Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

You know how when you are indoors, the after-rain smell is very rejuvenating. It is like a blessing from the sky. A form of cleansing. Like the water just came to wash away all the smog, smoke and dust in the air? You gotta give that a lot of lurve, baybae. I remember a time when I was younger (and much more courageous), I loved walking in the rain. Better yet if it was a fierce, growling, and snapping thunderstorm. I would bellow up into the sky, 'Is that all YOUUUUU'''VEEEEE GGGOOOOOTTTTTT! I AAMMMMM RRRIIIIGGGHHHTTTT HHHHEEEERRREEEE!!!' LOL. You mix around with crazy friends, you get crazy response. I love my life now, make no mistake about it. There is stability, the unknown, the scary, the effing terrifying, the known, the predictable, the love, the mistakes, the laughter, the friends....love everything about it. Especially the experiences. I used to wallow around because of the mistakes that I did when I was younger but those are precious. I won'...

A couple of years ago, I had a friend over for a drink. The kids have resigned to their bedroom so, I decided pulling out a bubbly together with a (non-mother) friend would be fun. We would talk about non-mothering stuff. Like...I don't know...a jazz singer we don't know? Working from home is a major hurdle for anyone who have to take care of their kids at the same time. It requires strategic planning akin to the ones they do at NASA when predicting which meteor will hit us when. You just can't find the time for simple things....like going to the bathroom or calling your friend. These seemingly simple tasks and pleasures have taken the back seat for such a long time that I no longer knew what I did for fun. Oh yes. Partying. Geez, what the hell is THAT?! So, that night, my friend told me very simply, 'You just need to get out and do something when you have the time to', she quipped. When I have what? Time? Like in the middle of the night, you mean? Is IKEA o...

A thought on how to care for the world

http://where-the-heart-is.tumblr.com/post/67699570533

Life is throwing me some curve balls again. But hey, that's what this is all about. So, my kids and I, we were sitting around after eating lunch at our favorite restaurant and they notice this gloom on my face although I was just people-watching. Just watching people...and cars going by. I love doing that. But my kids know me too well and asked 'Is there something you are worried about, mom? You look gloomy'. I didn't think I was gloomy or sad or anything, just watching and thinking. So, I told them, 'Grownups do that, we think. What do you want me to look like when I am thinking? Would it be natural if I went around like this?' *makes derpy smiley face LOLOL!!!! We agreed that I cannot possibly go around looking like that and we made further examples of why we can't go around smiling like that. People will think we are nuts and how a normal face is usually just a nondescript one. Nothing cures like being able to be yourself, without being judged...

In my first year of elementary school, my teacher gave me a picture of an apple and two oranges … and asked me to pick out the one that did not belong. The first thing they taught me was that being different is wrong. It’s really not......(---)

After going through the first day of a 21-day meditation challenge organized by Deepak Chopra (and heavily promoted by good friend, Oprah), I had the first notion of what makes me me. After all, they asked during the first session the most intense, complicated and hardest to answer question known to the Universe (without joking, OK? Hahaha)...i.e. Who am I? Of course, in my head, I was joking around again....me ah? 'Marsha la, who else, duh?' But you get swayed by the music and voice and things quieten down a little. You go, Whoa....OK, this is not a joke. OK. I answer. *Silence. Sound of crickets mating. Frogs croaking. Sound of raindrops.* This is deep. Help. LOL...who the fcuk am I, really? hahaha. I think I need someone else to tell me. But at the end of it, I guess the short answer would be 'someone who  can make a difference' or something to that effect. Don't let me bore you with what I found out about myself. Go do the 21-day challenge and find out mo...

Don't be a racist. Be like Mario. He's an Italian plumber; created by Japanese people, who speaks English, and looks like Mexico......(---)

Sometimes I feel kind of sad whenever I check my Feedly RSS because over the years, I have subscribed to quite a long list of favorite bloggers. Nowadays, whenever I load the feed, I realize that I have to find more blogs to follow because a lot of those favorite bloggers have stopped blogging and sharing. Admittedly, once upon a time, I considered it too. What with having someone flagging my old blog for being politically insensitive and all that (it wasn't REALLLLYYYYYY politically-motivated) because it was an age whereby Malaysia was not really prepared for free speech. Real free speech. Or freedom of having an opinion....and a blog. So yes, I thought that I might as well stop or go anonymous or something because no one was really reading, anyway. I've lost my old blog. But it was then that I received an email asking me 'How come you are not updating your blog anymore? Miss your posts!' There, right there, written on my Karma sheet '1 life touched' an...

Be real because a mask only fools people on the outside. Pretending to be someone you’re not takes a toll on the real you and the real you is more important than anyone else......(---)

It's FRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY..... I am feeling exceptionally happy today! 5 more articles to go and its beer relax time with friends later....IF it happens, that is. You'll never know with friends....traffic jams...weather....politics....I don't know where the last one came from. Anyway, just in case you are all stressed out with work and struggling with whatever you are struggling with, here's an uplifting video. Note, those who are sensitive about religious stuff or whatever, please don't click. It's a Buddhist monk speaking.  You know how everything is so super sensitive these days in Malaysia. Hahaha... Whatever it is, if you are religiously sensitive, don't click. If you don't mind it and is looking for a cute monk trying to cheer you up, watch it.