Looking Back At O-Eleven (1st Half)

It is very weird to think that it is already 2012. Last year really went by fast now that I look back at all of the pictures I took, or did not take for that matter. Twenty-Eleven was probably my worst year when it came to taking pictures. I guess the fact of being on 3 different computers, and living in two cities made it really difficult. I had tons of pictures on my parent’s computer before I left for Columbus, but it died while I was gone and I never had them backed up. While I was in Columbus I did not have my own computer, so all of the pictures I did take are on the family’s computer that I stayed with. So long story short, I am lacking some material. Which is sad since last year involved, living in Nashville, moving to Columbus, and then spending time in Sarasota, Orlando, Cincy, and Chicago.

One thing I decided to do when I started this blog, wow that sounds nerdy, was to post my favorite/most popular pictures from each year. It was easier the past few years since I posted many of my pictures on flickr. They do a great job at ranking photos, and keeping stats for each picture.  Well this year I did not spend much time updating my flickr, and it is hard to tell what is popular on this blog.

As expected, my most popular post was involving the car scene. The past few years I have gone to the Import Alliance meet. This meet  has around 5-10K people attend each year. So those pictures always have a huge following, which meant that the two posts involving that meet blew away all other posts. But I will talk about that in my next post. (I am off today and tom, hence the large posts on here)

So keeping away from the car scene, Feb. 17th was my most viewed day. This was the day after I posted pictures of my cousin’s kid Will. I guess it just goes to show how much people like babies.

After spending some time looking over photos, I realized this may be a two post ordeal. So I am just going to start at the beginning of the year and pick out my favorites, or the popular ones by the viewers.  To start it off would be one of the first pictures I took in 2011 which happens to be the pic on my mouse pad. This picture was taken of Copper on a cold morning. It was freezing outside so Copper did not feel like going outside, but that did not stop him from keeping an eye on things.

JANUARY

One of my highest viewed photos on flickr for 2011 (I did use it at the start of the year) was taken while I still worked at Bike Pedlar. It was a snowy afternoon, which meant a boring day at work. So Justin and I decided to take advantage of it by going for a bike ride around the parking lot on the new Trek Earl.

FEBRUARY

Thankfully before I headed off to Columbus I was able to attend my good friend Braden’s graduation ceremony from the Police Academy. This was taken as they were walking out into the sanctuary.

Looking back at last year made me realize how many times it snowed last year. Since I was still driving my Accord back then I chose to ride my mountain bike to work a few times when the snow was bad. It sounds awful, but I LOVED doing it.

The 2nd highest viewed bike picture was of this Madone. It was in the shop getting lots of new goodies installed. Oh I loved that part of the job. Another bike probably worth more than the accord I used to drive.

I had a period of about a month where I did not take pictures. This was because of my move to Columbus. Even with moving to a new city  for 4 years to attend UT could not even begin to compare to how much my internship with AnF changed my life. It was one of the most nerve racking decisions I have made in my life, but it was also the best thing that could of happened to me. It confirmed my hatred for Ohio(mainly the buckeyes), but more so allowed for me to grow as a person more than ever. Each day was a test to strengthen me as an individual and employee. I could not convey my appreciation/gratitude enough for everyone involved in my life those months. I think I spend more time thinking about them and the experiences I had there than I do about my time at UT.

MARCH

Neyland’s little brother…The Shoe

These are not great pictures, but they mean a lot to me since I cherished those months with AnF and my second family.

The Singleton’s home during a snowstorm. If you do not have a family like them in your lives, then I am sorry. They are the two greatest 2nd parents anyone could ever ask for. And I am sure they would say I am the son they always wanted…….especially since they always wanted a child that bleeds orange.

APRIL

The one million square foot AnF DC I spent a few months working at.( Yes poor weather was a common theme) Driving 30 miles to work in my accord in this weather drastically reduced my life a few years. If it says anything about how busy and awful the weather was there. This was the ONLY picture I uploaded/took for a month.

Thankfully May involved some better weather. So on Mother’s Day I went to the Columbus Zoo. If there is one good thing about that city, it would be their zoo. Wow is all I can say. Below are my two favorite pictures from that day.

MAY

In May I also have the privilege of getting to go to Florida with my family. I would classify myself as a family man. So it was great getting to spend a week with them after being away for a few months. Not to mention I got to spend a day in my dream city, aka The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I better skip talking about this before I geek out.

This makes me laugh….

After returning home from Sarasota I got to see my family again in Cincinnati about two weeks later. Cincy was a great time since it was a new city, but I could of done without the horrible service at one of the restaurants we ate at.Very cool city, especially since it is where Kroger’s home office is.

I think this would be a great time to stop. My next post will start out with the a trip to visit my cousins, along with the end of my time with Abercrombie and Fitch.