january 2026
January usually feels like such a slog: vacation/the holidays coming to an end; the backlog of work you’ve left for the next year last year hitting you full force; the days trudging on in an endless haze of “when’s the next day off?“; add to that the pressure of new year’s resolutions and feeling of you needing to get your life together because it’s the first month of the year and 2026 should start off on a good note, damn it!
January is endless and slow, but also overwhelming at the same time. This year’s January, though, wasn’t so bad. Is it my favorite month of the year? Probably not - I can’t believe how fast things are moving at work considering it was just the first 31 days of the year - but there were also many pockets of joy that helped me get through the month.
listening
I attended 6 dance classes in total this month, and a lot of my music taste was shaped by songs played during dance classes or the songs used in the dance videos I’ve seen online.
Just A Dream - Nelly: I watched a lot of dance videos set to throwback hits from the 2010s, which reminded me of one of the songs I loved the most back when I was in 4th or 5th grade. Not my usual preference if I’m being honest, and even back then this song was such an outlier for me. I still remember the black and white music video the song was set to.
Got Your Back - TI feat. Keri Hilson: A coach from the new dance studio I tried came up with choreography to this song, and it was so catchy and fit perfectly with the song.
Discovery Channel - Hayley Williams: Lance insisted I give her latest album (released back in 2025) a listen, and this was surprisingly the song that got stuck in my head the most considering that other songs in the album were more upbeat and therefore more up my alley. I think this song’s chorus is what got to me. I like the way the words fit together and how they sound.
Die to Fall - The Maine: The first ever song release this year that I was excited about and somewhat waited up for. It still sounds like them, but it also sounds quite different from their other tracks. They truly just keep getting better and better!
Something Ain’t Right - XG: One of the songs that played while doing drills in dance class. It’s so upbeat and bouncy and happy!
reading & watching
Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt: My biggest disappointment of the year so far. I was so frustrated reading this for two main reasons: 1) the twist was hinted at too early on, and it took the story characters too long to figure things out for themselves, which made the 2/3 of the book dragging, and 2) one of the main characters isn’t very likeable (I’m all for flawed characters, but he was genuinely hard to root for). I read it because I thought the premise of the intelligent octopus would be featured more throughout the book, but I was mistaken. I was close to DNF-ing this.
What You Are Looking For is in the Library - Michiko Aoyama: A very heartwarming read, perfect for people who feel a bit stuck in life or are feeling a bit hopeless. It’s about 4 different characters going through their own set of circumstances, and how the librarian at the community library helps them with their respective problems. I felt hopeful while reading the book, and it just affirmed how nice it would be to have an accessible library for people….
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood: This wasn’t as hard to read as I expected (I considered it a classic so I thought it would’ve been difficult to understand the kind of English it used, but I was mistaken); it was hard to read because how so many of the mentioned events hit a bit too close to home, and how with each passing day where women’s rights are getting rolled back, the future shown in the novel isn’t as implausible as we think it is.
The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger: Read this at Carlos’s insistence. It was slow going at the beginning but then it grew on me in the middle, and by the end, I was simultaneously amused by Holden and felt sorry for him. I think I would’ve appreciated this book more had I read this in high school, back when I was every bit as pretentious and self-absorbed as teenagers are.
That Thing Called Tadhana (2014) dir. Antoinette Jadaone: Watched this on the plane ride back home from Melbourne. Some parts had me chuckling, while some (one part in particular) had me kicking my feet in giddiness and kilig. Mace and Anthony were perfectly cast, and Angelica Panganiban felt like she was MADE to be Mace.
Julie & Julia (2009) dir. Nora Ephron: This movie kickstarted my Friday Movie Nights initiative! I noticed that Friday nights are usually when I doomscroll: I don’t have energy to do more energy-intensive hobbies on a Friday night since I’m tired from the workweek, so I usually end up defaulting to my phone. In an effort to lessen my time on my phone and consume more long-term content and combat the detrimental effect that short-form content has on my brain and attention span, I decided to dedicate Friday nights to movie nights (if I’m not out with others). Julie & Julia (2009) has been on my to watch list since last year, so I’m glad I finally got to watch it! I love food and love films about food, so this was an easy love.
eating
Highlights of this month’s eats include finally getting to try Kuh Meal (comfort food personified), enjoying Tadeo’s nachos that was shaped like a pie/cake, and Carlos and I finally redeeming ourselves with better tasting carbonara this month around! Also, not really an eats highlight, but I finally got to drop by Magdamag Market Cafe, and I loved the ambiance! So much art in the area :”)
creating
2025 roundup: I spent a bit too much time reflecting on 2025 and creating my 2025 roundup post. It’s a good after work activity though especially when I’m a bit more tired than usual.
Koda’s birthday illustrations: This is still a work in progress, and I didn’t get to finish it in time, but I made some cute illustrations of Koda for his birthday...hehe
other happenings
I tried a new dance studio in QC! I felt home immediately at Spac3 Studio, and I didn’t feel as intimidated as I did when I went to Zero Studio. Parang ang intense + ang gagaling kasi ng mga tao dun sa Zero HUHU ;__; I’m so happy though because the choreography is challenging enough, and it’s located in a very commutable area!
I attended for a Ghibli Gouache workshop with Camille! It was lovely getting to create art/mix hobbies with friendship, and it was nice to finally understand gouache better as a medium, thanks to how patient and good a teacher Kath is! I love also the connections and conversations you have with people you’ll probably never meet again - there’s something so lovely about fleeting connections and crossing paths with people at just a specific point in time.
I finally got my Australia film photos back! So so happy with my shots; I love the look of film and how it teaches me delayed gratification….which is something I desperately need.
I signed up for Ace Dance Studio’s Streetdance Foundations Intensives! I had so much fun getting a taste of different dance styles: Hip hop, house, waacking, and soul; and surprisingly, it was the last two I enjoyed the most (though I enjoyed them all). I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for the Intensives class again in February and in March LOL.
Aside from Koda’s birthday, January also marks Carlos’s birthday! We celebrated with a relaxing day at his house, where he napped while I read a book he loved back in high school (The Catcher in the Rye).