Ah.... 2011 has come and gone. What a year...what a year. I started 2011 treading on rough waters. The main thing was I was not happy with my job. Things there just were not falling into place like I thought they would be. I was always broke and I didn't feel that same sense of accomplishment that I once did before. It just felt like a job to me. I wasn't enjoying it and I knew I could go anywhere else and make 5,000 to 10,000 more for my level of experience...not to mention a pristine safety record. I actually went for about 8 months in to 2011 with that feeling. Fortunately, as the year went along those things started to change for the better. Now I make more money. I've somewhat had a promotion and I also am assigned a permanent truck. The one thing that has kept me there this long is I have a boss who works with me on a lot of things... For some of you that know me well know that I have health issues and he definitely has been a big help on making sure that I get my days off when I have doctors visits. That is one thing you cannot guarantee with any other company. Nevertheless, I am happy that I waded through the muddy waters. Things may not be 100% great at this point but it has definitely been a work in progress... and so far the progress has been very well. Of course, I don't know exactly how things are with our account or company BUT you can always tell when there is tension in the office.
Now on to the other things in 2011.
Outside of work, I had a very fun year. In March of 2011, I finally traded my Honda Accord. I bought something cheaper...a 2004 Chevrolet Impala. My reasoning behind it was because I work 5 days out of the week. There was no reason for me to buy an expensive car when all it'll do is sit. Just needed something reliable and so far, it has been very reliable. I did have an issue with it. The transmission blew in it but the car was still under warranty so it was replaced without any hassle.
In April, my brother and I took a mini trip down to Richmond, VA to see one of my best friends...Zhivago. We also visited an amusement park down there called Kings Dominion. In May, I met a guy name Brad. At first, we hit it off really well and then out of the blue he changed and for whatever reason became less interested... and I was okay with that. The month and a half that we did get to spend together was very fun though. He's a very fun guy. Also in May, I lost someone who I considered to be a good friend. We are no longer friends because of two reasons. A) He is the type of person the feels he always have to be in control regardless if you are his friend or partner and B) if he doesn't get his way then he smears your name behind your back. For those of you that know me, you know who I speak of.
June 2011 was a really fun month. Two of my best friends came to Ohio for a visit during Columbus Pride Weekend. We had a blast while they were here. I went to Columbus' black gay club, "Traxx", for the first time. It actually is a pretty fun place. I'm not a big clubber because I don't drink but I do tend to go out during special occasions. Also during that weekend, I was able to hang out with some of my favorite ladies. Jen, Ravon, Emilie, Marie and Terra. They all have definitely made a positive change in my life I a truly love them for it. I also went to Cedar Point that weekend and it included my cousin Kris and my close friend Adam as well as my best friends Zhivago and Jay.
July 2011 during the 4th, I went down to Kentucky for a family reunion. This was the first I had ever attended and I am sorta pissed at that. I found out that I have really good family down there. I've done my best to keep in touch with them as well.
I was on my way home from the movies one night and was witness to one of the most horrific car accidents in my lifetime. Fortunately, I was there to help. I had just hoped on Interstate 270 on the east side of Columbus when a van was traveling the wrong way down the freeway and ran head on into a Ford Taurus. Immediately, I pulled over to help. I'm not am EMT so I really didn't know what I was doing but all I knew was I needed to get the guy in the Ford Taurus out of his car. The van caught fire and it was spreading over to the Taurus. I was able to drag the guy, who I later learned his name is Mark, to safety.
August 2011 I found out that I was being "promoted" to a Training Engineer at work which in other words is a driver trainer. That brought a lot of excitement back to my work. Can't say that I love it but it did bring my sense of accomplishment back. In late August 2011, I took a vacation week. I spent part of the week in New Jersey and the other part in Tennessee. In New Jersey, I was able to visit my friend Gary. He introduced me to this area called Wildwood, NJ. It was such a beautiful place... It was set up like an amusement park but had a very family friendly atmosphere. I enjoyed it there so much that I am taking a vacation there in 2012. The second half of the week, I went down to Tennessee to visit my 2nd cousin, Earl. He has such a beautiful house which includes a built in outdoor pool. I had a great time with the family down. I was also able to drive around and see Nashville for the first time.
September to November 2011... things at work picked up and became very steady. Late September, I went to Green Bay, Wisconsin for my training to become a trainer. That definitely was an interesting week. I had this one situation that occurred where if I handled it the way I initially wanted to, I would have lost my job. This instructor at the training center assumed I was a new hire and pretty much gave me an answer to a question I as in a very rude way. I pretty much bit my lip and walked away and that was a hard thing to do...lol. The students I trained in 2011 all had different personalities. They ranged from me wanting to strangle them to extremely laid back.
I got back into my football and keeping score for Marion Franklin. They had a surprisingly good football squad in 2011. They went 10-0 in the regular season and 3-1 in the playoffs, narrowly losing the state semifinal game to the #1 team in the state, Trotwood-Madison, by 3 points.
In December 2011, I finally was able to meet one of my really close friends, James, who is from Georgia. Let me talk about him really quickly. I am so blessed to have came across a person like him. He has definitely been one of my true friends. He used to work for Schneider National as well but has since moved on to a local company because he wanted to spend more time with his son and girlfriend. James though, is a very good friend and a very loving father. Okay, now getting back on context, I went down to Atlanta, GA to see his former high school, Burke County, compete in the Georgia AAAAA state championship game. They did win. I was also able to see my close friend Brian while down there. It was definitely good to see him. Finally in December 2011, my best friend, Deontre, moved back in with me.
2011 was, for the most part, a very good year. I hope 2012 will live up to what 2011 was...if not better. I already have big plans for this year. Hopefully things will work out in 2012 and it'll turn out to be an extremely great year.
