Looking back: Jul '25, Week 2

This week my PC was plagued with freezes and BSOD crashes. At its worst I think it crashed/ froze almost 10 times in a day? Or maybe that's what it felt like as I tried my best to get work done, praying that crashes don't corrupt my saves like it did a few weeks ago. At the time of writing, after a BIOS update, it seems that my PC has stabilized, and I hope the problem is solved once and for all. I've had my PC freeze several times when doing FFXIV raids earlier this year, but I thought it was an NVIDIA Studio Driver vs Game Ready Driver issue. 🙃

Anyway, please pray for my PC! 🥹

✨ Cover projects -- Published my cover of GHOST!

It looks like I'm making a happy face in the thumbnail. :D

It's finally done! I'm glad several gems gave positive feedback on this one. 🥹 It was particularly fun doing something different for the video. Also, this cover wouldn't have been possible without Yuraia's help, so I'm really grateful.

I have some takeaways from this cover that I hope to work on for the next:

1. Find the source of crunchiness when I do high long notes. There were some nice takes that I couldn't use because even though there was no clipping, there was some strange electronic buzzing. I know my throat/ mouth sometimes makes a clicking sound that sounds electronic too, so maybe it's just me? I'll pay more attention next time.

2. Use a splitter for harmony reference. I was struggling with getting my harmony guide to sound right, but with a few clicks Yuraia gave me the extracted harmonies from the original song. 🥺 It was really useful!

3. Automate more of the vocal tune & time process, especially for doubles. Some of my covers this year were completely manually tuned and timed, which was extremely time consuming. I like having full control over how my vocals sound in the end, but it wouldn't hurt to improve my efficiency so that I can spend more time singing. 🤔 If not because I used some automation for GHOST, I don't think I could have finished the cover in 2.5 weeks.

4. Check my vocal mixing template settings. Just a bit of housekeeping. I tweak the settings for each cover, but I don't have a clear workflow for mixing at the moment.

5. It makes a huge difference in my vocal performance if I really like a song. Sounds like a no-brainer, but I realized that if I vibe with a song, I need less takes to get a recording I'm happy with. I also feel less pressure to copy the original vocals.

   
   

Oh yes, I realized that I have 1 more cover pending that was recorded at my current place! I took some time this week to work on the video, so the only thing left pending is the mix. It will take some time, but it should be done by this year. Please look forward to it. 🥺

Looking forward to making a cover at my forever home! 🏡🎵 I haven't decided what to cover next because I won't be able to work on it until more than a month later. So I figured that I should wait to see if there's anything new that comes up!

Maybe I have time for 1 more at my current place? 🤔 Hmm.

✨ Gaming -- Played Like A Dragon 8 all week. (Did not touch Baldur's Gate 3. Boo.)

I've played the game for 62.4 hours, but it seems that I'm no where near the end of the game. That's alright though -- I like doing side content for this series! I'm determined to do a lot of side content in the Kiryu arc because I get the impression that this will really be the last game with Kiryu as a main character. So I don't expect to see Zhao and Han Joongi anytime soon.

Here's a picture of my new found love though:

Again, not a Japanese character. 🤔

The best girl in the WHOLE series. ❤️ I love her makeup, and I always find myself staring at her eyes. 🥹💜 I just find it a little weird that her character color is purple like Tomizawa.

But who's complaining? 💜

Me, when I'll be forced to play as Ichiban again.

✨ Random interesting thing -- I drew little something... that I can't share yet!

I spent a day drawing something on Photoshop. It's been a while since I completed a drawing, so it was a refreshing day! Will share more when I can! 💖

On a random note, I had an idea of writing a document for home maintenance for my own reference. In my past jobs I always enjoyed writing documentation for operational processes, and it's been a long time since I last wrote one. I wonder if it could be hosted on my Wix site? 🤔

~💜~

Hopes for this week

♪ Maybe practice singing the songs for the cover projects later this year?

☆ Play Like a Dragon 8

☆ Forever Home: Hope the renovation handover this Sunday goes well. 🥺

Thank you for reading! 🌙🐰