Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

And you would think that the reason we say 'it's raining cats and dogs' to be because the sound of a thunderstorm is akin to the rufus that cats and dogs make when they...chance upon each other? But no. Accordingly, it has got a lot more to do with myth that we thought. It comes from Norse Mythology (don't ask me, I'm scratching my head too) who believed that cats symbolized rain and a dog symbolizes a storm or a gust of strong wind. As in, if you see a cat on the road, then it is going to rain. If you see a dog on the streets, be ready for a storm. Hhhmmm....I wonder how it works if I saw a cat and my neighbor saw a dog? The amnesty between these two animals, I believe, would have SOMETHING to do with how the phrase was coined. You can't ignore the fact that cats and dogs DO hate the hell outta each other and when they fight, it kinda shakes the neighborhood up. Anyway, I am thankful that it is not raining cats and dogs over here in Petaling Jaya today an...

" i got a problem. when i hv an opinion, i can't stop my mouth from talking or my fingers from typing. is a bloody prob, really" I blame my parents for this! :-) It is within me to share my opinion with others without needing to impose my thoughts on them. It is a matter of sharing my personal opinion and not a personal attack. The funny thing is that there are situations whereby you are required to just shuddup, u know and I have a real problem with that. The words are there on my tongue, waiting to be spoken. If there is no one in front of me, I feel the urgent need to type it out in an article, on my Facebook status update or tweet it. This can cause problems for me, :-) I am learning how to shuddip when the time calls for it and say it when the time is right. This is called timing and I have to learn how to know when is the best time to say it and be patient. Patience, as it turns out, is not one of my biggest virtues. *blergh*

so there! :-))) Not THAAAAAAAAT bad what! Created by Oatmeal I don't tweet:- in the toilet while cooking while driving while talking on the phone when I am out eating in a restaurant (I do tweet the things I cooked, tho) when I am having an argument about my personal hygiene (only a few times. But that is because I stink) about personal arguments that I have had with friends and other people around me when I am reading about other people's bad habit (unless they suck!!! does that still count?) So, I'm not so bad. Now, to control my drunk-tweets.... hehehe

Maung. It IS a funny name and I've gotten used to being asked about my name. Whenever I am asked my full name and I answered, I find it amusing when they roll my surname on their tongues...like tasting the finest caviar or something of that sort. They try to figure out the origin of the name and suffice to say, not many of them gets it right the first time. Unless they have been to Burma or Myanmar (as it is called these days). I have been born and bred here in Malaysia but my name dictates that I will forever be more Myanmarese than Malaysian....cultural-wise. I mean, here in Malaysia, I am literally classified as 'OTHERS' or Lain-Lain. I am not going to go into this politically but socially, it's quite a dent in my confidence in the government. Hence, my striving for equality and a raceless society. What does it matter what one's race is??? So, what? We are all human beings with a right to find happiness and justice. Why should I be forced to tick the ...

By scrolling through all the posts that I have made recently, I have noticed a dramatic change in the way that I am picking topics. Last time, I used to be this funny chic mom who wrote to amuse and entertain. Some of it wasn't even the entire truth (it WAS but I admit that I have to exaggerate a little to be funny, don't I?! Hehehe...Ask a comedian and you will know that exaggeration is key to being funny). But recently, I have been writing on zen thoughts, life, living and sometimes even Buddhism (which I have come to love so much). I have also been writing about food a lot too. ACK! I don't know how THAT happened, trust me. I am not much of a foodie...except for being a painfully anal one. This...is the truth. No exaggeration here. So, I have decided to start another blog. I already have one for my writing stuff - www.contentmagician.com so, I guess I'll start another one for this other journey. My Zen Journey. Please welcome Zen Chic Mom to this world...w...

In my personal opinion, it's good that some of these food outlets offer free meals for kids. I mean, they make quite a fair bit of money from the main courses that they offer. I don't go to Chilli's very often....well, I try to eat out as little as possible because I believe in eating healthily and I don't know what they do in the kitchen and what they put in the food. PARANOIA!!! :-) No lah, it's just that, I prefer to cook and eat at home and it is cheaper too. Once in a while, it's fine. One day, I took my kids out to Chillis to eat a quick one before we catch a movie. And you know what? I got two instant complaints. One, is that their FREE meal for the kids got no meat wan. Like, it's called chicken Spaghetti but there is nary a piece of chicken to be found. I was thinking that maybe there is one or two pieces in there? Looked inside and nope. Not a single piece in there. Wah....damn kiam siap lor. It is FREE, I know but heck, at least validify why...

