My sleep deprived nights

My sleep deprived nights

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

June 4, 2012

As of January first I’ve lost my focus in almost every possible way, life has been more so like this: I take two steps forward but it feels more as if I had taken three or four leaps back.

Number one, the year started out very slowly workwise, it didn’t pick up as it normally does within the second or third week of January so I’ve had to look for other activities to fill in those gaps and avoid my mind from wandering uselessly. It all projects more when I try to close my eyes and sleep…
I cannot get disconnected for more than two seconds and manage to get some zzzz's. 

Mid January (January 16 to be exact) came sluggishly, slowly trespassing my peace of mind and leaving me with one of the deepest scars in my soul, the reason being? My grandmother, granny M. Lou W. passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. I was very distraught because the heartbreaking news didn’t get to me till late April so guilt struck me many nights causing even more nights of insomnia.

In the midst of that sense of loss, there was also hope, January, February were looking very promising, it was the perfect time to grow, conquer, fight, thrive, win, survive, prosper, rise, to open a whole new episode with the “right” someone, a time to believe, to be courageous, to be pure, transparent, reenergize, to be free– just “me,” the perfect time for “Carpe Diem,”

That was more so like a small obstacle like many which I tend to get thrown off track with like other similar tiny matters but once I am back to my normal “me,” it is easy to regain incredible self-control. 

On March 25 Mexico was injected with hope once again when Pope Benedict the XVI came to Guanajuato but that peace only last lasted too little as a few days later, the most violent day of the month stirred panic and despair in our hearts after many vehicles were burnt throughout the city.

In April I worked at an event doing simultaneous translation for the Centro Bíblico Cristadelfiano, a whole new religion that left me with even more doubts about spiritualism and beliefs. Even though I am a born and raised catholic (and I will always be one), my peace of mind was a bit agitated.

May finally arrived, after many sleep deprived nights due to the countless failed attempts to clarify my baffled mind I finally regained focus.

Not for long though…

May 15, being certain, I had a LONG chat with a friend and needless to say more, that conversation contributed to that sky high cipher of sleep deprivation nights.

Finally as peace struggled and crawled to meet the cross line of my mind I was struck once more. This time it hit my health and I’ve been skipping the gym for the last four days because I haven’t felt like “me,” I am feeling puny and weak but at the same time I feel like the pounds are quickly crawling in my muffin top.

Whatever the cause may be I miss my full nights of beauty sleep and I was determined to regain them yesterday after spending the WHOLE day in bed.

Perhaps the death of my grandmother left me delirious, or maybe that fake illusion formed in my mind, it could be all the doubts with that religion I discovered (I am not going to get into it because who would I be if I don’t stand up for my catholic beliefs?)

That conversation with that particular friend on May 15 is irrelevant, it was just that.

Whatever the reason may be, it leaves me with many sleepless nights. During those nights I dream of many unreal things, every time I close my eyes, it’s like if I were living another life. There is something out there I cannot resist…

Whatever that obstacle disrupting my sense of peace may be, there's no other option but to fight against it with all my might even if that means taking the less traveled road.

“Most men take the straight and narrow. A few take the road less traveled. I chose to cut through the woods."

Running quotes

Running quotes

Gina Yoryet Roman

June 3^rd, 2012

Great quotes about running and life

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

- Unknown

"Good things come slow - especially in distance running."

- Bill Dellinger, University of Oregon coach

"If you ever get a second chance in life for something, you've got to go all the way."

- Lance Armstrong

"Anybody can do just about anything with himself that he really wants to and makes his mind to do. We are capable of greater than we realize."

- Norman Vincent Peale, author

"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day. It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'"

- Peter Maher, Irish-Canadian Olympian and Sub-2:12 marathoner

"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat."

- Napoleon Bonaparte, legendary military leader

"I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times, but they can always fulfill their own potential."

- Bill Bowerman, legendary University of Oregon track coach

"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable."

- Sir Roger Bannister, first man to break the four minute mile

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."

- Sir Roger Bannister

"Most men take the straight and narrow. A few take the road less traveled. I chose to cut through the woods."

- Unknown

"Hills are speedwork in disguise."

- Frank Shorter

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."

- Bill Bowerman

"What matters is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre', 'Give up your foolish dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN."

- Steve Prefontaine

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."

- Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and marathon finisher

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming."

- Frank Shorter

Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.

- Steve Prefontaine

"I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance of the opposition. That way I'm not frightened by anyone's reputation."

- Ian Thompson, 2:09.12 marathon at the 1974 Commonwealth Games

From a tired and weary Méjico

From a tired and weary Méjico

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

May 27, 2012

Long ago I was fighting for my honor, being on my knees and my arms getting weak, didn’t stop me from making the greatest effort to hold my dignity and keep my sanctuary as intact as ever with the last of my strength.

