Reflections and Ramblings

Well, it's been well over two years since I've updated this blog. For a long while I forgot that I even had this blog, but it's been fun re-discovering it and seeing the how much I've grown over the last few years.

I won't say that this first post in over two years will be terribly exciting - because it probably won't be. In fact, I'm sure I'll just ramble on for a while about several different topics and then conclude with a statement saying, "Sorry for this being so long". This particular post might seem a little self-indulgent as it is a reflection primarily on my own life and experiences. And yes, the tone may be somewhat somber or perhaps boring, but that's probably due my current reflective mindset. So, there you go. Fair warning. :-)

I feel like I just need to write down some of the good things happening in my life and this seemed like a good place to do it. Lately I have had the reassurance that the events that have happened in my life have really been the right thing for me at each stage of my life - from birth to today. The interests I had or the differing feelings of acceptance I had sought had prepared me for bigger and better things. I can see that now.

There have been so many good and amazing people in my life, and I intend to thank many of you personally within the next few months. Sadly, I have lost contact with many, but the impact that these people have had on my life has been profound, and a post thanking people would be incomplete without at least mentioning the people who have changed my life forever. I met most of these people, with whom I have lost contact, primarily through my experiences in Canada - what I perhaps may call the Canadian chapter of my life.

Those early years essentially "growing up" in an area far different from the rural Paradise I had lived in just previously were paramount to the establishment of who I would become. The people were different from the "rural-Utahan" type I was used to, and I was able to see a wide range of values, attitudes, and beliefs that either mirrored or differed greatly from my own. It was from these people that I had discovered what would be a major force and passion in my life. Theatre. The experiences I had in my one semester Grade 9 Drama class led me to a place of acceptance and an arena for self-expression that I had been unable to find previously. We kept a weekly journal in that class and I was recently able to read those entries I made 8 years ago. The lessons I learned were not necessarily evident at that time, but have since become clearer to me upon reflection from a wiser and more mature (arguably) me. Thank you to the students in that class, and to many of the friends I had outside theatre, for teaching me that I do have a talent and that I can help make people happy. At a time when I am deciding what to study in college, I have to take into account the change that theatre has given me.

The other major force in my development during the "Canadian chapter" of my life was my many friends in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With many of these people, I have at least partial contact and I am grateful for that. If any of you read this blog, please know that even though we don't communicate much now, I reflect now and then on the amazing experiences of that time and know that I do love and care about each of you. I have not forgotten all that you have done for me. I have never experienced such rapid acceptance and friendship in any circumstance ever than what my family and I experienced at that time. I have never made so many great close friends more quickly than meeting all of you. I do want to come back to Nanaimo sometime and I am aware that it is not even close to being the same like I remembered, but I'm glad for that. We have moved on and have experienced so many other great things. I look back at that time as sort of a "magic moment" that I don't think will happen again. I am just so grateful for each of you and for the positive influence you have been in my life.

Well, if you've made it this far in my post, congratulations! You've managed to sit through 700 words of personal reflection. There are so many more things I could and want to talk about, but I better call it good for now. I hope I can get back into writing regularly in this blog to share some of the fun, spiritual, or awesome experiences I have been having. I'll try to make the next post more entertaining - maybe I'll include a picture or two. :)

And to all 9 of you who have subscribed to my blog: You are awesome. No, really. You are so cool. Give yourselves a hand. You have stayed subscribed to a 2-year-defunct blog eagerly anticipating the next post from your favorite blogger - me. I mean, is it even a question? You should all be proud of yourselves.

Now go out and thank someone today - or tomorrow. You never know what effect you might have on someone's life. :)

S velikou láskou,

William

The Swell Season Concert

On Saturday night (28th) Jenessa, Emilee, and I went down to Salt Lake City to see arguably the greatest band in the world, but without a doubt my favorite band, The Swell Season. (Here's a clip of their most popular song - Falling Slowly)

I first fell in love with this band after watching a premiere of the movie "Once" at the Sundance Festival. Scott got a pair of free tickets from a guy at work, so we went. I don't know how to describe the movie other than pure art. And magic. The feeling in that room after watching this incredible show was electric. It sounds cheesy, but everyone in that room sort of looked around and each other and clapped. We all knew we had seen something that doesn't come around every day. The magic wasn't in the production of the film - but in the emotion of the two musician/actors who portrayed Guy and Girl in the film. (I say musician/actors because they don't consider themselves actors, but musicians first and foremost. And the two main characters are never named, so they are credited simply as Guy and Girl) The music is really the driving force behind the "musical" - it's what made Once Once --what made the movie magic.

So, there's my endorsement of the film. Watch it. Seriously. You won't regret it! (NOTE: It was filmed in Ireland and a certain word over there doesn't mean what it means here... They say this word a good amount of times, so if this word bothers you, then you may not enjoy the movie so much. I shouldn't rationalize, but when they say the word, they don't mean it as we would mean it. Anyway, consider yourself warned.)

The concert was down in Salt Lake City at the Rose Wagner Theatre - a really beautiful space. They had Rachel Yamagoto perform before they came on. She did a few songs that were very good, but they were all just depressing. All about love gone wrong and whatnot. Very talented artist, but I hope she can get into a better relationship sometime so some less melancholy songs can be done.

When I first watched Once, it had become a dream for me to see them perform live. I had watched countless videos on YouTube of their performances and I just knew that I had to see them live for myself. Well, wouldn't you know it they came to Salt Lake City! So, I called two of my friends who were as obsessed with the music as I was and we were able to get 4th row tickets.

Needless to say, the concert was everything I had dreamed it would be and even more. The music was all so incredible, but just the feeling of being there and seeing them live was so great. They loved to involve the audience when they could by having us sing the chorus or sing the melody while he would harmonize etc. It's hard to explain but it was a lot of fun.

After the concert, we waited outside for 30 minutes or so until they came out so that we could meet them and talk with them. They are both just down to earth, humble, nice people who love music because it's music. Not because they are making money for it. Now, obviously I don't know them well enough to know how much they care about the money, but you can tell that they are singing from their hearts. Every song is so unique and from deep within and you feel as if they are sharing some secret, special, personal part of them with their audience. The music moves me so much!

Anyway, so we met them and the female singer is from the Czech Republic so I was able to speak very, very little Czech with her and she thought it was pretty cool that I was learning Czech. I don't know if I ever told her why I was living in the Czech Republic for two years, but it was still fun just to hear a native speaker speak the language. She taught how to correctly pronounce a few things, so that was very helpful! Glen came out as well afterward and we just talked for a bit - mostly about the weather. I had brought something for them to sign, but when I went to grab it I couldn't find it.


(I look like such a spaz. I swear, I had a great smile right until the shutter clicked... I wish I had taken just one more as well just to be safe, but... I didn't. Haha, so this will have to do.) Just ignore the dummy on the left. ;)

Marketa Irglova


There you go. That was my amazing night. A few disappointments, but two of my dreams came true. I saw them perform live AND I was able to meet them both afterward!

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Because I just can't get enough of this band, here are a few links to some of their performances:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATzyS4-f3Kw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pnxdlSAz_Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOy6ZC4ugbw

Mission Call

People have been clamoring for me to update my blog, so here goes! I couldn't think of what to write about until I realized that I hadn't written a post about the mission call yet... Woops.
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I have been called to the Czech Prague mission. I leave December 16th and I will be speaking Czech! My mission covers both the Czech Republic and Slovakia, so there's a good chance that I will spend some time in Slovakia as well.

I got my call around 3:00 PM on Wednesday, 26th of August just 9 days after my Stake President had submitted the papers to the First Presidency. I wasn't expecting it until the week after, so this was quite a shock! As soon as I got it, Olivia, Joseph and Scott just wanted me to open right then and there! I told them that I would wait until the parents got home. (At the time, I didn't realize that they wouldn't be home until 8:45 or later that night! I know it was just over 5 hours, but man it was killing me!)

I spent the next hour or so inviting my brothers and sisters, grandparents, and some other family members to come to the house at 9, which is when I decided I would open my call.

Grandma Peterson

Grandma Jensen

Grandpa Peterson, Daryl (cousin), Olivia (sis-in-law)

Most everyone was there by 9, but we were still waiting for my brothers and sister to get back home. So we talked for 15 minutes or so, and when Scott finally walked in the door, we were pretty anxious.

