Author: Em Alcantara

WAHMe-what?

Definition of terms:

1. WAHM – Work-at-home mom. In some cases, fathers work at home so WAHD’s the term.

2. WAHMeo – Contraction of Work-at-home Mom / Chief Executive Officer. A WAHM who owns her business.

Admit it, the internet has such a huge impact to everyone’s lives this past ten years. It has revolutionized so many things–entertainment, learning, connecting with people, and most especially businesses. Social media marketing is the new PR agency. Bloggers are now the new commercial models who promote products online through their blogs and social networks. Yes, the Computer Age is definitely how we define the current era.

That is why the new workspace for an increasing number of Filipinos is found in the comfort of their own homes, inside their own computers. And their tribe will increase all the more, as the demand for virtual workers increases by the day.

Is WAHMing for you, Corporate Mommy?

I asked that question when I attended the WAHMderful Life Workshop: Real Ways to be a WAHM last April. I even brought my husband along so that both of us can explore this unfamiliar path. And after the workshop, we exclaimed, if they can do it, why can’t we?

Some office workers will say, well, that is freelance, you work when there is work. If none, you will not earn. Office work gives security in terms of salary, benefits, etc. You work hard, and loooong enough, you rise above the ranks.

My husband and I discovered we can do so much with the internet now. Virtual Assistants (or VAs) are on the rise.

While at the workshop, I discovered the Manila WAHMs Facebook group, which is instrumental in my current job description–Fulltime Mother-slash-Copy Editor. Just two weeks on my current job and I am soo glad to have found one, after a few weeks of resignation from my fulltime office job. Never thought it was possible but apparently it is!

But can you really do it at home? What if…?

Your kid wants to play with you? Then play with her for a few minutes, make her busy, then go back to work. Oftentimes I’d rather sit and work while my husband and daughter are sleeping. It’s something I have to get used to, as I spent until the wee hours of the morning working. That, or I wake up early instead to be able to work.

There is a household emergency? You need not rush going home because you ARE home with your family! But of course, who would want an emergency to happen, whether you are working in or out of home?

You’re sick? Rest is important. It’s easy to ease back to work since you do not have to deal with going in and out of the workplace.

There is no electricity? Or ther is no internet connection? Worse, my laptop broke?! I have realized this now that electricity, the internet, and a good functioning laptop are my main bread and butter. Hmmm… It’s good to have back ups, and save files every five minutes or so.

I am just grateful now that I have already started. It is a lifestyle my family needs to adjust to again. My set up works well for us because my family has my undivided attention when they are awake. Plus, I can choose to take in more work in the future (singing and teaching again, too! happy dance!).

I was also lucky enough to attend the WAHMeo workshop held last July. The workshop was an eye opener to those who really want to pursue working at the confines of their own home, but at the same time, owning their businesses. Some attendees have established jobs already, others discerning their strengths. The workshop also featured the how-tos of putting up the business, like making the business plan, applying for business names and permits, learning about taxes, setting up websites, etc. It’s taking WAHMing to the next level, and I am inspired to hear from people who have actually took the plunge and became owners of their own businesses that they run while they run their household. They’re mothers of different backgrounds, skills, and businesses, and it’s always a joy to meet new, inspiring people.

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Pretty WAHMies, all in several rows!

Interested to work from home? Then this workshop is for you!

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The same workshop we attended last April is having its third run, this time focusing on being a Virtual Assistant. Sounds funny at first, but it is legit work! I have heard from the experts, so now is your chance.

Click this link to know more about it.

Unilab is a proud sponsor, too!

If you are deciding to take the plunge, attend this workshop. ANYONE, even if you are not a mother, can attend!

~ Touringkitty

Touringkitty Blog Giveaway: Happy Birthday, Ariadne!

CONTEST IS CLOSED. WINNERS ANNOUNCED ON NEWEST BLOGPOST. THANKS FOR JOINING AND WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT GIVEAWAY!

Yes, you’ve read it right, here is the FIRST (that means, more to come soon!) Touringkitty Blog Giveaway! And I am soooo excited for this!

