Stalking Jessica online, while she liveblogs Hillary

November 13, 2009 7:00 a.m. After another night of insomnia, I log on to Gmail. I see my boss, Howie Severino, already online. Does he ever sleep? Or are there three of him staying awake in shifts? Sure enough, while I had wasted my sleepless night watching Mad Men’s third season on DVD, my boss was already pitching stories via email. Since he already saw me online, I could no longer pretend that I didn’t see his latest email. It had my name on it. 7:10 a.m. In the email, my boss says I have to check out writer Jessica Zafra’s liveblog of US Secretary of State’s Hillary Clinton’s quickie visit to the Philippines at www.jessicarulestheuniverse.com. There went my plan of walking over to the neighborhood Jollibee outlet for a sinful Pancake Sandwich. I settled for oatmeal instead as I read one of Zafra’s November 12, 2009 entries: “The Hillary Rodham Clinton in Manila Live Blog: The Pre-Show." In it she reveals: “The US Embassy in Manila is organizing the Hillary Clinton official visit—'developing the schedule' is the official phrase—including coordinating with local and foreign media for the news coverage. I will be blogging the entire visit. This means I have a seat in one of the 20 or so vehicles in the Clinton motorcade, and will be present at all of the Secretary’s appointments. Whether I can get close enough to ask her a question is another matter." 8:00 a.m. I read Zafra’s second November 12, 2009 entry, “The Hillary Clinton in Manila Live Blog: She’s landed." Things I learned from the entry: 1) Hillary Clinton landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 1:15 p.m. that day; 2) Zafra’s official designation for this particular liveblogging assignment is as an “embedded blogger," a term coined by the US State Department; and 3) This is not a paid gig for Zafra, as she was invited by the US State Department to liveblog. She wrote: “They first tried the live blog when Secretary Clinton visited Mexico, and it turned out so well they decided to do it again." Wow, how the heck does one get enough clout to get invited by the US State Department? Zafra went on to talk about Clinton’s stopover at Malanday High School in Marikina, where she “presented book donations from USAID, opened their book fair, and announced US$5M more in flood relief assistance." 8:20 a.m. Moving on to Zafra’s Day 2 entries, I try to comment so I could ask her questions. Wordpress, which powers her blog, requires me to log in first. I wasted many minutes trying to figure out how to do that, as Wordpress kept telling me that my username (extradirtymind) was invalid. (Seriously, Wordpress, your interface looks cuter now, but it’s too much of a hassle!) Meanwhile, Zafra revealed: “I’ve been using a prepaid Globe Tattoo throughout this coverage, and it’s been working efficiently. There are speed issues and it tends to disconnect in the Malacañang area, but I’ve been doing most of my blogging in a moving vehicle. Total cost of yesterday’s portable broadband access: 80 pesos. Not bad." 8:45 a.m. I finally figured out what Wordpress meant by me having to log on before I can comment. Relieved, I posted a comment on Zafra’s latest entry. I told her that I worked for a news site and asked if she was open to answering my questions. By this time, Zafra’s liveblog entry already reported that the “townterview" was in full swing at the University of Santo Tomas. Hillary Clinton was fielding questions that ranged from her anonymous crushes (and her 90-year-old mother’s crush on Mick Jagger), her take on the upcoming Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto boxing match (Pac will win), poverty, climate change, and everything else. (Thankfully, everyone recognized she was the star now and not her hubby Bill.) I clicked on the button to submit my comment. I had been a Zafra fan for the past 18 years and I was afraid she would reject me. 9:30 a.m. Jessica’s latest entry acknowledged my presence! Hallelujah! She wrote: “Extradirtymind, sure, please post your questions and contact info in Comments and I’ll get back to you." I wiggled in my chair and stared at the passage before I remembered that I had a story to do or my boss was going to whip me. (Not really, he never uses whips. Hehehe.) It occurred to me that this was a pretty strange day, it being Friday the 13th and here I was writing about a feisty woman who was writing about another fierce woman. It was a crazy writing chain. 10:00 a.m. I started writing my questions for Zafra. I had seven of them. (Symbolic, yes?) At the same time, I read about “a skirmish at UST before the town hall meeting." Zafra explained: “Apparently some student protesters had unfurled a sign outside the venue, and Manila police rounded them up before the Clinton motorcade arrived. The protesters decried the violation of their right to free expression, and then told the police: ‘You can arrest us, but we have someone inside the auditorium!’" 12:18 p.m. I finally posted my questions. I’m on pins and needles as I await Zafra’s response. She’ll get back to me later? What did she mean? Later, like, in a few hours after she’s had time to rest? Or later, like, five years later? 1:40 p.m. In her latest update, Zafra wrote: “Never did get face time with the guest, much less ask her any of your questions. However, just before the meet-and-greet with the staff, I went to the bathroom, lost sight of our wrangler, took a wrong turn, and ended up by a door just as Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Secretary Hillary Clinton were walking through. ‘This is our (embedded) blogger, Jessica,’ Ambassador Kenney told the Secretary, who extended her hand and said, ‘Hello, Jessica.’" 1:48 p.m. I am hit with the realization that Jessica Zafra has shaken Hillary Clinton’s hand—but I had yet to shake Jessica Zafra’s hand. Maybe one day my own screwed sense of direction would lead me to her. In any case, she did say she was going to answer my questions. Stay tuned, folks. I’m submitting this draft to my boss, whose online omnipresence really is quite unnerving. I’m praying I still have a job after this. If not, I could always ask Jessica Zafra to take me on as an embedded alalay. - GMANews.TV