My aunt never ceases to render me aghast with her absurdities.
(Note: I have several aunts. I don’t normally talk about this one.)

I wanted to laugh, flip the table over, and stomp out of this house.

I have completely lost any respect I ever held for her.

I knew I should’ve been suspicious, that whatever “good” she did for me came at a price. Cook me some lunch, and what do I get? A huge, fucking ridiculous lecture. And this is the one thing she said that made me lose respect:

“The job you do doesn’t matter much. The most important thing in life is to have a lot of money—so just get a job that pays a lot. Because money will make you happy.”

And after that, she proclaimed that I should listen to her because she is a “smart woman.”

You know, it’s so mind-blowing that anyone can be so narrow-minded and (insert negative adjective here) so as to dare say something like that. You see—it’s so fucking ridiculous that I’m at a loss for words.
And I so badly wanted to avert my gaze. Not because I was afraid of her, but because I believed she did not deserve the respect of eye-contact from me. I was disgusted.

And later, when she left, she said, "You should research how much fashion editors make!" Lady, do you THINK I AM SO STUPID AS TO NOT RESEARCH ABOUT A CAREER BEFORE I THROW MYSELF AT IT?

"You should major in international trade. They make a lot of money. You should take more courses in computers and programming." Yaddy yaddy. Well, hello lady. Do I look like a businesswoman to you? Do I look like I am best friends with numbers and calculations? Do I seem the slightest bit suitable for that?

Damn it.

TPT: snakes on a plain

Today is/was our last work day of '09-'10. And what better way to celebrate it than snakes on a plain?

jazz & pizazz

I saw Chantilly High's Jazz & Pizazz 2010 on Friday night. (Right now it's already 12: 15 a.m.) It was nothing short of amazing.

Do you ever get that feeling--that feeling of being genuinely alive and happy? That powerful, soaring flutter in your heart and stomach that makes you shiver in anticipation? The chills that make you bristle with excitement?

Those were the feelings I felt as I sat there, captivated every moment of the spectacle. It was fantastic. I haven't felt this deliriously happy in a long time. It took a lot of effort for me not to squeal or do something animalistic to express my utter delight.

My fellow peers were awe inspiring. It makes me very happy and very excited to know that I live in an environment surrounded by truly amazing people.

As I watched the dancing, the singing, the bellowing of the band, I wondered how these people's lives would turn out. I can't imagine what they would do besides sing for the rest of their lives, and wholeheartedly so, if their voices are so amazing already. It would be a pity for their voices to be smothered by societal pressure. I wonder if any of them are pursuing a musical career. Because, the way I see it--I could tell that some of these people truly love to perform. Raw voices quivering with the fire of their souls, the clear, distinguished and unwavering sound of the trumpet, the sensual and suave saxophone, the sashay and whirling of bodies floating like butterflies, the dancing and leaping of spry fingers across ivory and ebony...

Damn.

That's all I have to say.

I don't know if it's "normal" of people to feel so deeply, so sensitively about these things. I'm very easily affected and touched.

All I know is that I would really like to interview certain people, even if I have never met with them face to face before. And speaking of interviews, I've got one to transcribe here right this very moment.

portraitmania

Excuse the language, but lately I think I've captured some fucking awesome portraits. Probably because the people are lovely subjects:

Shannon - You are fantastically photogenic. I LOVE every expression you make.

Joe - You should show off your arms :)

Munfarid - I think I should call you the aviator man.

Ziomara - Why the hat today? Anyway. I think this is an awesome portrait. And the hat makes a nice addition.

Lynh - Sister in fob mode.

Moi - I am a crazy tiger. Also in fob mode.

The cutest sister on earth - No explanation necessary.

FUCK YEAH PORTRAITS.

I often worry that I'll never be able to take portraits of the same quality again--or photographs in general.

tpt in the motions of... pt. 3

^Above: Hanna and Jane

The following photographs were taken by Jane:

^Hanna's hair (lulz)

^Monica & Joe Sko

^Shannon & Sarah

parties in the usa

two parties. twice the fun.

dancing and singing in abandon.

teen spirit.

effervescence.

living life.

[diary] "i'm feeling a bit tipsy..."

When I lost my balance and nearly stumbled while at mi neighbor's party, I announced, "I'm feeling a bit tipsy" which caused a few of the room's occupants to stare at me. Haha! Just a note: the word "tipsy" does not always equate to being drunk (which I was certainly not). Look up the meaning in the dictionary if you didn't realize that, folks. Anyway.

Today was a fun day, I think. I went to two parties--one party after another. The first time in my life. And it was more taxing than I thought it would be. Here's a brief recap of what went down today.

1) Around 12 p.m. (noon) I headed to CHS to help the newspaper. When I got there, the door was shut and the lights were off. I guess I arrived too late, so I wandered down the hallway to find my English teacher there. Figuring that I had to wait an hour for my friend to pick me up, I decided to volunteer to help my English teacher staple her students' essays together with rubric sheets. What an interesting way to start a Saturday--a weekend--eh?

Anyway, on to Ariel's party:

• The Little Mermaid - it has probably been a DECADE since I last saw it. I viewed it with a completely new and enlightened perspective. It was AMAZING.
• Singing/dancing in an illegal (underground)-esque basement. Hot music at some points. I wish I could dance, and dance lithely like some people.

Mi neighbor's party:

• Rock Band
• Eye Of The Tiger
• Bad Reputation 
• PHOTOGRAPHY--LOTS AND LOTS

I can't sing high at all. I have a SUPER LOW VOICE FOR A GIRL. When I answer the telephone when advertisers call, they sometimes mistake me for a dude. Sometimes. 

I'll speculate and add deeper thoughts later.

[photographic diary] week 19

yellow on blue



Go to my blog to view the original post or click on the thumbnails of the images to see them in HQ (higher quality). Facebook needs to stop making my photographs look like they were taken under shitty quality. 

day 136


day 137


day 138


day 140


day 141


day 142


So as you may or may not know, this week, I finally got around to creating a Facebook page for my photography! It is (surprise) called "Miranda Leung Photography." Oh, creative, huh? Anyway. Hope you've checked it out and hopefully liked it/became a fan. I am still figuring things out, but I would like to make that Facebook page my primary method of sending out news about my photography and news like that.



more photos @my photostream

TPT: the ultimate embodiment of productivity

THIS IS HOW WE SLEEP WORK:

Above: Colleen, the yogini of sleep.

David Cooper. Love your glasses.

Karina, fetal position.

Aww.

TPT -We Didn't Start The Fire

We Didn't Start The Fire from moonii miranda on Vimeo.

one very rainy day, there was a girl who sang in the rain while toting a tripod and camera.

Hey all. I've always wanted to photograph in really rainy weather, but never really had the balls to go out and actually do it. Two days ago (May 17), that goal was fulfilled.

if i could swim in the sky

...I would.





















With the exception of the reddish one right above these words, the rest are all natural. Straight from the camera--no touch-ups. Just pure natural goodness.

The most natural beauties of this world that I've managed to capture between December 2009 til now. The rest are in the sky set at my Flickr. There used to be more photographs in that set, but Flickr is hiding more and more of the older photographs every time I upload new ones since I don't have a pro account T__T

Also, these are from two days ago: