Marsha Maung: I write. I love. I live

One day you're struggling to find the 'perfect kindergarten' and the next you'll be wondering if your kid needs Size M or Size XL underwear/bra. One day you'll be wiping their butts and then, like overnight, walking into their rooms require knocking. It's simple like that. Or not. I searched up the word 'jockey' (because I was walking past Hush Puppies and there was a sale going on) and found this. ...but discovered what's on sale wasn't the horse or the woman, it was more like... What are you setting yourself up for as a new parent can make or break you, just take it from me, or us (the jaded, over-the-hill ones). You may have the grandest ideas, the biggest dreams and the sharpest of visions of what your child(ren)'s future may entail, just be ready for curve balls. This mother discovered that her SuperHuman (LOLOLOLOL....hang on, let me just share her sense of humor because it's so real I am crying! LOL) expectations of h

Even obsolete hashtags has its uses, folks. So, even if you're too busy to write something as a prelude to your postings, use your discretion and use those useless hashtags to keep your followers informed. At least.  I will qualify myself with this - TheStar Online is not the only one. I've seen others on Twitter do the same, tweeting nothing but a link. Let's just say that if one is lazy or does not have the time (or brainz) to write something short about the link, at the very least, come up with a hashtag that describes the link. For example, if you're about to provide a link to your own Instagram food picture, use #food #foodie #deliciousdieme #foodporn #eat #eating Sometimes, as nonsensical and obsolete as the #'s are, at least they tell followers about what to expect from the links that they are about (or not) to click on. That's the least you can do for your followers who might be interested in what you've just shared with the web-niverse. Thin

The Raya Holidays is here again...well, the holidays is here AGAIN and here we are...on a break  AGAIN . For parents of small kids, almost the entire month of June has been hell because they must have been scrambling around trying to keep the kids occupied/separate/play nicely/not fight almost the entire month. It's been either one holiday or another and while the teachers are in a month-long party mode, parents who are paying for school or kindhy are mostly left fuming about having to pay an entire month of fees for absolutely no teaching and babysitting . It's no shame to admit that we, parents, sometimes think of ANY kind of activity as a form of babysitting. A few minutes or a few hours without having to be on high alert about every creak, crack or scream in the house is always much welcome. So, I had a break the other day and I went on Facebook to check on some of my friends and relative. And this was what happened. Two hours wasted on admiring other people'

It's not just about the body, it's about the mind, the balance, the overall health and steadiness of the breath. Sometimes, through the 'comings and goings' of life, you'll find the 'come what may'. There was once a running enthusiast who chastised or belittled me for only doing yoga and asked me 'Aiyo, you're only doing yoga. Why would you need a sports bra? Not like you're doing anything  serious '. I was trying to catch Tara Stiles when she was in Malaysia and, along the way, get a sports bra or something comfortable to wear whenever I attempt something Hence, began my love-hate relationship with people who run and like to make fun of people who do something else. Although I try not to generalize people who choose to run or do kick-boxing or judo or karate or climb mountains, I try to avoid conflict with runners. And the thing is that I have nothing against running, and it's sad that this person (and a few others) spoiled the broth

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”  ―  Meister Eckhart We've always gone out for evening walks, after making dinner, after rounding everything up, after winding things down. But my kids' been making their own morning walks or runs on their own, WITHOUT me, without me knowing simply because they woke up earlier and refused to wake me up because they want to be BADASS on their own  they don't want to disturb my sweet slumber. But on some days, I wake up earlier than them and today, I simply jumped out of bed at 5.30am because I died in bed at 10-odd-pm  zonked out earlier than anyone else so, I decided to wake them up. Hey, join me, I'm awake. Let's all wake up, I don't care what time you slept, that's YOUR problem. LOL. So, we walked to the convenience store at the petrol station behind the home to get coffee and then walked to the nearby park and took a few rounds. The neighborhood has a lot of early waker-uppers, man! Mostly eld

