Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

As a responsible mother, I try not to use the short-cut too many times. Using canned foodstuff is punishable by alcohol poisoning in my books but once in a while, I go with it because I need to keep some of my hair from falling because I am all stressed out! But on Friday, my kids were in school and I was hungry after Body Pump (you get hungry A LOT when you exercise) but I didn't want to chow down on yet another meal (I ate beef pie in the morning after gym session) so I grabbed one of the cans and said to myself, 'A can of creamy chicken mushroom soup is not going to kill me and it won't add much more to the cellulite on my thighs. Go with it lah!' The good thing is that it is fantastically convenient and yummy when you add other stuff with it or eat it with pasta (which I swear, I didn't!!). I prefer soups thick but it would be too salty if I drank/ate it thick so in went a lot of water. There were a few pieces of chicken (I think) in there but...alas, wh...

I heard the wail of the siren from far off before seeing the rising smoke. The smell of burning soon permeated my sense of smell. I am terribly sensitive to smell and now I am wondering, 'What in the world is that strong smell?' Oh. It's there. Already, I am nursing a slightly sore throat because of the construction going on in front of my home and now there's something burning behind my home as well? What does it take to have fresh air these days ???? It appears that there is something serious burning going on because the wail of the siren became louder. Soon, there is a little (well, not so little) red truck chuggin' into the picture. My concern was that the source of the fire is very close to a petrol station. Fire. Gas station . Worrying, don't you think? Anyway, the firemen didn't think so. I think some trees are burning up or somefink, not worrying enough. So, they sauntered around the truck, languidly spoke to each other and the people aroun...

I like!! I found this in Guardian. Being a mom who is constantly washing one thing after another, I get a little frantic about moisturizing my hands...and my whole body along the way. Garnier Aqua Defense is something I've seen, never heard of but loved at first sight. Love the bottle, love the 'green scheme' color and love the smell! It says there 'Pure fruit water and anti-oxidant. Don't know how true THAT is but it's definitely nice. It leaves a layer of film over your skin which protects against moisture loss and pollution. But does it work? Hhhhmmm....not so sure about that. While (I suppose) does lock in moisture, my skin does not feel any softer or moisturized. Is it supposed to just block out loss of moisture and not moisturize? I don't know. But the smell is good, love the feeling and it can be applied anywhere and everywhere! Yay!! Er...except the face. Marsha's Take is that use it for the therapeutic fragrance instead of moisturizi...

Royalty Free Images: This one is here Men probably dream about racing a car or making money or traveling all around (for free) while women (me, generally speaking) dream about falling off the edge of a plank, losing a loved one, getting trapped in a place that I am unfamiliar with and, more recently, dreamed that buildings were crumbling like crackers all around me...and I stood on the only last remaining solid building in the whole...whatever that was. Things changed for me when I read in a magazine that most men do not dream of car racing or making money. They dream about sex....and a lot of violence. No, seriously, they do (you KNOW they do!) but both types of dreams don't always occur in the same dream. They are sometimes caught kicking and screaming in bed because an unknown and unseen attacker is trying to steal his laptop but he is blinded with some kind of white light, namely his eyes were closed and you have switched the lights back on because he has been kicking you....

With the rising number of users who have hopped onto other online marketing methods, it leaves us questioning whether email marketing via a mailing list continues to be as effective as it used to be. Well, most online marketing experts agree that while many have hopped onto other quicker marketing methods that cost less money. However, this leaves us that small margin number of people who are still a little more old school in their thinking. Are they worth your time? Do you think it is worthwhile investing your time writing them emails that they most probably will not even open much less respond to. The secret lies in writing an email that hits the right note! Forget about writing an email that is devoid of personality. Instead of signing off with 'yours sincerely, the YourCompany team', you'll have to sign off as 'Your friend, Bob'. I've personally seen so many emails during the course of my career that it takes a lot to make me open an email that is not ...