My greatest desire was to keep a clean image for the world to see despite being struck with many painful blows leaving permanent scars.

All of it was a failed attempt and the last couple of years I’ve been surrounded by chaos, tragedy, despair, pain, tears, fear, rage, greed. I’ve been trapped in a labyrinth of solitude without a way out.

All along I’d been rowing very hard but all my efforts have been useless because perhaps I’ve been headed the wrong direction. So right now I am nothing but a stray dog looking for morsels of whatever I can find and hoping to bump into a banquet of love, hope, peace, harmony, solidarity and faith to feed my hungry and empty soul and be able to withhold and fight against the negativity engraved in my core.

1) I am tired of seeing children lose theirinnocence and thousands of them being recruited for illicit business.

2) My heart is in despair for not having a moment of peace since this useless and painful war started.

3) I am fed up with all the dirty laundry being smeared on me and paying the consequences for my neighbor’s actions.

 4) I am sick and tired with the world looking down on me, because “I am a corrupt and dangerous con.”

5) I am tired of people hiding behind a “mask” called society and finding excuses for their wrongdoings.

6) I am in rage that all our rulers are seeking is power and money and to benefit their pockets.

7) I am shocked that the universe is suffering from the most severe and chronic illness, “I, I, I,” or “me, me, me.”

8) I am tired that our youth has lost all respect, morals, values, honesty, ethics and faith just like in the rest of the world.

9) I am infuriated with the malice some use to cross that fine line to hurt and disrespect one another.

10) I am in rage with those that harm innocence and those that take advantage of women only to prove that they are physically stronger using the excuse of, “I am mentally disturbed because someone did it to me when I was a child.” Why not say, “I am going to do a good deed to someone because someone did it to me when I was younger?”

11) I am angry of strangers demanding money when they don’t make the most minimal effort to find work.

12) I am tired of supporting our rulers and giving them extravagant lifestyles

13) I am disappointed about being deceived with “Freedom of speech,” when it is nothing but an abstract idea.

14) I am tired of everyone who wants to take advantage of me and my resources.

15) I am tired of my lungs being polluted with all the trash thrown on the streets and contaminating my surroundings.

16) I am sick of seeing people drink and smoke themselves to death because there’s “no other way out.”

17) I am tired of those who “want” a better place, yet they neglect to start making positive changes within.

18) I am shocked to see the greed reflected in the eyes of those fighting to rule me in the next presidential elections.

19) I am tired of those wreaking havoc and making me bleed in my own land day after day.

20) I am in despair to see the reading and literacy level go down the drain slowly.

21) I am tired of those who don’t take responsibility of their lives and always have someone to blame.

22) I am tired of seeing and hearing of those who rule us making “small mistakes,” and cleaning their messes with money.

23) I am tired of not being heard.

24) I am tired of my children not being taken into account in important matters only because they “don’t know any better.”

24) I am sick of the rules always being set to favor only those in power.

26) I am sick of those selfish ones who are “not aware” of others’ feelings.

27) I am tired that those don’t want to give a lending hand. 

25) I am fed up with this crippling society created by my inhabitants.

26) I am disappointed with the lack of solidarity.

27) I am tired of those de los últimos rincones being ignored and financially restrained.

27) I can no longer fight the numbing pain of the countless wounds I've been stabbed with.

A hopeless Méjico

Facts about the human body

Facts about the human body

Gina Yoryet Román

May 22, 2012

1)    Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.

2)     The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.

3)     You use 200 muscles to take one step.

4)     The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.

5)     Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.

6)     A pair of human feet contains 250,000 sweat glands.

7)     A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.

8)     The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.

9)     The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

10) It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

11)The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.

12) Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.

13) At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.

14)Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

15) The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.

16) Your teeth start growing 6 months before you are born.

17) When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, and they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

18)  Your thumb is the same length of your nose.

The Cuaima Team

The Cuaima Team

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

May 20, 2012

The Cuaima Team is a recently initiated (April 20, 2011) organization to support, promote and represent female Fitness, Body Fitness and Bikini Fitness athletes, the only Latino Fitness Team, which was created by its Venezuelan President, Luis Bottini Herrera, Karate and Kobudo “Sensei,” the Japanese meaning for "person born before another,” or in other words, “master” or teacher.”

.” The word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA's and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority.

I first learned of this organization about two weeks ago when I read that Josefina Vazquez Mota, one of our Presidential Candidates who in addition to bringing new proposals to México, is undergoing a strict regimen to get in better shape because she considers being healthy (The word health comes from Germanic origin, meaning whole, complete) of very high importance because we can deliver better results with a combination of a healthy mind, soul and body.

