First post of 2012

Being sick for 10 days hasn't been fun at all. A cold that took away my voice for most of those days hadn't allowed me to do what I love the most: sing. In fact, I hadn't been singing that often even. I have to blame it on my parents. Since we live in a tiny basement suite, they are afraid our neighbors might complain for the "noise" and quickly try to shut me up. Katia doesn't like to be told to shut up. So, I stopped singing altogether. Having my voice gone for over a week made me realize that I should sing anyway and give a shit about what others say [Oh, she just said the S word!]. I might even sound awful, but how do you expect me to improve if I don't practice?!

So... I haven't been writing anything since last month because of work, procrastination, and a big fat distraction called boyfriend. We are in that phase where every new thing you know about him/her fascinates you and every time you see him/her there are pink stars all around and all looks shiny and new and fresh. Since that phase is short, I want to enjoy it before it's gone (althought something tells me it's not going anywhere any time soon).
I have had things to talk about, but my brain lately seems to have problems to focus in one thing at the time, which makes writing a post about one thing only, not impossible, but extremely difficult.

But before having more ambitious goals, let's start by something easy. This is my first [shame on me!] post of the year 2012. Meanwhile I do not believe in New Year's resolutions (because I strongly believe that if a person wants to change for real, he/she will do it at that very minute, and wont wait until the year is gone), I do like to make To-Do lists. What I want to achieve in this year, and that I have the certainty I will.
Two words: Independence and Experience [Ok, that's three words if you count "and"].
I want to learn things for myself like cooking decent meals, doing my own laundry, clean after myself (and not wait for mom to give me a lecture and cleaning after me anyway), pay my bills, drive my own car, set my own rules.
I also want to learn more about my job from experienced people, open up my ears and listen what they have to say so I don't screw up. Who knows, maybe in the process I'll impress somebody.

2012 looks very promising so far. This is the year I finish school, I get my N driving license, my passport expires, I actually start exploring LinkedIn (shoulda done that months ago!), takes place the most mind-blowing metal festival on a cruise which I am attending, of course; and apparently the world's life ends. Yeah, a very interesting year indeed [That was half sarcasm]. Can't wait to live it! *fist in the air*

Cover's night

Today was the day that I could finally use my microphone. I recorded 3 songs with it, and I have to say once more that I love it! No crappy audio, just pure sound.

I tried Kingfisher Sky's Balance of Power, Seven Kingdoms' Wolf in Sheep's Clothes and Epica's Linger. For the first two, it was nervewrecking for me. I usually sing because I feel like it, but this time I HAD to do it. So it was embarrassing for even myself. But after screwing up a couple of times and laughing about it, I started to have fun with it. I even tried The Phantom of the Opera, but forgot to save the file! =(

After trying for an hour and a half with these songs, I felt really tired. So Linger didn't come out as I was expecting, but recorded it and saved it anyway. I hope I get some more time to try other songs. Next in my list are Epica's Solitary Ground (or Chasing the Dragon), Nightwish's Cadence of her Last Breath (requested by Mark Rosera :] ) and Delain's Daylight Lucidity (or Sleepwalker's Dream). Still accepting requests or suggestions!

Let's have fun!

Sing it away...

My computer interface is finally here! I can now use my brand new professional microphone!! Not the ones that you get for $40 at Best Buy or Future Shop. This one cost me $135! Manufacturer price of $250. I'm absolutely in love with it!

I bought the microphone first because I really wanted to record myself singing some covers. Then I realized I needed an XLR cable. And THEN I realized I needed an XLR convertor to USB. So, it took me almost a month to get all together. But it took me at least 3 months to decide to buy them all. You see, with a friend of mine that lives in Washington, DC, we want to create some metal tunes, and he showed interest in my voice after I sent him some videos of me singing. And I've always dreamed of having a band. So, I am making my dream come true.

I just tested my microphone because I have been crazy busy all week long. This has been by far my busiest week of the year! So I had only had the chance to record a tiny "Hi. This is test number one" test on my computer. The sound is so crisp and clear. I am really looking forward to do this project!

If you want to check how my microphone looks like, click here. It's a AKG Perception 220 Condenser microphone. I'll be taking pictures of it by next week. When all the madness is gone!