Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

I am going to post something really simple today and it’s about something I read about…dunno where but copied and pasted into a Microsoft Word document for future reference. Fainting . Do you know why people faint? Why the body reacts in such a way? What does fainting prevent? No leh…..me either. That’s why I found it so interesting lor. I have seen one friend in school faint before, other than that, thank goodness nobody has ever fainted in front of me. I wouldn’t know what to do but maybe give the fella (hopefully a handsome looking bloke) the kiss of life. Actually, fainting is an invaluable response from our body which is designed to protect us. Like when you touch something hot, you instantly (without thinking) pull away, rite? Well, fainting is something like that. Before you faint, there is a significant drop in your blood pressure, so, your brain suddenly got no ‘food’ because it’s right at the top. Does not apply if you like to walk on your hands. Your brain consistently n...

I don’t know if this happens in your household or not but when me and my siblings were young, we went through a phase whereby we got a little curious about all the mushy things and because some of us cousins were within the same age group, we were paired up in pretend weddings and stuff like that. The one I got paired up with very often is the very cousin who comes to this blog very often lambasting politicians and government decisions and everything unfair about this world, Jamie. It’s funny lah, now that we sit back and think about it. First of all, it’s not possible and the sheer innocence of it all is….you know, looking back, a little out-of-whack. But kids are kids lah. K, my sister, also got paired up with Jamie’s brother, J. and D, my brother, got paired up with another cousin, E, who, thankfully for him, lived up in Sungai Petani and is hardly around. When we went back to Penang for Burmese New Year, he gets a second-pairing with another cousin, P. But, he was, among ...

Buried Sep 23, '07 12:06 AM for everyone Category: Books Genre: Mystery & Thrillers Author: Mark Billingham It had a slow start, to be honest with you but perhaps it was due to a busy week and I started out early in the week. So, I literally crawled through the first few chapters relatively uninterested and awkwardly lost in each new character introduced. The storyboard began to bore me and regretted picking up the book as it was a little choppy and the author made it a point to keep everything open-ended…even after a chapter. Maybe I didn’t give this book much chance in the beginning but towards Thursday, as I picked up through the middle of the book, I started asking myself who all these interesting NEW characters were….needless to say, the characters weren’t new at all. By Saturday, I finished the book. This goes to show how the pace picked up towards the end. Ultimately, it’s an interesting storyline with an interesting writing style and ways of ending a chapte...

When I was young, I thought I was indestructible. I thought I was the made of metal and that I can be better than anyone else on the planet if I want to. I thought that if I wanted to be the best kite-flyer in the world, I am sure I can. Such confidence….. ….it was never arrogance with me. I am never arrogant unless you put me into a cat fight with a drunk B***H. But whilst confidence is good, I feel that everyone should be reminded that they are not perfect as well. I am not perfect. I can do lots of things….my maker has been kind to me. My maker is very fair. With gung-ho personality, impatience and low tolerance for laziness, I strove for everything I felt that I could do. And yet, along the way, I am disappointed, sometimes. I am not perfect. I CANNOT do a lot things. I would like to share this with you. NOBODY’S PERFECT Everyone has flaws and problems. I accept myself, my body, my imperfections and all. I fix those things I can and embrace those things th...

Category: Movies Genre: Comedy Starring: Lee Wan, Lee Chong Ah, Jun Jin (Shinhwa), Kang Jung Hua Episodes: 14 episodes Same old, same old two-girl-two-guy love rectangle affair. At least no one is forced to stay together, get engaged or get married in this series. Halleluiah! Would have puked if they came up with another one….like so many others already. You’d start to think that all Koreans are forced to live with someone they hate and then fall head over heels in love with them in the end. Jun Jin (far left) plays a very serious business man who is not the legitimate son of a rich tycoon. He runs the business and feels threatened that someone (the legitimate son) will come and take all of that way some day. Lee Wan (far right) plays the legitimate son who have absolutely no interest in his father's business. He loves the sea, swimming and having fun which disappoints his father. Loved the fact that they filmed it at the beach…very refreshing and had a good idea about what ...

