On the road again, with a special assistant

PINT-SIZED roadie Nic shows off her Rainbow Loom collection

LOS ANGELES—The special roadie is my daughter Nicole.

Nic is now officially on summer break, not due back in Manila until June (she’ll be a second grader then). In the meantime, she’s accompanying Mommy on tour with Il Divo in North America, Canada and Mexico. (For the full tour schedule, check ildivo.com/us/events.)

In the days leading up to the tour, she was prepped for what was going to be a very busy time in her life: modes of travel and transport, multiple time zones, lots of hotel rooms, and the backstage areas of different performance venues. I told her she would have to drag her own carry-on and keep tabs on all her belongings.

All the rage

The night before our flight to Los Angeles, her Ninang Steffi Inocentes gave her an early birthday present: a Rainbow Loom! This is all the rage right now just about everywhere, even winning Toy of the Year. So far, she has created many, many bracelets and rings, and even I have gotten into the act, making the more complicated designs just for fun. (On our way to LA via a stopover in Seoul, Nicole met another little girl named Mischka who had her own Rainbow Loom, with the accompanying elastic bands in a large hard plastic organizer, all separated by color. They did a little work in the airport lounge together to pass the time.)

Nic has been a great little traveler, minding her carry-on (and mine as well when necessary) like a pro, even finding ways to keep herself from getting bored in the long lines at the airports. She does this thing that she calls “suitcase skating”: She props herself on the handles of our two carry-ons, pushes off, and skates from one point to another. If nothing else, it makes the travel day more fun. (On a side note, because of ongoing construction at LAX, the lines just to leave the airport were monumentally long.)

The biggest challenge for the both of us thus far has been jet lag. Normally when I travel alone for work, I force my body to adjust to whatever time zone I’m in, so that if I’m required to hit the ground running, I’m ready.

However, with a 7-year-old, I didn’t really try too hard to adjust, and neither did she. Instead, we decided to allow things to happen naturally. We just slept when we were sleepy, ate when we were awake, and waited for our bodies to get in sync on their own.

Ungodly hours

The first few nights were difficult, with us waking up at the most ungodly hours and feeling frustrated that the adjustment period wasn’t happening more quickly, especially since I had to work almost immediately following our arrival. There were TV appearances, and my first performance on tour was a mere two days after touchdown. All either of us could do at that point was hope for the best, that the next day would be a better one. It did give us some measure of comfort that almost everyone on this Il Divo tour, be it one of the four guys or a member of the crew, was suffering as well.

For the record, we’re doing so much better right now. The following days and weeks should continue to see our progress.

Helping hands

We’ve both been fortunate that there have been many helping hands on this journey: my makeup artist Maxi Tone has been so wonderful, that while I’m onstage, he’s backstage with Nicole either aiding her in putting on shows in the dressing room, or allowing her to experiment with makeup; my publicist Sara Shillinglaw, who kept Nic busy by trying to learn how to make a starburst bracelet (first attempt was unsuccessful, but there’s always a next time); Gina Smith and Donna Carig who, in Las Vegas, took Nicole out with their nieces for a swim in the wave pool and a ride down the lazy river at Mandalay Bay, as well as for a post-swim pizza; David Miller, who has been on the unfortunate receiving end of Nic’s own brand of cariño brutal as she delivers many karate chops to his midsection (she did give him a blue-and-white friendship bracelet after); and Urs Bühler who, on a couple of occasions, picked her up and, with her still in his arms, posed like a statue. I thank you all very much.

There are still more cities to visit, and more friends and family to see. Get your hands ready for us, folks … we are going to need them!

Mermaid’s voice

In case you haven’t already heard, I have given my voice to the theme song of the ABS-CBN teleserye “Dyesebel,” starring Anne Curtis, Gerald Anderson and Sam Milby. The song is titled “Tangi Kong Kailangan,” written by Francis Concio, and with accompaniment by the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.

This is the first time I’ve done this, and it was quite an exciting venture. I was most excited because it was an original, brand-spanking-new piece of OPM, versus a cover of already existing material. The song premiered last Tuesday. Since, at the time of this writing the song still hasn’t aired, I’m hoping everything went well.

Thank you, ABS-CBN for the opportunity, and to Anne, I hope you like what we’ve done.