two steps behind

“Two things I learned in life, kid: find someone to love and live everyday as though it were your last.– Joe.” Alfie 2004.

And to live everyday as it though it were your last, sometimes we must put ourselves in the position where there is no turning back, just keep going forward. And to never regret any moments in life.

This is the view of City Center, Valencia, Spain. What a fun, risky, crazy, spot to take the photo, yet…it was worth it.

One more exam to go, One more week to the graduation… and One more question to be answered.

There are only 2 exams left and the very next one is Bar, Beverages and Wines that will be first thing in the morning. Today picture was selected to set my mind ready for studying the material. The room in picture is the exact same room as the final exam room and as you can see where people are standing in the background… that is where I sit for the final.

It was a wine tasting class which is part of the Bar, Beverage and Wine course which involves tasting about 10 different type of alcohol beverages, wine, sparkling wine and brandy. It was a great session.

Just a few more hours and the exam will end but, a new journey begin.

Not sleeping for 2 days along with coffee after coffee… resulted in dizziness and squinty eye while walking around the campus. The good news is… I finished with 3 exams… just 4 more to go! And because of not sleeping, I feel as if my eyes are going to explode and that lead me to this picture today. The amazing EYE of Valencia, Spain. Okay… my head is still spinning while typing.

Back to reality… STUDY time! 2 exams tomorrow, one of them is exactly 12 hours from now. Must study!

Friday is just around the corner, the last day of exams and school! Staying up late has become the norm for the past weeks and I’ve just been drinking cups of coffee to stay awake. And that how it reminded me of the cold-chilly nights in Vancouver. The ground was icy, the guard rail was frozen, and the coldness just numb my finger while taking the picture. Never the less it was worth capturing the memory, the moment, and the feeling.

Yes, recently the post seem a bit short because all that I have in my head are hospitality marketing, accounting, advance culinary concept, room division… and the lists go on and on.

New beginnings are just around the corner. ^_^

All day long, I have been studying accounting… doing one exercise after another. However, it was more of doing the same thing over and over because I could never get it right the first time. That is why we practice, keep doing it until we get it right.

And while I am studying here at the desk in the Lobby of LRM, it reminded me of the time while I was in Orgiva working in the yard. It was so relaxing, nice view and weather. Just relax…

Just a few weeks left here at LRM, and this is the view that I will be missing… the road, the sierra blanca, the messy grass, and the memories. In the beginning, from time to time, I walk to Puerto Banus from the school just to go rest by the beach and the port then walk back to school. These past months, due to the busy schedule I only have just enough time to walk up here then walk back. Yet, with my passion, the walk is very refreshing, happy, and hopeful.

The view is going to become part of the good memories that I have at LRM, however I hope that the experiences and the feeling from this place can continue forever.

Seafood!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really really really really want some SEAFOOD right now!

This picture was taken at Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA looking for breakfast before we kept driving north to our destination, Vancouver, Canada. It is just a week left before the final exam at Les Roches Marbella. Normally, before any exam I would just indulge myself with all kind of food just to reward myself for studying and to have the motivation to keep on studying til the exam.

And now… I want seafood… but I don’t know where to get a good fresh seafood around here. Sigh….

Want some?

I am in love with these decorative lamps. I remember seeing these when I was quite young and I just loved turning them upside down every now and then and everytime… a different shape of sand dune!!! INTERESTING! And these have lights behind it… even more interesting!!!! I just stood there and looked at each of them, sand dropping from top to bottom after it was rotated. For some reason, I just keep staring at it… I don’t know why… but I really enjoy watching these sand fell.

Then I think, what if our moon has different colors each day, each month, or year. That would be interesting to see!

If I didn’t mention about the “wine tasting” in the topic, would you be able to guess what is the picture today? I am sure it won’t be so hard to guess because of the profile that reminded you of the shape of the wine glass.

This reminded me of the “10-30 seconds” sketch technique which only allow the artist the limited amount of time to “DEFINE” the shape of the object. The result is amazingly bold and creative art.

