Brick by Brick

What’s up Everyone!

Welcome to this week’s edition of Brick by Brick. This past week, I got a lot done with work on House 193. Then my parents surprised me for the weekend, and we traveled around half the island. I’ve also been doing a lot of brainstorming about starting a side gig that can generate extra income while I continue building homes.

Let’s get it!

Personal Growth this Week

I have recently started a 90 day challenge I have named Operation Dorado

In Operation Dorado I need to work on 5 categories I’ve chosen

Physical: 1. Been consistently at 170ish which I think is a solid weight
Spiritual: Went to church with my parents and we visited my friend Elder Sam Brown in his ward in Levittown.
Spanish: Been using speak daily( missed out Friday & Saturday because we were playing all day)
Business: I have been brainstorming a lot of side businesses I could start, one of them being painting and sealing roofs, power washing homes, and jet ski tours/ rentals.
Guitar:I’ve learned the Zach top song “There’s the Sun”

Building in Puerto Rico: Behind the Scenes

This week’s big win:

This week’s big win was finishing up two of the rooms with paint before taking off to the other side of the island with my parents. I think it’s super valuable to learn this new painting technique that we’re using in House 193, and it’s something I could potentially apply to other homes as well.

This week’s challenge:
This week’s challenge was working around everyone on the job site. We had the flooring, plumbing, cabinets, and concrete crews all working on House 193 this week. I’d also say that one of the ongoing challenges over the past couple of weeks has been trying to perfect the paint on the walls.

Puerto Rico island adventure with my parents

Like I mentioned before, my parents came down to surprise me… or so they thought. They texted me right when they landed, asking how my day was going, but I immediately saw their location right under their names: Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. So Eric and I decided to surprise the surprise.

Eric called my parents and said, “Hey, you guys need to meet me at SuperMax. Trey and Jimmy fell off the scaffolding and are now in the hospital.” Instead of going to SuperMax, they went straight to the hospital. Eric and I parked next to them and let them walk in. I secretly followed them inside, and the security guards almost kicked me out because I was snooping around the hospital. Once they were inside, I walked up behind them and said, “So I hear someone’s in the hospital… what’s going on?”

I’m very grateful they came to visit me! They also brought my mountain bike. I had such a fun time exploring the west and south sides of the island. My parents rented a car, so we took off on Thursday and drove to Arecibo, then to Isabela, where we grabbed pizza from a random pizza shop with workers yelling at each other (pizza: 8.1). We then went to Crash Boat Beach in Aguadilla, drove down to Rincón, and stayed the night there.

Friday morning, we went to Domes, Steps, and Playa María. We swam and tried to boogie board but couldn’t catch a good wave, then continued through Stella, Mayagüez, and La Parguera. We stayed at a super nice resort called Copamarina and had an amazing dinner. The next morning, we had breakfast and went to Gilligan’s Island, then got back just in time to shower, pack up, and head out. We drove through Yauco, Ponce, Cayey, and Caguas before heading back.