons Learned

First, I apologize. This was supposed to be the 3rd episode of the Mormon Geeks podcast. But do to errors in paying attention to Dropbox, my podcast was deleted. We'll see about re-recording it somehow.

For now, I'm gonna share some things I've learned this past week with you. This will be a list of random items. But without further ado: The 10 Things I Learned This Past Week:

1. Recording a podcast with members of my critique group is awesome and fun. Too bad, no one got to hear it though. But that's okay. It was still fun.

2. Even though soccer is not my favorite sport, seeing the U.S. score quicker than the time it takes to make toast was exciting. (Glad I didn't watch the game yesterday though. I don't need more nail-biting.)

3. I can actually listen. No, I'm serious. People who know me well, know that I can talk. I can go on and on and on and on. Seriously, have you read some of my blogs? But really, when it was important for someone else that I just listen, that's what I did. When I walked away from the conversation (not that I ran out on the person, we were just done talking), I realized that I didn't interject or give advice or try to help. All I did was give a listening ear. That's really a big step for me.

4. I will never ever ever ever (now I'm sounding like a Taylor Swift song) ever get through my "to-read" list. It's just impossible. Especially since that list includes currently 5 Brandon Sanderson novels (which probably beat out the Bible for word count).

5. I still love Scrubs. It maintains a place in my top 5 favorite shows of all time. (Along with I Love Lucy, Friends, the Big Bang Theory, and Dr. Who). Watching it recently has been really refreshing. There are so many lessons a person can learn from Scrubs. I randomly started with the 4th season (which introduces Molly Clock for a few episodes). Anyway, there are a lot of things to gain from paying attention to J.D.'s lessons.



6. Doctor Who has been a recent addition/addiction to my binge watching. And in the past week, I've decided that it belongs in my top 5 favorite shows. Hi, I'm T.J. and I'm a new Whovian and I do not see it as an addiction, but rather, a passion. :D This past week, my wife and I started the 7th series (Matt Smith's last) and have seen the end of Amy/Rory and the beginning of Clara. If my count is correct, we have 7 more episodes from season/series 7 and then Day of the Doctor and Time of the Doctor. So excited and sad all at once.

7. My ability to forgive others is much higher than my ability to forgive myself. I need to stop being so hard on myself, but I'm glad I can forgive others and not hold onto judgments and negative viewpoints. As the good meme says:

8. Strength doesn't prohibit weakness. I've been told many times how "strong of a person" I am by many people. And this "strength" is both physical and emotional. As much as I appreciate the sentiment, there are plenty of times/ways that I'm not. My knees and back do not show how weak they are despite my broad Bronley shoulders. And emotional, I have done myself a disservice by "being strong" just because I've believed it's what others have expected of me.

9. As overplayed as "Let it Go" is, I was reminded this week as to just how great a message is found therein. This is the reason that it's heard and copied so often. Hearing the song again this past week has helped me be reminded of things I am holding onto that need to just be dropped.


10. I love my wife so much, that if she won't let me help her, I will do everything I can to force it. Maybe that's not healthy. But because she's sick, I told my wife it'd be better not to go to church. Well, she wanted to go to sacrament and I wasn't willing to fight her on that any further. So I told her "You're going home after the first hour, but if you try to stay longer, I'm going to just walk home and you'll have to deal with the kids and drive them home later." I won that argument thank goodness.

 Alien abductions are involuntary, but probings are scheduled.