Wanting

“I want to kiss you with my eyes wide open.
I want to make love to you with all the lights on.
I want to touch the most tender part of you.
Meet you with the tender part of me.
I want to dance with you when there’s no band playing.
Say to me that I am all that you need.
Sing to me a love song and say you mean it.

Hold me close and make me complete!”

McBealism

“I have to believe that it works…
that when two people come together they stay together.
I have to take that to bed with me at night even if I’m going to bed alone.”

I wish you were here...

Sebuah Renungan untuk seorang teman

Apa pun yang anda lakukan, lakukanlah dengan kebaikan hati. Keberhasilan bukan semata-mata karena kekuatan otot dan ketajaman pikiran. Anda perlu bertindak dengan kelembutan hati.

Sukses tidak selalu dibangun di atas upaya sendiri. Di balik semua pencapaian, terselip pengorbanan orang lain. Hanya bila anda melakukannya dengan kebaikan hati, siapa pun rela berkorban untuk keberhasilan anda.

Semua tindakan anda bagaikan bumerang yang akan kembali pada anda. Bila anda melempar dengan baik, ia akan kembali dalam tangkapan. Namun, bila anda ceroboh melemparkannya, ia akan datang untuk melukai anda.

Renungkan bagaimana tindakan anda sekarang ini. Lakukan segala semuanya dengan tulus dan penuh kasih. Tiada yang lebih manis daripada memetik buah atas kebaikan yang anda lakukan...

Penindasan Wanita (Woman in Chains)

Woman in Chains

You better love loving and you better behave
You better love loving and you better behave
Woman in chains
Woman in chains

Calls her man the great white hope
Says she’s fine, she’ll always cope
Woman in chains
Woman in chains

Well I feel lying and waiting is a poor man’s deal
And I feel hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains

Trades her soul as skin and bones
Sells the only thing she owns
Woman in chains
Woman in chains

Men of stone
Men of stone

Well I feel deep in your heart there are wounds time can’t heals
And I feel somebody somewhere is trying to breathe
Well you know what I mean
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains

It’s under my skin but out of my hands
I’ll tear it apart but I won’t understand
I will not accept the greatness of man

It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps woman in chains

So free her
So free her


~~ Sung by: Tears for Fears featuring Oletta Adams



Ketika perempuan masuk dunia kerja, sering mendapat pekerjaan yang paling susah di pabrik atau kantor, dengan upah yang paling rendah, sekaligus terus dibebani dengan kebanyakan tugas rumah tangga seperti memasak, mencuci dan mengasuh anak-anak.

Perempuan menderita pelecehan seksual dan pemerkosaan, sekaligus dalam media massa dari pornografi sampai ke iklan biasa mereka digambarkan sebagai makhluk yang cantik atau sensual saja, sepertinya tidak mempunyai ciri yang lain. Namun ironisnya, jika perempuan berhubungan seks terlalu bebas, pasti dicap “tanpa susila”.

Dorongan bekerja di luar negeri, termasuk di Hong Kong, muncul saat calon tenaga kerja itu mendengar cerita sukses rekan mereka yang pernah bekerja disitu. Dorongan pergi itu semakin kuat saat menghadapi realita bahwa di negerinya, lahan pekerjaan begitu sempit, bahkan hampir tidak ada, dan upah yang diterima pun sangat kecil.

Dalam benak umum barangkali setiap mendengar kata TKW (tenaga kerja wanita Indonesia), yang segera terbayang adalah sosok seorang pekerja kasar dan pembantu rumah tangga. Pekerjaan yang dipandang dengan sebelah mata karena memang bukanlah pekerjaan ideal dalam kehidupan.

Para TKW tidak pernah memandang pekerjaan yang memberikan penghasilan kepada diri dan keluarga sebagai sesuatu yang hina. Mereka memandang kerja itu mulia dan hidup dari buah kerja sendiri, bersandarkan pada dua tangan perempuan yang bekerja keras tanpa menadah belas-kasihan. Kerja membentuk manusia.