If you are a fan of crystals (I am SUUUUUUUCCCHHHH a big fan!!) then you should know that as much as crystal energy can effect your energy in a positive way, over time, the crystal also absorbs your energy or the energy of the people around you. So, over time, the energy of the crystal can become 'dirty' or 'clouded'. Hence, you need to give the poor lil thing a shower after a period of time. How many times a month should you clean your crystal depends on how many times do you wear it, how you feel and what kind of state the crystal is in. For mine, since i wear it on a daily basis, I cleanse them about once a week. OK, fine. Sometimes I forget. I forgot to clean mine last week so, here I am, giving them a bath in sea salt solution under the sun. Always use natural salts as opposed to the usual ones. I know sea salt and lake salt are more expensive but haiyo, these things cannot be frugal about. That is, if you believe in it lah. If you don't, then just use...

Near my house, there is a temple and sometimes I make it a point to visit it. There is something very serene about the atmosphere inside. The monks are either sitting on one of the benches chatting with normal folks like us, or they are meditating somewhere in one of their chambers. They have lots of booklets and handouts and so, walking past, I grab one. Hoping for some insight? You bet. Anyway, I grabbed this one called 'One Hundred Tasks For Life' written and compiled by Venerable Master Hsing Yun. The first one on the list is 'discover your greatest shortcomings and be willing to correct it'. Hhhhmmmm.....so many, Venerable! But come to think of it, I think it's right to put it at the top of the list of things to do in this lifetime. Human beings err, whether we like it or not. But because we are ego beings, our first reaction would be to deny that we have a problem or that the problem is someone else's problem. We are not wrong, our ego says. Being...

Centerpoint is my regular haunt. Nintendo games there. My scented candles there. Bernards there. Last time, I used to visit this place because of the gym too but now no more. The gym chap-lap (closed down) liao. And it's really quite convenient from where I stay. I went there recently (as with other days) to fix up my kid's Nintendo DS and get some new games for their school holiday. Got hungry and decided to eat there. My  personal fave local noodles dish, apart from wan tan mee and prawn mee, is the Pan Mee. Pan Mee is a hand-made noodles thing that is served up in salty-sweet sauce all jumbled together so that the noodles absorb the sauce. Then it is topped up with a little bit of minced pork (or chicken, as you like it) and LOTSA dried anchovies!! Oh, geepers! The anchovies is my favorite part of this dish. However, the ATC Kopi-Tiam Pan Mee is fail (not good) maximum! It's sweet, not salty. It's quite tasteless, actually. But maybe the boss (owner) is not i...

Once upon a time, someone once told me the reason why he liked to take photos. With photos, you capture one moment in time, a moment that will never repeat itself again. I agree. But sometimes, objects are the same. One moment they are like this, another moment, they're different. Take lots of photos, folks. Especially of your kids. Sometimes, I spend time just leafing through the album collection that I have and marvel at how much my kids have changed over the years. They're different now. Last time, they were cute and innocent. Now, they're all grown-up and sometimes logical (most of the time illogical - ssshhhh!). Here are some pictures that I have taken last night - of objects. My meditation center. My Ohhmm.... :-) I didn't complete this - not gonna take credit for completing the thing An accidentally beautiful picture I call this my disco ball. Sometimes, it's wonderful to just watch this thing and be amazed at how beautiful the light is coming out f...

In other parts of the world, alternatives are being used as replacements for plastic bags, for many others, plastic bag is a still the way we bring home the stuff we bought in the mall or grocery store. However, in line with a more aggressive green movement today, thankfully, Asia is in on the green game too. The most common problems cited for 'accidentally' using the plastic bags provided by shopping malls and retail outlets today is this: 'I forgot to bring my reusable shopping bag'. But here are some ways to stop forgetting. Get loads of shopping bags. They're cheap, really. Most malls sell them quite cheap so, there's really no issue of cost because you are going to be using and reusing them over and over again. Just keep them clean by washing them occasionally with soap and water. Place the bags in very obviously accessible places like the car (because you are going to need the car to go shopping, right?), your handbag and also in your kids...

When we are at work, most of us spend endless hours tackling tasks from our computer. I don't know of a single person who works in the corporate world who does NOT use a computer on a daily basis. Hence, I personally think that it is important that we make our working environment as happy as possible. And this is one of the ways I do that. How can you see this and not smile? Well, at least a little bit?

Trust me, I know that Pizza Hut in 1Utama is a fast-food restaurant. Decoration, presentation, fine-dining experience, courteous service is not high up on their priority list but come on, burnt meatball? Obviously, someone forgot that it was in the oven, right? Looks like something I would force down my kids' throats simply because it took bloody effort to heat this frozen thing up, hokay? EAT!!!

