april 2026
I am aware that it is now July and I have 2 more monthly roundups after this. I was planning not to continue since this takes up time and I think people would rather go on IG than read these but Camille asked if I’m still posting…and that single question was motivation enough to get me to finish this HAHA. Thank you Camille, this won’t exist without you…….
Sorry for any typos or mistakes. I just really wanted to get this done since it’s been in progress for 3 months already….tsaka di naman ‘to graded ok lang naman pag hindi perfect HAHA
the month’s media
listening
Nissan Altima - Doechii: I first heard this song when one of the dance battles during the Red Bull Dance Your Style Finals (more on that later) used this song. It was one of my favorite battles of the night featuring one of my favorite battlers (Q), and I listened to this song on repeat afterwards. The beat is so catchy, and it’s such a fun song to groove to! Might be one of my top all-time favorite rap songs. Ayoko lang pakinggan masyado pag di naka earphones kasi ate grabe ako magmura pero ibang level ‘to!
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac: Ughhh the entire month, I was in such a sentimental mood because of moving out. I played this song on loop while I was packing my things and reminiscing my last few days in the unit. More on that later haha but it got to the point where listening to the song made me tear up right away.
Time After Time - Tuck & Patti: I watched Sunny (2011) - again, more on that later - and I immediately fell in love with this rendition of Time After Time. I knew of the song through Cyndi Lauper’s version but I was never really a fan of her rendition. This version of the song though….it tugs on your heartstrings (and even more so after finishing the movie) and this arrangement + the vocals perfectly capture the bittersweet nature of the song.
Sunny - Boney M: Of course, another entry from the Sunny (2011) OST! That dance scene…ugh!
Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year - Fall Out Boy: A former workmate turned friend of mine recommended this FOB song. I fell in love with it at first listen, and I think it might be part of my Top 10 Favorite FOB songs. I think I love the start of the verse and the chorus, in particular.
Joy Next Door - The Maine: The release that I looked forward to this year! It wasn’t love at first listen but the rollout and events related to this release (like the advanced listening party which, again, more on that later haha) made me love the album. Surprisingly, the songs I thought I liked upon first listen aren’t the ones I’m still listening to now. My favorites (now) from the album include It Ain’t Over Yet and Half a Spark.
watching
Sunny (2011): My April largely revolved around this movie. I watched this 4-5x this month, was listening songs from the movie on repeat, was making fanart of my favorite character (younger Ha Chun Hwa and her older version as my second favorite character), and…embarrasingly….thinking of Y/N scenarios to lull me to sleep lol. I wouldn’t shut up about it to Carlos and Bea also, whom I forced/encouraged to watch the movie (funnily enough, both of them were able to guess the character I was crushing on LOL to be loved is to be known kimmy!). This movie feels like a warm hug and leaves you basking in the golden afterglow (despite the heavy themes and some questionable violence) and perfectly captures girlhood and its ups and downs. There’s ending credits is one of the, if not the best ending credits, I’ve ever watched in my life. Each character is generally well fleshed out (which is surprising considering the number of people in the group and how the story generally revolves around Im Nami), and there’s something for everyone in the film. As the coworker who recommended this to me put it, “you have to be a terrible person not to like the film.” If there’s only one thing you take away from this post, it’s to watch this film!
Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea (2025): Watched a free screening of this in Ateneo with Dan and Carlos, and the screening featured a talkback/Q&A with the film’s director (Baby Ruth Villarama), cinematographer (Nana Buxani), and editor (Chuck Gutierrez). Very interesting hearing about the film’s context and the China’s censorship attempts. I felt so many emotions throughout the film: awe and pride at how ardently Filipinos defend West Philippine Sea even if they don’t have much resources to defend it with, anger at the Chinese vessels that bully Philippine fishermen, pity and frustration at how the government can’t seem to stand up for the country. I preferred Baby Ruth Villarama’s Sunday Beauty Queens over this documentary, but I would still recommend that everyone watch it since I think it’s able to show you the different sides of the story/the different key actors when it comes to West Philippine Sea and plainly shows China’s aggression towards our fishermen.
Home Economics: A series that Carlos recommended that I got hooked on. It’s a sitcom about three siblings who are in different stages of life financially, and the happenings in their daily lives. Admittedly, it took a while for some characters to grow on me (some of them still haven’t grown on me) but I overall enjoy watching this series, especially after a tiring workday. Each episode is just 20 minutes and manages to be funny and heartwarming at the same time. I started this in April and as of writing this post (….halfway through June lol) I’m on Season 2 Episode 14 or 15! I’m chipping away at this slowly and steadily but I’m keen on finishing the series until the end.
reading
Maame by Jessica George: This book felt like such a warm hug even if its contents/themes were heavy. It feels a bit like a late (think mid-twenties) coming of age, and it is this aspect that I relate to since I think I only really “bloomed” once I reached 24/25 years of age. Though Maddie (main character of the book) is going through so much heavier stuff than I did at that age - taking care of a terminally ill parent, dealing with a, for lack of a better term, controlling and not emotionally healthy other parent, being unappreciated at home and in the workplace, dealing with racism and microagressions and trash men and friends….it was truly a LOT! I was immediately hooked from the first few pages, because there’s something about the setting, the characters, and its themes that immediately reels you in. It was a comfort reading this for the following reasons: 1) there are people whose time to bloom comes later in life, and that’s okay; 2) in my case, this book put my problems into perspective lol because it reminded me that I’m so lucky to still have both my parents with me and that I have a healthy relationship with them (and my brother); 3) blossoming into your own person/your own life looks differently for everyone, and 4) as someone who wants to be loved by everyone, this book reminded me that I don’t have to be loved by many; I can be loved by a few people with the strength of many, and that’s just as or even more important! I know I said earlier re: my movie recommendation of Sunny (2011) that if there’s one thing to take away from this post it’s to watch that movie, but may I also add that you should try reading this book lol.