Jumlah TKW asal Indonesia yang bekerja di Hong Kong meningkat pesat, mungkin sudah melampaui jumlah TKW asal Filipina. Peningkatan ini membuktikan bahwa jasa yang diberikan TKW Indonesia lebih disukai dibanding TKW dari Filipina atau negara lain. TKW Indonesia mau belajar bahasa Cantonese dan telaten merawat orang tua dan anak-anak. Sementara TKW Filipina, karena merasa mampu berbahasa Inggris, biasanya enggan untuk mempelajari bahasa Cantonese.

Penurunan jumlah TKW Filipina di Hong Kong bisa jadi TKW Filipina memiliki kesadaran sosial dan politik yang cukup tinggi. Sehingga ketika hak-hak mereka dilanggar oleh majikan, mereka akan langsung melawan. Dan hal itu tidak disukai majikan.

Pemilihan TKW Indonesia oleh para majikan di Hong Kong sebenarnya dilandasi alasan upah TKW Indonesia lebih murah jika dibandingkan dengan TKW asal Filipina. Meski standar upah minimum di Hong Kong untuk para TKW sekitar HK$ 3.500, masih banyak TKW Indonesia mau yang menerima upah yang lebih rendah dari upah minimum.

Permainan pemberian upah di bawah standar itu merupakan praktik jamak di Hong Kong, termasuk pemotongan tujuh bulan gaji oleh agen. Cukup banyak TKW yang tidak menerima gaji satu sen pun selama tujuh bulan bekerja akibat ulah agen.

Pemerintah Indonesia dan Filipina mempunyai cara pandang berbeda dalam melihat pekerja migran. Pemerintah Filipina menganggap tenaga kerja merupakan pahlawan devisa, yang senantiasa harus dilindungi oleh negara dan diperjuangkan hak-haknya.

Bahkan, Pemerintah Filipina tidak segan-segan terlibat langsung dalam memperjuangkan hak-hak pekerja migrannya. Sedangkan Pemerintah Indonesia masih melihat kepergian TKI ke luar negeri untuk mengurangi angka pengangguran di Tanah Air.

TKW merupakan bagian dari TKI yang paling banyak mengalami penderitaan...

Source: Human Rights Watch, Voice of Human Rights.

Victoria Park di hari Minggu

Victoria Park terletak di Causeway Bay di sebelah utara Pulau Hong Kong, diapit antara Causeway Bay dan stasiun Mass Transit Railway (MTR) di Tin Hau. Victoria merupakan bagian dari distrik Eastern yang berbatasan dengan distrik Wan Chai.

Taman ini juga dilengkapi fasilitas olah raga, kolam renang, dan arena bermain untuk anak-anak. Bahkan lapangan tennis di taman ini, sering dijadikan ajang pertandingan tingkat internasional. Taman ini dengan mudah dijangkau dari berbagai sudut wilayah dengan bus, tram, dan kereta bawah tanah.

Victoria Park di hari Minggu, menyemut dipadati ribuan wanita. Sejak pukul 08.00 pagi hingga 17.00 sore, Victoria Park menyuguhkan wajah Indonesia. Dan 90% wajah Jawa yang dihiasi rambut pirang terurai. Mode pakaian yang kini, membungkus tubuh, sampai pusar pun diobral.

Ponsel keluaran model baru menjamur ditenteng. Di tempel lekat di kuping, ngobrol sembari jalan. Pulsa seakan diobral murah entah untuk berbincang apa. Gaya wanita Eropa dalam kebebasan makin lengkap. Ditambah asap rokok yang mengepul dari bibir berpoles lipstik. Mereka gayanya, mirip turis. Dan, rasa-rasanya gak salah memang. Victoria Park tempat favorit para turis wanita dialeg Jawa medok. Sedikit menyamarkan, dialek Kanton akan menjadi selingan.

Mau makan nasi, rujak atau gado-gado? Atau haus? Atau habis pulsa? Semua bisa dibeli atau dibikin secara sembunyi-sembunyi. Para wanita pekerja Indonesia benar-benar ingin memanjakan diri setelah enam hari harus memanjakan sang majikan. Makanya mereka puas-puaskan menikmati kebebasan yang cuma sehari ini.

