two steps behind

… two steps behind
one *solid* step at a time…
… to achieve the impossible

*Photo taken at Marbella, Spain during a short break from studying for exams with my roommate, Miran.

Where will you stand…  being that shining star above all else or humbly  becoming part of the system.

I think… (yup… I am really thinking about it!)
I think… that IT DOESN’T MATTER where we choose to stand, WHY? WHY NOT???

Because the different of that choosing is only depend on the POINT of VIEW of each person, simply just matter of differences opinions and believes.

But… BUT the only thing that matter is… THAT NO MATTER what other people think…
You just know that… YOU WILL ALWAYS BE THAT- SHINING STAR-

Be confidence at being yourself, just like the moon that will always be there as the moon… years after years along with the uncertainty on earth.

*photo taken in Marbella. The short cut to Puerto Banus from Les Roches Marbella.

Today or perhaps tomorrow (not so sure now, lol)… at Les Roches Marbella, they are holding an Alumni reunion. Because of that… it reminded me that just few months ago I was working my ___ off at the school, reading tons of books, tring to finish loads of assignments, tring to stay awake in kitchen and having to make MUFFINS in the morning! Not to mention that… I started Two Steps Behind while I was studying there. So I had to learn how to blog, how to upload pictures, set up this and that… Life sure was busy then!

There were some rough times along that path but in the end… looking back, that wasn’t so hard compared to the working environment in reality. LRM was just getting you ready for that harsh reality! Opse… Did I scare you? It’s part of growing up, to live and learn!

Going to LRM was the best path I have ever taken, as of yet. It opened the opportunities around the world aside from meeting many great teachers and friends whom later become more like family to me! And to have met “her”… was just UN-BEE-LIVE-ABLE!

So… Dear LRM: Have a great ReeeeUNION!!! And have fun at SMALLWORLD! Sorry I can’t be there to get wasted with you guys

here are some photos that I took with many fond of memories of Marbella (http://www.twostepsbehind.com/tag/marbella/) and of Les Roches (http://www.twostepsbehind.com/tag/les-roches/)

Parabéns a você,
nesta data querida.
Muitas felicidades,
muitos anos de vida.

^___^

happiness, family, love, belief, fate, trust, father, mother, daughter, son, life, rebirth, restart, renewal, beginning, peace, calm, innocence, relaxation, freedom, relief, self, path, future,… together

… is lost
… wants to be found

Hidden in plain sight! It was during a walk to Puerto Banus that I found this framing of the Sierra Blanca. Normally I would walk another way, my normal route, however this time I was walking with friends from school and that they normally walk on a different route.

There are so many possibilities in life that we often neglect due to human nature… we are creatures of HABIT, and that we tend to do things we know and feel comfortable with, hence… we can’t think outside the box *on our own*. However with a little bit help from outsider, friends and families… we are often shown the other side of life. Yet, we often don’t let other people into our lives because of our nature of habit. By letting someone into our lives, it needs courage and trust.

So, who have you let into your life recently? Where have they lead you to? Whoever it is, they are sure to be thankful for letting them into your life because it also means that you trust them. Now let us walk together to “who know where”, just keep walking – together.

Tonight… the night… that I don’t know what to type.

I just want to rest there, look at the moon, listen to the sound of the sea and be bathed by the light of the stars. And just fall asleep.

A month has passed since the last class at Les Roches Marbella.

I sure miss it, the lack of time to do nothing else but work and school,
the fresh air in the morning,
the sound of the phone alarm waking me up at 6am for pastries,
the 4 cups of warm milk with Te’ at breakfast,
the delivery of muffins
the all you eat dessert at lunch!
the cutting and chopping meat and vegetable for dinner
the walk in the afternoon over the mountain
the time spent doing nothing but to enjoy the 1 hour happiness of the day
the brownie at Small World

the light breeze of each night
the shining moon over the sky
the north star that always shines
the sand and stone on the road
the sound of cricket in the woods
the moment…

the lists go on…

This pile of rocks and the big stone represents the START of a NEW beginning for a path. Apparently, from the view, the path seems to be rough to walk thru. Why would someone want to walk down this path anyway? Perhaps because they know that at the end of the path is the Beach*, where they can rest happily in front of the eternal ocean.

*zoom-in on the original file and you would see the sea at the end of the road. Yes that little blue pool of water is the sea

I guess that is the best way to reach our destination by fixing our eye on our GOAL in life and do work hard with a POSITIVE mind and everything will become much easier.

This post is related to back to the previous posted as it was the resulted from the “STONE” that marked the new beginning. The question that was mentioned in the previous post… was asked and has been answered.

The ROAD to take was chosen… and now? Keep going FORWARD, “together”.

the ROAD to take… the view of City Center, Valencia, Spain

“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, sometime we must put ourselves in the position that there is no turning back, just keep going forward. And to never regret any moment 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 until graduation… and one more question to be answer.

