Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

We went out to get dinner outside yesterday without knowing much about the 'lockdown' in Malaysia. It was a pretty sad sight out there. Restaurants that remained open had their tables and chairs folded. 
"Only takeout was allowed, no dining in", said the mamak. 
The night before, my parents and I went to a hypermarket to get our usual supply of stuff - you know...instant noodles, rice, meat, vegetables, etc...and at first, we thought it was fine. Everything looked normal at first glance....until we walked into the produce section. 
The only two packets of instant noodles left on the shelves were vegetarian and looked really lonely. There were only a few stalks of vegetables left in one section, and the meat section was almost completely wiped out. 
Ah well...at least there was still cheap toilet paper left. Till this very moment, I have no idea why people were panic-buying toilet paper. Someone, please enlighten me. 
For dinner last night, no thanks to my own indifference…

I've just posted a new article up on Medium and I talked a little about how freaky life can be when creativity is in your DNA. The number of people who tell you that creativity doesn't make you money or that you're going to starve selling your art is quite disconcerting.

Couple it with the fact that Malaysia isn't exactly the kind of country that supports its creative pool of talents, I once considered creativity a curse.

Read more here

Note: If you're not a Medium user, I'll post it a little later on my website.

I am reminded again that no matter how many times you fall, the most important part of the journey is how many times you get up and stay regardless of what is ahead of you.

And whenever you get up, you stay steadfast to your beliefs and learn from where you failed.

Most importantly, you are thankful every single morning as the sun rises and you're given another chance to make a difference.

For some reason, whenever I listen to this song (such an understated, simple song), it makes me feel better about some people I've met in this world. I know once again that some people are meant to leave a positive impact in your life, others are lessons.

I hope you like the song too.




xxx

The importance of finding what you want to do with your limited time on this planet...and finding what you DON'T want to do at the same time. 
I think this is a part of the journey. 
Most of us focus on finding what we want to add to our lives but not seek or experiment with what we might not want to have anything to do with in the future. 
Ever since the demise of my cousin, my perspective and priorities has changed. Tremendously. 
I am not known to hold back when I see an opportunity to fail or succeed at something and that has been the driving force behind my growth and development. 
Far from perfect, I screw things up all the time and if I keep hitting the rewind button without picking up the lessons, I am never going to learn where my destination is.

With the recent development, I've discovered and maybe confirmed the fact that there are things that are simply not worth my time and effort. 
My time is finite and I deserve to spend it on things that I consider really imp…

It's easy to lose ourselves in the the crammed list of daily priorities and activities. As age catches up with us...well, me, actually...I find myself easily tired at the end of the day.

Like yesterday, I spent a total of 4-plus hours driving in stop-go traffic and when I came home, there really wasn't anything else on my mind except for sleep. #lol And yet, there was work to catch up on, a little bit of book-reading, internet-surfing, repeat-show-watching, vacuuming, mopping, kitchen-cleaning, taking out the rubbish, hanging up of the laundry, etc....

I always envy those who have 'back-up' in the form of family or home support who help them deal with the everydays when they come home from work.

I try to fit yoga (not the handstands and back benders you're thinking of. Just simple stretches!), a short ride on the stationary bike, or a 20-minute silent stint of doing absolutely nothing but with soft, meditative music on my headphones, into my everyday list of things…

The year of the rat is supposed to be a good year for me and I am slightly superstitious that way. #lol. When the predictions for last year came out, I believed it too. Last year was an effed-up year for me and it was true.

In all honesty, last year changed the dynamics of my family life and my circle of friends. It has also altered my work arrangements and financial standing by a few Universe-folds.

I just have to, after all, do what I do best which is to scream into the sky: Is that all you've got?! COME AT ME, you bastard.

😖😖😖😝😝😝😅😅😅😁😁😁

Apparently, this year's going to be a little different and I would like to believe so. I will remain grateful for everything that has kept me alive thus far and still enjoying whatever I am permitted to enjoy.

It's not a lot but I am grateful nonetheless.

I am a simple person that way.

This year, the family celebrated it at my sisters and, for the benefit of the younger kids, there were some fireworks. But the little ones (an…

It's strange but before I became a mom, I never thought much about coupons. Even the 'free personal pizza' coupons from Dominos for late deliveries did not impress me.

Every single little loyalty redemption card I received was relegated to my jeans back pocket which would either spend a couple of hours being washed into mush in the washing machine (eek!) or forgotten about.

The strange thing about marketing and commercialism these days is that everyone's offering you something in return for your repeat business. If you use apps, there will be free shipping, discount days, and DISCOUNTCODES. Sometimes, you'll get a further incentive for hashtagging them on social media.

Oh, the wonderful ways to save a couple of cents...or bucks, depending on the company.

I was doing some math a while ago (which should be done more regularly) and I was surprised by the amount of money, as small as it was individually, that I actually saved by grabbing those promises of cashback, f…