Looking to the Light

Day 2 in Aotearoa

We started the day off by awaking from our coma’s caused most likely from a tough day of travelling across the world. Jordan and I ventured around Christchurch touring the Cathedral, seeing local historical landmarks, stopping to converse with some guy that told me I had a nice butt who said he was a male prostitute, and grabbed some breakfast from a local bakery.

After grabbing a bite to eat we tried to check out the local derby to watch a few horse races but went to the wrong track. After a little detective work we found the real track. It was interesting what a social event the races were. We walked in right as one race was starting and cruised around while we waited for the next to start. It was pretty fun and something I think we would of enjoyed a little more with a group of friends to share the fun of dressing up and hanging out with.

From the races we left for Timaru where we were planning to attend the Rose Festival. Once we got in to Timaru we stopped and watched some younger kids playing a game of cricket. We could gather the basics but had a hard time really understanding the draw of cricket. At this point we realized we had no idea where the festival was supposed to be held. We drove around for a bit and then stopped to ask someone where the festival was being held. We were told that the festival wasn’t going to start until next week so we were a little bummed to say the least. So we headed out of town to the beautiful town of Omarama which most visitors of New Zealand miss while blinking.

We tried watching the finals for the World Cup Betball Championships but only made it through the first half before we both passed out from fatigue.

New Zealand: Day 1

James and I decided to go on a trip to New Zealand, where he served his mission about six years ago. After months of planning (or procrastinating to plan), we finally made the journey on Wednesday. We flew to Los Angeles on a flight which was half-empty (or half-full) and hoped our flight to Auckland would be similar. We weren't that lucky. Our flight to Auckland was completely full, with me and James sitting in the middle row with hardly any leg room. Even after taking sleeping pills, the night was rough. Neither of us slept much. Upon arriving in Auckland, we picked up our rental car and headed towards the city. First, we went to One Tree Hill, which unfortunately, no longer has its solitary tree. For years, it was a highlight for tourists. About seven years ago, I guess some Maori activist went ballistic and sawed it down. Still, the surrounding park was beautiful. James and I hiked through the mist (and the the sheep herds) to the monument. After that, we checked out the Museum of Auckland and its cool exhibits on the Maori culture and artifacts. It was neat to see other Pacific stuff and to make the connections between the different tribes. We left the museum in search of a kebab shop where James frequented while living in the Mount Eden area. Unfortunately (in his case), we weren't able to find the same shop and so we made our way to downtown Auckland. Despite the bad weather, the city was bustling with all kinds of people. There seems to be a greater amount of foreigners than Polynesians or British immigrants. Tons of Asians and Indians. James managed to find another kebab place and I was less than adventurous with my Subway sandwich. After lunch, we meandered towards the Sky Tower (think Space Needle wannabe) and instead of paying $50 to take an elevator to the observation deck, we watched a brief film about the history of Auckland. Then, we drove to another area of Auckland to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic and Aquatic Museum. It was a little childish, but we had a good time watching the penguins from our SnowCat ride and looking at all the different aquariums. We even watched a trainer feed the manta rays and we were so close. I thought it was pretty cool. Now, around four o'clock, we started fading. We stopped at a FoodTown and purchased some of our favorite New Zealand treats, and then drove around until we parked at a local park near the airport and napped. It was a good thing. We had dinner at the airport and watched a game of World Cup netball while waiting for our much delayed flight to Christchurch. Both James and I don't remember much of the flight; we were pretty much out. After going through hassles to get our rental car and find our hotel (in the middle of a huge Friday night party downtown), we crashed. Our hotel in Christchurch is really weird. Like totally modern and minimalist. It's actually pretty funny. Don't worry; we took pictures. Now, it's time to check out and we're finally feeling human again after sleeping like rocks.

Townhouse for Sale

Jordan and I went looking for homes and found a beautiful model home up in Lehi and have decided to put money down and build a new home. So that means we are frantically working to sell our house. I won't bore you with the details. You can check out the info at ProvoTownHouse.com or check out the pictures below.

Utah Motorcycle Riders

I work with a guy who has a regular group of guys who go riding their motorcycles all over the area. If that's the type of thing you're interested in then check out UtahMotorcycleRiders.com

Reunions and Get Togethers

As summer approaches families will be preparing for the big Family Reunion and high schools across the country will be holding thousands of class reunions throughout the summer. What sort of experiences have you had at your reunion? Did you register at a site like Classmates.com or Reunion.com before?

I attended my 5 year High School reunion a few years ago and sad enough it seemed as though noone had changed. I wasn't one of those people who relished my High School years wishing that somehow it would be able to go on forever. Rather I tried to get out of there as fast  as possible which is probably why I was less than thrilled to be at my reunion. One of my best friends wife was in charge of putting the reunion together though so I thought I'd go and support them and help out if I could. It was fun to catch up with a few people and see what they'd been up to.

Would you go to your next reunion (family or school)?

Networking: What is it Good For?

Some people fight to hold on to the ideal that success is found by what you know and do and not by who you know. I can understand. I'm a proud individual often unwilling to admit that my successes have come most commonly from the opportunities or experiences I've had because of who I know. Over the last year I've found success from partners I work with, people I met through Linkedin, and contacts I've made from both of those.

Then I think about how much people I'm close to have impacted my decisions and realize that again my success has been impacted by knowing smart people who give me great advice. People like my father, my brother, Ben Peterson, Ryan Sanders and a whole handful of others. So networking, what is it good for? Absolutely everything!!!

Freelance Worker for Hire

I've been working on a website for some freelance work I'm going to be doing. If you have a chance check it out and let me know what you like and what you don't like. Also, if you were looking to hire someone to do marketing stuff for you what would you want the site to show/discuss?

The site is: The Marketing Agency

From Good to Great

I just read the book "Good to Great" on the flight from Salt Lake City to Honolulu. I couldn't put it down because I see so much of what I'd like to be as a business leader and because I've often struggled with hiring new employees and wanting to compromise a little. In his book, Jim Collins, talks about how when hiring you must first ask who then what. If you can find the right people you can move them into many roles that they may be able to succeed at but you can't move the wrong people into any seat on the bus. Before reading the book I had just interviewed two guys that I was considering hiring to work for me and I knew they weren't the right fit but thought I could hire either of them and hopefully they'd still work out. While reading about hiring I knew I couldn't hire either of them. Seems simple but when you need to hire it's harder than you can imagine.

24 Season Premiere: Real Life Story

I'm watching the season premiere of the 6th season of 24. The premise of the episode is that Jack Bauer, who has been held by the Chinese for 20 months for his help in breaking in to the Chinese embassy which resulted in the death of one of their leaders, has been "purchased" from the Chinese so he can be traded for information on the leader of a terrorist organization that is rampaging the cities of America.

The leaders of CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) notify Jack that this sacrifice is being asked to save the lives of thousands if not millions. Jack explains that he fought so hard to stay alive while the Chinese were torturing him because he would die for nothing but this way he can die for something that has purpose.

This makes me think of our current situation in Iraq. I don't think President Bush has done everything right in Iraq but I do believe we are there for a purpose and if we were to pull out now, like Ted Kennedy suggests, all of our soldiers will have given their lives for nothing.

Marriage

I've been married for almost a month and I can't believe what an amazing woman I've married. Jordan is so amazing and frankly I am amazingly blessed to have found such a special person who is so patient and understanding.

Check out some of our wedding pictures at my Flickr profile