Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time: A Reflection

It’s amazing how a monotonous film takes us into the world of the unknown – a very interesting curiosity how the universe possibly began or did it ever begin? The film proves how words can be truly powerful – in this case, it makes every neuron in our brain work together to comprehend the ever complicated questions of our beginning or take us outside of the earth and wonder about the universe and throughout the black hole.

It begins to the very traditional question of which came first, the egg or the chicken? The question is quite simple but no one had proven the answer yet. Even Einstein’s theory of general relativity or Stephen Hawking’s on-going study had not answered it yet. It leads to deeper mind boggling questions, “did the universe had a beginning? Where does the universe come from and where is it going?”

The concepts used by Stephen Hawking in this film adaptation are so complicated. Watching the entire film can cause mental vertigo which I find very stimulating and entertaining. Hawking’s ability to combine very vast and very tiny concepts that the universe are possibly made up of is awesome and amazing. But why does he bother doing all these possible non-sense? Hawking says that studying the universe is worthwhile and the reward could possibly be having a glimpse of “the mind of God.”

“If the unified theories are compelling that it brings about its own existence, or does it need a creator? And if so, who created him?” 

How the universe began may not be seen as questioning the existence of God. The perplexity and beauty of nature and of the energy and radiation that the stars emit lead us to the admiration of this creation. The study of the universe does not lead us to the answer but to more confusion and questions our mind cannot handle. It leads us to praise the creator for His power and creations. The ever curious human mind may lead not to the understanding of the beginning of the Creator and his creation but to the growth or beginning of faith to Him.

Sometimes, His creations are His ways to remind us of life. The sunrise gives us the message of hope, a new beginning, and the continuity of life. The sunset that tells us to take our minds off from everything and rest. It is also to show that the universe is so big and we are just one particle wondering how we are able to survive.

I like to think, that when I die, my soul could wander off the black hole to see what's in there. And I will give off radiation and energy to tell the human race what kind of place or time it is. 

Before Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with ALS, he has been bored with life and there was no anything worthwhile doing. When he came out of the hospital, he realized that there were a lot of worthwhile things he could do. Maybe humans were meant to go through this kind of phase. Boredom might kill us. But when we get on our feet again and continue to evolve along with the universe, we will realize that there are a lot of worthwhile things that we can do to contribute to the human race. 

I suddenly wondered why I am writing this. Boredom. I hope it's something worthwhile. 

Portrayal of Filipinos as a Nation in Heneral Luna Film

Part of the authentic values of the Filipinos is the deep attachment to their respective families. Every Filipino’s interest is rooted in the demand of their families more than any other institution. Most of the time, family comes first before one's self. This is often envied by other races.

But this value is also one of the weaknesses of the Filipinos as a nation. It is portrayed in Jerrold Tarog’s film, Heneral Luna. In this film, we witness the varying points of views of government officials regarding the American rule in the country. Some members of the elites wanted to strike a deal with the Americans; while General Luna wanted to fight for freedom. Each of them was driven by love for their respective families, protection of their businesses, or love for the country.

This scene is still apparent in today’s Philippine government and society. Filipinos against Filipinos. Corruption, crime, envy. Regionalism, corruption, and self-interest. “We are our own worst enemy.” Will we ever learn to develop deeper love and patriotism for our nation?

The inauguration of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte yesterday is a hope for the country. While this position is a huge change for the president, can we also change ourselves for the betterment of our nation?

Scuba Diving Adventure

The Philippines is rich in marine ecology and biodiversity. In fact, it is part of the Coral Triangle. According to World Wild Life (WWF), Coral Triangle refers to the waters of Papua New Guinea, TImor Leste, Solomon, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Philippines where there's vast amount of corals and marine biodiversity. Located specifically in the little barangay of Anilao in Mabini, Batangas is the center of this Coral Triangle. No surfing this summer but I got another new ocean experience - scuba diving!

"Wondering free wish I could be part of this world."

It was my friend who got really enthusiastic about scuba diving that she even enrolled herself so she can have her own license got me into this. Fortunately for me, there's no need to have a license to go into the depths. For beginners or non-licensed, there's a basic introduction for scuba diving wherein you will learn the basics such as the proper use of the equipment, proper breathing, underwater hand gestures, and few others. I was accompanied by a master scuba diver. What a cool name eh? And that's how I did it. 

It was a struggle to equalize the air pressure in my nose and ears. I was already telling the master scuba diver (I really like his title haha) to go up but he signaled back the equalize sign. So I did it again anyway trying to tolerate the pain. I was there for more than 30 minutes, interacting with the colorful corals and fishes, feeding them, and more. 

Relaxing after the dive.

Chasing sunset "ala eh" edition. 