August is the birth month of my firstborn, Ariadne. She will be turning three on the 31st and that is why we have THREE prizes in store for your babies!

But before anything else, please welcome and thank our giveaway sponsor, BEANS Baby Store!

BEANS Baby Store is owned and operated by Jade-Ceres Dolor-Munoz, a veteran of E-commerce operations. She is currently employed as the Director of Operations of a European company involved in the travel industry. In 2012, she started her own events management business with the launch of Baby Carnival, a highly successful baby bazaar. Three months later, she launched Made with Love, a 3-day arts & crafts fair. She has established connections within the baby products industry over the last year, which prompted her to open her own retail store.

BEANS Baby Store is named after her daughter Jellybean.

Do check out her online shop at www.beansbabystore.com or www.facebook.com/BeansBabyStore

Want to win the following?

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Joining is easy-peasy, and there are more ways than one to join! Do one, or do all for more chances of winning!

1. On Twitter or Facebook (Follow me on Twitter or LIKE my Facebook Page FIRST before posting!): Post this: “Happy Birthday, Ariadne! I am joining the @Touringkitty Blog Giveaway for August!

2. On Instagram: Post ANY Hello Kitty item (a toy, notebook, etc.) you might have and make sure to tag “Happy Birthday, Ariadne! I am joining the @Touringkitty Blog Giveaway for August!”

3. Shoot me an email at touringkitty@gmail.com with the Subject Line: TK Blog Giveaway-August with your complete name.

Aria shall raffle off the winners on the evening of August 31, her birthday! Last day to submit your entry is on August 29, 2013, 5:00 PM. Winners will first be verified and BEANS Baby Store will directly ship the prizes to you!

Game is on!!!

~ Touringkitty

Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival

Choirs of the world, this is what WE have all been waiting for!

Watch this video of Sir Mark Carpio inviting all to join this choral celebration.

The first international choral competition in the Philippines, the Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival, Manila 2013 will be held starting Wednesday this week, August 7. The festival will consist of three days of competitions, a concert by the Philippine Madrigal Singers, outreach performances in nearby towns, and a choral workshop to be conducted by one of the invited jury members, Eric Banks.

The event is organized by the Cultural Center of the Philippines in celebration of its resident choral group’s 50th anniversary–the Philippine Madrigal Singers, and to honor Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, Founder of the Madz and National Artist for Music.

Check out the CCP Website for complete information about the festival.

P.S. Special thanks to Mark and the Madz for allowing me and my husband to produce the video. Shoot was done during one of the recording sessions for the upcoming new album (that’s a story for another post, so stay tuned!). Photos used with permission from the Madz website and from Madz alumni. This video was done with much Madz love and I thank you for all your support!

~ Touringkitty

I Love August!

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It’s not my birthday month, but I LOVE August! Lots of things to celebrate, such as:

Birthdays of Papa Mario(+)-August 6, Mommy Luz- August 29, Lola Estela-August 21, Lolo Ernesto-August 30, and of course, my dear Ariadne who wanted to join in the August Birthdays-August 31.

Holidays on August 9-Eid’l Fitr, August 21-Ninoy Aquino Day, August 26-National Heroes Day. Mark your calendars and plot out those mini-vacations!

Breastfeeding Awareness Month. I am a strong advocate of extended breastfeeding, which Aria does practice still at three years. I am getting some disapprovals yet again and some applauses as well for reaching this far. Trust me, mommies. It is not hard unless you give it a try!

In line with the last item, there are month-long activities several organizations have lined up to further increase its awareness. Check out Chronicles of a Nursing Mom, Atty. Jenny Ong’s blog, which lists down all activities happening this month. I will be participating in some, like August 3’s Hakab Na and August 31’s Talk of Dr. Jack Newman, which the tickets for it I have won through Eliza Ypon of The Painter’s Wife. Thanks, Eli!

You need not be breastfeeding to participate in all these activities. We want to raise awareness by promoting, living, and loving breastfeeding. If you join, I’m sure you’ll be a bearer of good news when you share the info to your family and friends.