You are able to guess the picture quickly, only, because you base your source and understand with the “past and history” of things you have seen or experienced and then make a quick assumption of the object. It is normal for us to behave that way, on the other hand I think that could be very dangerous if this method were to carry out in daily basis because we then will start judging other way before we get to have the chance to get to know them.

Just like the very famous saying “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover”

Now… Let us read the book. Most of the time… we don’t know what the entire story of the book is about, yet we “JUST BUY IT” anyway so that we can read and enjoy the book. I think life could and should be like that.

JUST DO IT! and let us, together, read the book and enjoy it one chapter at a time.

It was the here that I had my very first KFC. The food tastes exactly the same as what I had in Bangkok or Los Angeles. It is amazing how they can achieve such a consistent standard. To the left where I am eating, is this GIANT water Mill that is right in the middle of the Mall. And this just reminded me of Pirates of the Carribian, the scene that they were fighting on the giant wheel and it just keep rolling and rolling.

Talking about rolling… I’m going to go roll on my bed now. ! Goodnight ^_^

So, I was on the Bridge to Vancouver, Canada, and there is this arch that provides an amazing view. The view, to me, looks like a giant door that will lead somewhere UP HIGH… but in reality it is gonna drop DOWN Below into the ice cold sea.

I think I should try sky-diving and just leap!!!

I was looking for things to do while sitting in the car for hours and hours long during the trip to San Francisco last December. And that is where I found a great framing for a picture that is the frame of the back window. I must have about 20 of shots like this from different places during the trip.

It’s amazing how the view behind can be stunning versus the front view but we can’t just keep looking back all the time can we? Otherwise we would never get to our destination if I always go back there and take more pictures. Just keep going forward and when the opportunities present itself, go back.

Okie… 48 hours to presentation !!! I got to go back to work and finish it up. Gonna be one long week with classes, projects, exams, and kitchen! Bahhhhhhh….!

There is a saying that I have heard so much ever since I came to Les Roches that is “if we fail to plan then we plan to fail.” I can only partially agree with this statement because in reality there will be problems that came up despite the fact that the “plan” itself has taken month and month to make it flawless.

I, too, plan everything before I taken a step forward. But how much is it that we can actually plan, how much information do we need to gather to plan for something to happen and when are we suppose to stop planning and put that plan in action? If we think about it carefully the reason that we plan is because there are rules that apply to what we are planning. The rules say, you must do this and this for this to happen, you must not do this to prevent this, you must follow the direction carefully to achieve… this and that.But the only rule is that there are no rules!

Planning works for me but only to certain extend. The thing I don’t like about “planning” is that it bring “expectation” and if things failed to go as plan then we get disappointed.

Improvisation, on the other hand, is my best friend. Improvising has taken me to places I haven’t imagine myself to. It has bring so much fun, joy, activities, adventure and life itself. I could be wrong to say that “I plan everything” because the fact is I only set GOALS then start walking toward it. My plan is simple, it is to do whatever it take, be spontaneous and IMPROVISE my way to reach that goals. This way… I don’t have to plan everything in detail but to make sure that I enjoy what I do and keep walking forward to that goals and dreams… make it happen!

I sketched this back in 2003 and you see? I even planned on how to sketch the gravel before I actually sketched it. I was just bored one evening so I started to sketch the gravel photo that I bought from IKEA.

“Life is a lot like jazz… it’s best when you improvise” said George Gershwin

Start living it!

After a long week at school, a little field trip was nice as I went to the factory for the 2nd time and this time I am more prepared and more aware of what is going on in the factory, (even thought I only had 1 hour of sleep the previous night). Just like last time, at the end of the trip is open bar which mean… UNLIMITED beer!!!!!!! However, I got a bottle of Limon (lemon flavor beer) that I believe would be a great sale if they were to have this in Thailand (and I’ll make sure that… we sell this in our restaurant once it is open).

Until then, I don’t know where can I get Limon in Bangkok. Better start looking!

It is amazing to travel from place to place and to see restaurant ideas and themes everywhere. As much as I want to open a restaurant myself, at this point, I know that I can design one… but to manage it is something that I am working on to learn more about, hence I am studying at Les Roches Marbella to understand how to operate and manage a restaurant, or to manage a hotel.