One Day, Everyone Will Always Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad: This book was a bit harder for me to read, but I think it’s because I wasn’t reading it for long stretches of time/I was stealing a few minutes of reading here and there, so at the start of each reading session I’d always need to backtrack what was being talked about previously. Despite this, however, I still enjoyed this read. Though everything mentioned in the book is already something I agree with, I was still able to learn a few new things here and there, most notably, the misconception of Democrats being the good guys as opposed to Republicans. Just because Democrats are more on the left doesn’t mean they’re leftists haha. I particularly loved the critique that when a party’s platform is focused on the mere negation of the opposing party’s principles (e.g. if you vote for Republicans, things are gonna be much worse as opposed to if you vote for us, we stand for xyz), the party doesn’t really have any principles.
Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown: I breezed through this book so quickly because I was itching to find out what happened. Some characters got on my nerves, but I was conflicted still because I could also understand where they were coming from. In some cases, I could even see myself in a character or two; and there was one character I actually related to a lot which was maybe why it was this same character that frustrated me a lot too lol. Anyway, the book is about how three different families adopt kids from one family, and how they try to coexist alongside each other. It focuses particularly on the mothers’ experiences raising their respective adoptive children (which, yay!) and shows the struggles they experience being part of a family. It’s soooo good and bingeable, and I think it was good at showing how an individual’s past affects their ways of child rearing and how they interact with other people, particularly other parents and/or relatives.
eats
Some notable eats this month! Surprisingly not a lot of notable eats, or maybe I just didn’t remember to take photos lol.
1 & 2: Neonoble with Dad again! I always get grilled eggplant and grilled enoki mushrooms. Sarap talaga nagcrave tuloy ako ulit
3: Shiok Shiok with Lance. We split a laksa; the salted egg chicken was good as baon the next day hehe
4: Solo Italianni’s dinner thanks to my eGift. I was planning to have half as leftovers but I ended up finishing everything oops. Ok lang di naman need itipid kasi eGift naman ginamit pambayad hehe
5: Jung’s Kitchen with the family! Their beef brisket is their best meat. (I have eaten here twice more since then lol)
6: Kicked off the Holy Week with Lance’s homemade carbonara and PizzaHut, the latter of which always makes me happy because of how much it reminds me of my childhood and the Friday pizza nights Lance and I would have :”)
creations
tangina parang wala ako nagawa ah????????????????????? ok to be fair I didn’t finish anything BUT I was working on two main art projects: The Ha Chun Hwa portrait and my goodbye illustration to Grand Soho Makati. Isasama ko narin dito so I don’t feel too bad about not having finished any art in April lol
highlights
The Maine Joy Next Door Advanced Album Listening Party: Pulp Live held an advanced listening party of The Maine’s latest album, Joy Next Door. I went with Lance and Raine (na pinasulat pa ni Lance sa akin yung entry nila sa freedom wall at nainterview pa kami after), and what a privilege and experience it was to be given early access to the album and getting to share this with other fellow fans! My favorites from the listening party were Alone For A Year and Half a Spark hehe
Red Bull Dance Your Style Philippines Finals: I took a freestyle foundations series of classes back in March, and my coach back then (Coach Izzy) invited us to watch him battle during the Red Bull Dance Your Style Philippines Finals held in Bridgetowne. I went with Carlos (and was later joined by Gerard, my workmate), and it was a new and fun experience for me! I was so inspired seeing all these amazing dancers and seeing them freestyle; the crowd ended up having a cipher (when people gather in a circle and someone freestyles/dances in the middle) during the break which was nice :”)) I went there to support Coach Izzy (who won, yay) and ended up leaving with a new favorite dancer/battler (Q - a locker with amazing style and amazing musicality and who was sooo fun to watch) and a new favorite song (Doechii’s Nissan Altima). It was my first time going to a dance event and I was amazed and inspired by everyone. A particular highlight was getting to see The D Soraki’s maaaaad skills in person. He was insaneeee.
Dancing highlights: What a dance-filled month! Some of my favorite classes were Coach Renz Janus’s Kiss It Better femme class and Coach Gab’s Swag popup class! I had good runs with both even though the choreo was quite challenging, especially yung kay Coach Gab jusko I was worried I wouldn’t have a good run.
Visiting my high school: A Yu siblings afternoon visiting our alma mater. It was so nostalgic visiting Grace; made me a bit sad to see how much it had changed (feels emptier) but grateful for the things and people that remained (mahabang chikahan with Ma’am Diaz lol) and what’s improved (anteh ang ganda na ng science lab nila…beats UPD’s!)
Moving out and moving into a new place :( gosh making this post and compiling photos made me sad again. I always get sad whenever I think about Grand Soho Makati. I fucking love the place (even though it was a small unit), I love the people, the community, the neighborhood, its location…. I was already so sad about moving out, then Carlos started playing Landslide while I was packing. I then bawled LOL. I still can’t think about it too much because of how sad I get, but writing a goodbye letter + reading it out loud while I was there helped give me closure, as did the artwork I made the month after. I still try to drop by every now and then to say hello to sila Ate and Kuya. I thought I’d already moved on but while typing this, narealize ko parang di pala and I think I’ll miss this place forever.
Sorry this was so long and so long overdue. Also I didn’t work on this in a linear fashion so I think it’s easy to spot which areas I worked on first and which ones I rushed worked on last.
Also just a thought dump: I’ve been thinking of ending these monthly roundups with a collection of screenshots over the month of posts or articles that I enjoyed or were enlightening…..still thinking of how to do it in an organized way HAHA….lmk ur thoughts………..