The Flame

The musings of a young man trying to find his place in the world. Currently living in China. Some things I blog about: history, politics, movies, China, Latin America, photography, auto racing, music, personal posts, and photos of me. If you have any questions, or just want to talk, please feel free to contact me. Instagram: tomsobien

[lottereinigerforever]

Jean Vigo on the set of “Zéro de Conduite”

[thomassobien]

My Photography Update

I’m going to slowly start posting more of my photography on my Instagram, and maybe put some more on here from time to time.

Since I wasn’t an active contributor on social media for a long time, I need to share a lot of things from the last couple years. It will take a while just to catch up though, and I don’t want to post everything all at once.

I just updated my Tumblr site as well with a new theme and avatar.

[fcoppola]

Do you know yourself? As much as anybody does.

[thomassobien]

Hard, Ain’t it Hard

I’ve heard a lot of talk about marriage this year. Many people I know have gotten married this year or are going to get married soon. 

I thought that I was going to get married this year too, but everything fell apart. 

Life’s normal paths seem to be narrow or closed at the moment. Maybe I need to move away from this city, and find myself again, but this place has also meant so much to me for the last three years.

These thoughts seem normal for someone in my situation, but they are hard to let go of. 

[ozu-teapot]

Hangmen Also Die! | Fritz Lang | 1943

[thomassobien]

It was good to watch an anti-Nazi movie after the horrible events in Charlottesville last weekend.

[thomassobien]

An 11-month old panda cub takes a nap in a tree.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Chengdu, Sichuan, China. June 18, 2015.

Photo credit: Tom Sobien

[thomassobien]

Taking a break during my trip to Fuzhou, China. July 23, 2017.

[thomassobien]

Summer 2017 Life Update

Hello everyone! I haven’t posted very much on Tumblr lately, but I still usually look around on it a little every day. I used to make a lot of original posts a couple of years ago, and it was sometimes time-consuming to put it all together. I usually don’t feel like I have all that time now.

I’m still living and working in China. I’m still teaching English here. Overall, it’s been pretty fun and I like my job. The big problem with my job now is that it is harder for foreigners to get work visas now, so at the moment my school only has 3 foreign teachers, when we probably should have at least eight. So when we did Summer Intensive courses this year, I was extremely busy for the first 3 weeks of it. That was a challenge, but things are back on normal schedule now since kids here are going to go back to school soon.

My biggest personal drama was breaking up with my girlfriend a couple of months ago. We were in a relationship for about a year and a half. She started becoming extremely jealous of me late last year, and her bad temper made things worse. I was not cheating on her either. Even after we had flown all the way back home to meet my family, and we were in the U.S., she got angry at me many times. After we came back to China, it got to the point where I was afraid to go outside with her because I was afraid of an argument, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. We tried to reconcile, and it was very hard to break up with her since she was my first girlfriend, but I realized it just wasn’t going to work.

I didn’t make many posts about my ex-girlfriend on Tumblr, but the posts I did make are now private. I’m not a perfect person, and I need to learn from my mistakes. In these types of life-changing situations, it’s good to breathe, pick up the pieces, and start anew. That’s what happening now.

Life may lead me all over the world, but I really want a home.

[xshayarsha]

“Lend yourself to others but give yourself to yourself.”

From Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre Sa Vie (1962).

[thomassobien]

Flying a kite at sunset.

Yamalike Mountain Park. Urumqi, Xinjiang, China. May 1, 2015.

Photography credit: Thomas Sobien

[ray-o-deactivated20181219]

The President driving America off a cliff.

[thomassobien]

I’m back on Tumblr, and Donald Trump is now President.

What the fuck happened America???

[thomassobien]

A mosque in the countryside.

Hami, Xinjiang, China. May 14, 2015.

Photo credit: Thomas Sobien

[thomassobien]

Birds in a park.

Hami, Xinjiang, China. May 14, 2015.

Photo credit: Thomas Sobien

[thomassobien]

Some flowers in a park.

Hami, Xinjiang, China. May 14, 2015.

Photo credit: Thomas Sobien

[thomassobien]

Men playing basketball at a park.

Hami, Xinjiang, China. May 14, 2015.

Photo credit: Thomas Sobien

[thomassobien]

A photo of me with Mao Zedong’s statue.

Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. October 1, 2015.

[life]

Happy Birthday to Albert Einstein, born today, March 14, 1879. (Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) #LIFElegends #thisweekinLIFE