Rest in Peace Granny M. Lou

Rest in Peace Granny M. Lou
 April 29, 2012
By: Gina Yoryet Román

 HIM

“I, H., take you, M. Lou, to be my wedded wife. With deepest joy I receive you into my life that together we may be one. As is Christ to His body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband. Always will I perform my headship over you even as Christ does over me, knowing that His Lordship is one of the holiest desires for my life. I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care. I promise I will live first unto God rather than others or even you. I promise that I will lead our lives into a life of faith and hope in Christ Jesus. Ever honoring God's guidance by His spirit through the Word, And so throughout life, NO MATTER what may lie ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as a loving and faithful husband.”

 HER “I, M. Lou, take you, to be my wedded husband. With deepest joy I come into my new life with you. As you have pledged to me your life and love, so I too happily give you my life, and in confidence submit myself to your headship as to the Lord. As is the church in her relationship to Christ, so I will be to you., I will live first unto our God and then unto you, loving you, obeying you, caring for you and ever seeking to please you. God has prepared me for you and so I will ever strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you. Therefore, throughout life, no matter what may be ahead of us, I pledge to you my life as an obedient and faithful wife.”

 These sacred marriage vows were made in 1951 when two beings met, soon after they realized they were soul mates, became one and united their lives through a marriage bond. Neither one of those bodies crossed the line of disrespect EVER in any way throughout the sixty one years they were committed to each other. He made an oath to his beloved wife and accomplished it by cherishing her all through her existence, his eyes were only for her through their youth, more so when she bore his two children and his love grew even more when she was put in a rest home after she came down with Alzheimer’s.

He loved her not because of the shape of her body but because of what her body had created. He took care of her the way a REAL MAN is supposed to take care of his woman in every single possible way. He stood by her side till death did them apart just the way he swore in his marriage vows. She swore loyalty to her husband from the moment he slipped her wedding band on her finger. She committed herself to him for eternity and did her duty as the TRUE LADY she always was.

She reflected her love to him through the two children she gave life to. She was by his side through good and bad, through ups and downs, for better or for worse. This transparent and true promise of love came to a halt on January 26 when granny M. Lou passed away after a long lasting battle with Alzheimer’s. Grandpa H. has been completely shattered, since she passed away.

Ever since, he’s been trying to gather all the tiny particles of his broken heart. When I talked to him on the phone on Friday night I couldn’t find the words to put his soul at ease. “How can I live without my wife? She was not only my partner for 61 years but my soul mate, my best friend, the love of my life, my lady, the only woman I ever set eyes on. How can I keep going without her? It feels as though part of me has been torn off. I will never be whole again.” I sat there patiently listening, letting him vent out until he tired out.

 How can I tell him that I too am saddened to know that she’s gone because I will NEVER see her again? Little did I know that when I left “home” eight years ago that it would be the last time I saw her. I’ve been walking around in a daze neglecting reality because life’s opportunities to spend time with our loved ones are very limited. As much as I’d like her to come back to us I know that she’s somewhere watching from a distance spreading her love to others as she always did. Following the principles of Mother Teresa, “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier,” and, “The world is not only hungry for food, but also for love, affection and inner beauty.” Give love to every single person that comes across your journey as every single one of them comes to your life for a reason; whether it be to stay in your life forever, to teach you a lesson, to help you know yourself more, to help you be a better person or for many more reasons.” How can I tell her that she accomplished her mission in this world? Will she ever know that she did an amazing job as the good natured and sensible woman she always was? Maybe one day we’ll be together again so I can sit by her side and tell her that she taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life? To always give unconditional love no matter what internal turmoil a woman is going through? I would love to tell her that I have not once in my life known of one marriage like theirs.

Their devotion to one another was Fireproof. H. W. “I give you this ring, wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward for better or for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish as long as we both shall live.”

 M. Lou W. “I give you this ring, wear it with love and joy. I choose you to be my husband: to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer for poorer; in sickness and in health; to have and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. And hereto, I pledge you my faithfulness to show to you the same kind of love as Christ showed the Church when He died for her, and to love you as a part of myself because in His sight we shall be one.”

