Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

Some time back, I thought that I couldn't do with some things but now....I think I can. :-) Things sorta moved around a little on the list. Last time 1. My kids 2. Family 2. Internet 3. My work 4. Piano 5. Cell phone 6. Organizer 7. Friends 8. Car 9. Blog 10. TV Now:- 1. Myself 2. Family,Kids and Friends 2. Sanity 3. Yoga Mat 4. Music 5. Food 6. Health 7. Piano 8. Cell phone 9. Internet 10. TV On a technical point, in Zen Buddhism, there shouldn't even BE a list of 'things that I cannot do without' because you are not supposed to hang on to or form attachment to anything in this life. One day, like everything else, they are all going to go. Including myself. So, there is no point in making a list like this. So, watch me. I am going to scrap all of them...just like so.... 1. Myself 2. Family,Kids and Friends 2. Sanity 3. Yoga Mat 4. Music 5. Food 6. Health 7. Piano 8. Cell phone 9. Internet 10. TV I CAN live. Period.

Some of my friends think that because I practice yoga at home, eat healthily and regularly focus on the positive things in life automatically makes it unreasonable for me to react in a human way to negative things, negative people or horrific news that I read on the Internet or the paper. No, it is not unreasonable. Yes, I feel much better after a yoga season and especially after meditating. But sadly, the feelings don't last forever and you know why? Because I am still alive. As long as I am alive and breathing, these are the humanly traits that I will have. I can control them better, yes, but I still feel the urge to swear, cry, behave like a kid and show people my middle finger. I know. Tee hee.... :-) So, even yoga practitioners or even renowned teachers can tell you that it is a struggle too. It doesn't make you IMMUNE to feelings, except that you learn to let go of the feelings quicker as you return to breathing. Have you ever noticed how you stop breathing when...

Not been such a healthy health freak today...just a freak. :-) The kids love instant noodle (for a very wrong reason) so, it is one of those days that I say 'to hell with it'. So, the major ingredients are mostly processed food but cooked in a healthy manner, ok? I can't find the regular instant noodle brand that I usually like so, I settled for this one. Gonna tell you in a bit where it stands as far as taste and quality is concerned. Because instant noodles really lack nutritional value, you gotta add your favorite vegetable into it, you know. And this is mine today. Don't like veg, force yourself. It is good for you. :-) Sound your mom, I bet. Or maybe I sound like YOU. Just for good measure, I decided to add eggs and tofu (from yesterday's complete DISASTER experiment) into this. So, here we go. I have some leftover shallots too, I remembered, so, in it goes. Why waste something so fragrant and wonderful? I don't know about you but whenev...

This is a relatively easy dish to make and it is absolutely DELISH!! For me at least because I have a bit of a Penang tongue. Pork Mixture :- Shallots Garlic Sweet preserved vegetable Dried prawn, soaked and rinsed thoroughly Pork (with a little bit of fat is good) Salt Pepper Sugar (a little bit) Soya sauce Prep: BLEND IT. Well. In this instance, I chose not to blend the pork. I chopped it with a knife ala kampung style until both my hands felt like falling apart. Egg:- Well....Eggs Salt Pepper Soya Sauce Seasame oil Spring Onion Water Prep : Whisk it. The more you whisk it, the foamier it becomes. It's FUN!! It all depends on how you like your eggs, OK? So, whisk according to taste. Both will look like this. So, what do you do next? You throw them in together in a wok, very much like this. ...and steam them for like 20 minutes or so (use agak-agak method, please) and then proceed to the next step...which is EAT!!!

Went out lunch with a friend today and we were just chatting and chatting and chatting...the way old aunties like us do. The funny thing is that I was reflecting about how different the conversation would have been if we were still the college kids that we were when we met. We have grown so much that I said to her, 'Right now, at this moment in time, I realize how miserably pathetic we were when we were kids. But we had to make the mistakes, right? Right. The dumb ones, the mind-numbing ones, the killer ones, the embarrassing ones, the bawl-your-eyeballs-out ones, the F@CK-U-TOO ones.... At this juncture, I dare say that I have come a looooooooooonnnnnnnnggggggg way. I didn't even know that I was suffering from a burnout and low self confidence until...quite recent, actually. The reasons why I stick with the wrong guys. The reason why I let them kick my mind and heart around like it was a soccer ball. The reasons why we refuse to say 'Thank you' whenever someone pai...

This is m y favorite yoga pose. I think it is called Balancing tabletop, a variation of it because the original is with opposing hands and legs straight out. Quite hard to master in the beginning but after a while, you use your knee, shin, and stomach to stabilize the movements of your arms and legs as they move to connect to each other.

Damn, it's bad. Feel like the world is slamming me in the head and giving a good lesson about life, work and friends all at the same time. But it's OK. Not going to die from this. This is life...you learn everyday. I am not a technical writer, end of story. I can't read into your mind or insider secrets either. Period. I am not a super hero and I never claimed to be. I am a simple writer with limits. If you are looking for a technical writer, then consider someone who has experience and education in that respect. This 'friend' of mine hired me as a normal blogger/writer, telling me that all I have to do and write is about basic everyday stuff. Nothing too intense or serious. The criteria changed along the way and then he said that I sucked at it. Of course I sucked at it - he has more than a decade of experience, and I have none. He has to help me, man! But he didn't. And said that I sucked. OK, fine. I'll take it, whatever it is. I was advised to le...