Begitulah, Victoria Park, terutama pada hari libur Minggu, de facto adalah bagian dari Indonesia...

Afterglow

I walk softly through the empty house, not wanting to break the spell I’m under. My soul melts in the gaze of your sleepy eyes, rapid breathing slowly subsides, embracing each other and holding on tight. Your touch lingers on my skin, your sweetness still wet on my lips. Words from my soul caressing your heart, our spirits dancing as one.

I want only to taste the room that just held you, breathe the fragrance you left behind. I don’t feel your departure, can’t tell you have gone. I only feel how you held me. Our union renewed, we grow to a higher level of love… sweet and tender…

Lady In Red

Red signifies danger, love, high energy, anger, passion and desire. We all know how it is the colour of the heart of love, of Valentines day, of romantic red roses and the drama of the recklessness of the bullfight.

Wearing red is a bold statement. It is such a powerful color. When I do wear red, it’s an indication I’m feeling empowered and fiery. Red is the Chinese colour for happiness, rich, lucky and longlife. It’s traditional to wear red clothes especially during the New Year Lunar Festival.

I associate Red with the slow romantic dance Lady In Red.


Lady In Red
(Sung by Chris DeBurgh)

I’ve never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight

I’ve never seen you shine so bright

I’ve never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance

They’re looking for a little romance, given half a chance

I have never seen that dress you’re wearing

Or the highlights in your head that catch your eyes I have been blind

The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek

There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me
It’s where I wanna be

But I hardly know this beauty by my side

I’ll never for get, the way you look tonight

I’ve never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight

I’ve never seen you shine so bright you were amazing

I’ve never seen so many people want to be there by your side

And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away

I have never had such a feeling

Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight

The lady in red is dancing with me cheek to cheek

There’s nobody here, it’s just you and me
It’s where I wanna be

But I hardly know this beauty by my side

I’ll never for get, the way you look tonight

The way you look tonight

I never will forget, the way you look tonight

The lady in red

The lady in red

The lady in red

My lady in red

I love you…

Goodbye Mother

At the end of life’s road, you will see a light. You have made your passage, through God’s tunnel so bright. Today I see a silhouette from the sky, with cloud formations to our naked eye.

Mother, I don’t know what’s ahead for you up there, but I know it’s with angels that care. Mother, you’re with Father now, in a place of peace, your days here on Earth, have now come to a cease. The journey through may be winding and step, but you now are at rest, in your final sleep. Someday, I will meet you again, when I pass through, to my life’s end.

Goodbye Mother, thank you for teaching me right and wrong, thank you for being patient, thank you for trusting me, thank you for holding my hands, thank you for letting me know that you love me dearly. Where woud I be without you?...

Out Of Office

~~ Out of Action Message ~~

Thank you for visiting my blog, please be advised that I will be out of the office from 17 February thru 3 March due to a Far East biz trip. In case of emergency you can still contact me on the usual number :)) Hopefully I will be back in action on 5 March. Till then, be good and I’ll be missing all of you!

************************************************

Now and Forever

The reason it hurts so much to separate

is because our souls are connected…

Setiap hari adalah hari Valentine

See my previous post “Every day is a Valentine’s day”, dated 13 february 2006.

Suatu kebiasaan kita untuk selalu membuktikan cinta kita pada orang yang mengasihi dan kita kasihi di hari Valentine, seperti lewat hadiah, makan malam romantis, kata-kata cinta yang memabukkan, mawar merah 7 lusin, atau apa saja. Sebenarnya Valentine´s Day itu adalah hari biasa. Hanya sehari dalam setahun.

Bukankah sebenarnya menyedihkan menunggu satu hari dalam setahun hanya untuk menyatakan dan mendapatkan pernyataan cinta kasih? Bagaimana dengan 364 hari lainnya?

Bukankah mendapat kecupan selamat pagi disertai dengan senyum manis merupakan hadiah yang indah? Bukankah, sepiring nasi goreng yang dibuat oleh ibu, istri atau kekasih dengan penuh sayang merupakan berkat? Bukankah, pujian yang diberikan teman merupakan hal yang manis?