Scott (Can you tell it runs in the family?)

I had made a decision beforehand that I would open my call alone, in the privacy of my room, and then come up to tell everyone else. I wanted a minute or two to adjust and feel the Spirit that was present when I opened the call and to just share this moment with my Father in Heaven and my dad, Kevin, who I know is up there watching me and is proud of the choices I am making.

So, before I went downstairs we went around the room and had everyone say their guess as to where I would be going. A few said Florida, some said Brazil/Mexico/Peru/etc., some others said Africa, my parents both guessed Canada, others said Sweden/Germany/East Europe and pretty much everyone joked, "Boise, Idaho" (I hadn't heard that one before!)

Once I was down in my room, I knelt down and said a prayer asking for the Spirit to be present and to confirm that this call truly came from the Lord. By this time, my hands were literally shaking with anticipation. I got up and sat down on the chair. Grabbed the envelope and slid the letter opener across the top of the envelope. (I remember thinking, "Uh oh, what if this isn't my call? What if they are just asking for more information or something?!?) When I saw the call packet, I knew that this was it. My call. This moment, 19 years coming, was finally here! I turned over the envelope and read the letter.

"Dear Elder Peterson,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Czech Prague Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months."

Whoah. Czech Prague? Czech Prague?!? CZECH PRAGUE?!? NO WAY! I had to read the letter 3 or 4 more times to make sure that I had read what I had read!

I immediately grabbed the call and ran up the stairs to tell the family gathered around. The feeling in the room was electric! As soon as I read the first few lines, the room erupted in cheers! Hugs all around! I must have smiled for an hour straight! The bishop wanted to know right away when I opened my call, so I called him. Then I called a few other people that night, but it was getting fairly late, so I decided to call everyone else the next day. I had planned to call all my Aunts and Uncles that night and tell them personally first, but I found out that right when I opened my call, my mom and sister had texted everyone in the family en masse! Haha, so much for being the first to tell them. :) That's okay though. I still gave them a call, and I can't blame my sister or mom. They were just so excited!

The call!

And ya. That was the night I opened my call! Sorry, it's kinda long again. I swear, I never plan to make these blog posts this long! It just kinda happens. :) So, hurrah if you made it through to the end. I will write another short post sometime soon I hope. Have a great day!


P.S. This is a picture of my little niece - Lola Monroe Elgan, just a few weeks old when I opened my call. She's going to be so big when I get back!

Lola and I

Also, thanks Brein for taking these pictures! You're great! :)

Powers?

Vending Machine Powers

With great power, comes great responsibility.

Simply put. I have vending machine powers. Now, I'm not talking about when you just happen to find an extra item or two in the bottom when you retrieve your purchase. That can happen to anybody.

No, I'm talking about vending machines giving me extra items ON command! (Okay, so not really on command. It's not like I can talk to vending machines or anything...)
They can READ my mind!

Here's the story. There I was one day all by my lonesome in the great "Commons" of Weber High School a few years ago when I notice a drink vending machine off in the corner. It's green. And glows. Eerie enough, right?

Well, I decided that a long day tech rehearsal calls for A&W Cream Soda. So, dollar in hand, I make my way over to a close proximity (cool word, eh?) of the vending machine. I look on the left hand side and see nothing but Pepsi and Mountain Dew buttons. That's not going to work. Looking to the bottom-right I see Fresca and Strawberry Lemonade buttons. Both very nice items, but again, not what I'm looking for. Looking up to the upper-right hand buttons I see A&W Root Beer and... CREAM SODA! Bingo! I stick my dollar in the slot and it accepts on the first try. I go to depress the button - or is it press?

(Wordnet-Princeton defines depress as "to press down" among other things. So, you depress the button. Or do you? Wordnet-Princeton defines press as "to exert pressure, or force, to or upon" So, you depress something by pressing it. When you see de-press, sometimes you think to UNDO the action of pressing. Which isn't the case at all. So, is there really a difference? I think the main difference comes with people's different connotations of the word depress. Depress seems to be used more often when dealing with peoples emotions while press seems to be used with to regards to physical matters. So, I guess, all-in-all, depress or press could be used interchangeably in this story.)

