Keeping Busy, Easter Plans, TiVo, et al . . .

First of all, the new column has released. It’s about Google etiquette when you begin dating a new person. Check it out. Also, check the new column, Date Night with Gina B., if you want reviews of The Tasting Room, Exposure, La Pomme Rouge, and coming up next will be The Bungalow Lounge.

I’m a bit miffed because The Gina Spot has been cut in half to conserve newsprint, which means that I run every other Friday, and alternate my column with Jenni, the lesbian columnist. I’ve said it before, but I can’t help thinking that my 650 weekly words in a 45-70 page newspaper aren’t contributing to environmental destruction. I hate writing every two weeks because it wrecks the continuity of my deadlines and the audience. Also, to alternate my column with one whose audience is drastically different doesn’t really keep the readers interested.

If you would like to complain, feel free to write a letter to the editor. Or perhaps, since I’m so up in arms about it, maybe I should complain.

My friends have been keeping me very busy lately, which is great, although I’m typically “loner girl,” so I’m experiencing a lot of togetherness.

The problem now is that I’m eating too much. Scoozi last night, RL the night before, thai food the night before that. I love you all, but if you think I’m mourning NOW, think of how sad I’ll be when my size reaches double digits. I need to go out dancing more. I’ll have to build that in to the schedule.

Speaking of eating, I’m avoiding a big meal this weekend. I’m not exactly doing my mother proud with my quasi-Easter plans this year. She was the Catholic in the family. My father, I believe, is Baptist, and I’m nothing. I’ve never been baptized, and have no religious alignment whatsoever.

Some would call me a heathen (and by the way, if you call me a heathen? Yeah, you can go straight to hell), but I would call myself “spiritual.” We don’t exactly have religious unity in my family. Just recently, when my mom died, I found out that ½ of her siblings are Baptist, while the other half are Catholic. I don’t get it, but I also don’t understand the concept of 11 children (or even 1, for that matter). But I digress . . .

This Easter – which is really any given Sunday, by my upbringing – I will be praising the Universe while getting spa treatments at the Peninsula.

Hallelujah!

BTW, does anyone watch The Bachelor? Those who know me know that I consider The Bachelor to be television crack. This Bachelor is a cutie – I’m a sucker for an accent. I’m more concerned about the bachelorette contenders, per usual. Some of these women are deplorable.

Chicago had awful representation with skanky Stacy, who had heinous blonde extensions and found it appropriate to stick her panties in his pocket as he was talking to another girl. When he didn’t pick her, she said what I’ve heard so many women say over the years – “He just couldn’t handle me.” Nor would he want to.
I’m also surprised because the black woman made it past the first cut. Usually, the show makes sure that there’s a token minority in the house, and it’s usually moot because she never gets picked. Let’s see how long this one lasts. In the previews for the following week, I see she’s arguing with one of the other foofy girls in the house, so they may keep her on for the sake of drama.

Stay tuned.

New date night review

Now that I’ve accumulated a few reviews, I have my very own section on Metromix within Bars and Clubs. I’m the first of the features. Last Saturday I reviewed La Pomme Rouge. Check it out.

New Columns!!

Annoucement — The debut of Date Night with Gina B.! My brand new column debuted today in Metromix. It’s called Date Night with Gina B., and reviews bars and clubs across the city for places to have good dates. This week, we’re talking about The Tasting Room. Check it out!!!

Also, check out The Gina Spot if you want to know how soon is too soon to give it up.

techno-cheaters

There’s a new column today, and it’s all about techno-cheating. Specifically, the dastardly people who use their cell phones, particularly text messages, as a cheating device.

I have first-hand experience with this — where someone that I was dating was making plans with his, well . . . hoes, via text. It’s not fun. And what happens when you bust them? Maybe you sneak and look at their phones, or perhaps you read the message over their shoulders. What happens then? What is the reaction?

Read the column, and then let me know what you think.

New column today!

A good man, or a good time? You decide. Check it out on the Chicago RedEye site.

Forgot to mention

The new episode of “The Gina Spot” dropped on Friday. It’s about post-date communication. Does “take care” simply mean take care? Or does it mean “I never want to see you again”? Check it out.

New column!

The new column dropped on Friday. It’s a gift-giving guide for the holidays for those of you who are inclined to stress out. Check it out.

New column et al

First of all, I had a BLAST last night at Chi Omega alumni event. They were nice enough to ask me to emcee their bachelor auction at Debonair Social Club, and it was SO much fun. (I even managed to control myself during open bar hour. One more cocktail, and the auction would have been infinitely more interesting.) The best part is that the proceeds went to the Make a Wish foundation.

The new column dropped today. It’s about good girlfriends, and how to avoid bad girlfriend types. Check it out.