Therefore, after reading about Mota’s regimen, I became more interested just like anything entailing health and fitness so I got into this topic into more depth. The first thing was to get to the origin of the word “Cuaimas.” Luis Bottini Herrera is Venezuelan born so he must’ve thought of a strong word which represents strength, freedom and beauty so he hit right on the dot.

 In Venezuela the word “Cuaima” is a type of serpent and it is used to define a strong, possessive and controlling woman who is very jealous of her partner, a manipulating woman who sets clear marks on her territory to avoid others from trespassing it, and a cunning woman who sometimes disguises herself as weak and vulnerable in order for her to “get rescued” by a warrior. Cuaimas are “Semper Fidelis” – always faithful to this motto, “It is better to be alone than in bad company,” because our happiness is determined by us not by our partner or anyone else. 

According to another source, “Cuaima” is a derogatory term used for a woman who learned to be controlling since childhood due to hardship and other circumstances in her surroundings so she hides behind a mask to protect herself but more so, to avoid getting hurt and being taken advantage of, with this, one of her main principles is to use men to her convenience before someone messes her up. But deep down a Cuaima is just like every woman in the world and whether or not they can be cunning and deceitful, they never lose hope to find that prince charming.

Two steadfast Cuaima warriors to represent the Cuaima Team are, EsmeraldaYesica García and Olga María Morales, both from México City.

What amazes me the most about Cuaimas from an athletic perspective, is their discipline but even more, that their bodies are able to give life to another being and they still push themselves to look beyond great so they should be praised not because of their outer beauty but for their mental and physical strength and will. 

Las Mariposas part II

Las mariposas part II
May 13, 2012
By: Gina Yoryet Roman


Black is a very strong color which can symbolize sadness and despair as that is the color used through bereavement. When one mourns the loss of a loved one, we automatically associate those moments as dark and hopeless, life is nothing but colorless and empty.

Black doesn’t always have a negative aspect as some people wear it to hide their corporal flaws because it makes them look thinner or because it matches almost every color.

Although there are some black garments in my closet, I have a preference of bright and vivid colors, especially when I am down in the dumps because it lifts my spirit. Cats are among my least favorite animals but black cats in particular give me the creeps and the grayish dead looking color of moths make me feel anxious, it may be because many years ago people were very superstitious and they believed that when a moth flies right into your home, it is attracting death, death is hovering around.
Black ribbons hung on the entry way of houses when someone dies.
is another dark item that scares me.

Death is tragic enough to add even more pain so why not try to make it a little less difficult to alleviate the pain sooner?

I’ve always liked to bring my surroundings to life with my collection of butterflies; clothes, shoes, pictures, real butterflies, jewelry, decorations, stickers on my car, keychains, etc. In each culture butterflies have a different meaning but why do I love butterflies? Because they represent who I am..

 In Chinese Mandarin the word for butterfly is "hu-tieh". "Tieh," meaning "70 years,” therefore butterflies have become a symbol for a long life.

In ancient Greek the word for butterfly is "Psyche", which means, "soul".

for some, the butterfly symbolizes alpha, the beginning of a new life and in some cultures the butterfly is also considered to bring good luck.

To me these lively colorful insects that I am infatuated with, represent fighting, conquering, thriving, winning, surviving, prospering, rising, happiness, life, courage, transparency, purity, hope, energy, good vibes, beauty, but most of all, they represent the freedom I’ve fought for since I was a little girl. The fight against my overwhelmingly strict father, a life and death battle for my beliefs as an individual, finding a balance between my two worlds and the fight to find my sense and my ideals to define the person I was meant to become.

That is why I rather stick with “Las Mariposas,” because moths could be deceitful and they may bring tragedy like my grandmother used to say. .
Even though butterflies and moths belong in the insect order Lepidoptera and they can be similar, there are some remarkable differences. Butterflies are gorgeous and moths are so gray, dark and dull, a perfect example is reflected in their wings.

