Online is the Key

Everything is done online nowadays: school, work, freelance stuff, creative projects. It can be freeing and overwhelming at the same time.

Today, I had teacher training online, a landing page due, the second half of an article due, and of course, my creative efforts due (for the personal project, I set the deadline).

So, yeah, I am happy to announce that Episode 33 is now out. I now have 51 followers (compared to yesterday’s 37). I just have to keep on working hard I guess because Dreame has not promoted my book as much as I thought they would. It is a signed book, after all. Some writers say that it is probably because of the genre I have chosen – fantasy. What could have happened then if I had chosen my first love – horror? Everyone is promising a lot of steam in their books. I can only offer PG-13 romance at the moment. Would I be tempted? Well, there are some steamy ones with a good story out there. The story still should be the core of any book. I am very new to this. There are stories in my head, but I have never been that good with execution.

I love making covers. So, my first story is not even done yet, but I already designed the cover of my second because I have a little story vaguely dancing in my head. Haha! I probably should remain confident since I am in self-promotion mode, but I am still trying to find a story that will land me a printed publication deal. One day. Oh, one day. But it all begins right now.

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Promoting my Online Portfolio (and other Efforts)

I noticed that most of my blog visitors this year ended up here because of my Yonipp review. A little update: I am still working with them. Pretty awesome, right? Well, I just have to make sure I meet all my deadlines. I am juggling work with them with my full-time job as a teacher. I even have other clients (two other regular ones). Actually, these things have been made possible by the new work setup. There is a rising number of COVID cases here in Dominica. So, teaching may start online this October. There is nothing great about COVID, let me be clear, but I am always trying to use my time wisely, grab every opportunity, and earn extra. Jobs are often on the precipice these days.

For those who are interested in hiring an academic, SEO, or creative writer, please check jabelericabercasio.com. I plan to add more samples there whenever I get time.

I am also writing a fantasy romance via Dreame under the name Sylvaine 8. It’s definitely not going to win any awards, and in no way is the book literary. I do need some feedback on it for those who read books on the Dreame app. The title is The Royal Witch.

Doldrums

I am stressed out, but sometimes I feel like it is just futile to express it – complain about it. There is nobody else to talk to because everyone else seems to have a more weighty concern. To say the least, at the moment, the people of Marawi are certainly taking the brunt of all the Philippine troubles.

Yes, sometimes social media posts can relieve some burdens. Someone out there is ‘reading’, albeit maybe not meaning to. The good thing is that Joreb’s catechism class has been cancelled today. Bad news: I have a module due tonight and I am only halfway through it. Also: UWI grad school term has started again. Convent Prep exams are waiting to be written, or at least rewritten.

I am not a fool, though. What’s personal is personal. My complaints are about simple things – barely scratching the surface. I don’t think this is a good thing, though.

I Rarely Get Mad and It Just Happened to be in Public…

It’s a crazy Friday. I had a few mishaps earlier: I walked back to school, looking for something that turned out to be at home and I walked to the public library just to find out it is closed for the day because of an event.

Then, the situation became worse when we went to shop. One guy was very disrespectful. He bumped my mother and was saying, “Look this Chine…” Then, he continued muttering. “All that shopping, chung chung chung”. So, when he came to me saying, “uh.uh.uh”, heavily implying I could not speak English and he must therefore grunt like a mute person while he pointed the product at me, I had to answer back. I got the gist of the gesture, though. It was a power play. He wanted to come before me because I am a foreigner who could not speak English. There were other counters, especially for someone who only had a couple of items. I had stepped aside for many other people before. However, my parents felt that I should not have behaved like that in public. There was no cursing involved. My “loud” voice probably would not even be considered loud by some. I was insulted, but I did not insult back.

What do you think Dominican friends? All I said was “If you had asked nicely, I would allow you to come before me, but you were rude.” Those who know me well or have at least had a talk with me a few times are aware that I am not the sort to pick a fight or make a scene. What’s worse: security at this supermarket laughed along with the rest of the crowd. Nobody came to say, “Oh I am sorry about that. The guy has some mental issues – (he certainly did not look like he had mental issues – maybe a drug problem or just had the awesome luck to be naturally rude). Well, that’s what the security said. Still, they should have at least whispered to us, “Oh he does not mean anything by that. He’s kooky” or they could have diffused the situation with a tap on the shoulder of just about anyone who was involved (me who was getting pale with anger, my husband who defended me but somehow added to the fuel, and the guy who just had to be there at that very moment and be his usual charming self).

Anyway, suffice it to say that I feel disappointment everywhere: from my calm dad, my mom who says she never makes a scene in public but who has a much hotter temper, and myself because I had to second guess myself.  I probably still would be more disappointed with myself if I had responded with, “uh, uh, uh”.

Life as a Home-based Writer

I never thought I’d end up working at home. I used to work as a college instructor at Ateneo de Naga University, teaching Programming (ActionScript), Adobe Photoshop, Presentation Skills, Scriptwriting (for short animation), and other subjects related to my degree, which is Bachelors of Science in Digital Illustration and Animation. I graduated cum laude from the same university and thought that I would be serving the school for more years to come.

My family (me, my husband, my brother and the maid) moved to Manila in 2007 basically because my brother was about to start medical school at UST. My family is very close-knit. Something good came out of the move, anyway. My husband is now about to take his comprehensive exams for Masters in Marketing. He works as a manager for a major social and entertainment hub. I now have 18 units of Masters of Mathematics and am almost through with my MFA – and oh, I shouldn’t forget  the four days of law school. 😀

When I found out I was finally pregnant after a year of getting treated for infertility, I was eager to prove to people that I can still work at an office and brave the daily commute (I took a train and a bus to work) until the eighth month. Unfortunately, I was frequently sick. At only two months pregnant, I reluctantly resigned from my office job because my office mates were – and still are – such lovely people. I still stay in touch with some of them. My former manager even became one of my son’s godfathers.