Back to the story. I go to depress/press the Cream Soda button when I notice that the light was out! Oh no! Does this mean that the vending machine is out of the soda I so desperately need? Well, I chance it and press/depress the button anyway and lo and behold out pops the Cream Soda! Then I walk away. Pleased with my purchase.

As I'm walking away, I hear a *clunk*. (Hmm, that sounds like something ELSE dropped down the chute on the machine... No, it couldn't be.) Oh yes. It did be. I turn back around and see ANOTHER Cream Soda in the depository! What luck! Without any pangs of guilt, I go back and retrieve the second Cream Soda. ("I'll drink this one next week sometime" I think to myself.)

That was the first hint to my vending machine powers.

The second experience with my powers came just a few weeks ago at Weber State University in the Student Success Center.

There I was all by my lonesome when I felt a hankering for Doritos come over me. Glancing to my right, I see an old, decrepit vending machine. I decide to try my luck and I again insert my dollar into the slot. I look to the top rack of the machine and see Doritos. Wait! Two of them are stuck in the same slot! What luck! I select A-3 and expect them both to fall out. Nope. A THIRD one gets stuck! I stick another dollar in and select A-3. And what happens then? They all three come out! Yes! 3 for 2 dollars. Good deal! I grab my purchases out of the bottom and prepare to walk away.

That was when I decide to glance back at the machine and where the LED would normally say, "Thank you! Have a nice day!" It says, "$1.00" Wha-? I decide to try my luck/power out and I select another item. Out come the cookies and the LED says, "Thank you! Have a nice day! ... ... ... $1.00" No way! This machine gives me the item and then still thinks it the dollar is still there! I select another item, Nutri-Grain bar, out pops the bar and once again the LED reads, "Thank you! Have a nice day! ... ... .. $1.00." I select something else and again the same thing happens. (About this time I start to feel a little guilty. But I justify myself by thinking that a different, disobedient machine ate my 5 dollar bill and gave me nothing in return. Obviously, that machine had powers of its own.) I select one more item to satisfy my greed and I pull the plug on the machine and push it back in. The LED then read, "Hello! Please select an item." Perfect. The machine has lost its memory and will serve no other master.

I coolly walk away, now fully aware of my powers.

However! With great power comes great responsibility. I must never use my powers for evil. I must never exceed the money-eaten/item received balance I so carefully maintain.

So, there it is. Vending machine powers. Love it.

Mission Papers Update

My mission papers are ALMOST in!!!

I started them back on the 19th of July and finished most of the paperwork that evening. The dental stuff was taken care of that week and the physical was completed the following week! I just had my missionary worthiness/Melchizedek priesthood interview with my bishop tonight and I should be getting a call from the Stake President for an interview with him within this week. After that interview, my papers will be turned in! :)

I should get my call within two weeks from that interview. I'm so excited! ("And I just can't hide it")

So, yep. That's my current status with my mission papers.

I can't wait!

Catching Up.

When I first started this blog, I promised myself I would be fairly regular in updating it. My plan was to update it every few days. As you can see, that hasn't happened. And there are plenty of things I could have blogged about, you know? There was my brother's wedding, the weekend in Provo with my Grandma who only has a few weeks left, mission papers, the flaming bag adventure, family members joining the Army, my new-found vending machine powers and so on. I plan to blog about these events, but then the time just slips away and I forget about them until a few weeks later. Then I can't remember most of what happened anyway so I just forget about it. But I should try to be more regular in updating.

Here's what I'll do. I'll try to make a new post about past events every few days, that way I don't have one or two really long blogs, but several short-medium length blogs (Of course, most of my blogs turn out to be extra long).


Scott's Wedding!

Yes, Scott (my oldest brother) is now married! I won't bore you with long descriptions of the day, but I'll just say that it was a wonderful ceremony and reception. Scott and Karli were so nervous (of course), but they were both excited and happy for the wedding. I'm so proud of Scott for marrying as great a girl as Karli. She has made him so happy! I wish them a long and happy marriage!

They were married on July 11th, hence the Slurpees in the picture.



Yup. That's my brother. :)



Tower of Groomsmen

I Believe In A Thing Called Love...

I'm in love...

Let's just say that going to Thursday night Institute has a lot more meaning now. :)

And I'll just leave you with that.