 “Beautiful is how a woman lives. Beauty is in the mind, not in the mirror.” Frederic Fekkai Fountder-Creator, Fekkai hair care.

 Rest in Peace M. Lou W.

Running is Elemental

Running is Elemental
April 24, 2012
By: Gina Yoryet Roman


 It had been almost three years since I stopped running, that fatal wreck in June 15, 2009 (it wasn’t my fault) put me off running for good. My cartilage was worn after doing hard core long distance competition for a little over eleven years and Track & Field for three years but I, as the stubborn woman I am, continued running despite my pain.

 Not only did I neglect to go to therapy for faster recovery but I kept on running for another couple of weeks after that until

my knee couldn’t bear the pain any longer… Instead of going to physical therapy to treat my injury I sought the help of a psychologist to help me deal with not being able to even do a five minute indoor or outdoor jog. Shutting completely down and withdrawing to avoid listening to my mind and body have always been the “fastest” and most “practical” momentary solutions which are the main factors to have stirred that intense ache.

We sooner or later find out that wrong decision making always makes us pay the consequences and so I did. Needless to say more, running had to be regarded as a far away mirage that would never again be real. I don’t exactly recall how many psychological sessions it took me to see the light at the end of the tunnel, suck it in and finally say, “Ok, there is actually life after running,” conform with what my body can do and get more creative. Now, some may say, “It’s really no big deal!” but for any high rendering athlete, it is as though a part of you is mutilated. In the midst of those dark moments I’ve done brisk walking, rowing lessons, cross training, calisthenics, spinning and cross fit (swimming, yoga for runners the RX 7 workout, Bikram yoga,

Capoeira and aquatic taichi are on the waiting list).

 I skipped the gym during the holidays and so long after that pause, I started integrating running slowly once again. I have to confess that there have been many moments when I want to grab a remote control and flip the channel when pain betrays me, in order to sprint, do surges or just do high intensity interval workouts but then I get a hold of myself and enjoy the twice a week short distance jogs I’ve been doing as of ten days ago. I am happy to say that there was very little pain or no pain at all most of those days, except for one particular day when I ran on pavement; my knee was throbbing and I was so out of breath that I almost spit my heart right out.

 I kept telling my partner in crime (my younger sister who was visiting through Easter break) that my speed and endurance have been completely lost, plus I no longer know how to control my breathing. Of course she wouldn’t discourage me so she told me, “Look Yoryet, give yourself some credit, it’s not only been more than ten years since we started competing, we are more than ten years older. You should be grateful instead because regardless of our overwhelming agendas, we will always squeeze in time to go break a sweat at the gym or do something!” My temple doesn’t perform the same way it did when I was 20 but I keep trying. One good example are my legs; they are A LOT weaker than three years ago, I can only lift about 270 pounds max, as opposed to the 360-450 pounds that I did before.

BUT now I can now do many scorpion, military and all kinds of push-ups unlike before that I was unable to do a single one. So I will do my best NOT to underestimate my body and accept the ups and downs of aging and one day when/if I reach 80 or 90, I want to be like the 86 year old professional German gymnast. WOOOOOW! And to conclude my legacy, if I have children some day, they will be named, Miles, Chase, Victoria and Esperanza, (I don’t want to have that many, yikes!)

 I was gifted this beautiful T-shirt (my sister gave it to me) with the table of elements that lifted my spirit.

 It goes like this:
 “Running is elemental”
 1 ) Fl = Flight
 3) Wi = Will
 4) Es = Escape
 7) Jo = Joy
 8) Gu = Guts
 9) Hy = Hydration
 10) Pe = Peace
 11) Mo = Mojo
 12) Rn = Rain
 13) Sh = Shine
 14) Fi = Finish

The kickass woman

The kickass woman
Manifesto for sparklicious Living
April 22, 2012

I AM STRONG
- I've gone through hell and kept walking. I know my weaknesses.

I AM WORTHY
- It took me a long time to believe that. I've worked through my "unworthiness."