This alley in City Center of Valencia, Spain has inspired me of what little we can do to simply turn an alley of “no way I am going to walk in there” to “Oh wow! let’s go eat there” by simply using ROSE PETALS. It is amazing how solution can be so simple that we normally look over it.

Unfortunately, we didn’t eat at that restaurant. Instead we went to eat at an Italian restaurant next to it. Great night, great trip and a great time!

Okie, this is exactly a week ago. Last Wednesday was a sports event at our school. It was organized by the Post Graduate students, PG 2, which managed the event while PG1 worked as their assistants. I, unlike the Cultural night where I was in the marketing department, was working in Kitchen Department for the events. The weather was so nice that day, unfortunately I was working inside the kitchen since morning. Just for a few moments, I got to sneak out and took a few pictures of the event. Because we were managing the event, we were not allow to participate any of the sports!!!! sigh…

Back in 2001, I was in the volley ball team at San Gabriel High School where I fractured my left ankle during one evening practice. And that is how my sport career came to an end because the pain on the ankle will come up from time to time if I over use my foot. I wanna jump and spike that ball so bad!

okie… got to get back to finish my Thesis that is due next Wednesday…

Okay, so now I am on a quest to search for a really good brownie… and have probably tried all the brownie from all the places ever since I was working at Denny’s when I was going thru college. At Denny’s, they serve a “warm” brownie, topped by HOT FUDGE!!! and topped again with Vanilla ice-cream. The result is HOT and COLD, a bitter sweet and creamy BROWNIE! Well If I were to serve a brownie, that would be the way. There are 2 sides to everything in life and to find the balance between the two and to create the perfect harmony between them is not as easy as topping the bitter sweet brownie with the creamy sweet vanilla ice-cream. It is already hard enough just to find that perfect brownie… but hey… NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE because HOPE Achieves the IMPOSSIBLE.

And if you can’t “FIND” that perfect brownie… do not give up and if you really want a good brownie why not just MAKE ONE ourselves! It just that simple ^_^

Work work work, study study study, read read read, work some more, study some more, read some more… just never gonna stop! Sleeping is outrageous! But no, I am not a workaholic, not to that extent anyway. There were times where all I would do is work, obsessed with work to the extent that I have forgotten how wonderful life could be. And to be able enjoy that, is to simple step back a little, look around you and just enjoy the moment.

We all know that there is no such thing as “perfect balance” and as much as I try to balance my activities and academics just to have the right motivation to work and enjoy working, it is quiet exhausted to keep up with everything.

All we need is just a little break, a little moment and a little peace of mind… no worries and no responsibility but to just sit somewhere and just enjoy the moment.

This picture reminded me of another post

P.S. I Love You

Now… after having not touched WoW, world of warcraft for more than half a year… I miss playing it. The things I miss the most is the feeling while playing the game. I imagined myself as that tiny little character in the game, running around in that huge castle, cathedral, cave, and so on. I had never imagined myself being present in one of those location in the game, until… today after I processed this picture a few times. First time… no, 2nd time… I don’t know what’s wrong with it and 3rd time… is the result that you see. It remind me so much of that SM Cath (aka: Scarlet Monastery: Cathedral) that I have been to countless times while I was playing the game.

The only thing that missing from that day I took picture is…. the armor that I’d need to wear to tank with all the mobs inside

Okay… Let’s go Vivos!

*photo taken at Valencia, Spain. The Cathedral of Valencia.

Why, why why why why why why… it’s so hard to find the answer to the “why” question. Today, after getting up at 9 and having done some studies I have found the answer to “all of the why” questions and that is “PERHAPS”. I find the word perhaps to be very powerful as it actually turns around the mentality of confusion and loss of faith and believe that everything that happened, happen, or is happening… is for better. And there, the why why why why why… questions is gone.

It’s the sea, the beach, the wind, and the breeze of the fresh air that always stirs my head to ask all the questions that have no answers to it until now.

This picture was taken yesterday, at Aude’s Birthday party at a restaurant by the beach in Marbella, Spain There are much more pictures from the party that I will post later. For today I find this one to be interesting because it is a picture of a boy and  3 girls which reminded me of my cousins and I when we were little and went to the beach with family and we’d just sit by the beach eating seafood! Yum! Miss the old days.

