What just happened? That’s how I describe 2025. Here are the best posts from last year:
Simply The Best: February 2025
Simply The Best: TPOL Is 11 And Vlogging
Simply The Best: September 2025
Simply The Best: November 2025
Simply The Best: December 2025
Another year in the books. What did you accomplish? Here’s what I did in December:
Does Donald Trump’s stupidity have any bounds? The answer is no. But neither does his power. In another irrational move, DJT has decided to ban the import and sale of new DJI drones to the US. Like bombing tiny tug boats in the Caribbean, the administration cites ‘security concerns’ as the explanation. Why is Nvidia allowed to export the second most powerful chip to China, but TPOL can’t purchase the $329 NEO 2? DJI should come to Washington and bring a gold-plated drone to appease Liberace.
Anyone who defends this ban knows nothing. Period.
Nobody likes me! Wah wah wah. Let’s take a look at what my favorite readers have said over the course of this year. It was not as harsh as years past. Since the media in America is being censored, I have done some censoring of my own. ‘Bumsi’ has been banned from posting comments. It’s not because I’m against criticism. It’s because he’s a psycho.
Eat Like A Local: Madrid, Spain
Residency Directory: Where I’ll Live And Why
March Madness Standings: Tell Your Mom I Said Hi
Priority Pass Nice: Inconceivable Champagne
Etiquette of Things: Put Down Your Window Shade
SWISS Business: Why Am I Leaving Lisbon for Geneva?
AA Admirals Club Toronto: Not Worth a Review
$100 Credit Amex Fine Hotels: What a Pain
Hyatt Centric Philadelphia: The Softer Side of Philly
Did you enjoy Festivus 2025? Catch up on all the vitriol from the previous years.
I’m still riding high after Michigan’s 2023 National Championship (though I support firing our current head coach right away). This year, we underachieved based on the talent and amount of money we spent on said talent. Now, all I can do is watch and hope that Ohio State loses along the way. As is tradition, TPOL always chimes in on who he thinks should make the playoffs and who will win the coveted title. This post is only to recognize the committee’s courage of keeping Notre Dame out.
The only argument for keeping ND in is because ND was ranked ahead of Miami going into last weekend. How can they suddenly be ‘worse’ by not playing, pundits argued? If I were an ND fan, I would ask the same thing. The reality is that ND lost to Miami, playing head-to-head. That’s all that matters. To that end, the committee needs to stop releasing these rankings weekly. They mean nothing until the last snap is snapped.
In short, duck Ohio State. I’ll be cheering for Tulane, James Madison, and Ole Miss.
Though I live in Puerto Rico, I am not a fan of reggaetone. No matter where I travel, I hear Bad Bunny. And now he will be performing at the Super Bowl. How are we supposed to MAGA when we can’t understand what he’s saying! To be clear, it’s not because he’s singing in Spanish. It’s because he mumbles and because you need a separate dictionary to understand the lyrics. Por ejemplo, ¿sabes esta palabra? mamabicho. Neither did this reporter:
TPOL likes the other Caribbean music, namely soca (see They Call Me Mr. Fete: St. Lucia Carnival Intro & Last Minute Trinidad Carnival Guide! Everything You Need to Know And Stuff You Will Figure Out On Your Own!). TPOL also loves Afro Beats. This was confirmed by my Spotify Wrap Up.
That is why in 2026, TPOL may have to come out of carnival retirement (see 7 Lessons Learned from FAILING at My 1st Vlog: St. Lucia Carnival) and visit more countries in Western Africa. How else will I increase my Country Count? And, more importantly, how else will I lower my average listening age?
This was the worst ‘business’ class routing of my life. The origin was San Juan, the destination was Buenos Aires for my next residency (see Buenos Aires Residency Begins!).
I left Rio Mar at 3AM and prepared myself for this:
I documented the arduous journey:
More than 36 hours later, I arrived at my Buenos Aires apartment (see Palermo Hollywood Apt: Humboldt!). While I am enjoying this city tremendously (see Residency: Buenos Aires), I must take time to reflect on how much time I spent getting here, whether it was worth the points, if I should have paid for a more efficient route in coach, and whether I would ever venture to destinations that are inconvenient to reach from Puerto Rico.
Time
Time is all we’ll ever need
But it’s gotta have a meaning
You be careful how it’s spent
‘Cause it isn’t going to last
36 hours off the grid is not time well spent. I was too groggy to be productive in the lounges in Panama City. And there was no Wi-Fi on the plane for the 6:35 flight from Medellin. It was almost two full days before I was back ‘online’.