~ Touringkitty

Voices and Vision

Korea and the Philippines share the same passion for music, especially choral music.

Witness two of the best children’s choirs in one concert. Consortium of Voices (conducted by my Ninong Mark Carpio of the Madz) and World Vision Korea Children’s Choir (conducted by Hee-Churl Kim). This week, both choirs are participating in a children’s choir festival in Seoul organized by World Vision Korea.

Nope, you don’t have to pay for a Korean visa and plane ticket to see them. As the Filipino group comes home next week, the Korean group will also be visiting the Philippines to return the favor for this one night back-to-back concert!

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Contact directly Paolo Ignacio at 09151277666 for ticket inquiries.

Madz @ 50: Madz Alumni

The Madz is one huge family of about 200 (or more). We maybe classmates, students, teachers, mentors, siblings, children, parents, cousins, of each other. The family is extended to our own families, wherein some are each other’s wedding or baptism godparents and godchildren.

We look up to our alumni, the ones who passed to us the great Madz tradition. We keep this, live this, and pass to our successors, who we in turn, expect to do the same to the future singers.

I was privileged to have met so many Madz Alumni, both here and abroad, and get to know them a little better. It pays that I was a UP student as well, because most Madz alumni were UP professors too. And during trips abroad, we are happy to see fellow Madz in the audience. We listen to their stories, experiences, and we learned from them a lot.

When I left the Madz, I also got the chance to sing with an established alumni group, Koro Madrigal. With them, we had concerts, workshops, and local travels.

Beyond rehearsals and concerts, we remained in touch. Our best way to bond: EATING!

But there is one Madz batch that we are raving about. Incidentally, they will reunite this weekend for two concerts every Madz fan should not miss.

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Madz 89, as they are popularly called, is called such because they won top prizes in all international choral competitions they joined in 1989. They make such a great group because most of them have been singing together for about eight years. They planned this since last year and this week, they are already rehearsing, most are coming home from US and Europe. Perfect timing because of summer break.

Please do watch this concert. Two nights only. Go to the Madz Facebook Page to get tickets. They’re selling like pancakes so get them now! My husband and I will be there on Sunday, so see you then!

Like a Rose

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Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. She peacefully passed on two days before her birthday. Mission accomplished, and with flying colors.

Mixed emotions during the Cremation

It was 11th of July, 2013. Could have been OA’s 85th, but she missed it by two days.

I went to her cremation, on the day of her birthday. I saw her before she was cremated. It made me sad even more. Only a few times I was able to visit her, mainly because I did not want to see OA in that condition. So I just prayed for her. Throughout those seven years she was bedridden, I prayed for her. I remembered my Lola Queta, my paternal grandmother, who was also bedridden for quite some time before she passed on.

It was also the first time for me to shed tears for someone I am not blood-related to. As we sang the opening refrain of one of OA’s favorites, L’important c’est la rose, tears well up my eyes. I recalled my 16 year old self learning that song for the first time. Yes, that, along with Love is the Answer, were the first two songs of the Madz I have learned as a church chorister. I was not even a Madz fan back then. Heck, I did not even know who the Madz were!

But wonderful was that song, I recalled all the wonderful moments I had when I was starting as a chorister. That experience with my former church choir paved the way to my decision to take up music, and eventually join the Madz. Wonderful, priceless moments, which took me to almost all corners of the world. It will not happen if not for the gift of singing. The Lord used us to be His instruments of peace, and I am so proud and humbled to have been given this gift and share it to the world for everyone to see God’s goodness.

At a certain point, laughter filled the small room of about fifty attendees–immediate family, friends, Madz present and alumni. OA’s daughters would kid us when they said that the Madz was the “first family” of Ma’am, because she would devote more time to this choral group, rehearsing, performing, touring with them. But they understand very well, which makes us soooo humbled and blessed.

OA has the most generous family–her blood family. What more can you ask for–she has a supportive husband and children who understood OA’s mission in this world. They “shared” OA to the world, especially to her musical family of about 200 children and probably close to a thousand extended children–the Madz and Madz et al.