Once again. Dear Aude, Happy 25th Birthday! and welcome to 25th+ club. ^_^

Okay, so I just woke up about 30 mins ago. The weather is gloomy and that deviate my schedule from the walk to the beach plan to the sleep more on the bed plan. Excuse excuse excuse… just to sleep more? I don’t know… the birds are chirping as well, it such a good environment to sleep! After I woke up, I felt like having something hot to drink and that is how it lead me to this moment. The day that my roommate ask me, let’s go get a coffee “somewhere” and after about 10 mins driving, 30 mins more walking… we found this coffee shop in Old Town Marbella, Spain

The table is set under a few huge trees, the wind is blowing from left to right, the sun shines thru those tree leaves and the mist of the water from the fountain splashes into the air. Really nice to just sit there and chat or just sit and blank out…

I have never noticed what is really in the picture until after it was processed. Most of the time I would capture the building, the view and the angle.  What is weird about these recent selected photos are that it has baby boys and girls sitting here and there… No I did not intentionally select them… they just happen to be in the picture of the moments that I thought of.

Really interesting.

To the upper left side of the picture where the door is open, I took a picture of that shop as well as you can see below on the same day.

After just sitting there, enjoying the time, watching Matilde and Zoe having fun… time just flew by so fast. I was really worry about them because they are so athletic…  jumping, climbing, fliping, and swinging. A few moments later, I grabbed my camera and just clicked! It caught this moment that reminded me of a childhood time when there was nothing to worry about, no responsibility, no drama…

Just enjoy one day after another.

Yesterday, there is a moment that reminded me of this moment in the photo. It was a street that lead to nowhere. I asked, if we don’t know where we are going… shall we keep on going or do we just turn back around or simply just stay where we are?

At one point in my life, I was the kind of person that I must know “exactly” what exactly is on the other side of the road before I start walking. As much as I love walking, it would have been nice to know where I was walking to. Basically there is a destination… knowing exactly how far and how long it would take to get to that destination. However, now what? Now that we get to the “destination”, what else is there to do? Look for more destinations and give myself a new purpose in life?

Today, to some people, I seem to be lost and confuse because when they ask me what do I want and how am I going to get there… I can’t really answer them something that make sense to them because they want the answer that include how and where I am heading to. To me, knowing what I want is good enough and I will do whatever it take to get there… under the one condition, which is that I am happy doing what I do during the journey.

Let’s be real. As the majority of people would know by now that “Life is not easy”. Either we stay where we are or go back to where we were… our life is not going to be easier. So why not go forward on the route that we are actually “happy” while we are on our journey to achieve that objective of ours?

To answer that question I asked earlier… in my opinion, we shall keep on going on that street… as long as we are happy, let’s just keep on going and when we are tired, let’s take a break on the side of the street until we are ready again then get right back on that street and just keep on going.

Why? Because I don’t wanna stop.

What will you do? Will you stay, go back or go forward? Whatever you choose, make sure you are happy.

How could you resist them?

So this is what I have been doing at Les Roches, aside from the hospitality management aspect. After months of “extra duties” in the pastry section I have learned so much. Thanks to Ms Olea, the pastry chef, for being so patience with me everyday and who has taught me more than just how to make things… but also how to have passion in what we are doing.

Sugar can make you really happy, but using a “sugar substitute” that is pure, natural, and is a healthier choice can also make you happy, or even HAPPIER. This “sugar substitute” can produce the feeling that you just never have enough, yet, still is good for your body; how often is it that you can find something that is so sweet, yet healthy?

I wonder how color affects people’s moods. As for me, there are normally 3 colors that I define my stage of emotion. Black, White, and Red. Black being that downtime, when the best thing for me to do at this stage is to take a walk to the beach and just sit there, enjoying the sun, the sea, the wind, and the mist of the waves. White being the time that you should avoid me the most because I’ll be so hyped up that I talk none stop, just talk talk talk… talking smack and it just keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny. Red is a really rare stage, it is when I am happy and that nothing else can go wrong… the world is just a wonderful place to be. Well, those are my 3 primary color / mood.

