Marsha Maung: Write. Cook. Read. Watch. Try. Innovate.

As a mom, it's natural for me to worry. About what, you say? Erm....everything my creative imagination can think off of on off day where I want feel like there's an angle to kill our CEO and taking over his Dynasty? Then I kinda wake up and suck again. These past few months, we've been through some major developments and changes. They're looking and found work these past few months but mobility has always been a problem. We have 1 car and no driving licence. So, we're kinda trapped a 'lil but who cares, right? We do.  I am gonna outline our journey so it can help others.  College and University in Malaysia Most of the normal universities and colleges  are located within the outskirts of Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The more Premier ones are around either KL outskirts and really slung-away at Nilai or Seremban because these places are not even close.  There are 2 types of systems : One if you're new and adapting; Two if you're still here and please make a d...

It's been some time since I spent some time updating this blog so, I thought today, a precious Saturday (before I start toiling in the kitchen again), would be a good day.  This whole pandemic thing has been really frustrating for some of us. Single parents who have no backup, trust me, are suffering. There were times when I was immensely (and I am using this word very kindly) frustrated that: This was my forties? Really? This is the kind of introduction my kids are getting to adulthood? What kind of college life is this? I just want to get out again I want to do whatever I want without fear again, GDI We feel like prisoners or criminals We are using the internet too much Outside meals shouldn't be THIS damn hard to order or buy Buying groceries - hello! Why do we have to rush every single day to get supplies when we have to work? They say it closes at 8pm but we get off work at 6pm. Discount travel time, it gives us about an hour to get both dinner and groceries. And we're...

  2020 was one-of-a-kind. It presented us with a whole load of firsts. The first time anyone was ever ordered to work from home. The first time, cash is rendered dangerous. The first time I bought eggs online. The first time I got delirious at everybody (anybody) within earshot about not being allowed out of the house. It was also the first time the family ever had a birthday celebration via app. Now, my parents are not very tech-savvy people and my dad, he's the more tech-savvy one between the two, and the app he chooses to master for everything from texting, calling to videoconferencing was Whatsapp. So, while I may video conference people at work with Teams, Zoom, Slack, or Meet, with my parents, we do it with the laggy Whatsapp. We got a bit of a break from this lock-down hullabaloo between the end of 2020 to the middle of 2021 where the noose was loosened by our Malaysian government. With hopes of the vaccine coming in, we were in kind of a happy mood that we were finally allo...

Let's do and keep this together, shall we? Image source:  Vonecia Carswell on Unsplash Here we go again...another close complete lockdown.  The good thing about Malaysia's MOH is that we are good at tiptoeing the line between being competent and being reckless. So, we're almost never completely ravaged by a Pandemic like the ones seen in other countries but we're also a little here-and-there-then-everywhere with our implementation.  It often leave the rest of us hooked onto the news for not just the latest announcements but also the latest changes of minds . There's good and bad in that.  As far as I can tell, most of my friends and family are reallyyyyyy up-to-date about the latest happenings around us.  So far, we've had some close encounters and since I am always in contact with frontliners, you could say that my awareness is always heightened. Plus, my immune system isn't what it was before and I have a sinus problem that scares the bejeezus out of ever...

I am relooking at my life like I've never had to before. I don't even know if this is a mid-life crisis but whatever that I have been through thus far have served critically to making me into a person that I am excited to meet.  I've gone from being absolutely shocked, dismayed, excited, elated, hopeful, destroyed, emotionally drained, disappointed, hopeful and wonderful again, and then have had my soul crushed within these few years.  I don't even really know where I am going anymore. I thought I knew.  Some people just power themselves up by making people feel horrible. They're just the way they are, and honestly speaking, my younger self would have done everything within my power to try to change these people. To believe that I have a pocketful of cheer dust to sprinkle over them to make them better.  But I am no longer young.  I know now that there's nothing I can do to change mean people. The only I can do is to understand that they are the way they are bec...

Image Credit: Sunyu Kim on Unsplash I saw a post on social media from a friend. It was a time lapse video of foot traffic in a local (relatively popular) mall in the midst of PJ. The sight was a sorry one.  In fact, this family would visit a mall every other day to get our daily essentials. After having dinner, we would pop by the supermarket to grab some stuff.  The after-dinner traffic is really solemn. We are almost always greeted with shuttered stores, closing convenience stores, and even the delis close early, patronized by small groups of peckish shoppers nibbling nonchalantly around barren stores.  I guess we're lucky that, if we went early enough, they were open at all. Even the workers were half-hearted, unconcerned and detached from the possibility of making a sale.  Hence, it is no wonder that people are hopping onto Lazada and Shopee to get things we usually impulse buy while walking past stores in malls.  Simple stuff like light bulbs, nails, extra ...

Source: cottonbro on Pexels I don’t even know where to begin, really. The last time I blogged here was early June when we (my siblings and I) were clearing out some old stuff cramping up inside of my parents’ loft. That felt like just yesterday but here we are…nearing the end of June 2020. Time doesn’t just fly. It is giving me whiplash. It’s strange, though, for me, because this was ( is ) the year my kids are supposed to be entering college, stepping into the new world, getting their driving licenses, flapping their kid-adult wings, flexing their  human-ing  muscles…whatever you call it.  And yet, we’re still in partial lockdown.  I have to say that Malaysia’s done an exceptional job (touch wood and more wood) so far in containing this virus. As frustrated and angry and PMS as we Malaysians can get about not being allowed to step out of the house and required to cover our faces like we’re robbers, we know it’s the right thing to do.  Some of t...

Happy Saturday! I don't usually comment on what's happening in other parts of the world because I don't have all the facts. But sometimes, when something happens and you have enough conviction to feel it warrants a word or two, I think we should say something about it. Image by  Christopher Ross  from  Pixabay Silence is powerful. Where you lend that silence, it grows. And I cannot agree with the use of force, abuse, violence, and power to silence people who stand up for something. ' When the looting starts, the shooting starts '? Man...that's really something. Donald Trump is not my President so, I don't care. In fact, I don't even like my own Prime Minister at the moment. A lot of us have kind of given up trying to figure out what is going on in our country because we can't keep up with it all, partly due to the onslaught of Covid-19. But who on earth compliments himself as much as this man? LOL! He refers to himself in third-pers...

Exploring new ways to help people and businesses get online. Part of the job is to explore the many different ways that work We've been in lockdown since...gosh, I don't know anymore. How long has it been? All I know is today is Monday because my messages and emails rudely woke me up and this only usually happens on a Monday when everyone's frantic to get things done. We're hanging in there, in all honesty. My older son is happy that his college assignments and tests are now conducted from the comfort of his tiny room. My younger son has not been able to pop into the gym for his usual routine and is basically displaying signs of boredom that I wish I could help him with. The good news is that: His guitar skills is getting better I think he's still sticking to learning Chinese (and maybe even Japanese) through online videos and classes He's been helping me out during dinner time My boys and I have been more collaborative in keeping the home cl...