HAPPILY EVER SINCE (Rollercoaster Ride #7: Easy Lover)

‘In New York, dreams come true on a daily basis…’ – Surreality by Carissa Villacorta

“And then I realize, I’ve been living happily ever since…” – Carissa Villacorta, Surreality

Couples must have been looking forward to this one day event we call, Valentine’s Day. This is the time wherein gentlemen ought to give fresh bouquets of roses and Swiss chocolates. A season for leaving short, simple Post-It notes on your crush’s desk computer, or maybe, surprising your special someone with a starlit night picnic down at Central Park. The day where love unfolds and surrounds!

In New York, love is in the air, anytime of the year, and Carissa is witness to that. Coming to New York, she came to pursue her career and to find herself, not find a love match. Although there are times she would ask herself, “I’m 25, how come I’m not married yet?” It could be pretty lonely living alone in a city that is New York City, so why shouldn’t she feel like there’s a missing piece of her puzzle?

A page from Surreality highlighting Villacorta’s main idea from the chapter.

On rare occasions she would have conversations with her dad, he would tell her, ‘Getting married is like winning the lottery.’ She had difficulty trying to figure out what that simile meant, and I did to. For a second she thought, before you could win a lottery, you would have to make bets, to take chances, frequently. No, this is not a one-time thing. See, betting requires sacrifice–time, money, effort–quite the same when it comes to love, right? If she took a chance for the 8000 days she has been living, there could be someone taking a chance on her. But we will never have that certainty. Let’s say that I win, there is no assurance that I will not share my fortune with anyone.

Getting married must have been the ultimate goal for young women like Carissa. Her friends from Manila have just invited her to their respective weddings, and that she can’t dare miss out.  She was sincerely happy for them, and she wanted to get married too.  She  presumed women of her age should have been married, how come she isn’t? She says, ‘it’s not about finding the one, out of a trillion, out there for us. We can’t hold a grain in our palm, and still look at the sand in the beach.‘ If that someone gets hold of our grain, will they have it kept safely in a vault? Are they going to be afraid of losing that grain? I hope not.

We think of relationships as a beginning to our happily ever after, when in turn, we have been searching for our happy beginning. We live our lives like ‘happily ever after’ will only just begin, then we realize, we’ve been living happily ever since.

LOVE in New York. The hustle and bustle City of New York is a great place to find love and be around with loved ones.

True happiness is not exclusive to finding the perfect match; it must have been being satisfied with who you are as an individual. we must be grateful for the simple things we already possess: being born, for being a part of our families through thick and thin, our memorable childhood with friends; for attaining our achievements despite the sleepless nights working on them and for cups of coffee we sip as we read through the pages of our favorite book. It’s about appreciating the little things and being content.

There’s no need to wait for Valentine’s Day to show love. Say ‘I love you’ to your mom and give your dad a kiss good night. Greet the people you meet everyday with a smile and that exudes confidence and happiness which people will remember you for everyday. You’ll never know, you might have just reminded them that they’ve also been living happily ever since!

Surreality is a book written by Carissa Villacorta, in 2006, published under the University of Santo Tomas Publishing House in España, Manila.

TURN IT WELL

Eclectic, vibrant and youthful. Up Dharma Down has certainly “turned it well.”

With their captivating sounds that fuse indie rock, jazz fusion and electronica, there is no doubt that they rise above the average Filipino rock band.

Just a few moths ago, I started listening to indie music, as suggested by a dear friend of mine. I wanted to submerge myself in something different, music that’s out of the ordinary. This is because I’ve grown up listening to international mainstream names such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Backstreet Boys among others. Honestly, I’ve become tired with their seemingly same musical pattern. I thank God for Indie music!

That’s when I started browsing for Indie Music or Independent Music. This kind of music conveys deeper meaning sandwiched in their lyrics and each song is different from the other. It’s refreshing to the ears and definitely food for the soul, especially for those days you feel unwell or maybe ecstatic. I am a big fan of their experimental ways of creating music. The songs they write are not merely words set with melody but it sends a relevant and valuable message. I’m glad to see that with indie music, especially that of Up Dharma Down.

Who would’ve thought that Filipinos could create music that’s of international quality. Mark Cole’s BBC show tagged them as “the Asian band to most likely cross over to North American shores” and a feature in Time Magazine Asia .It only proves the potential of OPM (Original Pilipino Music) in the international music scene.

I particularly chose this music video of theirs, “Turn It Well,” because of many aspects. It’s technicality, screenplay, editing, musicality and over-all impact. Probably, also, because it’s produced, made, composed by Filipinos why I got attracted to this music video in the first place. I was drawn to it’s uniqueness and spontaneity.

Moving into the video’s technical side, I love how they put it all together. It’s cohesive yet unpredictable. The first time I watched the said video, I was very much surprised to see how it looked like. The creativity from the artists was showcased well as the story unfolds. This proves how OPM is continuing to progress and catch up with the international music scene, especially attracting eyes from the Indie music world. It’s not everyday we get to listen to great music such as this from Up Dharma Down’s album Capacities.

You may say I’m biased but I’m a strong supporter of OPM and raw Filipino talent. With the dawn of the 21st Century, Filipinos have the capabilities to exceed expectations from critics all over the world and I hope it won’t stop here.