Un sueño convertido en pasión, una pasión desviada a una realidad

A dream turned into a passion,
a passion diverted to reality
May 18, 2014
By: Gina Yoryet Roman

Un sueño convertido en pasión, una pasión desviada a una realidad

June 27 will be the day to publish ‘Rules and Tools that Build Successful Women, How to Find Balance’ e-book in which I am co-author. I remember very vividly exactly ten years ago on May 2004 when I told a two or three very close people that I wanted to write a book. “I want to write a book,” I said only because I loved expressing myself through words but I was very distant from it at that time. I only said it but I never put a time frame to it, neither did I plan or form it and on top of that, I was very clueless about what in the world I’d write about. Sometimes I thought about writing my biography but there are many stages in my life that I would not want to re-visit because I don’t want to stir particular emotions.

Barely in 2009 I created a very dull blog in which I only posted ten times throughout the year. In 2010 I made some progress but it was still insufficient according to my standards. In 2011 I made a somewhat bigger effort and increased the number of posts but I was still not content about it. Towards the end of 2011, I had a face-off with myself and after some serious self talk, I  was ready and felt propelled to take a higher step to double those prior numbers. I made it happen just like I do when I am determined. It may take me a while or a lot longer than it takes some people to get things done, but I eventually make it happen. In 2013 I was very fulfilled with my number of posts.

I don’t make money to write but I devote some time to it because it’s always been an escape from the cajoling circle of life. That’s why I didn’t necessarily made it a goal to write a book even when I knew it was/is one of my greatest loves and rules to help me find balance. Even last year when Self Growth invited me to be guest writer for their online magazine and to be contributing author for their book, ‘101 Ways to Make Yourself more Marketable,’ I didn’t feel ready nor did I believe that it would eventually happen, much sooner than expected.

Last year I redesigned my blog and geared it towards all of my passions and rules to find symmetry. Therefore, at the beginning of this year I thought about re-vamping it to attract more traffic. Five months ago, I was still unbeknownst as to how close my childhood dream that turned into a passion as an adolescent, would be diverted into reality real soon. Mid February came and after some serious consideration, I finally became a member of the International Women’s Leadership Association which was the milestone that would lead me to this dream come true. Within two weeks or less since I became a member, I learned about this project and everything else is history. On Wednesday when I turned in my chapter, at last it dawned on me that without thinking about it or planning it, it happened. Once I told myself like Ayn Rand implied, not only do I want it real, I want to share my glories and victories with someone else who wants it as much as I do. Otherwise what is the point of life?

“I want to see, real, living, and in the hours of my own days, that glory I create as an illusion. I want it real. I want to know that there is someone, somewhere, who wants it, too. Or else what is the use of seeing it, and working, and burning oneself for an impossible vision? A spirit, too, needs fuel. It can run dry.”

Ayn Rand

I am not feeling the zeal fully yet, perhaps on June 27 when I see the finalized published product. Until then I will let it fully sink in. Now I’ve witnessed that all our dreams can become a passion and we can turn that passion into reality if we really want them.

Living gracefully... Aging gracefully Dying gracefully

Living gracefully...

Aging gracefully

Dying gracefully

September 8, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

I just read, ‘Life Makeover for the Year 2013 Week 37 - How  you might be punishing yourself every day without even realizing it,’ by Cheryl Richardson.

Her blog among two or three others are tops on my daily/weekly readings to boost me. Her post today started like this:

“Last week I made a mistake that had me mentally kicking myself pretty much every day. I made a mistake. I felt bad about it.  But my guilt was overblown.  I hadn't considered the results before asking them to cut the brush and it was a simple error in judgment.  The problem is sometimes it's easy to get mired in guilt.  And when you do, it's usually followed by punishment.  Before you know it, you end up unconsciously doing things that make you feel bad about yourself like overeating, drinking too much, procrastinating and missing deadlines, or in my case, repeatedly looking out the window at the mess.”  

She felt guilty about cutting the bushes in her yard which not only did it make her yard look worse and the animals living there lost their peace but she was also emotionally disturbed . As I skimmed through her post, I resonated with her completely as I’ve been emotionally, spiritually but more than anything, physically drained myself and I keep beating myself about it. The main reason for this collapse is because I have not fully recovered from surgery. I get very antsy and demand more from my worn out body but it is simply NOT responding. The second reason, is because the work flow is not slowing down and it is taking a lot more time than expected. The third and most detrimental acumen, is a huge and serious mistake I made earlier this week. 

Translation/interpretation work is very demanding and mentally debilitating especially when it comes to technical topics and terms, which is what I encountered a couple days ago. On Saturday when the rain subsided, I realized that the minute I got that request, I should’ve not given in to pressure. I instead should’ve asked for time to sit down and analyze the whole scenario in order to give a fair and firm quote for my services...

But I didn’t. That was a very unintelligent and rushed decision that brought upon too much stress, anxiety, concern and pressure. I hired a “Translator,” who claimed to be a professional but she obviously didn’t understand the technicalities in a legal document nor the seriousness to begin with. She made several mistakes.

