Songs Squared
I’ve only just recently revitalized my YouTube presence in May this year, showcasing mostly gastronomic and travel highlights of years recent and past. A special section is for music streaming, where I post songs of…
Speaking Spanish When Visiting Spain and Latin America
By Armando Nicolas P. J. Like most non-native speakers of English, Spanish-speaking locals appreciate it very much when tourists and long-time visitors converse with them (or try to) in the local language. If you’re Filipino,…
Packaging Label Fail
By Armando Nicolas P. J. An unsuspecting vegetable-and-spice trio fell from grace when a Brooklyn grocer inadvertently mislabeled their fresh produce packages — misspelling Rosemary, Brussels Sprouts, and Hot Chili Pepper almost to a tee….
Curiosity and Mama’s Kittens
By Armando Nicolas P. J. In my family’s history of adopting stray animals, never have we been luckier than when we took in a stray cat, which we didn’t know at first was pregnant. In…
Do You Hold Your Chopsticks Around the Middle or Near the Top?
By Armando Nicolas P. J. When using chopsticks at dinner, do you hold them around the middle or closer to the top? (Before we proceed, note that this is not an instruction to teach first-time…
Padlock Display of Affection
By Armando Nicolas P. J. Notwithstanding the future weight risk they pose as they accumulate in the thousands, these love padlocks are a sight to behold in New York’s landmark bridges. Put in place covertly…
Of Shards and Forgiveness
By Armando Nicolas P. J. The mistakes we’ve made cannot be undone. The harsh words we’ve spoken cannot be unsaid. Like the shards of broken safety glass that blanketed the concrete base around the bus…
Free Meal (Bum) Hack
By Armando Nicolas P. J. The Dunkin Donuts shop on Rector Street was not crowded at all that afternoon so I figured I could get my Sweet Pepper Bacon croissant-wich in no time. After I…
Fix for Songs Purchased on iTunes Getting Restricted on Your PC or iPhone
By Armando Nicolas P. J. It took the official music video of the Kygo-Ryan Tedder song “Lose Somebody” that I chanced upon on Youtube to bring my attention to the fact that I supposedly purchased…
Start the New Year Right
By Armando Nicolas P. J. The bleakness of 2020 did not seem to dissipate with the sparse and sporadic New Year fireworks across the globe, and the prospects of 2021 tend to be just as…