It talks about things you may not want to talk about, especially men - breast cancer. The same way women are discriminated, in this aspect, men may face the same discrimination and even worse fear and shame. Something we don't normally expect. Mention the words 'Breast Cancer' and the first thought would be a woman going through it (and hopefully surviving it). You rarely think about a man having to go through such a condition and in most instances, it would be demeaning, embarassing, or something-to-hide for the men. I mean, which man would want to admit having such a womanly  condition? And THIS is precisely what is dealt with in this Kdrama. Gong Hyo Jin is a gem In many other people's eyes, Gong is hardly your femme fatale. Not your conventional sex kitten to hog the screen and she doesn't even have the body to boot. Au contraire, she looks like she needs to be fed. As a side note, I've always found her skinniness a little scary, thinking that it

We have come a full circle - from being very real to being relatively promotional to being very self-promotional to being fake. Now, we're back to square one, being very real If you don't have a face and name to your social media account or online life, you better have a pseudonym and if you do, you better not let others find out what you look like. We live in an era where everything can and will become the butt of a joke, as a way to counter over-information. I was lamenting the fact that my kid have, yet again, come up with another pseudonym  for one of his social media accounts. He's not revealed it to me and I've not asked him for it. I don't want to find out everything about my kid via his social media accounts. If he's got a problem, he'd better scoot his ass over to me, in my face, and tell it to me like it is...minus all that online drama. I've got enough of that, as it is. I told them, both kids, about a time when we all went online, via t

What's the point of doing what everyone is else is doing when deep inside, you think or know that you're meant to do something else? Do you jump? Do you wait? Do you wait for someone to give you the green light? Do you take the leap? When people give you a lot of shit about how you think, the things you do and the journey that you have chosen to take on, it's really Devil's Own Luck. Every single one of luck is given that little bit of uniqueness;  some call it madness, some call it different type of thinking . I've been accused of both by virtue of the fact that I've quit many things that people deemed safe while embarking on things people deemed paths people would rather die than take  less taken. I would be lying if I said I wasn't offended. I was. In fact, I've sat up at night wondering if I was weird, after all. If this person was right, if that person was trying to help me. The word unconventional  have stuck with me for a long time and it cont

While I agree that despite efforts to curb global warming on a global level, such as the one shunned and rejected by Donald Trump, has done little to medium-sized changes, has much to want for, it's efforts, no matter how small, should NOT be abandoned. President Trump said that he will pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, steering away from a group of 194 other countries that have promised to curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The news came just days after he attended the G7 Summit in Italy, where the six other member countries—Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom—reaffirmed their commitment to the 2015 climate pact. - National Geographic America is pulling out as a COUNTRY from world-efforts to reduce carbon emission, to save the planet, reduce human footprint and to protect the environment. To me, this is akin to abandoning your home. After all, Planet Earth IS our home. I honestly do not see where he's coming from althou

One of the most unique and beautiful soundtracks to a Korean drama I've heard recently). Just up the volume and listen to the song... English lyrics translation at the bottom. Karaoke lyrics in the video itself.   Beautiful Life (Goblin)- CRUSH It’s a beautiful life I’ll stay by your side It`s a beautiful life I’ll stand right behind you beautiful love If I am with you under this sky Just breathing alone makes me happy It`s a beautiful life beautiful day I live in your memories beautiful life beautiful day Stay by my side beautiful my love beautiful your heart It`s a beautiful life It`s a beautiful life It’s a beautiful life I’ll always protect you It`s a beautiful life So lean on me beautiful love Your tears, your smile So we can be together It`s a beautiful life beautiful day I loved you like crazy beautiful life beautiful day I don’t wanna lose you beautiful my love beautiful your heart It`s a beautiful life Memories that resemb

As with many of my family members (possibly yours as well - lol), we think potatoes are great replacements for rice. I know rice is an Asian thing, we eat rice everyday and it's a staple that once you've missed, you can expect a phone call from your mother asking you if you've been skipping meals. The other alternative would be bread...but you know what, 'health experts' don't have too many great things to say about bread either. Wheatgerm and organic or it shouldn't have happened . I am the kind of girl who does not really like fastfood. For one, the guilt. Two, the knowledge of how they are handled and why they can be kept fresh  for such an astonishing period of time. Four, I just don't like it very much. I'll eat it when I am absolutely starving to the point of dying. (Which happened recently) BUT...I will take the mashed potatoes. A big tub (we're talking about fastfood outlets like KFC or Wendy's, of course). But here are some fac