1. She didn’t use the according accents in the words (It was an English to Spanish document)
2. She didn’t respect the punctuation or grammar rules.
3. She sent me the document all out of sequence, page number 8 as page number 2, page number 7 on page number 4, (I don’t know how in the world that happened when she was given the document in the right sequence to begin with!) 
4. She sent me one part, then another part, and another in the body of the email she sent because she didn’t even know how to attach and send a document. 
5. She translated 10 additional pages than the ones assigned to her when I reiterated and assigned 17 pages.
6. She made absolutely no sense in her “translation.” 
7. I can't recall what other serious mistakes she made. 

I hate to be harsh and critical on someone but I was very angry and blew off on her  due to the sensitivity of this type of work, more so because the document had to be officially sealed. I had to hire and pay another Translator to help me fix this woman’s horrifying mistakes. It cost me a lot more time, money, energy and effort than planned. It was very hurtful and I was saddened and discouraged with this whole thing. But I am more deterred because I put my physical and emotional health at risk. My professional image and my emotional peace were at stake because it was my client, therefore I was compromised to deliver a clean, clear and concise final job. 

That’s why I cannot let go perhaps because it is too soon. Maybe it’ll take me just a couple of days, weeks to be ok once again. The thought of how people are so incompetent and uncareful with their work really makes me wonder how they call themselves ‘professionals’ when they can’t even understand the most basic things. I will have to drop this matter sooner or later and use it as another learning experience like Cheryl Richardson said. 

“It's hard enough being a spiritual being in a human body living on a planet where poverty, violence, and hardship exists so readily in the outer world.  Why make your inner world a war zone, too? If you screwed up, by all means make amends, but don't punish yourself by lingering in the pain.  Better to forgive and move on.”

All my life I’ve just wanted to live gracefully by my own rules and principles in my core, by respecting society’s rules and NOT taking advantage of others, that’s why it distresses me to encounter people and situations like this. 

Age gracefully through leading a healthy lifestyle to build a strong and transparent temple, and help others. 

And die gracefully once I’ve become my own legend who’s built an impacting legacy and leave it behind to my niece and nephews and to my children if God gives me the opportunity to reproduce and be a loving and caring mother one day.

Tomorrow will be another day and I am praying to regain physical, emotional and spiritual balance once again.

All through the night

All through the night
September 6, 2013



During mass today I couldn't help reflecting about last night. When I talked to P. Z., a Canadian Translator colleague of mine, he said he had done exactly the same thing all through the night. We both spent the whole p. m. hours and most of our a. m. working due to deadlines (I like to call them DREAD-lines) we had to meet. 

Throughout the serenity I sought to soothe my stressed out mind and worn out body, I started reflecting that amidst the darkness of the prior night, I yearned for something in particular (I NEVER permit myself to long for that in order to avoid any sign of weakness). 
That quietness accentuated the empty void I experience deep down from time to time. 

I am only human and the same way some people use other instruments to conceal their distraught mind and soul, I turn to something in particular. Though I don't recur to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or other vices, I pray, exercise, write, do volunteer work, talk to my family, but when everyone is strange to me and they are too caught up in their own world, I conceal behind work. 

My abc's are the PERFECT combination to trash all those negative feelings...



"All Through The Night"

All through the night
I'll be awake and I'll be with you
All through the night
This precious time when time is new
Oh, all through the night today
Knowing that we feel the same without saying

We have no past we won't reach back
Keep with me forward all through the night
And once we start the meter clicks
And it goes running all through the night
Until it ends there is no end

All through the night
stray cat is crying so stray cat sings back
All through the night
They have forgotten what by day they lack
Oh under those white street lamps
There is a little chance they may see

We have no past we won't reach back
Keep with me forward all through the night
And once we start the meter clicks
And it goes running all through the night
Until it ends there is no end

Oh the sleep in your eyes is enough
Let me be there let me stay there awhile

We have no past we won't reach back
Keep with me forward all through the night
And once we start the meter clicks
And it goes running all through the night
Until it ends there is no end
Keep with me forward all through the night
And once we start the meter clicks
And it goes running all through the night
Until it ends there is no end

I have learned...

¡Qué bonito!

Aprendí, que quien no te busca, no te extraña

y quien no te extraña, no te quiere.

Que la vida decide quien entra en tu vida,

pero tú decides quien se queda.
Que la verdad duele una sola vez y la mentira duele siempre.
Por eso, valora a quien te valora

y no trates como prioridad a quien te trata como una opción...
Quien te lastima, te hace FUERTE;
quien te critica, te hace IMPORTANTE;
quien te envidia, te hace VALIOSO;
y a veces es divertido saber que….

aquellos que te desean lo peor...

tienen que soportar que… ¡¡¡

te ocurra lo MEJOR !!!

Success

Success

April 10, 2013

Sooner or later you will discover that real success

is to be found in loving relationships.

With with your family, friends, strangers, and anyone

who crosses your path. It is kindness shared, support

given and received, listening, giving, and caring.

These will endure while your car rusts,

your toys break, and you tire of the temporary

gratifications that bring you what you think is real.

