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Prem and Cheridy
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Dear Family and Friends,
This email was supposed to have been sent at the end of '04 but we were
out of town so it's coming late.
Wow, what an exciting year it's been - from work, church, and getting
the photography business rolling to the chateau's in France, Everest base
camp and the Egyptian desert, it's been really exciting and here is a
year in pictures:
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In January, I got the chance to go visit my friend Ben in Phoenix
during the Martin Luther King long weekend. We took a whirlwind
road trip around northeastern arizona and saw some amazing places
in a short period. It was too cold for us to camp so believe it
or not, we stayed in a hotel. |
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| February led to big layoffs at GM. 200
out of the 600 people in my organization got laid off, but I was not
one of the unlucky ones. Later in the month I started a mens accountability group to provide an environment for men to challenge eachother to be Christ-like in our relationships, work habits, etc. Cheridy's womens group is still going strong for the second year in a row and those girls are continuing to bond and grow closer than ever. February was also a month to get bookings for the summer wedding seasons. The photography business is continuing to evolve and grow including an E-commerce setup, incorporating the business and lots of wedding bookings. Cheridy was involved in multiple soccer leagues but then went down with an ACL injury and had to wait until the end of May to get the reconstructive surgery which was followed by intense physical therapy...not fun!! By mid-March I was playing in two wallyball leagues and a volleyball league which helped me to get off the computer and get some exercise! |
| In April Cheridy planned a surprise trip
to New York for my birthday. With her job being involved with hotels,
her boss helped her to get us two nights in a hotel in Manhattan for
free! Unfortunately for her, I figured out the surprise which ended
up being a good thing because to do any type of professional photography
in New York requires fairly extensive permits which took a lot of
research. Click here for more New York pics. |
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With the weather finally starting to get warmer, I have been able
to get out and try some miscellaneous photos including these from
the Detroit Zoo. Using a long telephoto lens I was able to capture
a bit more of the essence of the animals as opposed to the essence
of the zoo (small cages, etc.) |
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Cheridy had her one year anniversary at Tour Connection and along with getting a raise and paid vacation, she is feeling extremely positive and confident in her job and gets endless praise from her co-workers. The end of April was the Tour Connection reception in Los Angeles where she got to go and meet a number of the clients that she's been dealing with for the last year.
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July started the fun part of the year - MORE TRAVELLING! |
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August...yet again...more weddings. The business
is consuming a lot of time and I truly hope to someday make it a
full time job. This month had a really busy period. We had a Friday
night wedding in Michigan, a Saturday night wedding in North Carolina,
and then a couple days later I left for a two week trip to Tibet
with Ben. Well the trip itself was only 9 days, but it took another
5 to get there and back. Tibet is a large country that is part of
China and shares the Himilayas (Mt. Everest) with Nepal. The culture
in China/Tibet was very unique and interesting. Walking down the
street with monks and watching people worship in front of the temples
was a mind-blowing experience. The trip itself was very difficult,
lots of stomach ailments probably from the food, LONG drives on
bumpy dirt roads for almost 8 hours a day, and then altitude sickness
at 18,000 ft where we had our first view of Everest. The lack of
oxygen at that altitude caused headaches, dizziness, nausea etc.
The language barrier also created some interesting situations along
with restaurants that had menu's that looked like they should be
on Fear Factor. This was a trip that if I had known what it would
have been like, I might not have gone, however, it was a unique
once-in-a-lifetime experience with some great pictures. Click
here for more Tibet pics.
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October was thankfully a bit of a slower month and a chance for
Cheridy and I to focus some time getting some issues resolved with
the photography business and getting some necessary processes and
paperwork finished along with creating a more elegant consultation
area in our home for our wedding appointments. |
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In December Cheridy and I
and our friend Ben went to Egypt over Christmas time. We saw all the
touristy areas including the pyramids, sphinx, temples, tombs etc.
Then we spent some time in the western desert and camped under the
stars which was absolutely breathtaking. We rode almost every mode
of transportation from planes, trains, buses, taxis, motor boats,
sail boats, horses, donkeys, camels, etc. etc. Seeing hyroglyphics
that were carved thousands of years ago made us feel really small...oh
yeah, and standing next to the pyramids didn't exactly make us feel
huge either! Click here for more Egypt pictures. |
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Well, that's our year in review, sorry this letter was so long,
we've been incredibly blessed with opportunities, adventures, health,
and love for eachother...it's been a great 2004 and we look forward
to a less hectic 2005!
Love, |