A Necrological Rites fit for OA

14th of July, Sunday. I already was set to welcome a visiting choir in our church and my choir was also singing for the mass before I found out the schedule for the necrological services. But somehow, I knew I had to attend. It will be great to be part of sending OA off. I even brought some members of my children’s choir, who are very privileged to be part of the Madz et al Family. One of the members told me after the services, that it felt like she knew OA for a long time after watching the tribute video, hearing the eulogies, and the response from her eldest daughter. I told them that necrological services for National Artists are open to the public always for us to really recognize their contributions in uplifting their artform and to know why they deserve to be called such. I wished I could have brought all my kids but they also have service on our church that morning. By some stroke of chance, though, almost at the same time we were singing Prayer of St. Francis (arranged by Robert Delgado, Madz Alumnus) as a grand choir by the end of the rites, my choir sang another arrangement, by Ryan Cayabyab, another Madz Alumnus, during communion in the church. They joined the whole Et Al family in praying, in thanking Him for making us instruments of His peace.

About 50 Madz singers stepped on the Main Theater stage to sing the signature song of the Madz–Alleluia by Randall Thompson.

Youtube link of actual performance here.

In the tribute video, OA explains how this song was received during their first international tour in 1969 at the Lincoln Center in New York. Video here.

Then eulogies were given by former Madz members, which made us laugh, cry, reminisce, and proud of the Madz’ achievements throughout the 50 years. Sir Mark also gave his tribute to Ma’am, and indeed, OA prayed hard for her successor. Truly the Holy Spirit guided her and gave her wisdom to make that decision.

The Madz sung some songs, but most touching were the performances of OA’s grandchildren–Elle (doing a solo number), Diego, Stella, and Andie (doing a Taylor Swift song with Diego on guitar). Amazing children!

As we all sent OA off for departure honors, a shower of rose petals were given, well deserved and well executed.

Indeed, OA had her season, like a rose. We will have ours, too, in God’s perfect time. We just have to keep on trusting, keep on praying, and in OA’s words, just do it.

Thank you for inspiring us, Ma’am. Until we meet again.

Madz @ 50: Nurturing the Madz Way

Once a Madz, always a Madz.

Ma’am OA and Sir Mark have said it. And I have witnessed this through the Madz Alumni who trooped yesterday’s kick off activities for the Madz’ Golden Anniversary.

So far, so good. So far, so gold.

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As what Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, founder of the Philippine Madrigal Singers have instilled on us, we should never forget to begin everything with a prayer. Before we begin concerts or engagements, big or small, prepare for a concert tour, or sing for competitions, we pray, pray pray. Most often, we start the repertoire with musica sacra before we sing other genres.

On June 23, we kicked off the 50th anniversary activities with a musical, wonderful, meaningful celebration of the Holy Mass at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium of the UP College of Music (the auditorium is celebrating its 50th year likewise). Madz–young and old, actively singing or not, most of us bringing our own choral groups we dearly call Madz Et Al, filled up the auditorium to the brim with soaring voices, as everyone was instructed to learn the songs beforehand–and rehearse altogether a couple of hours before the Mass started.

To make the Mass even more meaningful, Fr. Arnold Zamora, an alumnus of the Madz, led the celebration, along with four more priests as concelebrants. Fr. Arnold’s music were used for most of the Mass parts. His homily made everyone listen–and laugh, especially his batchmates in attendance. Some of those stories have been told and retold a gazillion times but for the Madz, those still make us laugh many times over. But more importantly, his words made each singer and each et al member understand and know what it takes to be a Madrigal Singer–not just for fame, but moreso, the responsibility to be ambassadors of goodwill and of music in whatever capacity we can be.

Equally striking is the offering of roses to St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Teresa de Avila, led by the family of Ma’am OA’s youngest daughter. Ma’am loves roses and would offer them to church as thanksgiving whenever she is given one after concerts.

Sir Mark’s speech underscored the importance of the Madz Et Al–a 60 (or so)-choir strong network handled by Madz Alumni. This “baby” was indeed Ma’am OA’s greatest achievement. Golden harvest as Sir Mark called it. She dreamed of a Singing Philippines and it’s up to us and the future Madz along with these choral groups to continue living this dream.

