The Tale of the Three Brothers

OK.. so it's been a long time since I updated this thing, and things haven't been going great, so let's jump right into it.

Last time I posted was mid-December, so i'll catch up on what i've been doing, then end with the weight loss thing. So I spent Christmas at the orphanage, with Dan and all the kids. Just like last year, it was probably the greatest day of the year. I went down early on Christmas Eve, then made 2 separate trips back and forth to bring down more presents for the kids. I hung out with kids for a little while, then it was time to start setting up. Dan and I spent all night deciding who was going to get what, making sure everyone had enough stuff (even amounts) and had things that they were going to enjoy. We set up the chapel for christmas morning, did stockings, hung signs, etc.. The next morning, we made sure everything was all set, and then we let the kids in. The rest of the day was spent putting batteries in things, teaching the kids how to use certain toys (devil sticks, anyone?) and having a blast with the kids. I spoke to my family back home via videochat, and then missed my ride home. I ended up staying the night again, and dan, some of the older kids, and i watched Karate Kid (the new one) in the chapel, then went to bed. I left the next morning for my last week of work at Uno's.

As far as Uno's goes, I no longer am employed there.. no one is, for that matter. The restaurant closed down January 3, so i've been out of work since then. It really came at a bad time as I had finally bought a car (1997 Nissan Altima, not great, but whatever..) had booked a flight home (for the day after the restaurant closed) and didn't have much money saved to begin with. The past few weeks have been spent looking for jobs, and waiting on unemployment checks (and W2 forms, so that I can hopefully get my refund soon and have some cash again..)

Like I stated above, a couple days after the restaurant closed (took the redeye the night after we closed) I went home to visit the family. Dan and I were so busy over the Christmas holiday that there was no way we were going to make it home.. so we went back first week of January. Dan went a couple days before me, and told them I wasn't going to be able to make it. I surprised them two days later and we had an awesome time. Saw a lot of people! Spent a night in Allston with Katie, Emily, Allie and Stephen (as well as dan and matt) a night with my aunt, uncle, grandmother, cousin Jenna and her fiancee Brian, a night in Lowell with Mario, merrill, Zach and a bunch of others, a day with my other grandmother and grandfather, and a day in cambridge with my grandfather (and my two brothers) and a night in Brookline with Sarina and Gallivan.. Not to mention plenty of time with my niece (Cassidy) and nephews (Matthew and Zach..) it was just an all around great time and I can't wait to go back. There are still so many people I DIDN'T get to see, and a bunch of people I would have liked to have spent more time with!

So when I got back to San Diego.. the plan was for Matt to come out the following day! He didn't know that I was coming home, and he wanted to see me, and visit SD again.. so he came out again. It was great having him here. Dan, Matt and I had a really good time when we were all together (a dinner out, a breakfast, and a few days together in Mexico..) It's weird having the 3 of us together. I miss having my family so close at all times. So while the three brothers didn't spend a HUGE amount of time together, Matt and I did. This was one of the first times in recent memory that I can remember matt and i going so long without a big fight. We had a really good time together.. we played basketball, football, had some good meals, watched an awful Patriots game, and watched a lot of the Office.. haha. He was here for a week, then headed back to Massachusetts, and i went back to the job search, which, as i said, is what i've been up to the last few weeks.

So, as for the whole weight loss thing, I obviously have moved back a bit. With the business of the restaurant over the holidays, my trip home, and then having matt out here, i didn't go to the gym nearly as much as I would have liked to. The job hunting as taken up some of the time i'd like to be at the gym as well. I have been back to basketball and working out the past week, but unfortunately I did some damage to my number. Since I didn't work out, nearly at all, for the weeks between my last blog.. i'm just gonna call this week 7, and continue on from here.

Week 7: 218lbs

(not awful, but up 5 pounds from where i was last time i really weighed in.. so we'll see how i do from here.)
-Roddy