Not a lot of people know this but once upon a time, I was a hard-core Warcraft addict. The serious kind. The kind of addict who thinks about warcraft every single moment she was awake. The kind of warcraft addict who dreams about warcraft, have nightmares about losing in warcraft, wake up thinking of warcraft. It was ridiculous. But it was many eons ago and I thought, like many games my time, it would have either die off or evovled. Pacman, remember that one-slice-off circle going around a maze chomping down panadol? Now, Pacman's evolved and it can do butt-bounce, can deliver karate chops and the likes. Tell me about it. What happened to plain old maneuverability around a maze, eh? Anyway, I was surprised when I found out that one of my nieces is a warcraft expert/addict. I went 'what? Didn't the game die off or something?' Apparently not. She watched some sort of warcraft trick and tips thing or she read a whole manual about playing warcraft and how to win ...

If you read more about Akon, you would know that he's no stranger to controversy. He is also not a man who would bow down to rules too. With that said, this is what Akon did during his concert in Malaysia today - he WHOPPED ASS, man!! Holding a concert in Malaysia is tough for entertainers because there is a whole bible worth of rules to follow. Do not take off shirt. Do not wear transparent clothing. Do not gyrate. Do not swear. Do not grope fans. Do not grope officials. Do not grope self. The concert started off well and decent. He delivered a few tunes I wasn't familiar with and I started yawning. But that was when he kicked the tempo up a few notches and then he went absolutely NUTS! But before I tell you why he was nuts, I'll say this: I am over critical about vocals. By the second song, I thought Akon was lip-syncing. His voice was too clear and there is no sound of breathing or anything like that. And then I heard the crowd roaring on the speaker. And then h...

Usually, I go for the Oral B mouthwash but looking at the 'sale' sign....sigh....I fell for it. Hey, everyone else falls for the SALE sign too, don't they? Liars. Anyway, grabbed this Guardian mouthwash off the rack and paid for it hastily. Came home and when I used it....ouch! Verdict: It was bitter and it stings like bloody hell. It makes you cry...not a very good product if you ask me. I share the mouthwash with my kids but they can't use this because if it stings for me, it'll reduce them to tears for sure. After using it for a while, I am sure they're gonna look at it the way they look at roaches...in complete horror. I don't know, what's your take? Guardian Mouthwash. What was it like for you? ( surveys )

Some people just don't agree with the way I live my life and the way I raise my kids. I guess I got it my parents who NEVER pushed me in ANY direction that I didn't want to go. They just let me make all the decisions and told me that I could do it if I focused on it. Even if I sucked at something and had the audacity to think that I was good, they let me make my mistake. That is why I simply cannot agree with many parents in today's society. Children who are pushed in every single direction suffer from great emotional and mental distress that parents then ignore. It's like they can't live with themselves if their kids are anything less than SUPER. Oh come of it!!! Every single one of us is born with a special talent and if we let things flow, the kids will discover it all on their own! Without parental intervention. We need to help them be at peace with themselves so that they can discover who they really are. I did not say that....Buddha did. And the last I h...

I just want to leave something with you today. Look, Nanowrimo is coming up again...it's November. For those of you who have been dreaming about coming up with a novel or write a book, here's your chance to challenge yourself. You are given one whole month.....to write....and complete....50,000 words. OH MY GOD!!! That's impossible!! You're ape, you're crazy, you're out of your f-cking mind! No, it's not. I've done it before while whacking out article after article after article and it got completed. I finished and I am still alive. Anyway, all it takes is a constant reminder that we can do it if we want it bad enough. If we see it in our heads that it is happening and we continue working towards that goal no matter how fruitless we think it to be....it will happen. Simply because we want it to happen. I'll leave all the deep stuff to some people here who explained 'The Secret'. At the end of the day, thoughts become reality. For mo...