These are some of t heir most remarkable differences:

Antennae
• Moths: Have simple thread-like or 'feathery' antenna without a club
• Butterflies and Skippers: Have a thickened club or hook on the tip of the antenna, never 'feathery'
• Exceptions: Several families of moths have antenna with clubs, most notably the Castniidae (Sun Moths)
Colour
• Moths: Duller colours
• Butterflies and Skippers: Brighter colours
• Exceptions: Many moths are brilliantly coloured, especially day-flying ones such as the northern Queensland Day Moth Alcides metaurus (Uraniidae), or the Jacob's Coat Moth Agarista agricola (Noctuidae). Many butterflies and skippers are dark brown with few markings.
Wings
• Moths: Wings are linked together with a bristle-like structure called a frenulum
• Butterflies and Skippers: Wings are not linked – no frenulum
• Exceptions: Australia has the only skipper in the world with a frenulum, the Regent Skipper Euschemon rafflesia (Hesperiidae). Also, many moths do not have a frenulum.
Resting posture
• Moths: Hold wings flat when resting
• Butterflies and Skippers: Hold wings together above body when resting
• Exceptions: Many moths, including geometrid moths hold their wings up in a butterfly-like fashion when resting. Butterflies in the lycaenid subfamily Riodininae, and skippers in the subfamily Pyrginae hold their wings flat when resting.
Forelegs
• Moths: Forelegs fully developed
• Butterflies and Skippers: Forelegs reduced, missing terminal (end) segments
• Exceptions: Only some butterflies have reduced forelegs. Most skippers have normal forelegs.
Pupae
• Moths: Pupae spin a cocoon
• Butterflies and Skippers: Pupae (chrysalids) not in cocoon
• Exceptions: Many moths do not spin a cocoon, many butterflies and skippers form a silken shelter, often with plant leaves.
Activity
• Moths: Fly at night
• Butterflies and Skippers: Fly during the day
• Exceptions: A few butterflies and skippers are active at dusk, many moth species are day-flying.

“Who are you if you don’t stand up for what you believe”
I believe in the beauty, transparency and strength of the butterflies because they give me a sense of hope and freedom.

It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white

It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white
By: Gina Yoryet Román
May 8, 2012

“The less makeup you smear on my face the better, whatever you do, NO mascara at all and please avoid making me reflect a circus clown because I want my skin to be able to breathe!” I emphasized this phrase at every event I worked at as a demo girl for years.

 It may have been contradicting for me to imply that because modeling is very demanding and our image has to always be flawless even if that means hiding behind coats of a plastic like substance.

The principle of keeping a low profile applies in every aspect of my life as I’ve never been one to get people’s attention only for the mere fact of pretending to be god’s gift. Either my body or my face has been a disposable instrument to get my way just because I felt like it. Ever since I was 16 when I got my first job, I’ve worked day by day to get what I want and reached my personal goals within the set time frame.

Scandalous fragrances, provocative or revealing clothes, high stilettos aren’t elements to be kept in my closet or drawers. Out of control long nails, tapping my shoes loudly, and expressing myself rather gaily don’t go well with me in the least. Social networks such as facebook, myspace or gossip environments don’t interest me in the least – I do confess that I’ve been part of some social health and fitness and business networks but everything within a reason.

Spending the least time possible making connections is what’s worked for me. My personal life belongs to me so I am very selfish with it, most people know very little about me. With this, it doesn’t mean that I am hiding something, it’s like I tell someone when they want to snoop in my privacy. “Do you really want to know more about me? Google me! It is very simple, writing, health and fitness and obtaining knowledge are the most descriptive adjectives of the woman I am.”

For some reason, abundance in a negative, superficial and materialistic aspect to catch people’s eye has always stirred anxiety deep down. Going incognito makes life a lot simpler for me, that explains why I’ve always dreaded public speaking. LOL! That doesn’t mean that I have the most minimal desire to conceal my face behind a mask made out of layers of makeup. I am used to confronting the world “a cara limpia,” – being me because that defines the person I am.

Pretending to be someone else will never work out because eventually the real me will emerge so why go that direction? After all, it is not the brand of my shoes, the price of my clothes, the diamonds I carry, the trips that I take, the expensive meals I may splurge on, the places I visit, the “gente bien,” - high class people I am acquainted with, where I live, the surgeries I get, or whether I am up to date with technology, the defining factors of my essence. Outer beauty is only temporary and will sooner or later wither, all the material objects I possess – or better said, all of that I covet and feeds my ambition, will be left behind when I part. When I am long gone I will not be given the chance to pack, therefore, I will be left empty handed, all my precious belongings will no longer have any value to me.

On the other hand, my knowledge will be alive and fed and it will be with me until I cease to exist. And in the long run when I get ready to check out, my achievements will have brought a greater self fulfillment than my vanity, my makeup, my expensive shoes and brand clothes and handbags. It is more so like this: Outer aspect is only an abstract idea created by our imagination.

“Keep a cool head and maintain a low profile. Never take the lead - but aim to do something big.”

“It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice - your looks don’t really matter, what’s of much higher importance is how you do things and how you think and work.” Deng Xiaoping - a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat who led China towards a market economy more than 30 years ago.