dear yan, thanks for the lovely introduction. you and i both know that by "encouragement" you meant that time when you sobbed on my shoulder and said "i quit. i quit. i quit!" but i helped you see the beauty you possessed inside; i gave you a sense of pride. or maybe you were thinking of all the times i watched the girls and didn't let them watch any shows because i'm such a good dad--instead i taught them everything through the 5th grade curriculum. or maybe it was all the brilliant ideas...well, the list could go on and i'm sure you were thinking of all of those things...so anyway, thanks for the introduction although it was much more generous than i would have been to myself.

i wanted to just send you this little note to tell you i'm honored to be carrying the canon 5d mark ii to all our wedding shoots. and i'm happy to carry yours for you too. i'm so proud of you. and let's rock this thing! also, i want you to notice how perfect your jaw looks in the picture below and then if you wish, notice how blobby my jaw looks. waa waa waa. well, who needs new years resolutions? who needs help with motivation? i certainly don't because my blobby jaw was posted on international internet. that's enough to make me lose 15 lbs in 2 months.

all my love,

uncle marty. he he he. i mean, marty.