Quitting. Damn. So hard. Smoking, Drinking. Coffee. Everything. So hard. Damn it. Why is it so easy to pick up all the bad habits and yet so difficult to let all of them go at the same time. Because of recent health issues, I have reduced intake of all of the above and introduced something new called 'regular sleeping hours' into my daily agenda. I stop work at 9.30pm instead of working till it's time to wake the kids for school. Is that so wrong ? Why am I being tortured like this? Punishing me for 'eating the apple out of the forbidden tree' isn't it? Ya lah, I guess. Now, smoking is reduced to 5-7 per day (as opposed to a pack a day), coffee only 1/2 cup in the morning and absolutely no drinking (no wine and wah lai toi even) unless it's Friday and Saturday. Healthy lifestyle what, right? Then how come doing something right can be so damn kow difficult?????? Sorry lah, folks. Having triple withdrawal symptom makes a person grouchy, irritable, ha...

Believe it or not, my AUNT sent me this..... *** The family is sitting at the dinner table. The son asks his father, 'Dad, how many kinds of boobies are there?' The father, surprised, answers, 'Well son, there's three kinds of breasts. In her twenties, a woman's breasts are like melons, round & firm. In her thirties & forties, they are like pears, still nice, but hanging a bit. After fifty, they are like onions.' 'Onions?' 'Yes, you see them, and they make you cry.' This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter says, 'Mom, how many types of 'willies' are there?' The mother, surprised, smiles and answers, 'Well dear, a man goes through three phases. In his twenties, his willie is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his thirties & forties, it's like a birch tree, flexible but reliable. After his fifties, it is like a Christmas tree.' 'A Christmas tree??' 'Yes dear, dead from t...

What's the first thing you think of when you wake up? Is it 'Oh Shit' or is it 'Oh Yeah!'? Or is it 'Urgh!' I think most of the time, I wake up with an 'Urgh!' and then followed by 'Oh Shit' and then at night when the kids go to sleep, I say 'Oh yeah!'. :-) It's important to wake up with a positive mind, says the expert and they're right. Most of us will have problems looking in the mirror in the morning with puffy eyes and smelly breath saying 'Oh yeah' but if we put a little effort into it, it's possible. I say this because recently, I realized how important it is for stressed-out folks like us (read: me) to make an effort to think positive right from the start. The moment we get up, if we start positive, chances are, when negative things are thrown our way, we tend to keep that positive streak in us to last us until Happy Hour. Every time our mind is filled with negative thoughts, every time we feel a ne...

Being a freelance writer and mother at the same time is no joke. If you think being a career woman is hard, you're right. If you think being a full-time mother is hard, you're right again. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am not a robot. The HWAITING spirit is good but maybe, perhaps, probably I am pushing myself too hard. When I am tired, when my body begs for rest...for s short sit-down, I refuse and tell myself, "Marsha, Hwaiting! Marsha, you can do it. Go go Go! Marsha never say die. No quitting....Go Go Go!" Until now, my battery koyak (goner), my engine also tak boleh pakai (cannot use anymore). Doctor say, "Marsha, slow down. Slow down. Your heart beat is very fast, your blood pressure is borderline liao! How old are you now? Aiyo!!! Get some rest for crissakes! Sit down. Stop rushing. Breathe properly" OK OK OK....now that my engine have to rely on medication to run properly, I listen now. No more rushing around. Time to management that...

Just wanna share something really cute and funny here today. And there's nothing quite as funny and cute as the stuff that comes from kids. It happens every time as I am driving along back home, there is a place where I have to go through a tunnel but it is sort of a mini roller coaster ride. Meaning, there's a slight uphill and downhill to it. And if you floor it, it feels a little bit like riding a rollercoaster ride where your stomach goes up to your throat and you have butterflies in your tummies. This is what my kids say every time I drive past this area. "Mom, when we go up and down like this, it my makes my coo-cco-bird (trans: male genital) very excited"!!!! Bua ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

It’s a little puzzling to me, actually but there are some parents who would go all out to stop their kids from watching certain TV programs. OF course, TV programs with too much guts & gore, violence, hatred and sex scenes… they’re all out ! But what about drama series. The drama series I am talking about are the HK, Taiwan, and Korean type of dramas. Soppy family type of dramas…the family feud kind, actually. You see, I remember myself as a young girl hovering over the TV watching every soap on TV that my mother would allow me to watch. My mother isn’t a very strict person and would normally allow me to watch whatever I want as long as I know it’s not for real and that these are just for ENTERTAINMENT purposes. And also as long as I do my homework, of course. I appreciated that although it led me to dreamland but ultimately, it was happy. I had a happy and not-very-restricted childhood. Karina Lau, Yammie Lam, Maggie Siu, Vivian Chow, Lai Meng, Tony Leung…the likes. The idols of...

