a post that was due 2 weeks ago.

it's been exactly 5 months since my last blog post. Hmm.


So it's 2012 now. I donno.




You know i lost faith in this new year resolution thing, eh, whats the point anyways?




2011 was an interesting year.


Achieved a few of things that I never done in my life.


I'm honestly quite grateful for a lot of things, stuff like getting the job as a Photo Editor at The Chronicle, a wonderful summer in Chicago, great roommates, reunited friendships, new relationships and such.




Well still got two years of school to go.


Still single.


It funny how when I finally get the chance to sit down and type down thoughts I had, they just then fade away in my mind already.

awkward

so this is something I've been struggling with: talking with friend's friend/family at a situation where you cant talk much.

Let me use an example to explain the situation better:

So I walked with my friend Tayler to meet up with her mom and sister tonight(whom both came to chicago to visit her) at the nearby baskin robins. I just wanna say hi to Terry(Tayler's mom) and then take off, let them have rest of the time by themselves. It wasn't awkward for me to talk to Terry cause we met/talked before when she came to visit. She's a wonderful lady. Yeah, I did the required say hi ask how is everyone doing thing, a little small talk with Terry.  But here's the tricky situation, I don't know Tayler's sister, and Tayler never really mentioned her ever. I have nothing to use as a icebreaker. You all know I can be awkward talking with people I don't know, and somehow I just can't look at the strangers in the face when talking(I feel like I'm be staring, making the other person uncomfortable)

So just like that, me and Terry were talking, Tayler and her sister on the side listening to us.
It kinnda went on for a bit, you know, cause I know Terry. But it got to a point where I was thinking like"I really should end the conversation soon and let them have their family time". But Terry kept on asking questions and I kept answering them. I feel like I was monopolizing the attention(which I don't want to do) I don't want to be too blunt and come off as rude. HOW SHOULD I END THIS CONVERSATION THEN?! I HATE THE AWKWARDNESS.

UGH.

Thats pretty much represents what I feel in all those my friend introduces his/hers friend to me situation. I rather not talk....

But you all know: when I'm talking to a friend that I know, it can be non stop and crazy.

Indeed an issue

situation kilo-alpha-delta-charlie

( that kilo-alpha-delta-charlie was just some random crap I came up for the title)

The third year in a roll, I came to visit the Powell's in Texas.
Three years. It's almost an annual traditional now.
It felt like I just visited the place like a few weeks ago, but the reality shows that it has already been 12 months since the last time.

Even weird, seeing the kids grow up. I mean, April's sister Ashlie's kids. (thank gawd they still remember me)

To a certain degree, I feel like I'm part of the family.

As usual, gonna do what I'm going to do: photographer for the wedding. (don't get me wrong, I HATE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY)


New topic:
Summer has been great. Hot and poor, but great. Riding my dear bike around the place in Chicago. Trying to burn that excess fat that I accumulated this past 2 years of post-hawaii life.(30 pounds man, 30 pounds)

School's been going pretty good the past two semesters @ Columbia College Chicago. Now holding a 3.1 GPA(not that amazing, but if you compare with what I had in Hawaii, then you see the significance of it)

Made a bunch of wonderful new friends(and not too surprisingly, all happen to be Christians, ONCE AGAIN)
Oh yeah, they're also extremely talent artists too. I mean, not those bored housewives that call themselves artists, but the REAL DEAL HARD CORE ONES. Looking forward to the new semester, I mean SERIOUSLY.

NEWS: dear friend from Iowa I met in hawaii name called erika dick is moving to Chicagoland, as in Aurora, IL. Suburb town of Chi-town. Still, you don't know how excited I am. (OH YEAH, I AM REALLY EXCITED)

hmm. Photography is going well as usual. You know the same old s**t.
Hopefully I get the job at the School newspaper as a Photo Editor(basically a photographer), instead of being unemployed like I did this past year(sucked hell) Getting the job also means giving up my weekday social life.

Oh and love life? no progress. Not surprising at all. Will try to work on that.

thats for tonight


TO BE CONTINUED...

oh yeah

I forgot to tell you guys that, I finally got my own domain:

ting-shen.com


In the following weeks I'll be getting the official website set up and running soon. For now, I'm just gonna use my tumblr as a temporary site.

a short biography

Bio:

 Ting Shen is a freelance photographer based in Chicago. Born in 1989 to a small family of five in Taiwan, he came to the United States during an early age with his family, this experience established his strong emotional attachment to the American culture. In the mean time growing up in a Taiwanese family with traditional Chinese values gave him a parallel culture understanding and a unique perspective. With influence from American contemporary painter Edward Hopper and photographer Robert Frank, he is fascinated with the beauty of the rural parts of North America, the scene of remnants from the great westward expansion, and the true sprit of the American Dream. Beside his job with the campus newspaper’s photojournalistic work, his personal work focuses on documenting the human interaction with the surrounding natural environments, as well as portraits of the individual personalities. He is currently enrolled at Columbia College Chicago, majoring BFA in Photography.

Had to cut it short around 150 words for a mag submission. How do you guys think?

actually

hmm

I never had any high expectations on a girl or something(yes there are girls I like and the ones I don't)

I wish I can just accidentally fall in love with a girl

and everything will be so smooth and sweet

even there are bumps

but thats the whole thing about being in love

thats not the case as of today for me

never been in a relationship in my life yet

tried, got close, but mostly end up me leaving the girl for events that happen in life(aka go to college here in the states, switch schools, family moving and stuff)

oh well.

we'll see how stuff goes.

like my mom said: "what is meant to be yours in life, will be yours. vice versa"