I AM BEAUTIFUL

- And no one needs to convince me of that anymore. I've dropped the illusion of "not enough."
I AM IMPERFECT

- I have imperfections but that doesn't make me IMperfect. I am perfect as I am.
I AM ME

- I thought I was lost and alone, but now I realize that I have always been with me

La Cristiada

La Cristiada April 16, 2012 By: Gina Yoryet Roman “México es Guadalupano,” the priests from my temple said to me when I had lunch with them and the people at the church the other day. “México es Guadalupano,”means that the town of Mexico has always been a true believer of the Virgin of Guadalaupe and devout of Catholicism, or so thought everyone who is unacquainted with the “Cristero War,”- the persecution of a group of rebels known as “Los Cristeros,” by the Government in which Mexico went through from about 1926 through 1929.

 The name “Cristeros” was adopted after “Cristo Rey” – Christ King, who they were battling for, against the Mexican Government after the strictly constraining anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution which triggered their persecution. “La Cristiada,” or The Cristero War was ended “peacefully” and The Constitution of México has been ratified since: The first sections of article 3 state that: I. "According to the religious liberties established under article 24, educational services shall be secular and, therefore, free of any religious orientation. II. The educational services shall be based on scientific progress and shall fight against ignorance, ignorance's effects, servitudes, fanaticism and prejudice.[7] The second section of article 27 states that: All religious associations organized according to article 130 and its derived legislation, shall be authorized to acquire, possess or manage just the necessary assets to achieve their objectives."

 Many positive changes favouring religion took place in México since, so now a great number of Mexicans are Catholic and this episode will be revived in “La Cristiada,”or “For Greater Glory,” a film (starring Andy García, Eva Longoria, Eduardo Verastegui, Karime Lozano and other Mexican actors) to release throughout México that will mirror the turmoil lived by our “Cristero” brethren in the 1920’s. This explains the reason why I am a born and raised Catholic and it helps me look at the whole picture and understand it further so I will definitely go see the movie this weekend so I can at least witness the story on screen.

"I'm 83 and Tired"

"I'm 83 and Tired"
Reflexions
By Bill Cosby
April 15, 2012


This should be required reading for every man, woman and child in Jamaica,
the UK , United States of America , Canada , Australia and New Zealand and
to all the world...

 
"I'm 83 and I'm Tired"


I'm 83. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National
Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious
health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly
40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my
income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as
though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.


 
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who
don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take
the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy
to earn it.    


  
I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I
can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and
daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight
offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't
"believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning
teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the
genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and
Shari'a law tells them to.


  
I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques
and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia , New Zealand ,
UK, America and Canada , while no one from these countries are allowed to
fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other
Arab country to teach love and tolerance..  


 
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate.


I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help
support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ
rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses
or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?


I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful
mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting
caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.


I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination
or big-whatever for their problems.


I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and
early 20's be-deck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making
themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government.


Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 83.. Because, mostly, I'm not
going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for
my granddaughter and their children.   Thank God I'm on the way out and not
on the way in.

Writing, a creative therapy

Writing, a creative therapy
La escritura, una terapia creativa
April 10, 2012
By: Gina Yoryet Román

As of lately I’ve felt this huge abyss of solitude piercing right through my heart and it’s left me yearning for something unknown.

“Oh, it’s just the feeling of frustration, anger the next second, uncontrolled cravings a minute later, and a mix of emotions revolving within" – all of that is translated to “it’s that wonderful T. O. M. (Time of the month),” which happened the first day I went to the beach and vanished right when I came back . Perfect timing! No wonder I felt as if a volcano were about to erupt inside so I’ve been spending even more time alone because I can’t even stand myself.

That internal turmoil usually vanishes as soon as that ordeal is over-with but this time, it lay there more intense provoking more negative sentiments so while looking for the “why,” and questioning, “What kind of disorder can wreak such havoc (cause a lot of trouble or damage) in my spirit?” it finally dawned on me that I hadn’t written in 10 days!!! Ok that is only a little over a week but that is an amazingly huge deal for me as I’ve become very dependent and needy of it, it has turned into a therapy to recur to when things are shaky.