After the sickness stopped, during the fifth month of my pregnancy, I applied to the same office as a home-based writer. Luckily, I was taken in by the company. I still work for them as a home-based web content writer, covering SEO articles, press releases, short news items, and more. I worked on other gigs at the same time.

I went back to working in an office setup on September 2011. I worked as a test creator and rater for mostly Korean test takers. Again, I was in a pleasant environment. My toddler, however, was acting out and was mad at me for working. So, I resigned but I still work part time for the said office, as a rater.

This year, I applied for a regular home-based job. I only needed to be online four hours a day from Mondays to Fridays. I write three blog posts daily for the company’s three websites. I write on entertainment, SEO and travel/festivals. So, I now work daily for two companies and have other part-time jobs while I am almost at the end of the MFA program at De la Salle University (now writing my thesis proposal and have started some essays for my nonfiction thesis).

Working at home is ideal for a mom and graduate student like me. In the mornings, I write for one company. In the afternoons, I am online and available for the other as I work on blog posts for its sites. At night, I get to work on my thesis.

Of course, I do have time for my toddler. I bathe him in the mornings and play with him, albeit a few minutes at a time, during the course of the day. We both spend the afternoons in the living room with the nanny, anyway. During bedtime, I read him three to eight story books, complete with gestures and varying voices. Fee Fi Fo Fum! He loves story time! 🙂

Not everything is perfect about being a home-based writer, though. There are no bonuses and benefits. So, I pay for my benefits as a voluntary contributor. People also think that I am an unemployed mom just waiting for my husband and my parents to hand me money each pay day. The moms in my condo building are either unemployed (with or without nannies) or completely engrossed in their jobs (doctors, office workers, etc). I feel out of place.

In school, it is the same thing. Most of the other MFA students are very young (22 to 26 years old), younger than my brother who is now a medical intern.

I try to make the most of being a home-based writer and see the best that I can get out of it. The flexibility of hours is amazing, of course. I can buy the weekly groceries on Wednesdays at 4 pm. I can go for a mani-pedi in the morning. I can bring my son to the doctor when the need arises. There is no need to go on a leave. The problem is I really am never on vacation. I am always on, almost 24/7. I say ‘almost’ because I do sleep. Sleep is not as refreshing, however, when your son’s toddler bed is right next to your bed and he sometimes pees a lot to wet the covers – at least that is the case lately what with him drinking too much milk and juice during the day (sometimes as much as 4 Big Mango Zestos, 3 large bottles of milk and more). 😀 But yes, at least I am with him. He is my priority, and that is why I am a home-based writer.

Next year, he starts kindergarten. By then, I hopefully would have my MFA degree. I will first get him accustomed to going to school and then I will check if I can get back to an office setup. I am considering jobs as college instructor, SEO writer, or translator (well, I do have to review Spanish). My son and I do have to learn how to be independent of each other. If things don’t work out as planned, there is always the flexible life of a home-based writer.

Ixomsoft Computing Solutions

I have just started working as a blogger/features writer for iXOMsoft Computing Solutions. This is the company description, according to its own website:

”

iXOMSoft is a software and web development company located in Manila, Philippines. Our passion is to develop simple, attractive and usable custom software and web design that serve as a successful marketing and promotional platform for targeting a wider internet audience. We make it possible to be in the lead by offering you a professional software and web development service for a business of any type and scale, which will give you a head start and help get things run smoothly in the online environment.”

So far, I am having fun creating content for them. I do hope I will be able to boost their site hits, as well as to engage more potential clients.

To know more about its services, you may visit any of the following sites:

ixomsoft.com

ixomsoft.tv

ixomsoft.net

urbanmala.ixomsoft

The Return of the Prodigal Blogger

It has been a long time since I have written for myself. The last sort-of-blog that I wrote was a note on Facebook promising more updates –  that never came. This is not such a surprise given the fact that I work as a web content writer. Most of the energy that I put into writing is spent on writing for clients, who now own the right to everything that I have written for them. Don’t get me wrong: writing is still fun even when I am doing it for other people. I get to read stuff that I would not in a million years have read if I had to rely on my own personal preferences. I learn a lot of things every day. Sometimes, I would even talk about those things that I have written to family and friends, gushing about newly found knowledge. By talking about the things that I wrote, I get to relay them as myself. I am not a ghost writer then, but a story teller.

I am also an MFA student. I write some fiction when I find the time. I am still learning my literary style as I used to only love genre fiction, such as horror, science fiction, fantasy, and the like. I am expected to graduate next year, 2013. Hopefully, I passed all of my comprehensive exams so that I could move on to the next chapter – the almighty and scary thesis.

You probably think that life must be very busy for me – and you’ll be right about that, and yet that’s not even the full story. I am also a wife (of more than five years now) and a mother to a three-year old. This is why I embraced the home-based job setup. I want to be the mom that my little toddler can call to whenever he wants. Of course, there will come a time when I have to say bye to him every weekday morning when he starts kindergarten next year. For now though, we are enjoying each other’s company – a lot.

I hope that I will be able to fill my blog with lots of content in the coming days. Hopefully, someone will come, read, and want more. For what is content without a reader?