Points
If my valuation of points is lower than the cash price, I feel guilty about making the reservation. Outbound, I spent 36,000 Lifemiles instead of paying $1,200. The caveat is that I had to detour in Panama to catch the ‘business’ class flight from Medellin. Had I flown SJU-MDE-EZE, the redemption was 80k+ points.
The ideal flight is to connect in Miami. The journey takes 12:55. The issue is that American wanted 300k points!
Coach
The alternative to paying for a ‘business class’ flight on Avianca would have been to fly coach on a much more efficient route. The flight is around $350.
Destination
As a resident of Puerto Rico, I refuse to fly to the West Coast. The journey takes 12 hours, and the ride is not comfortable, even in ‘first’ (see AA SJU-MIA-LAS: Borracho in Business (First)). For that amount of time, I could be well on my way to Asia. Applying this logic alone, I wouldn’t return to South America in the near future. The only glimmer of hope is that I was able to secure Ms. TPOL a flight on an AA business class flight from SJU-MDE-EZE using Alaska points for 55k. While this is better than paying $1800, it is not the best use of those precious Atmos points.
Overall
Next year’s residencies are projected to be in Cape Town, Shanghai, and Sydney, destinations that present their own booking challenges in this post-COVID world. As far as Time Vs. Points Vs. Cash. Vs. Destination riddle, I will start with the destination. Santiago, Chile, is on my list of residences, so I won’t write off the whole continent just because it is inconvenient to come here. In terms of points, I enjoy the outsized value of major points redemptions, think SQ, Cathay, EK, EY. In terms of cash, I am stingy with my money. In terms of time, I am even more stingy. If I had to do it all over, I would pick the coach flight from SJU-BOG-EZE.
Who is shocked?
Greetings from Buenos Aires. Here are the best posts from November:
https://youtu.be/9UQHKAOFwkE
4. Surviving Avianca’s ‘Business Class’: Medellin to Buenos Aires
5. The Etiquette of Things: The Overhead Light
6. $100 Credit Amex Fine Hotels: What a Pain
7. Copa Lounge Panama City: Food Famine
I am the king of logistics. I have put together itineraries that no one has ever seen before (see Bus-Ted: TPOL Points & Cash Summary). My route to begin my Buenos Aires Residency is not one of those triumphs. Arriving at 1:35AM, I could not meet my landlord in my fantastic apartment (see Palermo Hollywood Apt: Humboldt!). I opted to stay at the Marriott Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport, a wise choice given its proximity to the airport.
Shuttle
An airport hotel must have one of two things: 1) Be connected to the airport. 2) Offer a shuttle to the hotel. If there is a free shuttle, it should operate 24/7. The Marriot EZE provided the latter. And, remarkably, it was on time.
Room
After wasting one day of my life flying (see Time Vs. Points), all I wanted to do was rest. The Marriott had a bed.
Shower
After wasting one day of my life, perhaps I should have showered. I chose to do so the next day.
Breakfast
After wasting one day of my life, I was happy that breakfast is included for Lifetime Elites. I was disappointed that all that remained were these scraps.
Pool
I don’t know why the airport hotel has a pool. The last time I saw one at an airport hotel was the Sheraton DTW (see The Best in the Business).
Overall
At 1PM, I left the Marriott and was en route to begin my latest residency.
I face two choices: 1) Stay indoors and avoid humans. 2) Continue to write the Etiquette of Things in an attempt to shame those who misbehave. The latest installment comes from my horrific business class flight to Buenos Aires (see Surviving Avianca’s ‘Business Class’: Medellin to Buenos Aires). With no Wi-Fi and no IFE, I utilized my Kama Sutra skills to fall asleep. Despite wearing eyeshades, I woke up to a bright light overhead.
My neighbor, who was frantically writing like a serial killer from the moment we were seated, decided that his overhead light was not sufficient. He decided that turning on my overhead light was the solution. Initially, I left the light on and tried to get back to sleep. Then I thought that passengers around me would wonder why I was asleep with eyeshades on while a bright light was disturbing everyone else. As the authority on etiquette, I could not let that stand. I promptly turned off the light. My neighbor was upset and told me that he needed it because he was writing. I told him that I, too, would be writing, and the post would be about him.