Writing, and praying have become my closest allies at every single moment of despair like when I’m under stress, when there’s an argument or disagreement in my family or with someone close, when things are not so rosy or when they don’t turn up the way they were planned, when/if emotion reaches me in a sudden stab, or even when I want to project my happiness or gratitude.

So what saddened me the last couple of days, was the simple fact of not having written for that long! I took a short vacation and I didn’t take my laptop deliberately to relax and get disconnected from the world because knowing me, I would’ve worked throughout my entire time off.

Last night I told myself, “I have to get at least a few lines down tomorrow!” Why am I rather persistent to write? Because one day I want to build a legacy, I want my words to represent the archive of “MY” history like Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Language is the archives of history.”

“THE” Gina Roman

“THE” Gina Roman
By: Gina Yoryet Roman
April 2nd, 2012


The combination of my jobs (Teaching/Translating/Interpreting and Health & Fitness) is very thrilling because it always challenges me to increase my knowledge in many areas forcing me to be updated and it’s interesting to meet people from all over the world. Plus, I am not nailed down to my chair the whole day!

One good example was last week when I worked at the “Primer Foro de Agave” held at UDG Juan José Arreola public library.
I was originally there to do some interviews for “The Road to Tequila,” a documentary we’ve been working on for almost two years about the legend behind “Tequila” the town and “Tequila” the drink. Our main focus is to educate the Anglos and help them look at the whole picture involved in those seven words.

So one of the coordinators of this event emailed me on Saturday asking if I could interpret for the speakers since there were people from the U. S., Australia, England, Canada, and some Mexicans who didn’t speak English so to make the story short, I interpreted from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. It was very intense because everyone spoke way too fast and I couldn’t catch many things but the most difficult thing I encountered was the terminology. We as Interpreters have to request the material from our client at least five working days in advance in order to study it.

This time not only was I notified late but the terminology was very particular, most of the speakers blurted out very technical terms at 200 miles per hour and I worked the entire day which was very exhausting. On top of that I was placed right next to the speakers in front of “una mesita redonda,” – a small round table, as I was told. LOL! It was more like a huge room full of people. There I was without a cabin to avoid distractions DREADING standing in front of an audience. Believe it or not, I managed to do surprisingly well despite all of that!

In cases like that, it is always recommended to have two interpreters so we can take a break because it is very mentally draining although some may think our job is a piece of cake because we are sitting there just “talking.”

In between breaks the producer of “The Road to Tequila and I managed to interview a few people and got different perspectives, just what we were looking for!

One of the most important individuals to interview was a professor from UDG who I’d been playing phone tags with for the last 8-12 weeks or so.

The first thing he said to me when I approached him was, “So, you are Gina Roman, huh? I pictured a blonde woman like the one on your website or like “La Rubia Superior.” I replied nonchalantly, “Sorry to disappoint you but I don’t even come close to being blonde.”
And he replied, “I am not disappointed in the least, I am very lucky to have met you…”

That led to a chat about THE real Gina Roman, Georgina García Tamargo born on February 15, 1938 in The Havana Cuba. She was a professional dancer in her country of origin and then immigrated to Mexico in the early 1950’s to become a celebrity leaving a record of about 78 films.

But what made her standout the most was the advertisements she did for Cerveza Superior in the 1980’s.

Those commercials were a hit, all the men slobbered the minute that voluptuous blonde beauty popped up on the screen. She used to come out with a very tight and sexy cheerleading outfit flaunting all her attributes, leaving too little to the imagination. Cerveza Superior hit right on the spot with that marketing plan leaving its competitors behind in sales by far at that time.

I have known about “La Rubia Superior” since I was a little girl but I never knew her name until I became Gina Roman, not because I wanted to imitate her but because of the spelling of my original name, “Yoryet Roman (Pronounced Georgette, Georgette = Georgina, Georgina = Gina). One day I googled the name “Gina Roman,” just to see what came up after many of my students and clients told me that I had a celebrity name so that is how I got to the bottom of that.

That is the legend behind my name so I’ve officially named myself “Gina Yoryet” without even knowing that beautiful woman is THE Gina Roman.