I took this photo 2 weeks ago, the afternoon of the graduation ceremony. Knowing that it was going to be the last afternoon I spent at Les Roches Marbella, I took the photo just to remember it. I am sure many of the 28# share this same view! Great view isn’t it?

The walk / run today at the park in the neighbourhood reminded me of the school as I sometime go for a walk / run to Puerto Banus. I came to find out how exhausted it was to run! After barely making 3 laps without collasping, I was soaking with sweat… and it was 8:00PM !

Anyways, it feels good to run! Next time I’ll be sure to bring my camera to take photo of the park to share it here. ^_^

Not much that I can say about this moment because it was the longest night in Marbella for me, a night that Ididn’t want to end.

So I took this shot then I received a phone call… then ran to McDonald’s with all my might. Because every second counted!

In the end, the night was over. Can’t go back – can only go forward!

During the walk to buy some daily products in the neighborhood today, it reminded me of the walk to Puerto Banus and there is this moment that the wall is just full of this pinkish / reddish flower that I would just stare at while walking pass them. For some reason… they are so fun too look at. So, on the last day of school, I had to go there just to take the picture of this wall that I must have walked past so many time during my stay in Marbella, Spain.

Here it is… the eye candy wall that tickled my eye!

This photo was taken on the last evening that I would be in Marbella, Spain before I departed to Bangkok the following morning.

The day was cloudy and gloomy since the morning. However, in the evening I went out for a walk with a group of my friends one last time. I don’t want to let the weather ruin my last evening there so I just go anyway, hoping that it won’t rain!

It turned out to be a really great evening as the sun broke through the cloud a bit later after we started to walk to the port. Fortunately, I took the camera with me.

Fear… ? Fear, doesn’t really make much sense when it is the fear of something that doesn’t happen yet.
Just Do…? Do believe that everything will turn out as expect
And then…? And then anticipate of all the possible outcomes and be ready to improvise it ALL!

Sigh… why must I make a metaphor of everything that I write… SIGH… -_-’

I dont’ have much time to type much, but all I can say is that, this is the view that I will be missing. So many memories here with such little time. I have always wanted for this day to come, but when it is here, I don’t think I want it anymore. sigh… weird ha?

amo te muito, too!

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.

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.

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.

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 ^_^

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.

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?

Day 7… According to our plan, we should be back in Marbella, after a long road-trip, to rest for half a day before the beginning of the end to this journey, at Les Roches.

A lighthouse is meant to guide a ship to arrive at the coast safely and preventing them from running a dangerous path. It will always be there, day and night, hot or cold, calm or windy, storm or clear… it will always shine its light, it will always stand strong and hold it ground to do its job at its best. We always look at things one way, and that way is how “that things” benefit us. We rarely look at how much “that things” has gone thru to provide what it is providing for us. Let’s reflect this back to our life, a very good metaphor of a lighthouse could be our parents. Our parents and families are always there for us, to guide and direct us safely to the shore, but really, how often do we really think about what they must have gone thru in their lives, how much have they suffered when we ignore them, how painful it is to be left behind and yet… they will stand there, waiting… Waiting for us to come back to them and just to be there, accompanying that lighthouse.

Dear Mother, and my Families… Happy (Thai) New Year. I love you and miss all of you. Thank you for never let me fall… and for always being there for me. And this song is for you, Don’t let me fall by Lenka

This is the last schedule post for this holiday, and from Monday on, I should be back on posting on regular basis and I will be sure to post all the pictures taken from the trip as well. It is not easy to schedule posts for days in a roll but hey, one post a day, as promised ^_^

Day 6… Today is April 11, and if I were to be in Los Angeles I would probably go to a Thai Temple for the Thai New Year Festival. The actual Thai New Year is on April 13 but in LA, we normally celebrate on a week before the date.

For the road-trip, our plans are so not rigid that we may be coming back from Madrid on Friday night and go to Alhambra on Saturday but for sure the plan is to be back in Marbella by Sunday afternoon.

After being away from the beach for so long, staying on the road, driving… co-piloting with the map and spending so much time in the car, I think it would be a great idea to change environments by trying a yachts for a the future road/boat trip. That is how I ended up with the picture taken at Puerto Banus. It would have been nice to just waste my day on a yacht, but that has to wait until I have one of my own.

*update via Mobile: We are heading back to Marbella from Madrid. That would take about 7 hours of driving. We will be driving to Orgiva first, to pick up my friend’s laptop and then to Marbella. The only concern I have is for the car, that it would be able to handle the lengthy trip. Lets cross our fingers!

Day 5: By now, I should be missing the beach very much because it is so close to the school. The view of the beach can be seen from a hill next to our school. I think that it is today that we will be going to the Alhambra because it would be too tiring to go on the same day that we drive back from Madrid.