Came home in the dark....no really. It has been a long and tiring day yesterday mostly because of fetching the kids here there and everywhere. Then when I came home at night, everything was dark. Keep pressing the switch on and off, on and off....nothing happened. The kids going ' Mom, this house is so spooky. Maybe it's haunted '..... DIDN'T HELP !! Luckily, husband parked his car and was on his way up already. So, decided to wait downstairs for him to come up and see what in the world is wrong with the....the whole thing lah. Came up, he tinkled around with the switches the switch box....on off on off....nothing wor. In the wet kitchen, there's this particular power socket that has been giving us some problems all this while. It keeps giving us problems by frying up the sockets and all that. After many times of changing the power socket and the connecting sockets, it finally gave in. It bloody exploded! The irony of it all is this....me and the kids are usua...

It's been a difficult week and considering my sullen mood, I didn't feel like sharing all those awful thoughts floating through my head. Call it whatever you want but it was definitely, I felt, Post-Traumatic Stress. You know, the kind many people got after 9/11. But today feel like everything's positive again. Thanks to all those who wished me well and sent me notes to cheer me up! Kamsahamnida ('Thank you' in Korean - fact that I am starting to write Korean again is evidence enough that life is back on the right track. Funny, ain't it?) Anyway, I'm not a show-horse or anything like that but I do understand that singers and performers have to adhere to a certain kind of fashion code in order to bring in the fans and keep fans interested in them. But....there's a limit. I don't know about you but I think wearing THIS ....something akin to a big with transparent raincoat with a whacky bib is simply too out-of-whack for me. I don't even know ...

Been really down in the dumps today. Thought I'd be over IT....but....it comes back to me. BUT did something that took me off negative thoughts. One, shopping. Went walking and shopping, talking and shopping and walking, and talking and shopping and talking and walking and...... ...therapeutic, man. Hours on end until my kids look like zombies. Two, listed down things I appreciate in my life. Simple things like I got damn power sound system for my PC although I dont give a shit about sound system. Also stuff like, I got 6 pieces of fishes in the freezer ready to be cooked...not a lot of people have that mah. And then I also got a piano that looks and sound like a piano and not a kiddie one. Not a lot of people have that. I also got a maid that I can use every sunday who does everything I want her to do at my whim and fancy. Very nice woman and very hard-working. A lot of people don't have that either. Downstairs, I hear my 'neighbor' scolding and today shout...

Been posting depressing stuff and it's time to move on. Jamie, for me, I will keep the curtains closed for now because I am not strong enough. But I am moving on, that's the point. SSSSOOOOOO...today, I will post something choon. This is Honey Lee, Miss Korea and 3rd placing winner in the actual Miss Universe. Made most Asians proud as hell of her. Gorgeous and looks good even if she's only wearing a plastic bag!!! But here's the thing with Honey Lee. She's original and makes no pretense that all the beauty that you see in the mags and papers are all makeup and clothes. Here, she shows you that she's just an ordinary girl with ordinary face with ordinary clothes. But she does look beautiful nevertheless. I don't know if the photo is real or not or whether it's legal or legitimate or it's just a look-alike. I am just posting it as I read it. But if it's true....she's real cute without makeup and nice clothes, anyway. And she's damn b...

Friday's been a total blur. After sending Joshua to school and then Jared to tuition, I mustered up enough courage to walk over to the condo opposite. Aiya, no need to hide lah.....it's published in NST anyway, Riana Green. My intention was to buy a pack of ciggarettes (yes, I am still on it) and visit my good friend, Sam there. But as it turns out, D, my ex-boyfriend was still there from morning. The morning that I spoke to him, every single word was forced out of his throat, fighting inconsolable tears. When I saw him and his friends loitering at the block's mezzanine floor, I looked at them without acknowledging them. I was dressed in the worst possible combination of clothes and frankly, I don't want anyone to see me like this. Yet, D noticed me and waved me over. I refused, so, D walked over. After short conversation with D about the situation and his condition, we finally walked over to the block. My heart was pounding!!!! One part of me didn't want to see a...