Planet Dive

One of the best things about Anilao is its proximity to Manila. Upon reaching Anilao, there are many resorts that nestle around and offer great packages for day tour or weekend stay. We went for Planet Dive. It has a friendly package rate for intro to scuba diving which includes buffet lunch, unlimited drinks, diving gears, and the use of cozy lounge along the beach side. 

Amazing Coron

Palawan is tagged as one of the best islands in the world. No doubt about that! The first time I went to Puerto Princesa was in 2012 and it was one of a kind island experience. The Underground River, beaches, and Pambato reef literally took my breath away!

This year, I went to Coron and it's definitely another unforgettable summer adventure. Finally I got the chance to personally see those postcard-worth photos posted in Facebook and Instagram.

I was saddened to see these bald mountains. Good thing to know, these are manganese-rich mountains where trees can't grow.

 Coron is a small town located in the northern part of Palawan. After an almost two-hour drive from the Busuanga Airport is a very little community of small sari-sari stores and very simple houses.

 

This picture shows a dirt-hugging road to the market and the port. 

According to one of friendly tricycle drivers, Coron was hard-hit by typhoon Yolanda too in 2013.Today, this humble community is back on its feet; thanks to its beautiful islands and tourism.

After dinner, we walked around the town and found some holes in the wall. The jolly owner of Trattoria Altrov'e drove us in to eat pizza AFTER DINNER.

After everyone got inside the inn, three of us walked farther and found the street called "Makati, Palawan" where most tourists drink and eat. It's where we also found an ice cream house. Just a little chit chat with the staff and they let us enter their "pantry" to scrape the mint gelato fresh from the machine.

The Island Hopping Adventure

Most islands in Coron are concentrated and they are approximately 30 minutes away from each other.  We had the whole day going to four islands. I expected to see more colorful coral reefs and fishes but the Pambato Reef in Puerto Princesa is still the best marine sanctuary I ever saw in my whole snorkeling life so far.

This is the breathtaking view from the top of the 10-minute steep hike before reaching the Kayangan Lake.

This is the Kayangan Lake which has crystal clear water and often regarded as one of the, if not the most, cleanest lakes in the Philippines. A little farther over there are amazing underwater rock formations. 

Twin Lagoon. One of the postcard worth scenery. It's very surreal but they were right in front of me. The first lagoon is where the boats duck while the second one is hidden and can be accessed by small opening underneath a rock. 

Squad goals in the middle of the Twin Lagoons. The water temperature in this part is warm while in the other part is cold. The water is also blurry and the underwater can't be seen. This is the result of the merging of the fresh water and sea water.

Mt. Tapyas can be reached by more than 700 concrete steps. It feels so relaxing to just sit there and watch the sunset.

Maquinit hotspring. 

My Geology professor said that Palawan is the safest island in the Philippines because there are no faults and volcanoes. But hotspring comes from volcanoes. Googling my curiosity, the temperature of hotsprings also comes from the geothermal heat or the heat of the earth's mantle.  So most probably, Maquinit's temperature comes from the geothermal heat. Geologic ignorance aside, Maquinit hotspring is very hot during daytime. I guess it's best during twilight or evening after a long day in the islands.

And that's Coron. Next stop: El Nido? :)

Mt. Maculot - The Rockies!

Mountain climbing becomes a hype nowadays. It got me a little curious so on a Holy Week break, my birthday week as well, I had my first ever official climb. I wanted Mt. Pulag but I was not ready for that two-day climb. As a noob, I chose Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas.

According to phmountains.com, Mt. Maculot is the 9th most wanted mountain in the Philippines. The summit is 930 meters above sea level (MASL) while the rockies (which is hiked by most mountaineers) is only 704 MASL. We went up for the rockies since it is more scenic than the summit.

"We're gonna climb that mountain! We started the climb at 5am.

Good morning from up above!

 It really feels great to be on top. It gives anyone a bigger point of view in life and everything and a feeling of power to reach for our dreams. The world is a huge playground and what's out there is an exciting adventure of a lifetime.

This part that looks like another mountain is the Rockies. Crossing it is the greatest challenge of this climb and I loved it!

Climbing up the Rockies is difficult. One wrong step, you're dead. And I like this kind of adventure. The adrenaline rush made me feel so alive.

Overlooking Taal Lake. 

Living on the edge!

It was an easy climb. Endurance is important. Thanks to my bi-weekly run habit. Going down Maculot is more challenging than going up. But it was nice to pass by climbers who are already catching their breath and to cheer them up that they're almost there while in fact they're not. Haha

After the climb, we dropped by the market to buy Batangas delicacies - kalamay and ube halaya. It was a rewarding experience but it was humid when we reached the grounds. We were sweating like forever when we went down. It's summer. :)