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

This is the kind of conversation I have with myself whenever I have to muster up the strength to cook dinner or lunch.  Me: It's a good thing! You're doing something healthy and great for the family! Let's do it. Me: But I'd rather watch handsome guys on Netflix. I'm so tired right now. I just spent the whole day working my ass off. I deserve a break! Me: Yes, that's true. But it's also true that you've been sitting on your ass all day. It's time to stand up and do something else. You can listen to a podcast.  Me: But I can't see anyone cute on a podcast. And it's going to take one hour and I'll be all sweaty and smell like food after that. I am going to need to shower after that. So bothersome. Me: You mean showering is bothersome? Me: No, I mean, the cooking, the heat, the cutting, cleaning, and figuring out what to cook and stock up next....ugh.... Me: So, you mean after sitting at the table working your ass off without moving your ass...

I've never hesitated before whenever I blog. I started writing and blogging since the dawn of the internet but I feel a kind of restraint now. Like I have to be more careful about what I write about, how I use language, and sometimes, I write and delete, write and delete, write again and delete again.  It makes me, as a first-generation blogger, really kind of sad about how blogging has become a thing to be feared. Because people judge you, make fun of you, or even use it against you. In this new internet world that we live in today, things are so different.  We used to make genuine friends over the internet. I found support as a mom online on various platforms and I didn't even care to hide my name or pictures of my kids. Nowadays, when you're transparent, you're opening yourself up for attack. Last year, it was used against me at work. I hardly write about work and I don't whine much except for reviews. And yet, they found something negative out of a relatively po...

I've heard of this show before while I was watching other dramas but paid it no attention because the names Nam Joo Hyuk was a fleeting memory while I've only seen (maybe not) Shin Se Kyung in unmemorable online interviews of shows I can't remember now. But the storyline was enticing. I loved the idea of a Water God the same way others liked the idea of merging two words together - the untouchable parallel Universe of the Gods and the human one we call reality. I had not much hope in terms of CGI because if it made waves, I would have heard of it. However, I loved the initial showcase of magic from our Water God. The bad news is that...there's only ONE really awesome display of power from the Water God. He's lost his power on earth and is none the better than a normal human being.  When I read the synopsis, I thought it was going to be something to look forward to. From the way I am writing that, you can guess where this review is going.  It seems as though the ...

Being a woman is tough. No, I am not saying being a man is not. It's just that, when put into a bad situation, women often have a harder time climbing out of the abyss. We are discriminated against, have to swim against the tide, the obstacles are higher and harder, and it's harder to find support to get us through.  I've been there and sometimes, I surprise myself for making it this far. But the women who actually receive support for their effort to climb out of the abyss, the black hole, deserves out recognition and applaud.  In the workplace, we face gender discrimination, pay inequality, sexual harassment, an of course, being given stereotyped positions. And if we were to be more of an assertive type, the journey to the top may be tougher than the ones men face.  We may also think this is a thing of the past but married women who have an intention to get pregnant and start a family, they don't really stand a chance against a driven man with a passion and goal to mak...

I didn't quite buy the musical element of the show in the beginning and thought of it as a failure from the get-go, not even planning to move forward with the 2nd episode. If not for Ji Chang Wook (and Netflix's autoplay function), I would not have moved beyond the first episode. Cheesy much. Highschool Musical much. Fake much. Not good singing much.  Sorry, I digress.  The series did not expand much about The Magician played by Ji Chang Wook, I guess to keep things mystical.  Thankfully, perspective was given to the lives of the two students who were affected by The Magician. As the teens began to accept the wonder that The Magician was bringing into their lives, we, the viewers, are left wondering....'So...was that real or what?'. Is he real or what? Is he crazy or what? Are they ALL crazy or what? The last few series I watched left bitter tastes in my mouth because of their inconclusive endings and dissatisfying storytelling so, I didn't want to embark on somethi...

  I was browsing my social media feed while watching  The Great Battle , touted to be the next big thing to hit cinemas when it hit the cinemas in 2018. It starred some of my favorite people in the world and I was getting tired of watching TV series and movies with stupid sad endings (sorry, I am a fan of happy endings, LOL.  It stars Jo In Sung, Nam Joo Hyuk, Park Sung Woong, Stephanie Lee, and even Seol-Hyun. A reputable cast, I would say.  And since I was already on social media, why not? I got on Tiktok.  So, here you go. To all you people still enjoying a long, long, long holiday here in Malaysia...enjoy your last day. Here's to your Tuesday Blues.  XOXO,

  I have to admit that when I started reading 'Becoming', I didn't get it . I didn't get her . She was someone you envied in school, she was driven , she achieved things you wish you could, she's active , and she's a high achiever . She's a perfectionist .  I can't say I was anything like that at all.  I pursue things that made me happy and brought me joy. So, I was girding myself for the worst...like, oh no, I don't like Michelle Obama . LOL. via GIPHY But as I continued reading, her love for her family really struck a chord. I will probably never really understand the kind of neighborhood she was living in and her family predicament but I can understand the love.  Education was important to me, but it wasn't  THE most influential aspect of my teenage life. I didn't pursue it with the level of vengeance she did because she came from a different place.  If people talked bad about her talking about supporting black communities, then they...

I was walking past a store selling a large range of smartphones, laptops and whatchamacallit laptop-tabs. I was piqued. I approached the storefront with a careful intake of breath, praying fervently for an affordable price tag. There wasn't one. Look, I have a laptop. My kids have their computers, and we each have our phones. Is there a reason to invest in yet another gadget in this house? The damn laptop Surface Pro keeps whispering to me, though . I swear. lol via GIPHY Window shopping can be life-sucking because it reinforces the idea into you that you can't afford everything you'd like. I find myself arguing with myself: I could save the money for a family travel Mother Earth is staring at me with the searing accusations of ' Reallyyyy? More trash. You're stepping one foot into the core of the dying planet' I don't need it. Really, I don't. In fact, I already have a spare laptop that I use for an alternate account. Because? I watch Netflix...

  For some strange reason, I really love the concept, the idea, the actors, the CGI....but there's something inherently wrong with the script, pacing, music choice, or maybe it was the direction. I am a simple movie-goer, a consumer, not a producer but that's the feeling I got when watching, sometimes impatiently, this mini series.  It is trying to tell a story in an unconventional way, it's still odd. Off. Weird. Off kilter.  I love Jung Yu Mi, and she is known to make the strange choices when it comes to characters and stories. I guess this aligns right up with her although I am not sure who convinced Nam Joo Hyuk to take up this role.  Jung Yu Mi delivered as expected...in her own in-your-face way and I thought Nam Joo Hyuk did a rather fine job here too. Heck, even the students did really well! I can't imagine the kind of imaginative world they all had to live in in order to do the weird things they were told to do for the series. LOL. The show made almost zero a...

Source: My recipe on Cookpad For someone who advocated very actively about home-cooked meals and managing one's schedule to make healthy, simple, money-saving meals at home for the family, I sure failed miserably for the past 2 years since the pandemic hit. To be honest, the years of the pandemic, getting groceries was tricky and there was just general anxiety about going out...even if it was to get groceries and anything from the stores.  So, for the initial 2 years, I hardly touched the precious utensils in the kitchen. Food from before the pandemic sat expiring on itself. Sauces went bad, and frozen meat simply became permanent residents in the freezer.  I swear, I touched nothing in there. Lunch and dinner were all delivered to the home via apps, so were groceries whenever possible.  I didn't like ordering meat I couldn't quickly eyeball and check online - everything else was OK - so, I still made trips to the grocery store wherever I felt brave enough.  But now ...