New column

Did I fail to mention that a new column was released on Friday? I’m a bad girl. Click here to check out the contents of my interview with the lovely and talented Leslie Talbot, author of

Singular Existence: Because It’s Better to Be Alone than to Wish You Were

.

It’s a phenomenal book, and I encourage all singles to check it out. You’ll get a good message . . . you’ll get a great laugh!

New column et al

I used to be one of those people that wondered how it’s possible to slam one’s hand in a car door. Mystery solved!

This morning, during a scatterbrained moment of trying to maneuver in the space between my car and the crap that’s on the side of my garage, I closed the door and felt an excruciating pain. I wasn’t expecting to see my ring finger still attached to my hand, but it was there. And with only the tiniest of scratches on my top knuckle. I guess I was lucky.

The highlight of my evening last night was an interview with Leslie Talbot, author of Singular Existence: Because It’s Better To Be Alone Than To Wish You Were. Be on the lookout in the next few weeks for that column in RedEye. And please read her book! It’s a good lesson for anyone who is even thinking about settling just for the sake of being half of a couple.

The column released today, and I have to say that the only complication in writing for a newspaper – a Tribune publication, no less – is that I get heavily edited for all things profane and edgy. The latest column, which I titled “The Nice Guy” got a liberal chopping, which took out all of the funny bits that I loved when I wrote it.

So, as a special treat (probably more of a treat for me than anyone), see below for the unedited, raw version of the column. Feel free to let me know whether you prefer the original or the published edit.

And by the way . . . I often feel like I’m writing. Why the hell are you guys so quiet? Comment, already, wouldja?! Jeez!

______________________________________________________________________________

The Nice Guy
by Gina B.

I was recently having a conversation with a stranger in a bar, and I heard a familiar lament: “Women say they want to date nice guys, but they really don’t. I’m a nice guy, and it’s hard to find dates. Women would rather date the men who screw them over.”

For once, I didn’t say what I really wanted to say, which was that there must be something missing with this guy.

This particular specimen was the card-carrying nice guy. He was attentive, employed good listening skills, was eager to give up his seat for a woman, asked great questions, seemingly very considerate . . . the list goes on. So, what was the problem? There wasn’t really a problem, but he also didn’t inspire any of the women he talked to break out the cell phones and record the digits. Nice is a wonderful trait, and a good start, but unfortunately, sometimes it’s not enough.

Let’s be realistic – we all want to date nice people, men and women alike. We like to be treated with respect. I have never known anyone who sets out to find a person who treats them like crap. I’ve witnessed some sick and twisted relationships, but . . . seriously? Regardless of how the relationship turns out, none of my friends have ever said, “What I need is a man who beats me and calls me bitch.”

Nice, as a descriptor, has unfairly garnered a somewhat negative connotation. I know it sounds bad, but if a friend is trying to fix me up with someone and the only good thing she can say is: “He’s a nice guy,” I avoid that meeting like Hepatitis A through C. It’s not what she said, it’s what she didn’t say. She didn’t say “He’s nice and cute,” or “He’s nice and funny.”

What’s the difference? There’s a huge difference. Nice and funny or nice and cute could be great boyfriend material. But nice, just nice? That’s a friend.

Men feel the same way. If I’m thinking of making a love connection between two friends, I’ve learned never to describe the woman as a “nice girl.” Similar to women, men jump to terrible conclusions, and automatically envision a wildebeest with no sense of style who hasn’t had a date in three years and whose idea of sleepwear is a flannel nightgown and matching chastity belt. But she’s very sweet. And she can bake a mean apple pie. Just like her hunchback grandma. Whom she closely resembles.

Now, before I receive hate mail from the American Society of the Nice and Overlooked, I believe that as we mature, we learn to have a deeper appreciation for the nice guy.

As teenagers, those of us who hadn’t figured it out went for a recipe of two parts Hot Rebel with a half-cup of Asshole and a dash of Nice Guy thrown in as a sweetener.

Tastes change in early adulthood, and so does our recipe. Rebel has a bitter after-taste, so that ingredient is eliminated (also, aged Rebel turns into Felon). We opt, instead, for equal parts of Gorgeous and Sexy with a quarter cup of Arrogant and a tablespoon of Nice.

As we develop a healthy appetite for Nice, the recipe changes yet again. Other ingredients are eliminated for bad side-effects. Arrogant is too spicy and gives us indigestion, while Gorgeous is fattening. The new blend includes equal parts of Nice and Sexy, with generous handfuls of fresh spices: Intelligence, Confidence, Ambition, Humor and Loyalty. They add flavor and a rich aroma. Blend, bake and serve. As Rachael Ray would say: “Yumm-O!”

So, for those nice guys and girls out there, there are appreciative people. But it’s not just about being nice. We are all creations with special recipes. One ingredient, while it won’t make us sick, will probably not make for an interesting dish.

© Tribune Company