Pasalubong Cravings

Ever since I left for Manila to study college, I always made sure that I go back to CDO 3x a year -one before summer semester (late March), one before 1st semester (late May) and one during semestral break (late October).

And my flight home is NEVER complete without these sweet cravings exclusively found in Manila :) .Since even when it comes to buying some food, I'm still a bit of a crammer and there I go shopping for sweet stuffs a day before my flight and sometimes, even hours :D And here are the top three things that enter my mind during my last-minute pasalubong-buying because 1.)they tend to be accessible from the dorm and 2.) i just simply love them.

They call it pasalubong, but I call it "taking-advantage-of-the-pasalubong-custom-to-satisfy-my-sweet-cravings" :))

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts <3

and here is something new which is one of my favorite flavors :)) Snickers + Krispy Kreme = <3>

I say the minis are Krispy Kreme's version of Dunkin Donut's munchkins or Mister Donut's smidgets. But who would have thought that two of my guiltiest pleasures -Snickers bar and Krispy Kreme doughnut -will be merged into one? Every bite of the doughnut is also synonymous with biting a small chunk from Snickers. My, I wonder how many calories are loaded in there. It sure will scare the appetite out of my health-conscious friends :)). So much for my beach body figure goal this summer. this thing is too hard for me to resist :D

aside from doughnuts, I also love buying these sweet stuffs for my flight home:

Brownies Unlimited

Banapple's Cakes especially
Banoffee Pie <3

who knows what my waistline would be if I would eat these yummy things on a regular basis O__O. that's why I'm treating them as food rewards or pasalubong, not ordinary foods always present in my fridge, ready to answer my most random cravings especially when I'm studying, watching TV series or worse, bored :))


I still have my whole college year to explore for more yummy and accessible pasalubong. if I can't think of something else, these 3 will spare me. so much for wanting to look good this summer, I still can't say no to good, sweet, tempting food :)


btw, HELLO SUMMMER!!

Conserve NOW, or PAY Later.

The problem with our generation nowadays is our self-centeredness and naivety. We seem to ignore and learn from the past and at the same time we are not the slightest bit concerned for the future.

We kill tigers, rhinos and other endangered species without concern for the survival of their species.





We take off the shark's fin just to prepare the most mouth-watering soup in 5-star hotels. And we throw those finless sharks into the sea confident that they'll still manage to swim without fins.







We either stay online 24/7, or fail to turn off the lights when not in use. We pay for them, so why bother conserving them?








We cut down trees and are too lazy to replace them with new ones.








We don't seem to bother to know what our ecological footprint is, let alone the definition of the term.










And we find pictures of polar bears hanging onto icebergs for dear life ...cute.







Our generation seem to overlook the fact that our resources are limited and the bulk of our energy source comes from a NON-renewable source -fossil fuels. Our generation seem to overlook the impact of CFCs, carbon dioxide and industrial or domestic wastes on our environment -our water and land source, the air we breathe, our ozone layer. Our generation does seem oblivious to the idea that everything they do has a consequence, which somehow, affects the unfortunate ones.

Now you know.

And what are we doing nowadays?

We are used to the thinking that whatever climate change brings, it won't affect us much today. The effects of climate change will take years to manifest that our generation will probably be gone and thus, spared from suffering such effects.

But unfortunately, effects of climate change are everywhere.

We just chose to ignore these.

As far as I know, there is only one planet that is discovered so far which is capable of supporting life -and that's our Earth. Unfortunately, we haven't got any luck in discovering new Earths in this vast universe.

And colonizing our moon or another planet is harder than you think.

Which leaves us to this: Earth is the only planet we have. so far.

Are we ready for the possibility that someday, these animals will cease to walk the Earth and they will forever be memories kept in merchandises like stuff toys, food labels or key chains?

We tend to overlook these things, since we are too focused with ourselves. And time is running out, my friends.

Lastly, we are used to the thinking that it's too late to change now, too late for reforms and actions. But no, it's not too late to apologize to Mother Earth. There is still hope. The international community is doing their part, and so we must as well. Climate change and environmental and wildlife conservation are not only global, but rather they are also local issues as well. Our country can't always depend on 1st-world countries to do our part in combating climate change and saving our wildlife and natural resources. In case we didn't know, 1st world countries, especially the USA, has still a WHOLE LOT to do for our environment, yet they are hesitant because of economic issues. As if US dollars is enough to save us in the future. One of the most recognized non-profit conservation organization is WWF or World Wildlife Fund which aims to protect natural areas and wildlife species, promote the use of renewable resources and efficient use of energy and reduction of pollution. Visit them here or better yet, visit WWF Philippines here.