Alvin Goh is a school friend whom I knew from school days when I was dating his good friend. After breaking up, we have no contact but recently, I discovered that he was living opposite my condo. I often make trips to his condo because the facilities are there...the grocery store, the music school we attend and the the pubs and restaurants are also there. We've seen each other sometimes when I was there. Sometimes joked, in passing, that we would invite each other out for drinks at the condo's pub. Never happened. Will never happen now. He's a pilot flying cargo planes with MAS and is known as a responsible, filial, jovial, logical, sensible son and friend. Being pilot, he made a final 'flight' down from the window of his computer room to the pavement down below on the 7th Sept 2007. My heart is in a million pieces right now as flashbacks go through my head endlessly. I cannot imagine what others closer to him is feeling. My ex is beyond sad....emotionally blaming...

Very long conversation with a friend over a frustrating issue. Work beckoning. The prospect of jumping off KL Twin Tower very inviting but saved by kisses delivered to sleeping kids. Angels. Opened up a bottle of white wine. Switched on my ASTRO Wah Lai Toi Astro On Demand. The show was on the slow side. TNM! Not engaging. Sung Si Kyung is on Korean air waves and his soothing voice calms me down. Don't know why. He's got the voice of an angel no matter what he is talking about....don't know 99% of what he is talking about since Sung Si Kyung sounds like he's swearing all the time....in a very gentle kind of way. Korean language is like that. Wanna go swimming suddenly. Cool down mah. Look for swimsuit. Dig and dig like a mad woman on steroids. Cannot find. Alah....who the hell cares now? Nobody see me lah swimming in the dark! Dressed in pink, white, black pinstriped shorts, very worn and torn Reebok t-shirt, I strode down to the swimming pool. Sometimes the guard...

Humility . Small word...but BIG in every other way. I feel that all of us should be humble even though we think that we're the best in something. You could be the best singer. The best mother. The best wall climber. The best accountant. The best engineer. It doesn't matter...to me. Being boastful or proud is for those who lack confidence or feel the need to market themselves or those who feel that they have to climb a particularly difficult personal obstacle. We, as human beings, are never perfect. NEVER . Human beings should always try to be better and better every day. We have to work on improving ourselves because of that weakness....imperfection. Hence, to me, boasting is for those who are not confident in themselves. The less they boast, the more confident they are. No matter how much we, as a family, have in terms of advantages, opportunities, or money, I will strive to be and teach my kids to be as humble as possible. In many instances, I find boastful people a big maj...

Many people I know tell me that they accept the idea of One Night Stand and that they don't mind doing it as long as the heart isn't in it. Many of them men . They tell me that they can emotionally detach themselves from being involved because they are programmed that way. I believe that I read this somewhere a long time ago....that men can compartmentalize their brain. Like this is business and this is home. Or this is football and that's my Kids. Or this is for love and this is for lust. Then there are the women. Sigh, women have been trying to catch up to men in every aspect of life in work, in politics, in sports. We ARE catching up, me included. I strive every single day to make sure that I am no less than men although this is not my ultimate focus. Ultimately, I only want to be better than I was yesterday...but still. Women, sadly, have yet to reach a point whereby we can say ' Yeah, let's do it. No feelings attached '. I can tell you that I have n...

Merdeka been very boring, man. Didn't even get to see fireworks from my place. Was facing opposite side from where all the fireworks were going to be, so, walked downstairs to the poolside with the kids in their pajamas but condo buildings blocked the view also. I said, " Oh shucks, ah well, never mind. Happy Malaysia day, kids. Never mind, ok ?" " That's too bad, huh, mom ?", says Joshua " Yeah, just too bad. I thought this would be the best night of my life ", laments little Jared. Mommy thinks that was just so dramatic but then 5-year-old kids don't know that. Never mind. :-) *giggles* Then we walked leisurely back to our condo with the sound of fireworks going off in the sky. And Jared swaggered around cautiously because he was afraid of ghosts and monsters...and the night was dark and it was Kwai Cheet (Month of the hungry ghosts). Joshua, being a big brother, held out his hands and said, "Here Jared, you can hold my hand"....