I work hard. Being mom and a writer amongst many other things is hard. I don't like it when life takes a toll on you and seriously, we should all have a list of things that we like to do or indulge in from time to time. And pampering myself is one of those things. I mean, guys go out racing their cars and girls stay home and stay in the bath. Hahahaha. Perfect. First, there's the HOT BATH!! I like it reeeeaaaaallllllyyy hot. Scald me, babybae! And I like lots of foam too! I understand why kids love bubbles. I watch them pop one by one...sometimes I put it on top of my head, careful not to put some into my mouth and eyes. And then I burn some aromatherapy for company. Sigh....the life. If there's time, I'd scrub myself down and just sink into the hot water, letting it envelope me. Ah! The kids can use the other toilet for emergencies. Or the kitchen sink if one is already using the second bathroom. I mean, this is totally bliss and I don't let anything in...

I love my drinks and will happily indulge in them when offered. But there's one thing about it that I cannot understand....how do you drink alcoholic beverages during the day and not collapse? Or function? Or not fall asleep? Or dance your booty off in the middle of work? I don't know, man. There was this bunch of ah-peks (elderly gentlemen) sitting around in a Chinese restaurant yesterday and I was observing them chatting, playing cards and drinking their Tiger Beer. The chatting were a little too loud and they were flicking cigarette ashes into someone's dog's food nearby. Sure....they're having fun but for crissakes, it's three thirty in the afternoon!! Hhhhmmm.....I think, in a lot of ways, the perspective is different and the demands are different for them. What else is there to do (for them) apart from loiter around and just minggling with people their age. They probably don't work (DUH!!) and have nowhere else to go, anyway, so, if they get re...

I am taking a risk here but this is a heartfelt post that I feel should be written and posted. It's a touchy subject... It's sad when you come up with really chirpy statements to encourage the normal citizen to exercise their right to vote and they give you a solemn statement and makes you reel back for a few breathless seconds. ' What for? There's no hope for this country. Whatever we do, nothing's going to change. Accept it ,' says he. This is coming from an everyday bloke walking around hand-in-hand with his girlfriend, all of...maybe....thirty-five years of age? So young and yet already have his head in a cloud of hopelessness? So soon? The fight's only just begun! But who can blame them? Look at the recent events...politicians with soiled pasts are found, kicked out, reinstated and gone on to win. Again and again....and yet AGAIN! Shameful, it is. So, who can blame them? However, here's why the fight must continue. They want us to give up ...

I've not been doing my Monday Ha-Ha's for a long time. No consistency...one of my biggest problems. Anyway, I just saw this and thought it would brighten up your day a little. For some reason, despite not having quality sleep, I feel WAHHOOOO! this morning. Must be something I ate last night....oily, onion-filled, missing-chicken-beef-or-any-other-forms-of-meat spaghetti. Must be vegetarian version. I feel good right now but I don't know when my batteries will start dying out...probably I'll start going limp before lunch, eh? Hehehe. Well, here's to your Monday. Hope you have a smashing good one and don't break too many toothpicks....they'll hurt your eyelids. *** *** *** Shaggy, Shania Twain, and Britney Spears go in a limo to a restaurant. Someone farts and Shaggy says,"Wasn't me!". Shania Twain says," That don't impress me much." Britney Spears says,"Oops, I did it again." The next day they go in a limo to ...

We were sitting around on the table having our egg sandwich and I ask my kids this, 'So, what did you have for lunch?' Kid 2 went: 'We had punch' Me: Punch? Kid 2: Yeah, like. KAPOW!! hahahaha! I wasn't amused. Me: So you think it's funny to have PUNCH for LUNCH eh? Kid 1: HAHAHAHA! Cool, punch for lunch! We laughed. Kid 1: Mom, what did the wrestler said to the other wrestle during a break? Me: I don't know. Kid 1: He said, Should I deliver the PUNCH line? And we dissolved into laughter. Talking about kids, I just wanted to say something really quick about this. Suri Cruise, the tot to Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, I think, should not be wearing heels. Heels are weapons of torture!! And cute little princesses like Suri should not be made to wear them at her age. Bad parents! :-) But she's cute isn't it? Nice tong ue, tho Do you think Suri Cruise should be wearing heels at her age? ( opinion )