WWF shows the world that saving our environment can also be a fun thing to do. Visit their Travel Blog and be amazed by the wonders of nature and wildlife which we seem to ignore all these time. Swim with dolphins and whalesharks, climb mountains ---ahhh, that's a perfect de-stress! Or even a career! Watcha say?

Let's just say that taking care of our Earth is our way of giving back to nature for everything that it has given us. It's not too much, really. If we can just let go of these trivial things and take these matters seriously.

As I say, " CONSERVE NOW, OR WE PAY LATER." :)


*BTW, don't forget to participate in this year's Earth Hour on MARCH 27, 2010, 8:30pm. I tell you, it's fun. You'll survive an hour without Facebook :P

Man's Beautiful Curse II

Yesterday, our SCI 10 professors showed us pictures of some of the latest advancement in science -the discovery of evidences for the Big Bang model, the scientists' best bet on the origin of the universe. Here are some of the pictures she shared with us:

The universe's latest "baby picture"
red - warmer spots
blue - cooler spots
white lines - direction of the oldest light

Scientists speculated that if there was indeed a Big Bang, which was a really massive explosion that created this universe, then we would still see remnants of the explosion, in the form of light and radiation.

And they found such evidences.

Interested, I searched for more info about the Big Bang at Einstein's world, the site that our professor recommended. With the latest findings, scientists believed that the Big Bang was the earliest known event in the universe. Of course, it couldn't be THE FIRST since how could the Big Bang model explain the origin of the energy and matter necessary for such "explosion" or event, or how the event itself was triggered in the first place. But our researchers have come up with three evidences that give witness that the Big Bang event really took place a long time ago:

1. The galaxies are moving away from us
they must have been closer together before @__@

2. Presence of chemical elements in the Big Bang
proportion of helium and hydrogen in the universe is what the scientists predicted
-if the universe was hot and dense before

3. Ancient light from the Big Bang

This radiation is known as the cosmic microwave background
also known as the oldest light in the universe

The afterglow image or the infant picture of the universe was taken by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, or WMAP (image left) after a 12-month observation of the entire sky.Thanks to these advancements in technology, space exploration and studies about the universe are made more accurate and possible, something that Galileo and those before him had never done. With the help of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, scientists are able to comprehend the Big Bang model by realizing that those empty spaces we see are not just "nothingness", -rather they are something which the scientists have yet to comprehend. In the history of science and in the study of the universe, Einstein's contribution seem to have been an extraordinary missing chunk in the puzzle that we were trying to solve for all this time.

But then my SCI 10 professor popped a question that made me...well ...think.


ohh, the picture's exaggerated but you get my point: all this time we're led to believe that we're light years closer to the answer. Scientists would be disappointed. And most of all, students would really freak out after realizing that what they've been learning all this time would be still be replaced by a better theory or model (I'm kidding but really :D). Now we have to start from scratch and look for an alternative model that will best explain the Big Bang, or yet, the origin of the universe. But hey, history of science taught us that this is actually what science is all about. It's all about revolutionizing our thinking about the universe, testing our hypothesis and theories against inconsistencies and fallacies, and changing our way of thinking if it means that this will get us closer to the answer we're seeking for. Our present view of gravity now wouldn't be possible if not for the ancient view of gravity as presented by the falling of an apple in Newton's head. But come to think of it, new discoveries are the end-results of the advances in space technology and instruments, which gives us an assurance that these discoveries are backed-up by strong evidences. BUT If Einstein will indeed be proven wrong in the future, then it just means that we have found the missing piece in Einstein's theories and we're closer than ever to solving this puzzle.

Yes, nothing's perfect. As is nobody's perfect.

It seems that everything is provided for us in our quest in discovering life and the universe. Our minds are capable of coming up with such thoughts and the universe did its part by leaving some ancient evidences which could help us in our research.

Imagination equipped with knowledge.

Is what it takes to solve this beautiful curse some divine Being has put upon us: Uncovering the mysteries of life and the universe.

But all curses have an end, just like Sleeping Beauty finally waking up after 100 years of slumber.

IF we can find the key, just like Prince Philip planting his true love's kiss on Aurora's lips.

And me? I'm positive and hopeful that someday, all of us will be enlightened with our origin.

**pictures of the universe courtesy of NASA.