Thinking of the beach, this picture is a great way to express the ideal way of enjoying a day by the beach. The family in the picture seems to be enjoying the warm sun, the breeze of fresh air and the sound of wave crashing to the sand. Life, it just can’t get any simpler.

*Update via mobile. We are postponing the Alhambra de Granada for now as we agreed to stay longer in Madrid because it is so far away from Marbella. As for Grananda, we will take a trip there later during one of the long weekends because it is about 2 hour drive from the school, so it will allow us to do a day trip. So much to see, so little time!

Day 3: By now,  we should be in Madrid with some of our PG buddies. At this point I must have seen so much of this city… perhaps too much? I hope that my camera can hold enough pictures.

I wonder if this gentleman that is fishing in the picture is from Madrid and that he is here fishing in Marbella because he has spent so much of his life in the busy city street, perhaps he is a CEO of a big company that is taking his day off just to do nothing.

Most of the people who are fishing are not really after the fish… but the moment of peace where it is suddenly change into enthusiasm when the caught the fish. It is the feeling not about the fish that we are after when we go fishing, at least that is my reason for fishing.

*update via mobile: today plan is to go to Gran Ville, where the “Loewe” store is located. An interesting incident happened yesterday. After we arrived in Madrid and were trying to look for our friends place, a block from their place… our car died in the middle of the intersection. !!! Unnn Beee Liveeee Aaaa Ble!!! So we had to push the car to the side, with help of a very nice local gentleman that helped push the car. About 30 minutes later… the car came to life again!!! That was just wierd!

**after we gathered up with our friend, we went to a coffeshop, Met Cafe and the rest of the evening we were just resting at their place… guess what we were watching??? Gossip Girl!!! I think we much have watched about 3 episodes! And then we went to Tony Roma’s for a late dinner, my first time eating in Tony Roma’s. After that, back to the apartment and watch more Gossip Girl… then sleep.

Day 1: By now, if everything goes according as planed, we should be in Orgiva, a city that is approximately 30 minutes away from the Alhambra de Granada. We will be staying at Orgiva for a night and then on Tuesday, we will head up to Madrid, a 5 hours or so drive from Orgiva. One place that I wanted to visit is the Corporate Headquarters of Loewe, the rest are just bonuses. For the Alhambra de Granada, we will visit it later on the way back, possibly Thursday or Friday.

Today I selected this picture, the Lobby of Les Roches, Marbella at night because now that all the students left for the Easter holiday and the school has been really quiet I can go from place to place taking all the pictures I want as long as I want. And I think that it is a great moment to remember, when everything is nice and calm.

This picture was taken yesterday, the last day of midterms, in the evening after dinner. It was around 8:00 pm but the sun was still up. A group of us then headed out for a walk from our school, Les Roches, to Puerto Banus. About half an hour later, we got this view, of the Sierra Blanca mountain. I had about 40 sec to capture this moment, a moment that captured the evening, the evening that marked the start of a week of Easter Holiday!

I must have seen this mountain many times but the difference is that, the view it is being viewed from, the context that is in the view and the surrounding of the view. As a local, I don’t think that they see what a foreigner, ie. me, sees just because Sierra Blanca has been part of them for so long that they may forget its serenity and beauty. To me, I just couldn’t stop looking at her, everywhere I go… I will always looking around to see if she is in my sight, or have I gone to far that I couldn’t see her anymore? She is the first thing I look at before I start my day at 6:15 am, because when I look at her, I can tell if today is a sunny, rainny, warm or cold by simply looking her.

Let us stop everything we are doing for a moment, look around and start noticing things that have always been there. Then, you will find yourself a Sierra Blanca of your own.

Yup… that’s how we roll… on the floor. *smile ^_^

This vespa is made the same way with the basket weave, I have no idea what it’s called but it is really nice… don’t you think? I took this picture during a walk in Old Town Marbella, it is very close to the church where I took the picture “60 seconds of peace” The Old Town is hiding from the street, we walk thru many narrow streets, turning from corner to corner. It is amazing to see how lively it is in those narrow streets with restaurants, small cafes, shops, and patios to just sit there and relax.

The heart of Marbella is not only the beach, nor the sand but it is the dynamics of its rich culture hidden within the Old Town Marbella, Spain.

This is a great example of how we should never judge a book by its cover because we would lose the opportunity to find out what the book is really about… Let us read the book and see where the story will lead us.

It took me a while to remember what day it was when I took this picture. After examining the picture carefully, I noticed something that reminded me of the date… the Cultural Night event. If you look at this picture closely, you would see all the students are still up on the second floor, studying!!! oh yes we are hardcore… ^_^

After celebrating our success for the Cultural Night event at Small World, I couldn’t stay as long as the others because I was way too exhausted to continue the night. So… just minutes before midnight, I went back to the school and took few more pictures of the interior and exterior of the school before I went to pass out on my bed.

ZzzZZzZZzzzzzzzzzz…