This is what Joceline Kow wrote on her Facebook account and I've verified everything. The name of the patient is Hew Chun Choong and is in need of financial assistance in raising funds for chemo due to stomach cancer. He is currently assigned to a Dr. Lam in Tung Shin Hospital in Jalan Pudu, which I have called and verified. I've also have spoken to Jocelyn and assessed her Facebook account. As far as I can see, this is a genuine case of a 32-year-old perfectly healthy man whose life suddenly took a turn for the worse. As Joceline said in her message, this is just something she is doing from the bottom of her heart. *** **** This is my friend. Yes he is my college mate who gave me lots of guidance in my study as we were both Chinese ed. He is 32 this yr, a very hardworking, determined and kind hearted person trying to make a better living in life. He was dignosed v STOMACH CANCER in Mar 09. After 3rd chemo, he become a totally different person in body but his spirit n...

I got this email purportedly from Paypal asking me to confirm a payment that has been made to my web host. Like I am going to fall for that. But then I realized that a lot of people actually fall for it!! So, I am going to write this to prevent stuff like this from happening to unsuspecting people who have just started to learn how to use Paypal. Above is the email. First of all, look at the 'from' field. Paypal will send you with an email like @paypal.com or @intl.paypal.com and not @paypal-us.intl.com. No such thing. If you go to Paypal's page, they will tell you the same thing. And then look at the 'to' field. WHO THE HELL IS 67843? Paypal's got all my personal information which includes my email, so....who is 67843? Lottery number? Brudder, there's an extra number there. In the picture above, it says 'Click here to cancel this transaction'. This is common for scams because they want you alarmed enough to urgently click on the thin...

In life, we must always try to learn how to do something new. That's how I learned desktop publishing out of nowhere. Well, I learned it from a VERY EXPENSIVE $#@$^& BOOK from MPH. And then I bought another similarly expensive book for another reason....Adope Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Please take a moment to imagine a writer / law graduate trying to GET THE COMPLICATED PROGRAMS to work in the wee hours of the morning? But I never give up. I don't like losing ( read : bloody sore loser. If I lose, it's somebody else's fault....ALL THE TIME!), so I persist. All of a sudden, I want to learn how to make sushi because my mother-in-law's maid made damn nice sushi. If she can make sushi, then I can make BETTER sushi. Let me tell you folks.....it was sooooooooooooooo NOT better . Disaster was the word. Did I tell you about how I hate to lose? Yeah? OK, here it is again....I hate to lose. I could be all kinds of things but loser is not one of the...

One of the reasons why I can continue to be friends with Krista and Lydia for such a long time. I've known these women for some time, mind you. But you know what makes us friends? We're completely unique in our own way. We're ALL WRITERS but we're not really competing with each other. Krista would be doing the same thing as I am doing but I am not a threat to her because she has her own style and technique. Lydia is an author with published books and I am trying to get books published and yet, I am not a threat to her because we're both different. We're unique. This same principle applies to you as a professional and you as a friend. You are different. Even when you're supposed to bite each others' heads off, you don't because you appreciate each other and value each others' style and work. We understand each other and appreciate. Very important. And this is what Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly did in this video. It's awesome!!! I lo...

I don't know what it was that I did wrong but apparently, I did it really bad and someone wants me dead. I'm convinced. I have no bloody doubt about it. I work with the Internet...that's one of the prerequisites of working from home. If. you. can't. be. here. then. I. need. you. to. be. ONLINE!!! And you know what? Ever since I moved into this new home of mine, end of last year, I've been plagued by issues and problems that prevented me from being online time and time again. Sometimes, it's the problem with our wonderful Telco company, Telekom. Sometimes, it's not but it's ironic all the same. Everyone knows that you can take my arm or my kidney, but you can't take my internet connection from me. Never. Not even for a second can I be offline. I am sick and tired of this. So, I tried out P1 Wimax....not any good for people living around my area because service is unreliable. Whenever office workers came back to their homes and logged on, I los...