One Fine Day with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney

The subject of Blogie’s email was  Bloggers’ Meet-up with a Diginitary and after reading it,  half of my brain immediately sent signals to the usually stuporous other half.  I made a mental note to send him my resume ASAP so that I’ll make it to the final cut of Mindanao Bloggers who will be able to attend the meet-up (I know, this sounds like a segment  from a reality TV show but there were indeed limited slots available).

My days are, more often than not, monotonous and lackluster.  I wake up at around 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., check my phones for messages, get up from bed reluctantly to wash my face and brush my teeth,  and prepare  a cup of coffee with 2 tbsp. of Milo.  I also turn on the laptop to read emails, read the blog I’m most excited about (it’s not even mine), and do a string of online pseudo-tasks. After doing all these things, I attend to personal hygiene and nutrition and then get back online or yak on the phone until 4:00 a.m.

I do go out from time to time but  my activities outside of the house are always centered on food, coffee, blogging, and the internet so maybe you’ll understand why the possibility of a meet-up with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney got me so amped and hyper (complete with Plurk’s banana_rock). The meet-up was scheduled on the 18th of July so I made sure that I’m available on that day.

And then came July 18 –the big day.  I was up by 6:00 a.m. even if I slept at around 4:00 am the same day.  Lyle and I had to be at  The American Library of Ateneo de Davao University at exactly 9:00 a.m. There, we met fellow Mindanao Bloggers Jim Haw, Sarah Matalam, Migs Hipolito, Ria Jose, Blogie Robillo, and Rhodilee Dolor.  We chatted, listened to her radio interview, and even plurked  while waiting for the ambassador to  join us.

As soon as US Ambassador Kristie Kenney entered the room,  I immediately noticed that she looked so fit (forgive me if this is the first thing that catches my attention as I do maintain a weight loss blog).  And when she spoke and introduced herself to us, I was like: Major W-O-W. She’s so warm and accommodating.

I somehow prepared to ask US Ambassador Kenney one or two questions on U.S. Goverment projects in Mindanao but after we were given the opportunity say  something about  ourselves and our blogs and became more relaxed, I immediately forgot about those questions.    The questions that were asked by our group of bloggers revolved around the ambassador’s love for basketball, her travels, her blog, her gadgets, and even Facebook. I even remember asking Ambassador Kenney if she logs on to her Facebook account everyday because I wanted to make sure that she confirms my friendship request on Facebook later in the day.  LOL.

The meet-up with the ambassador wasn’t what most of us expected but  I’m not the least bit disappointed that it was informal and took on a very lighthearted tone.  Looking back, it’s not everyday that the she shows us a less formal side of herself so all in all, July 18 was a fine day with spent with a well-loved foreign dignitary.

So for all those who would’ve wanted us to ask questions on policies and issues concerning Mindanao, the US Ambassador just might grace future Mindanao Bloggers’ events with her presence so we’ll still have the opportunity to ask her the more serious stuff.