february 2026
I decided that February’s theme would be about love, and it definitely was! The month was filled with a lot of love (being with people I love, listening to music I love, lingering on things I love, etc.) <3
listening
Watchamacallit - Ella Mai feat. Chris Brown: Not proud of loving this song (bc Chris Brown huhu) but it was so catchy, and I’m happy I got to attend a dance class that used this song! My first beginner-intermediate dance class hihi
Stateside + Zara Larsson - PinkPantheress, Zara Larsson: This song is pure pop perfection! It’s giving 2011 Telephone Lady Gaga & Beyonce collab hehe
We Belong Together - Mariah Carey: Such a good breakup song. My acid reflux acted up a lot this month so I made sure to stand/move around a bit after dinner, and I’d do karaoke so I wouldn’t get bored.
No Hands - Waka Flocka Flame feat. Roscoe Dash & Wale: Surprised I ended up liking this song, and it’s something I still play often as of writing (March W3 lol). A good chunk of my music taste now is shaped by how often I’ve been dancing, and this is a manifestation of that!
Seeing Things - Charli XCX: Love the strings at the start!
Spring Awakening OST, specifically Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise) and My Junk: LSS-ing because I watched the play!
watching & reading
Campfire Cooking in Another World: I don’t typically watch anime, but Lance’s childhood friend was telling us about this and the premise sounded so absurd that I wanted to give it a try. This is such a guilty pleasure of mine. Writing isn’t good, each episode’s format is predictable, and worldbuilding isn’t good since it’s so much of an info dump, but it’s such an amusing watch especially after a long workday.
50 First Dates (2004): For a film made in 2004, this was quite good especially the ending (not too cheesy). I’ve never felt the pull to watch this because I’m not particularly drawn to Adam Sandler, but my mom suggested we watch this at the end of the workweek, and I was both laughing and crying throughout the film. Would definitely use this as a background show hehe
Spring Awakening by The Sandbox Collective: Amazing production, and I think one of the best local productions I’ve watched. I love the soundtrack so much, and the cast members did the songs justice! Literal goosebumps during the Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise) part - I love women talaga hahaha. Perfect casting: Nacho Tambunting embodies the cockiness and rebelliousness of Melchior; and Omar Udin is basically Moritz. Sheena Belarmino’s singing as Wendla was so clear and lovely. I’m so happy I watched this!
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks: I share a lot of bell hooks’ beliefs and thoughts on love, and I appreciated how she tackles love in light of the capitalistic, patriarchal society we live in. This wasn’t that easy a read though, and my attention wandered off sometimes because of how abstract/general everything was. I wish there were more concrete examples! But overall, I’m glad I read this and will go back to my favorites from time to time. Favorite chapters included the ones on values, community, politics, and justice.
Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory: Stories by Raphael Bob-Waksberg: I think this book would be better appreciated by someone who’s watched Bojack Horseman, but I enjoyed reading it overall, though several stories stood out more than others. Most of the stories were quite absurd and weird, but it didn’t get to the point where I wanted to DNF. My favorite was probably Rufus, which is told from the perspective of the dog. I loved how creative the story was and the different terms a dog might ascribe to everyday objects.
eats
Ate 8cut’s mozarella sticks while watching my comfort show
Dad cooked hainanese chicken rice for my mom’s friends when they came over
Ate at Amici for the Lance’s first Sunday lunch back! Super busog and always so happy after eating here :)
Tried Gochugang at Rockwell with Carlos! Pretty happy with the beef bibimbap though I wasn’t able to finish it haha
Lechon cravings satisfied at Elar’s!
Valentine’s Day food included my favorite stuffed crust pizza from Pizzahut and the icebox cake Carlos’s mom made hehe
Tried Toastman’s meatballs in sauce! The bread and sauce was good; meatballs were so-so
First new restaurant of February was Sarsa, but I found it disappointing :( food was a bit too rich huhu
creations
I feel like I haven’t been creating as much (which is partly true since dancing took up a good chunk of my free time this month + there were lots of social events this month), but I think I’ve been chipping away at an illustration that’s taking me longer to finish; so though I’ve been drawing technically, I don’t have a finished output to show for it lol. I should probably balance longer WIPs with quick sketches (like this Toastman food illustration that took me just 2 hours or so).
I’m quite happy with the illustration I made for Valentine’s day for Carlos! I drew all the things I like/appreciate now because of him, and drew it in the style of one of his favorite album artworks (berlioz’s something will happen).
highlights
Got to catch up with friends this month! Had brunch with Dan and Camille at Famous Country Waffles (where my meal mostly consisted of nachos) during the CNY holiday. I also got to meet up with Maita after 2 years so it was lovely getting to catch up and share our cancellable and hot takes LOL.
Celebrated Valentine’s Day with Carlos in the best way possible: staying over at his home, having Pizzahut takeout (stuffed crust ftw!), reading while Carlos slept, cooking, and just relaxing and taking it slow.
I got to hang out with my mom’s high school friends, and ended up spending a 3-hour dinner with them! Talked about current events and other people (ofc) and they relieved some of their memories. Super idol ko talaga yung isang friend ni mom because he got to attend pastry school and worked at a Paris bakery !
How was your February :D