Indeed I am privileged to handle a children’s choir of my own, the Shrine of Jesus Children’s Choir. For the past seven years, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to serve the Lord through singing and at the same time, maintaining a good quality of choral singing and creating new arrangements for the group. And for the kids to be given opportunities to meet fellow choristers in festivals or concerts, be invited to sing for weddings and events, even appear on TV and prestigious concert halls, those are all just icing on the cake. The cake itself–their hardwork and dedication, and a solid foundation rooted in the Divine Master–made all of these hapen.

A conductor is like a parent–one who nurtures, inspires, and truly cares for her children. Ma’am OA and Sir Mark exemplified all that and more, thus I am inspired to be a good conductor and parent to my singers, even to my family, too. That is Nurturing, the Madz Way.

~ Touringkitty

Catch the Madz on their Homecoming Concert at the UP Abelardo Hall on Thursday and Friday, June 27-28, 2013, 6:30 PM. Tickets at 929-6963. More information about the 50th Anniversary activities will be posted at their website.

On post-pregnancy bodies and shopping

Shopping attempt yesterday: BIG FAIL!

Haha I know it was Fathers Day but my hubby wanted to buy me clothes cos my closet’s screaming for a makeover (imagine all my clothes had to be breastfeeding-friendly–e.g. Tank tops, v-necks or deep necks, boleros, shawls and we have not weaned just yet!).

So off I went for 20 minutes of picking and filling up a basket, and much to my dismay upon fitting these clothes, they all did not fit. Leggings only go halfway on my legs, shirts were too tight, shorts won’t close the buttons. And they were medium sized already!

I was so surprised because I underestimated my body three years after I gave birth. All the while I though I was thin, but my hips, chest, and legs are now bigger than before!

The sweet ending though: I left all clothes in a basket outside the fitting room, and filled them with new blouses and shorts for my kid! Oh how fun it is to be a mom!

I better hit the gym now. Join in!

How do you deal with your postpartum bodies? Share your tips in the Comments section.

Bilingual Toddlers: Yay or Nay?

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She just likes to learn a lot. She chose this book because she read the surname of the author: Graham!

I have been a believer that it is best to teach your child with your own mother tongue. That’s why at a certain point, I am glad that DepEd made this a priority until Grade Three.

But my husband is a firm believer that we should first teach our child in one language–that being English. So here he is buying books and materials and iPad applications all in English. And he is the one who talks to my child in straight English.

On the other hand, I prefer talking with her in Filipino. I sing the National Anthem to her and she can complete it albeit the gibberish words. She can recite the good ol’ a-e-i-o-u, babebibobu etc.

Though my husband and I are debating on this, unconsciously, we have successfully taught her on both languages. Here are a few of my observations:

1. She can follow commands on both languages. I use paki– or please so she will have the sense of respect this early, even the littlest things have to be repeated to her so she won’t miss out on saying please if she wants something.

2. The Filipino Opo has to be injected often also. She says ingat po when someone is leaving the house. But how will I inject this in English?

3. When she’s in the mood for it, she translates first the Filipino command to English before she follows me. Or she would describe what she does in both English and Filipino (like: higa, lie down, then she lies down).

4. She would read words in their alphabet pronunciation, NOT the phonetic pronunciation! When she was just starting to read, at 1.7 years perhaps, she confused the a [ei] for an [a] sound so she read bat [bat] as [beit]. Made me laugh and realized maybe we should have taught her the International Phonetic Alphabet instead.

5. She has an absolutely cute English twang, that she pronounces Filipino words in her cute accent! Sometimes we can’t understand her words that are Filipino.

Now that’s just two languages so far. I started introducing a third–German. She knows when to use Gesundheit and sings a German lullaby called La Le Lu. But I stopped there for now.

How do you introduce language to your children? Should I only teach one for now, or carry on while she can absorb as much? Share your thoughts on the comments section.

~ Touringkitty