Consumption Corner: January 2026
New year with new things to enjoy! Games, books, and more.
January has grown to be one of my favorite months in the year. I’ve always enjoyed creating new years resolutions, I could probably take a look in one of my notebooks from more than a decade ago and I’d find some list I made to improve my life. At the end of the day, we are people, not projects, but I don’t think I’ll ever go a year without treating January as a fresh start.
Luckily as I age I am less focused on doing a complete revamp of my life, I mostly want to improve the things I already love while also learning one or two more skills. This year, I actually want to complete 12 monthly reviews, since I sadly missed November and December last year. While this is Consumption Corner, I now want to go over any projects I currently have going on while reviewing the things I’ve been consuming. After all, I don’t want to just endlessly consume things. I want to use the things I consume as inspirational fuel.
Gaming:
Beaten:
Persona 4: Dancing All Night (PS Vita)
This was a good time! I downloaded all the dancing side projects Atlus created and was pleasantly surprised when Persona 4 actually had a story to it. I’m assuming this is considered the pseudo-sequel to Persona 4, unless the fighting game has a story I don’t know about. I also have no clue how these games performed but I think it was a fantastic choice to develop them. There is something so fun about being able to just pull out my PS Vita, listen to some fun songs, and enjoy some challenging rhythm maps. Nothing really revolutionary about them but watching the characters dance is so fun even if you can’t pay too close attention because you might fail the stage.
Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (PC)
I mentioned in previous posts that I am getting into Final Fantasy XIV, and I just finished the first expansion Heavensward. This was so good. I feel like some endings to plot lines from ARR (A Realm Reborn) felt rushed, but the main story of Heavensward was such an upgrade from ARR. I love when heroes are brought down to their lowest for a little until they reach their glorious end. I adored the cast for this expansion and I can’t believe I still have 4 more to go.
I promise I’m not rushing, I want to take my time and experience what this story has to offer. Though, I haven’t been making story progress because I’ve been raiding with people. We’re doing the Bahamut raid which is the older content (but new to me), and it’s been a fun but challenging experience. I’m glad I’ve been able to talk more with a new group of people too.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker (PC)
I mentioned in last years reviews that I was trying to get through this game and I finally did it. This game made me think to myself, “damn, maybe I should drop games sometimes?” While I did start to enjoy it after 30 hours, it started to really drain me towards the end and it might be putting me in to a light gaming slump. Which cannot happen this early in the year. I want to write more about my thoughts on this game and quitting things in general, later.
Playing:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
This is so interesting! I definitely want to analyze it more. It’s so crazy to see this first rendition of Persona. There’s many differences, besides the fact it’s old, but the vibes still feel like Persona. Especially the music. It’s a different challenge to navigate the dated controls and mechanics, but there’s a charm to this game I’m really loving.
Sea of Stars
I’ve been wanting a new game to play with my boyfriend and I’ve finally found one that seems to be sticking. I got this game because I heard good things about it but was pleasantly surprised to hear it has couch co-op. It’s been a fun experience exploring with him and I also enjoy the way they’ve implemented the co-op turn based gameplay. Currently we’re eager to figure out who our 4th party member will be.
Reading:
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
This book was not what I was expecting. I feel like I’ve consumed various pieces of media that were inspired by this book, but none of them mentioned how bratty Dorian Gray is. Most of the characters in this book are insufferable to read in a fun way. Every time Henry talked I wanted to choke him, but also you can interact with people who act like Lord Henry in the modern day. I feel like Lord Henry would be some form of podcaster today. There’s so many things to analyze about this book and I definitely want to read more about it and about Oscar Wilde in general. From what I’ve heard he led a very interesting life.
Black Friend Essays by Ziwe
I’ve been enjoying Ziwe’s interviews lately and wanted to get a peak into her more as a person. It was intriguing to hear her background and how she got to where she is today. It was angering to hear the casual racism she faced, and it’s a reminder that not all racist actions are obnoxiously malicious, many are said with a smile and done by people who are “nice” in their communities. I’m not sure if people would be interested in this book if you’re not already interested in who Ziwe is, but I found some of her insights on art to be inspiring, and how she described her rise in the comedy space is intriguing. Comedy is such a foreign craft to me, but at it’s core it’s writing which I adore, so it’s always a great experience to hear how others explore their craft.
Currently reading:
The Art of Memorykeeping by Martina Calvi
This book is very cute. There are some stunning visuals in this book that inspire me to take more flat pictures of my notebooks, or maybe even scan them. Besides that, this book isn’t that good for me content wise because I already do everything the author does. To be fair, I haven’t finished it, so maybe she’ll go over something new. If you’re new to the art of memorykeeping, I highly recommend this. Plus, it’s just a very nice looking book. Shout out to my friend Adrienne for gifting this to me!
(Edit: As of editing this, I’ve made more progress and some of the project Martina shows in the later half of the book are very cute and did inspire me. In general I think my points in the previous paragraph still stand.)
Shows:
Just A Dash Season 3
Matty Matheson is a guilty pleasure of mine. I was obsessed with his channel four years ago and loved to play Just a Dash in the background. Now, he’s of The Bear fame, but I am one of the fans that have been eagerly awaiting new Just A Dash.
It’s a cooking show. It’s chaos. It’s overstimulating. I think they’re so fun. It’s now on Netflix (Matty has that big boy money now).
I’m only two episodes into the new season and I’m enjoying it, though the editing seems much tamer than it was on YouTube which makes me a little sad.
Projects:
I crocheted a vest, and I’m too lazy to take a photo, I’m sorry. I wanted to just do an easy project, this was freehanded using an existing sweater vest I owned as a base. It fits perfectly even though I wanted it oversized. Another project that has shown me that I just need to do a gauge swatch, even if I don’t feel like it.
Closing Thoughts
January has been a reset month for me: trying to get back into consuming art, writing this blog, and trying to heal my foot injury so I can run well again. I haven’t been trying to start any new projects besides the vest, or learn new skills, because of the fact I’ll be in Japan most of February.
It would be an understatement to say that I’m excited to go to Japan. I’m excited to the point of it becoming anxiety because I’m worried something will go wrong and I won’t be able to go. When I was originally supposed to go in 2020 it got cancelled because of a certain pandemic. Now I have these thoughts that my passport is going to be voided because I decided to retweet a mean joke about our administration. It’s ridiculous, but sadly these thoughts will only go away once I’m in the country.
I want to try to write a lot so I can have some posts scheduled while I’m away but no promises! I’d like to say maybe I’ll be inspired in Japan to write up a quick post on my iPad but I know that’s not going to happen. I’d like to try my hand at a travelogue. I hate the idea of vlogging, but using my words to record the trip outside my travel notebooks sounds like a fun challenge. February is looking to be a fantastic month for me and I hope I’ll be able to share the experience in a fun way.