Kadang, hadiah Valentine yang sesungguhnya datang bukan berupa wanginya parfum yang kita dapatkan, atau romantisnya makan malam bersama kekasih, melainkan berupa hal-hal kecil yang sudah menjadi kebiasaan, yang sebenarnya bagi banyak orang lainnya merupakan hal langka yang didambakan.

Tentu saja, merayakan hari Valentine bukan suatu hal yang salah. Tapi jangan sampai kita lupa bahwa setiap hari bisa menjadi hari Valentine...

Untuk yang merayakan.. “Selamat Hari Valentine 2007”...

A Promise for a New Beginning

When she spoke to him after a long time, she knew he was a changed person. She didn’t hate him for the person he had become. She hated herself for transforming a sweet caring fun person into the cold mechanical human being.

She remembered the past. The phone conversations. The few short meetings… a budding friendship. As time went by, he professed his love for her. She liked him, immensely. But was she ready for love? Both of them nursed a broken heart. Was the comfort of their friendship and the realization of love the beginning to the end of the shadows of fear, insecurity and pain that lurked in their hearts?

She didn’t want to be hurt again. Not another relationship to turn bitter over time. She didn’t trust her luck. The stars ruling her destiny have always been cruel. She sometimes felt romance was never written for her…

He was hurt. Her decision pained him. But she thought this pain would be short-lived and eventually forgotten rather than bitter and broken relationships. Maybe it was just infatuation mistaken for love. But she let him down. She wasn’t even a true friend. She moved away from him. Both in physical and emotional space. She never kept in touch.

Time passed. Almost three years. They were back again in the same city. But he had changed. He was cold and cynical. The warmth, the sweetness, the care and everything that made him special was lost. She hardly recognized this person.

His outburst made her realize how much he had loved her deeply. She had lost the one person who would have loved her truly. Only if she had chosen him, but only if…

He can’t say that she didn’t care. She did care, maybe too much. She thought the decision was the best for if at all the relationship didn’t have a future. She would be hurt, but most importantly he would be too. She never wanted to see him hurt again.

He doesn’t know that she still has the fragrance packets he gave her. He doesn’t know that she still remembers when he meet and looked extremely handsome in his black T-shirt and jeans. He doesn’t know that she still remembers how upset he was, and how they spoke for hours… many memories…

But still… the mistake was hers. But she is not going to watch her friend just waste away his life in meaningless nothings. She wanted that him back. It didn’t matter if he didn’t love her anymore. She was a callous friend. She wronged him. She doesn’t deserve his love. But it is her responsibility to help him rediscover himself. And she was determined to do it. It didn’t matter if he cursed her for interfering in his life. No amount of anger, bitterness mattered. She was not going to relent. She was not going to leave him the way he was. In the world of pretenses he has weaved for himself.

He finally said… “I shall try… it is not going to be easy and it takes time”…

She agreed and she waits for his promise of a new beginning to be fulfilled…

“Never lose Hope if the Beloved pushes you away. If He shuts the door on you, don't go. Be patient and wait! It is your patience that will draw Him back!”

Message in a Bottle

I still miss you…
~~~

Some messages are too clear to miss…

Tonight I have just received such a message.

~~~

Remembering

No matter the difference in sands beneath our feet…
I whisper your name….. and you are with me in the worlds of your words left behind…

The Last Dance

If I had known our last dance would be our very last dance...

Would I’ve stepped a little closer. Would I’ve stayed for one more song...

Thoughts

She was numb. As if the heart has lost its warmth and glow and her insane mind rambled on.

She said… “Please don’t hurt me. Meet me and I want to see you look in my eyes and say that you love me. You won’t be able to do it because deep inside your heart, you do love me at least to a miniscule of a measure”.

Did you for a moment think of the pain I have suffered? It was not easy being far away from you. It was not easy to love someone whom one has never seen yet whom the heart loved madly.

Did you realize… to me you have become one of the reasons I exist and you were asking me to let go of my life yet find a reason to live. You never seen the tears, the pain on my face, the love I have for you and yet you chose to hurt me. It was easy to hurt me than take my hand. It was easy to let me suffer than let others.