Another case of a racist headmistress has just been reported and to say that I am aghast is an understatement. This feels like using a crane to extract my teeth. Yes, I am vocal about over here in Malaysia but I am vocal because I am not afraid. I am not a racist. And I was just telling my cousin why. I would love to see a system that is fairly executed and managed, and that is not wrong. After all, that is what Democracy is all about. I have wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL Malay Muslim friends all over the world and in the same way that they love me, I love them too. I think I like living like that - no hatred, just togetherness and respecting each other. If it were the Chinese or Indians or the Lain-Lains (how sad is THAT?) discriminated against, I will still feel that justice is not served. We are the family and as long as we all hold the same type of IC, then we are deserving of the same opportunities. Currently, I am living with a system that favored boys over girls, elder b...

Nice article to read on health, food and stress. :-)))) As we get busy and stressed, we tend to make poor nutritional choices that can actually increase our stress levels and cause other problems. Here are ten tips for getting good nutrition and maintaining a more healthy diet, even under stress. After a few weeks, they’ll become habit and you won’t even have to think about good nutrition. And your body—not to mention your stress level—will feel the difference! Eat Breakfast : You may rationalize that you’re not hungry yet, that you don’t have time, that lunch will come soon enough, that you need to diet anyway, or that the milk in the latte you pick up on the way is all the good nutrition you need. But skipping breakfast makes it harder to maintain stable blood sugar levels and effective functioning during your busy morning; you need it. (You can easily grab a hard-boiled egg and container of orange juice on your way out the door, right?) Opt For Green Tea : If you’re a coffee junk...

It is going to be a hit-and-run blog today cause I am rushing for some things. Anyway, just wanted to share with you about this new handheld blender/juicer that I found. Believe it or not, I break blenders for a living. Actually, I broke one and the other one makes a lot of noise but don't blend. Isn't it annoying when they are like that? So, I went out looking for a new one and chanced upon this one. Been using it for a coupla days and I tell ya, this blender is a mighty good one. If you're looking for a nice blender, consider this one. No, I don't work for Philips although they were once my client. And no, they are not paying for this blog post. I don't mind, though. You hear me, Philips? You hear? :-)))

Everyone bakes...so, sometimes I wonder if the problem is me. I don't bake AT ALL because the last time I tried, it was a pre-mix thing and when it came out, it was nothing like a cake. Not even remotely. One time, it came out too hard...so hard I could demolish a wall with it. The other time, it came out like...well...in a much nicer way to describe the end-result...it came out looking like really disgusting-looking but nice-smelling mush. One friend told me that with baking, you need to be very precise and accurate with your measurement and then I see where the problem is. Precision is not my thing. I like to wing it. Even when I cook, I prefer to just wing it and be 'surprised' (or shocked, depending on my mood) with the result. I know so many friends who are into decorative cake baking too. One of them is the famous Mama Min who bakes the naughtiest of things. She is also the wife to a popular ex-DJ and now-actor, Patrick Teoh. Check this one out. Awesome! Ferr...

This weekend, I have had to re-learn an old lesson. That lesson is not to suppress an emotion. In the past, whenever I had negative feelings or felt bad about something, my immediate reaction is to pretend they don't exist or hope that the feeling will go away. Or I put up a brave front and be a MAN about it, not talk about it or learn how to confront the emotion. I learn that by suppressing the emotion, when they come out (which they eventually will), comes up ten times...no, thousands of times more explosive than they should have been. I know what you guys out there are thinking already...it's 'Oh Shit' thing? No, everything's fine... But reflecting back on it has forced me to come face-to-face with reality. That my tendency to run away from negative emotions is still here and that I have not learned this lesson well. It is not to say that you have to explode at everything but in Zen teaching, they teach you to confront the emotion, respect the feeling...

Thanks, AceOne for sharing this. It's too good not to be shared here as well. *** *** A middle aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience. During that experience she sees God and ask if this is it. God says no and explains that she has another 30 years to live. Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck, etc. She even has someone come in and change her hair color. She figures since she's got another 30 years she might as well make the most of it. She walks out of the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital. She arrives in front of God and complains: "I thought you said I had another 30 years. God replies, "I didn't recognize you."

I like to get creative in the kitchen sometimes, as mentioned, it is probably the only time I get to think out of the box. It's like this - How about NOT using oyster sauce, instead try the Abalone OYSTER SAUCE ? I know. Huh?!! :-) No, but at the very least I get to mix and match some ingredients so that it doesn't taste exactly like yesterday's dinner. But for some reason today, I have absolutely no desire to get creative. The day started off fine, mind you, but after a while, the joy began waned. Maybe I am dead-tired sleepy. Maybe I just need a beer. Or maybe it has something to do with the political scene in Malaysia whereby a politician received a death threat and a live bullet in his mail yesterday. This is dirty-dirty work, man. Although I do not favor anger and violence, I believe that one should face up to someone we don't agree with if we don't agree with them. Then have it out in words. Only people who are afraid of losing resort to name-calling, ha...

