Out of retirement

I left last year’s coverage somewhat unceremoniously. Sure, there was me shaking the hands of everybody I’ve met for the past three years, as if I’m going to die within the next 24 hours. There was me looking back at the rush doing these things, despite the fact that the only people that followed it were either those who are either campaigners or candidates, past and present. But leaving it behind wasn’t really such a big deal, even if working on this actually excites me – well, it’s partly because I have this thing for grand plans and anything similar. I figured that, since I’m graduating, I might as well not have any attachment.

I was slightly wrong. It felt weird, really, me being like a war veteran who does nothing but look back at the action he’s seen. In my case, my sister – currently a Literature sophomore – was at the receiving end, with me telling stories about what happened in the past and how it might go into play during her stay. She is, after all, also part of her batch assembly, and for good measure, the Arts College Assembly as well. We ended up exchanging arguments, analysis and the occasional gossip – that, by the way, is something totally different.

I was still keeping track of things, especially when I find myself idle at work (and lately, that’s happened very often). Last year’s election was such a tense one, and the issue at hand – how to make sure the Student Council really worked for the students – was going beyond the political rhetoric. I was there, virtually, during the USG plebiscite, but people didn’t probably read what I had to say. Nothing to worry about. I knew I was away.

What I didn’t realize, however, was the impact my coverage has apparently made. Well, whatever I realized was merely a product of my own ego boosts. Some did say they’ll miss my entries, with talk of Shale Campaigns being the “only balanced and regularly updated … coverage out there,” and while praise was good for me, I was bent on not doing it again. I would, if I could, but I couldn’t. I got a job immediately after graduation, and that means I can’t give this year’s campaigns the same attention that I gave it for the past three. What sense is in it for a revival?

So, I guess, I’ll just settle for the occasional conversations about the past, with my sister – readers thought I’d pass on the baton to her, although she isn’t bent on writing about it – and with the people I’ve met throughout the campaigns. It’s a little weird being Facebook contacts with Anil Ratanchandani, Koko Ortuoste and Mico Geronimo, apart from the candidates and supporters who I’ve known as friends before the coverage. In fact, I’m still thinking about adding Noey Arcinue up, never mind the fact that we were in the same line, getting our graduation honors, when she first knew my real name. (“Henrik pala pangalan mo,” she went, having called me “Mr. Shale” previously. My reputation does precede me.)

Obviously, the fact that we are all here today means everything I thought was oh so wrong.

The USG plebiscite wasn’t exactly a success, at least from where I see it. Despite a claimed victory, the Dean of Student Affairs, Voltaire Mistades, deferred the ratification, saying the Student Council did not reach the number of votes it initially set out to reach. With that proposal – the jewel in Tapat’s platform last year, and something that definitely tipped the scales in their favor – being such a major talking point during the campaigns, I figured it’d be interesting to see how everything plays out. Unfortunately, of course, I won’t be there to do it.

Online, the buzz has started early. Someone else made a thread about this year’s General Elections on PinoyExchange, and although it eventually evolved into an unusually active discussion about who will and won’t run, I was surprised. I did two threads to tie in with the last two coverages, and it barely attracted eyeballs, except for the few observers, fewer party insiders (who were bent on campaigning), and me. Now, I’ve been witness to a discussion where people start throwing names at each other. Ooooh, even bigger interest. Could it be my fault? I’d actually like to think so, but I’d rather be modest.

Plans of reviving Shale Campaigns was, however, actually serendipitous. It just came out of an online conversation I had at work, with one of the people who’ve monitored the campaigns through the blog, and has since become a friend. Dreams turned to a loose plan, and by mid-January, I had assembled a team. A team. I didn’t have one of those before!

Eventually that team would back out, more because of prior commitments than anything else, but online people were egging me to resurrect the coverage. I’ve had three people who were asking me about whether I had plans, and I was keeping mum because I didn’t want to spill anything. (I was bent on becoming just a campaign “veteran” pretending to know a lot of stuff.) On Facebook, people were egging me too; a discussion about that thread on PinoyExchange let to some of my former readers encouraging me to bring back the coverage. (As an aside, people from within the parties find the speculation “hilarious.”)

And then, I got a correspondent, and another, and before I knew it, Shale Campaigns is back.

I still haven’t wrapped my fingers around the impact the coverage has made. Actually, I should; I’d rather spend my time figuring out that I’m a treasured part of something, but I haven’t, because I never really got the whole picture. I know that alumni have come to the blog to catch up, and I know that parties have used it to their advantage – both as a means to spread their message, and as a way to measure whether they’re performing well in the students’ eyes. (I don’t know what the heck they’re talking about in their email groups and blogs. More often than not, they’re hidden.) The coverage was there to keep me in my toes, but it apparently made sense to everybody else for some reason, and for that, I’m very much surprised.

I don’t know how I’ll do the coverage this year. I’ve promised that this one will really be the last – it’s the same thing I said last year – and only because the characters will be totally different. This isn’t exactly journalism, although it could be; it’s more of a story, with roughly the same characters featuring every year. It’d be weird if I write about a university that I barely know. But, with a team of writers with the same passion and interest as me, I figure we’ll be able to pull through, perhaps differently, perhaps for the better.

As for me, well, the reasons are simple. Work hasn’t really been as good as it seems – it’s something that readers of my other blog would know – and, although this isn’t really recommended, this would probably be the best way to fight burnout, while I still can. Perhaps I’m looking for that thrill again, but who knows? This thing still has to develop.

It’s just a little weird that this thing is coming back. It’s like going out of retirement; you’ve been there, you’ve said it’s over, and yet you return after considerable public demand. So why am I doing this again? Am I seeking to get back the glory, the reputation, the other good things I got from looking foolish about things nobody else cares about? Am I seeking to feel better about myself, to feel more satisfied and fulfilled, after all that’s happened after the year? Am I out to put some actual closure to something that should have been closed a long time ago?

Whatever the purpose may be, it’s weird for this war veteran to return to the line of fire. At the same time, it’s exciting.

Niko Batallones graduated from the De La Salle University in 2008 with a degree in Communication Arts, and currently works as a writer for an American entertainment website. In his own words, he works as an “outsourced writer,” something he isn’t exactly fond of.

Click here to see the thread on this year’s elections on PinoyExchange, and post your opinions and speculations.