Why? Was it because I thought about your happiness and chose to take the pains? Was it because I was not selfish? Was it because I never forced you to love for it felt that I would be insulting my love for you? Was it because I let you take your own time while I gathered the strength to wait?

He asked her… “Why am I doing this to you…?”

Well seek the answer for I cannot find a valid answer…

I cannot find a valid answer why should I stop waiting for you. Till now you haven’t given me a valid reason. And even if you do, why should I stop loving you? And why should I stop feeling in the far corner of my heart that one day you shall come, one day you shall be mine?

And why should you not love me, can you think of one reason? No, you cannot. No one can. So why shouldn’t I wait for that day to arrive?

Nobody wants to be lonely.

So why… why don’t you let me love you?…

My heart weeps in sadness and asks you every moment… “Will you be mine forever?”…

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who LOVE, time is eternity…”

~~ Henry Van Dyke

Just Around the Corner

Part of me is with you still, somewhere up in your arid hills

But I can’t go back and fetch my soul, even though I know

Like our love, it’s.....

Just Around the Corner

Things aren’t quite as they seem inside my domain

You can’t know about everything

only pleasure and pain.

You wonder why I come here with head to my hands

Where else can I be cured and the king of your mansion?

A thorn in your side

and a child to protect that claims he’s free.

Just around the corner

half a mile to heaven

Strong enough to hold you

starved for some affection.

Darling

come quickly

come ease my mind

For my prayers have not been answered in a long time.

I’ve already made my bed

like it or not

As long as there’s no regrets I’ll be here

when the ride stops.

These comforts to me and these crosses to bare

with which we live.

Just around the corner

half a mile to heaven

Strong enough to hold you

starved for some affection.

Baby

I can’t drag you into this mess!

I’m the thorn in your side and the child to protect.

Just around the corner

half a mile to heaven

Strong enough to hold you

starved for some affection.

Darling

come quickly

come ease my mind

For my prayers have not been answered in a long time.

Just Around the Corner, sung by Cock Robin

Your Smile

Half of heaven, half of hope, half of me.

Your smile is magical, mean so much and more.

Let me kiss it to completion…

Chasing the Horizon

Standing there, watching the evening’s magic act. The sun burst into splashes of gold, crimson, and violet as she hit the horizon. Out of nowhere, she changed into her white gown, and began to ascend into a new sky. She lit a silver carpet on the ocean’s surface, one that led straight to me.

Was she calling me, asking me to follow her path, one that led to the edge of the world, that led to the edge of me? Would I find my own avatars when I got there? Would I understand the different shades, the various shapes I personified? Would I know the secret to my own magic act?

I watch my avatar swimming in the waves. I wonder what she looks like. Is she the classic mermaid of fairytales? Does she resemble me in form, in thought? Did I invent her to reach the horizon, to look over the edge of my destiny, before I get there?

The horizon is where the water meets the sky, where the moon meets the sun, where the mermaid meets you. It came to me, as I was silently falling asleep last night. It is an illusion, created by me for an answer, the answer to my existence, to my purpose…

Guardian Angel

In spite of all your ignorance of my emotions…
I want to be your Guardian Angel…
Looking out for you with my every passing breath.

I will be like the sponge absorbing your pains and giving you the chance to smile. I will hold you when you stumble in pain and your footsteps pause in confusion. I would be your shadow, keep in step with you as you walk through the life. Guiding you, if you arrive at crossroads, make your choice and banish the worries.

Yet… I am human and can err... If I have hurt you, if because of my foolishness and misunderstandings you have shed a tear, please punish me but don’t let go of me.

But then… you chose to turn away from me not because you wanted to but because you felt… you had no choice. Yet I realize the pain in your heart. Maybe that is why I am still holding your fingers, still being your shadow, still walking with you, still waiting for your return. You choose to walk past me. Making me invisible in your eyes. I can silently suffer that pain because I know it hurts you too…

Let me live each moment of this blessed life… where my heart beats for you…