This might sound funny to some of you out there but I am religious when it comes to using a checklist. Years upon years of working from home tells me that I can get nothing done and that the beckoning of ASTRO Travel and Living channel will be answered if I don't use a checklist. And I find extreme, EXTREME joy in ticking things off the checklist...it motivates me. I like to see all those things checked-off and I feel INCREDIBLY USEFUL. :-) So, if you work from home and have problems juggling things, I strongly recommend using a checklist. Motivate yourself and feel how insanely happy when you check them off! Have a splendid Tuesday. My part-time maid is here right now...cleaning up the mess that my kids and I made over the week. Life's good sometimes.

I have a big complaint...when writing parenting magazines and books, they tell you all those wonderful milky first-smile moments. They highlight the fact that you are consistently surrounded by love, how every sleepy moment is worthwhile and how your baby's first 'mommy' will make you smile for a year. Fast forward ten years. This is when you have to fight for your sanity. Don't get me wrong, motherhood DOES change your life for the better but like everything else in life, you need balance. And when it comes to kids, balance is not even a word in the dictionary. The word 'balance' sort of 'poofs' off into the sunset like the Malboro Man. Read original article on MarshaMaung.ME

There is a good reason why I religiously love the wet market these days. The food is fresh fresh fresh!! Sure, it is a tedious task to actually wake up early in the morning (easy for me because I already HAVE TO - the kids have to go to school) and drag yourself to a place that is smelly and wet. I don't like seeing them slaughter the chicken but that is about the only thing I don't like about the morning market. I don't know...maybe it is an age thing. But then again...maybe it is NOT. I was lazy a couple of weeks back and ended up having to buy some stuff from Giant supermarket near by place...big mistake. And here is proof. I bought this packet of beef and started washing and marinating them before I went to sleep and I chose one that looked the freshest of the lot. See how the outside of the beef piece is actually lighter in color compared to the inner parts? Not cool, dude, not cool. As I wash them, I thought the water turning red was from the beef itself. I...

Being slightly (OK, quite a lot, actually!) Zen-ish and a believer of peace, calm, power and strength in social fairness, people might wonder why I would care about Malaysian politics. Why, when i have enough to feed myself and my family. Why, when i do not need to? In my house, everybody gets everything fair and square. I am very very particular about it. If one boy gets two pieces of chicken, the other gets the same. No more, no less, unless the other boy did not mind or did not want anymore. The concept is that both of them are treated fairly and mommy favors BOTH. Do you get the picture? Although I am not a lawyer, I believe that when my father asked me what course I wanted to study in college, I said law, there was a reason for that. No, not because I have a big mouth and no, not because I wanted power or make loads of money. I chose law because I hate injustice. It is even in my Zen-ish belief that I can't sit there and watch one person bully another person without st...

Short one today...I mean about the blog post, not about the topic you are about read about in this blog. Erectile dysfunction. :) Why be afraid of it? It’s a very common thing and yet some people buy all sorts of medicine to eat or pretend to be really gung-ho and can still multi-pump a few babes at the same time and have a very deep, deep….DDDDEEEEEPPPP appreciation for a fine pair of bosoms. It is a common problem and when one refuses to admit the problem, it is because of the ego. In my world, ego is as bad a word as 'f2ck'. Oh, come on….wake up, wake up…I meant the person not the p3n1s. 

Received an email today and when I read it, two things went through my head. One, was 'Oh Shit!' The other one was 'WTF?!' This person actually spent some time writing out a short feedback to me informing me of a typo I made without naming the article, obviously not intending for me to rectify the mistake. I mean, if I read an article and found some mistakes and spent some time to write to the person, I would let the person know where the mistake is – to help each other out, you know. Because we are all human beings. We make mistakes. Sometimes we are too lazy to use Microsoft Word spellcheck. Sometimes we just can't be bothered. Yes, we do these things too...just like everyone else. It doesn't matter. So this person wrote to me informing me of a mistake but what I found unbelievable was that he resorted to calling me names. Ok, calling me 'a name'...not a nice one. Now, seriously...I don't know what I did wrong to this person but that ...

Ghost Writer (2010) Cast: Steven Ma, Linda Chung, Fala Chen, Sunny Chan...and a whole host of other people My Rating: 4.5/5 I am deeply, deeply impressed with this series...seriously...eventhough Raymond Lam is not in this series :-) Frankly, after a whole line-up of BORING, BORING, BORING shows (I won't name them...ah heck, example Fly With Me totally suxed!!!), this is a refreshing story. Just like 'Mysteries of Love', there is more meat to the story compared to the normal 'cat dog mouse' as pet storylines which cusks like hell. First of all, there's powerhouse Sunny Chan and Steven Ma in here and the story really made good use of their talents. The chemistry between Steven and Linda remains in tact but the single person who impressed me the most in this series is Fala Chen. For once, there is something very likeable about her character and her performance. Love the sheer innocence which made me guffaw a little here and there. FYI, I bought the whol...