Went for Emma Thompson's Nanny McPhee just now with the kids and there were two instances that I have to 'report'. But I'll go for the one who irked me the most. Golden Screen Cinemas, I have been supporting you over Tanjung Golden Village for a valid reason...more convenient and comfy seats. Really, not kidding. But what happened tonight, I think I might just switch to TGV. You see, I bought tickets for Golden Screen CInema's screening of 'Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang' and went up to seat my kids while coming back down to buy pop-corn. At first, I thought the popcorn stall would be open upstairs but it wasn't, so, seeing that the line is long, I decided to seat the kids first and come down for the popcorn. Anyway, came down and the line was still long (I don't want to leave them alone in the dark cinema alone for too long) so, I decided to buy from other stalls without realizing that it's not a 'LEGITIMATE' stalls belonging to Gol...

The unique thing about this storyline is that everyone, more or less, gets a chance to be bad and then good, bad and then good again. At the end of the day, you don't really know who is the real good and bad person. I like Jessica Hsuen and think she's a fantastic actress but somehow, when you have veteran villains in there, she sorta falls short. Not by a lot, but still falling short. I mean, you have Bowie there who has been the meanest kind of baddie EVA and then there's Kiki Sheung in there. In the end, when you look at Jessica's villain parts, it's nothing to shout about. The storyline is a little over-the-top as usual but it's pretty boring in the beginning when you get confused as to who is who, what is doing what, who's for real and what's really going on. The pace picks up towards the end, don't worry. For ONCE, Savio Tsang is NOT the baddie!! Hahahaha!! He's the good guy ALL THE WAY to the end of the movie. It's sad that th...

Last week, we were drenched in the storm a few times in a row. It's not that I am kiam-siap (frugal) that we don't have umbrellas. We do. But look what happens to the umbrellas. Don't play a fool with the storms here in Malaysia, they wreck havoc to innocent little things like the umbrella I bought from Guardian for RM6. I know, it's cheap. It's not very strong. Today, we went for lunch at a friend's restaurant nearby. The moment we ordered, the sky darkened outside which is uncharacteristic for the timely weather here. The weather usually sucks around rush hour when people head back home. So, today it rained a little earlier than usual. Having had my umbrellas wrecked, I thought 'Oh feckk!!' And we're just recovering from this nasty flu! But you can always count on good old 'unwanted newspaper' to cover your head with.

Down with flu and so have the kids. Don't like it one bit!! I mean, when you're sick, you need rest but for me, there's work, there's cooking to be done, there's laundry, there's a whole long list of things that I need to complete whether I am dead or alive. Nah, that's a stretch. As long as I am breathing, these tasks demand my attention. And it's the school holidays and the kids are home (and a little sickly as well) so, this is really no fun. I had something witty to write earlier but when you are down and out, sick and tired and wishing for 36 hours of languid rest, your humor becomes as dry as toilet paper. So, no, I won't make anyone hate me. I also had something to share too....a personal experience and a learning curve for me, but not in the mood. Maybe tomorrow. Or maybe when school holiday is over. We recently had a holiday in Penang so, no, not another vacation so soon. Hey, my father is not Vincent Tan, you know!!!! Have to work...

Q: What kind of girl do you want? A: The perfectly beautiful one Q: Why do you still stay with her when you can't stand her? A: Because she's gorgeous. Q: How come you are so fascinated by that woman? A: Have you noticed her legs? Q: What makes a woman beautiful? A: Long legs, beautiful smile, tiny waistline, big bust, long hair, etc Is it any wonder that throughout my years of growing up that I never once felt like I was going to be beautiful enough? Maybe that is the reason behind my (insane) hatred for Megan Fox...well, I think her marketing concept is ditzy, though. But at the end of the day, this is how superficial men and women are. The attack is not on men alone, but women is pretty much the same. We want handsome men, tall, with money, if possible with a mansion, who is loving and caring, understands our needs but also drives a Jaguar around. *roll eyes* There was once a man who told me that he thought that I was beautiful and I burst into tears. No, seriously, b...

Shit happened today but I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. I feel bad but I know it will work out for the better. Sometimes, you have to look at things from a more positive perspective, otherwise, you will lose sight of what is important. That is a part of the survival skill that we are equipped with. Still, I am thankful that it happened because I can feel my life moving in a new direction. It's as if all those things that used to be oh-so-important to me before...they are no longer priority or even a little bit important. Yes, there are things that are here to stay regardless of how much I dislike it but there are things that you can change. So, instead of focusing on the things that I can't change, I need to find out what is really in store for me in the future by looking forward. That is what you should do too when shit happens. Know that it is there to guide you, move you and lead you into a new direction.