February 14th, 2026 -- Physical Media, Collecting, & Overconsumption

Hello, my cyber angels~ It's been a while since I've worked on this site for good reason. To sum it all quickly:

1. Got a new job after 8 years at my current job
2. Started my computer science degree
3. My psychiatrist aBaNdoNeD me, aka I aged out but she never warned me
4. I'm unmedicated atm while I search for a new psych

So it's been the quite the last few months, but we're trudging through. I start my new job in 2 days and I'm a mixture
of excitement and nerves, but I think it's a much needed change of pace.

Anyway, I wanted to sit down and talk today about collecting and physical media, trends that have risen from the fast-
paced microtrend environment of Tiktok. I've talked multiple times on my Youtube channel about my opinions of this, but
I wanted to try to put it into written word.

Collecting has always been a hobby that requires patience and pure love for something. Seeing other people's collections
shows you their dedication to their favorite character, game, item, etc. However, what happens when you take a slow
hobby and put it into an environment that encourages a fast-paced lifestyle with instant gratification? You start to see
the deterioration of intentional shopping, personality, and true passion.

I'm a firm believer that a trend doesn't have to be so bad. It can encourage someone to find something new that they
never thought to try out before. Or, sometimes, it can encourage someone to make better choices in their life, like
giving a piece of clothing in a thrift shop a second life or taking ownership of their media by quitting subscription
services in favor of physical media. But on the internet, there will always be people who take it too far, who lose
the original message in the waves of clout chasing, and turn something good into another means of overconsumption.
And unfortunately, I think we're starting to see that already with physical media.

Once again, we are seeing people adopting physical media as their next aesthetic, showing off their "analog bags"
which, as much as I want to believe people are seriously considering how bad doomscrolling has become, feels like
a quick way to get some views on a trend we're seeing get more and more popularity as people grow tired of the state
of the world. My genuine hope is that people are taking this seriously, and not just tossing aside those bags the
second the camera turns off. Because again, if seeing this trend makes someone stop and think "Hey, maybe we do have
an issue and maybe I should try to be offline more" then I think the trend has done a positive job.

I have a tendency to ramble so I want to just get back to my point-- physical media has become a trend and I fear it
it going to have people feeling FOMO, spending above their means to fit in with people who have been collecting for
years and have large collections because of it, and eventually tossing it out or into thrift stores when it's no
longer a trend. That's the "labubu" of it all, I guess. I'm still holding out hope that it won't suffer the same
fate, but I think I'm being too optimistic there. I guess we'll see in a couple of months.

November 3rd, 2025 -- First Entry + Thoughts on ACNH Update!

My first entry! I don't have much to write about right at this moment, mainly because Florida has cooled down finally
and, as someone with major summer depression, I am feeling so elated lately. Even my chronic conditions have stopped
giving me an issue. I know it's temporary, as I usually can't go more than a week or two before it flares again,
but I will happily enjoy it while I can.

In other news, that Animal Crossing update!? I really did think ACNH was never getting updated again (probably
because they literally said it wasn't) so this surprise update shocked me to my coooooore. I haven't really played
much in a year or so, but I reset my save the second I watched the trailer. Honestly, I felt I had hit a roadblock
from seeing so many good islands that I wanted mine to be big and grand, but it often felt too overwhelming, too
ambitious, and too demotivating. I decided to reset and not time travel, at least for a little while, so I can
re-experience what it was like opening up the game in 2020 for the first time again. I'm gonna go for a swampy
fairycore kind of theme, which was my first ever island's theme and an aesthetic that comes very naturally for me
instead of the more difficult concept I wanted to achieve: a grimey cityscape.

The really cool thing about this update coming is that you can now have more islands, and you can choose the size.
Which makes me happy because I want to attempt the city theme again, but on a smaller island and one that isn't my
main island. That way, when it becomes too overwhelming, I can easily leave the dream island and just hang out on
my main island. I hope that makes sense, lol. Anyway, I know people are divided on the hotel bit (I don't mind it
at all, and that's coming from someone who has the DLC and has played it A LOT), but can we talk about BULK
CRAFTING?????? I can't believe the day is coming where I don't have to craft ONE BY ONE AHHHHHH. Now if only they
made bulk eating fruit and took away the ability to erase QR code placements when not in terraform mode. One can
only hope, right?

I do wonder what this means for the future of Animal Crossing. Are they working on the next installment? Is ACNH
going to be updated more? Honestly, I wish they just went the route of making paid DLCs and such for ACNH instead
of this possibility of a new game. I just feel like ACNH is solid, and has a good basis to improve on so what's the
point of a new one? Plus it's gonna be, what, $70?? I'd so totally pay $5-$10 for little DLC furniture packs and such
tbh, and they'd probably make more money in the long run. I don't know, just my opinion. I guess we'll see what the
future holds for this game series.

Anyway, I've yapped enough today. My shift ends in 20 minutes so I should probably get ready to leave lmfao. Thank
you for reading this far, have a wonderful day!