Domestic Diva Lessons

Wow, has it ONLY been about 5 weeks without a maid?!? Felt like 2 months. In that time I have graduated from senorita to Domestic Diva.

But now I am saved from increasingly dehydrated skin, bad nails and a front yard badly in need of sweeping when my hoped-for maid finally arrived. A dark, 38-year old mother from Butuan City . She is a dream of a helper, and came fresh off the boat. A few hours with her, and I found out that she is conservative, very subservient, cleans your whole house in less than 4 hours, cooks well, serve buffet or sit-down style for parties, and is a promising governess to my 2 daughters. She looks at you straight in the eye when talking.

I now have time to blog again. I missed reading and writing here. But here are some lessons from being a Domestic Diva:

1. Be patient and discuss your expectations with them kindly, but firmly.
2. Think that if they can do the job better, they wouldn't be maids and might have your job.
3. Understand that if they fail to close the doors at all times, it maybe because they didn't have a door to close at their home in the barrio.
4. Give them a schedule. But demonstrate the task, don't just tell them how it's done.
5. Make time for yourself, the kids, and your marriage . You tend to forget this when you're focused on keeping your house in order.
6. Trust them to do the work, but don't put temptation in their way.

Maidless in Manila

Taking a breather. I've been without a maid for the past 10 days.

The irony of it is that you let them go because they were inefficient or really lazy.

Then you realize 15 lbs, 4 eyebags and 7 wrinkles later that better to have another pair of hands than to make a go of it on your own.

I've wondered if it's unusual to be maidless in Manila, where it's a status symbol to have a cordon of maids in white following your every move, carrying your every trinket.

I've sort of gotten used to NOT having them around. Not even in school to carry the kids' bags. I feel they don't move fast enough.

NOw, is that pride talking.

But due to my tiredness I've hardly the energy to access my e-mail, even via my wifi laptop. Takes too long. Haven't even paid attention to my old pal, Tungsten T2.

So nature took it's course for my gadget: he died on me from lack of energy and attention as well. And since I didn't charge it for just 3 days, it suddenly became amnesiac when I ressurected it--all my data was gone. Didn't sync it for the past 2 months--yes, that long. Guilty as charged.

Lesson: make sure you sync all the time. But I digress. . .

If there's any good thing that about having no maids, it's that your kids appreciate you more because they feel you pay more attention to what they need. In every aspect.

Yup, the bright side of being maidless. . . I'm rationalizing, right? I still see the dark circles round my eyes, and my frame is thinner, though not necessarily sexier. However, at least I can get into that slim evening gown that I've had for the past 2 years but never wore.

Mother's Pride and Joy

Attended the Woodrose School PQF (Parent's Quarterly Forum) for my grade 2 daughter. Our class, 2-c, had the largest number of attendees. Interesting that we had to move to the function room and do our class profile briefing behind closed doors, while the two other sections conducted theirs in the auditorium. Just found out that our class was the most 'active'--can't seem to keep them seated or quiet. The other is that the teachers agreed among themselves that our class also was the most intelligent!

I could see the moms and dads puffing their chests with pride. Including me. Ms. F, our Grade 2-C homeroom teacher, said that the girls were quick to get the lessons. Of course, I'd like to use the tests and quizzes as the standard barometer, cause perception was arguable. Figures were more reliable.

At least, I can say that since my girl has been getting perfect scores in a number of her exams. And while doing so, she maintains a growing set of friends. I love the way she balances the life of the mind with the real world.

I think my daughter will definitely make it out there.

An Angel on my Palm

I'm a Catholic Mom. I remember keeping track of the daily Mass readings for my journal reflections by subscribing to Mobile Gabriel from AvantGo .

It's named after the Archangel Gabriel, who announced to Mary the birth of Christ, and is the Patron of Communications.

Mobile Gabriel works on both Pocket PC or Palm OS platforms. Great for those using the multimedia phones that are so handy nowadys. It's a convenient way for getting your daily dose of God's Word.

I realize we want to be always connected to our work and to other people, hence the advent of the multimedia phones. E-mail, spreadsheets, photos--they're all in one device. So thru this, why not allow Mobile Gabriel to remind us daily about the best source of Inspiration for our faith, family and work lives?

That's what guardian angels are for.

Thanks to ICTs, The MTT (MulTi-Tasking) Mom Becomes Ubiquitous

This is surreal: I'm finishing my first post in the hospital as I watch over my 7-year-old daughter. She has been confined in the Asian Hospital for dengue fever symptoms, which turned out to be pneumonitis.

While attending to her for the past 3 days, I've brought my little HP laptop to keep me from worrying about her platelet count results and her cough. I brought no yaya as I feel no maid can ably take care of any child of mine who's sick.

From the time I taught my kids their ABCs, I quickly learned how to use mobile ICTs ( information and communication technologies ) to be the MTT Mom I expect myself to be.

What gives me conviction to do 'Mom on Mobile' is to share the real fruits of using today's ubiquitous technologies: letting us manage our multiple roles and tasks, 24 x 7x 365, to give us more time to enjoy the best role a woman could have: to be a mother and be with our kids, face-to-face, spending quality time during the most important and critical phases of their lives.

I am a real estate broker. I resumed life in Manila since June this year, after a 3.5 year stint in Singapore as trailing spouse. I'm finishing my dissertation for my online Masters in E-learning at Sheffield University and am setting up my realty marketing and development corporation. My laptop is my business-in-a-box--my research and business files are all here.

While watching the nurses administer antibiotic in the IV line, I send out my e-mails using the hospital room's phone line and type out the e-newsletters for sending out when we get back home. When my baby says, 'Mommy', I close my notebook and leave it all behind. No office work should ever interfere with mothering.

Bless the gadgets you can carry in your bag or in your car. I take photos w/ my old Nokia phone, beam it to either my Tungsten T2 or my computer. Others take out their wallets when showing the family pics; I prefer to take out 'Palmy', as I affectionately call my handheld organizer.

When I need to transfer files from one computer to another, either I beam it via the IR port, or use a Flash drive shaped like a vitamin to store a cabinet's worth of printouts in the other PC. And yes--I beam virtual business cards via my Palm or my mobile phone. It saves me when i run out of social or business cards.

While my daughter recovers from her virus, I access the internet to look at Yahooligans.com for her science report. I record a voice greeting from her and send the .wav file via e-mail to her best friend, Carren, who is in Singapore. Then as she wakes up, I play the DVD of "Sharkboy and Lava Girl", then out with the PC games. Then, when she's asleep, I fax out property proposals, download my realty updates and files from Ayala Land's broker's portal, then chat wth my friend in Singapore--all while I wait til my daughter needs me again.

When I lose my dial-up connection, I just go to a cafe with WIFI, then presto: instant broadband. I could have had a Voice over IP (VoIP) call w/ my Pinoy friend in Switzerland on the computer while sipping my favourite latte. But, hey, the power to work anytime, anywhere has to be balanced with the knowing your priorities when you gain access to the Net.

And for now, I can say. . .it's not excessive to be typing out your recipes, organizing your market list, or doing your home inventory on your computer, Palm or mobile phone. Then share how to do it on a blog with Moms and Dads around the world. Technology allows us to share what we know, and transform someone else's life with a nugget of shared experience.

My daughter's waking up now. She's ready to do her homework on 'HP', as she fondly calls my laptop.