What matters is people...

What lasts is love...

What counts are true friends...

and if you treasure these,

you can count yourself a success...

Tim Connor

Quantum of solace

Quantum of solace

March 27, 2013

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

From Wednesday March 20, till this Monday the 25th, I was at a loss due to an unexplainable and unexpected emotion. Inside me stirred a feeling of loss, emptiness and solitude, as if just losing a loved one. Not only was it hard to remain faithful to my workout routine, but I was not eating at my regular times, was having very low quality and heavy meals, was not focused to pray, or read, got very little work done, only managed to do one day of volunteer work, only posted once in an entire week, it all accumulated to a deep sleep. All this unnecessary drama, made me drop two kilos in such a short span of time. I am always caught off guard by my temple as it is an out of control weight dropping machine when my spirits are low. It is most definitely NOT the best way to shed off that stubborn extra weight!

On Monday, getting out of bed at 11:30 was such a drag that I basically had to force myself! Then I Managed to get some cleaning done, took a long and cold shower to get myself together, made myself a nice, late lunch, got some work done, and went to Spanish class. That kept my mind busy enough to avoid letting the drama queen come out again. LOL!

The day after, while conversing with one of my sisters, I mentioned the way I was feeling and she put my eleven year old niece on the phone for her to tell me about her busy agenda and all her goals and accomplishments within the next few weeks. She was chosen to represent her school in a small project, therefore, she’s going to Washington D. C. in June! The second I heard her voice, was instantly miraculous. All it took to soothe my solace, was her angelic little voice, and there I was, unable to hold back a wide smile!

THANK GOODNESS I chatted with another communicative damsel because she informed me of her brother’s A. B. J’s, 8th birthday (yesterday) which completely slipped through my mind. 

Yesterday morning right after reading a book about spirituality, I wrote myself a note on my left palm as a reminder of the promise of a new day...his birthday. I called my sister’s cell phone and was very happy to hear his blissful little voice pick up. My mental abatement somehow withered straightaway when hearing him giggling. The presence of my niece and nephews, brings incomparable happiness to my existence. Witnessing them blossom and knowing that they will always be just a phone call away, is beyond any highly priced possession.

That is why each time I hear their voices, my obscure quantums of solace goe unrecalled. Number one, because it was only a feeling that robbed me from sleep for a number of nights. Number two, I have not lost a loved one. On the contrary, I only gained more closeness with my sweethearts (my family). That is why my philosophy about this emptiness lying within, is that through those cloudy moments the ones who really care about us, will step up and reach out to fill that empty void with lots of TLC!

Last night and the night before I got hardly any sleep because the careless neighbors had this extremely scandalous party, they were blasting the stereo. I'm surprised they didn't blow up their apartment! I guess I had to use my time productively since I couldn’t sleep. These two sleepless nights gave me some time to look back and think about how I’ve been lacking the discipline to do a few of the things I enjoy the most in life; working out, reading and writing. Many times I think I can’t get in better shape or that it is impossible to achieve that, to read and write more because there are tons of things going on in one day.
That’s how it’s been since I came to Guadalajara, it’s always one thing or another and I lack the discipline that I used to have when I used to compete. I still remember those awesome moments when the only thing I had to do was switch my frequency to nun mode. I’d just train and work, work and train. Unlike here, every week I keep thinking “this weekend” I won’t let anything distract me, I will not get thrown of the curve and I will commit myself 100% to my workout, to writing another article or to start reading a new book, until someone calls to invite me to a bar, someone else calls to catch up, or a family member demands more time. That brings back many hilarious memories of my mother many years ago when I was still living at home, she used to call me out of the blue, it didn’t matter what I was doing, I had to answer the phone otherwise she’d be offended when all she wanted was me to stop by the store on my way home and get a "kilo de tortillas" for dinner.
I have to admit that I feel guilty when people ask me, “how do you manage your time, how do you stay in such good shape, how can you read so many books and write so much, how can you manage to do charity work?.” What seems impressive to them is not good enough for me because I always demand more from myself; I've always juggled more than one thing at once, that is what really keeps me going. I can be a perfectionist even though I am such an imperfect human being.
The reason I feel bad is because they’re under the impression that I am so disciplined. Honestly speaking, I am very disciplined but many times I am not, especially when I’m not feeling my best. I use that as an excuse to procrastinate and I leave many things on the back burner. I always tell myself that I don’t have time for this, I don’t have time for that but then I look at my role models, a few amazing women and I am left in awe because some of them are not only in much better shape than I am but they are married, they are moms, they run their own business and they still make time to look amazingly great!
Even though I do have many activities, I come short compared to what all those women have going on their lives. There isn’t really any excuse nor do I need any “buts” or “ifs” and I desperately need to do something to improve every aspect of my life so I can help myself and others too. But before that happens I have to be in good terms with my inner person, meaning that I need to be a better person.
But, it's not me! It's Guadalajara, after all, many people come here to release all the tension in their lives and they get side-tracked. They drink more, they go out more, they meet more people they work less. Ha, ha! There isn't really any excuse!