Renzo at 3 years old!

We will miss you, SUYSUY!

4 Year Old Renzo - Now with the Lord!

A text message woke us up at 4AM today. It says:

"Renzo is now with the Lord as an angel. Now that he is in heaven, he will have all the power he could ever imagine. Now he is truly peaceful, rested, and forever happy. We will miss our little boy.We thank him for the wonderful moments he spent with us for 4 years. He made us truly happy and proud. Please pray for the the soul of our dear son. JOVY and SHARON YAP."

Our tears flowed. Renzo was dear to us. Aside from the fact that the YAPs are our cousins, Renzo was born almost at same time as our eldest son Lawrence. The two has technically similar names. Teng and I shared with Kuya Jovy and Ate Sharon the joys and pains of parenthood. Teng and I know how Renzo's parents used all their powers to keep their only son.

Renzo was born with a weak heart. At a young age he has had a number of operations already, some of them major ones. We remember that only a few months after birth, Renzo had to undergo an operation for hernia. Whenever he plays with our two kids, Lawrence and Michael, we can see that he is different... With just few minutes of running around, he has to sit down to catch his breath. WE can see his nails turning dark, maybe because his heart can not cope up in supplying enough blood and oxygen to his system.

Though weak physically, he showed intellectual superiority. At an early age, he can already reason out that it is better to stay at home and read than go out to visit friends and just talk. Before he reached the age of 2, he already memorized the alphabeth. And when he turned 3, he can already operate a PC on his own.

His mother has put aside her career as a nurse for Renzo. The couple set aside the plan of having another baby, to give Renzo all their attention. As I have said, they did all they can do for Renzo.

It's quite sad to loose Renzo. We will miss him dearly!

But as Kuya Jovy and Ate Sahron have said... Renzo is now truly peaceful, rested, and forever happy.... and now that he is in heaven, he will have all the power he could ever imagine.

Renzo... we will miss you!

Bank account

(Emailed to me 2 days ago!)

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.

"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life.

Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.

So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

Kinudlit nga Langgam

A Drawing of a Bird (Kinudlit nga Langgam)

I think I drew this one in 1997 during one of the NASSA-CBCP conferences in Mindanao (was it in Marbel?). I remember having been in the same hotel (Marvella Hotel) with Boxing Champ Lusito Espinosa and rising Boxing Star (now a Philippine Sensation) Manny Pacquiao.

Whenever I see this drawing, I am always reminded of the meaningful Filipino song which has the following lyrics "Ibong mang may layang lumipad, kulungin mo at umiiyak". This is one reason why I will never have a bird as a pet. I hate to see them in a cage.

SC affirms constitutionality of national ID system

Let's rest first from my "kinudlit" and read this milestone decision by the Supreme Court. What do you think are the pros and cons?

First posted 03:50pm (Mla time) April 19, 2006
By Tetch Torres
INQ7.net
http://news.inq7.net/top/index.php?index=1&story_id=73056

zimm

Kinudlit sa SIAM

Kinudlit sa SIAM (drawing/painting from Thailand) was done while I was in Bangkok in 1998.

One magazine featured some women in colorful umbrellas. I took a cardboard (8" x 12"), my paint brush, and a set of acrylic paints. Voila... here's my obra.

Zimm

Kinudlit gikan sa plato!

I found a plate in our kitchen with some colorful fruity design. Here's where this "kinudlit gikan sa plato" (painting/drawing from a plate) was based or, ehem, copied. I think I made this obra in Calamba, Laguna.

Zimm

Kinudlit nga Vinta

I can't remember where I did this sketch. I can't also remember travelling to Zamboanga in 1998. It must have been drawn from one of the posters.

I am not also sure what style I am using here. All I know is that scribbling to create an image is easier (and faster) than trying to draw a realistic figure. Please know that I have no formal training in drawing or painting and I hope that one day I can find time to really sit and be guided by a master. Wish me luck.

Kinudlit sa Kamot SERIES

Hi everyone, I am back to blogger after some few months of trying my luck in wordpress (though I still maintain my www.zymm.wordpress.com blog).

It is not that blogger is more superior than wordpress. It is just that I feel more at home with blogger having had around a year of learning how to manipulate its templates.

Rene (www.renriquez.com) of BisayaBloggers has inspired me to continue drawing. Hence, my blogger comeback will be featuring my non-pro drawings or paintings of old (circa 1990's). I call them kinudlit sa kamot (hand scribbles). Below is my first entry on this series. While attending a weekend retreat at Pak Chong, Bangkok (in Thailand) in 1998 together with other Pinoy young professionals, I found a small shrub so tempting to draw. To me, it was like a small kalamansi shrub, but I think it was not. I think it was my only drawing during our entire stay. I have never shown this to any of my fellow retreatants.

Zimm