Fun for Friday: The Big White Envelope

This post over at Times and Seasons led me to a whole new way to waste time: watching video of people opening their mission calls on You Tube. It is, of course, inevitable that people would start using this medium for broadcasting their life milestones, and getting your call really is a milestone. Most people probably only put their video up for friends and family, but it's still fun to watch even if you don't know them. My favorite is this one of two guys from Finland. It's probably not as funny if you speak Finnish, but it made me bust a gut watching them.

It also made me realize that it's been nearly 8 years since I opened my envelope. I don't remember many specifics of the moment; there wasn't a large crowd there and no one was taping it or anything. I spent most of that night and the next day in shock, because I hadn't considered Spain and I didn't know much about the country. But I'm still glad I went and I will always cherish my mission memories.

Comments

Mrs. Hass-Bark said…
That was highly entertaining. I can't believe it's been so long (also almost 8 years) since I opened my call. I was alone in my bedroom with my parents on the phone since they lived in Peru and I was at BYU. I remember being mildly disappointed that I was going to Santiago, Chile, since I'd already been there. Then I read on and discovered I had four weeks before I had to report to the MTC and things got a little more exciting...
4/14/2007 7:47 AM
Desmama said…
I opened mine just over seven years ago. Reading "Texas San Antonio" didn't nearly elicit the screams that "Santiago Chile West" did for my sister a few weeks ago. Ah well.
4/14/2007 2:33 PM
daltongirl said…
I never opened my call. I couldn't do it. So I had my friends open it and then make me guess where I was going. That was fun. I reacted kind of like that kid from Finland.

Twenty-two years ago--kind of seems like a long, long time.
4/15/2007 9:24 AM
Melyngoch said…
oooohhhh -- I should get me a camera. Instant fame!
4/16/2007 12:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy, Happy Blog-day Foxy Dear

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of my blog. I had no idea where my life would go when I started this blog, and it's fun for me to read back through the archives and remember feelings and events that I have already forgotten. I think the most surprising thing about blogging that I have discovered is the sense of community. I have about fifty blogs that I follow somewhat regularly; many of them are people I haven't ever met in person. I still consider them to be my friends. I've been very grateful for all the virtual support I've received from so many people who don't really even "know" me. Miss Nemesis recently celebrated her blog's special day by asking lurkers to come out of the woodwork and reveal who they were and how they found her blog. She got 52 comments. If you want to make my day, see if you can top her numbers. Maybe then I can change my blognym to "Queen of the Universe".
Read more

Coming Out in Public

A little over 6 years ago I was on my mission in Madrid. I was transferred to new area at the same time as another elder. I remember asking him if was really from Hawaii, since he was so tall and blonde. We ended up serving together in the same district for nearly seven and a half months and had a lot of good times together. He was actually nice to the sisters and a hard worker, without being too zealous and overbearing. I knew he was going home just a month before me and planning on being an English major when he got back to BYU. When I was transferred out of that area, we exchanged emails and addresses and promised to get back in touch some day, like I did with a lot of other missionaries. I got home in January and started trying to contact some of the people I'd been friends with back in the mission. I emailed this particular elder and found out that he had gone to the computer lab that very day in order to email me. We started emailing each other and talked on the phone a few t...
Read more