In this picture…. there are loads of colors! And for some reason… it made me happy, very cheerful, joyful, and lively. It must feel really good to sleep on that floor and just be engulfed by these colorful things. What? you think sleeping on the floor is crazy? Nah… JUST a LITTLE crazy*.

Happy colors bring happy thoughts. Happy thoughts bring happy results which lead to success.

If it doesn’t work??? try a Happy Meal. ^_^

Photo taken in Granada, Spain
*One crazy day, Just a little!

This is the real thing in Valencia, Spain.  El Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe (the Museum of Sciences), which was designed by Santiago Calatrava, that’s my man!!!

Just when we arrived at the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias or City of Arts and Sciences and started taking pictures, it started to rain and we were looking for a place to hide and just following the people around which lead us into this underground tunnel like. The tunnel lead to the L’Hemisfèric — Imax Cinema, Planetarium and Laserium (also designed by Santiago Calatrava). Unfortunately we don’t have much time there so… no Imax. But on the way out… I saw this view and just WOAH!!! I didn’t feel like I was on the planet Earth anymore. It was amazing feeling, amazing view, amazing weather, amazing architecture…

amazing… EVERYTHING!

Thanks to my passion, I got to post this picture today which reminded me of that AMAZING “EVERYTHING” experience! Let see where will my passion lead me to.

Oh… Aude is in the picture too! Okay okay I’m coming, let me get this one picture… Merci

Special post,  for a special day… Mother’s Day.

As much as I want to write to explain why it is “special” day. We all have different reasons and I am sure that my reasons won’t be that much different from yours.

Today, if you haven’t already, thans her. For what, you ask… Thanks her for “everything”

The concept of “love” has been misinterpreted due to the media and culture. We believe that we must “do something” for the one we love. And those that we love must “do something” in return.  But TRUE LOVE… can only be describe as the love that ask of nothing in return, as the love that all mothers has for their child.

It’s really hard to tell the one we love of how much we love them… Since a picture says a thousand words, I hope that this would show how much love is being given out in this picture. A heart that is made of tiny little hearts, LOVE that made of little love because it is not ONE thing but it is the compilation of those LITTLE things that they do… and never ask for anything in return.

To mother and mothers; thank you.

*photo taken at Cafe Sweet near the Sukhothai Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

I just like this view… from the top of Space Needle, Seattle, WA. In many cities we can’t really see the light of a shining bright star in the sky at night. But in return, we get to have the city light in all sources of colors. Also, unlike a falling star… you get to see the lights moving in stripes of lines, up and down, left and right…light on, light off… from each window and car. Green to Yellow… to Red, repeat… and keep on repeating.  The ambient sounds of the city along with the playful light in the night… has turned a quiet night into a poetic canvas… the melody from the heart of the city.

“Terrible ideas are like playground scapegoats. Given the right encouragement, they grow up to be geniuses”, quoted from the movie Under The Tuscan Sun.

A majority of the people would, by instinct, forget about the terrible ideas they had and try harder to figure out the one “perfect” idea. It is true that, the perfect idea is so perfect that… we would see everything right thru as to why is it such a perfect idea. I find the terrible ideas to be the most interesting ideas to work on. It is the terrible ideas that makes one idea to be different from the rest. Turning terrible ideas into the genius ideas is such a process that is much more interesting because we make something that doesn’t make sense… into sense.

I am full of terrible ideas and slowly working on them to make them happen. All I need is the right opportunities.

Look here, look there, I searched and searched for the right gift to buy in a store in the City Center of Granada, Spain. It is just too hard to get anything here, because that gift that is right before my eye… which is the view and that amazing experience which is then transfer into photo itself.

Sometime we try so hard, perhaps too hard, to look for that “ladybug” that has exhausted you chasing after it. Little did we know that… the harder we try, the further away the ladybugs flew because we are scaring them. But when we are calm and just do our thing… then you would realize how ladybugs would just fly to greet you. All you have to do is…  enjoy and cherish that split second where the ladybug flew by.