Gina's RantSpot

New column today!

Hello good people. Today's new column is all about Sounding Boards. In layman's terms, be careful of who you talk to about arguments with your significant other. They might come back to haunt you. Check it out in the last edition of RedEye! Also . . . be my friend on MySpace!

I'm SO ready for the weekend!! Perhaps I'll put away my makeshift Christmas tree before the first of February! :-)

Cheating and getting over it

The theme of the day is cheating. I was inundated with it from the very start of the day.

I was listening to Drex in the Morning, and they featured a woman who makes it her business to ruin the weddings of men who have cheated on her in the past. Apparently she bursts in, says whatever she has to say to a church full of astonished guests and family members, and moves on. She feels that it's her duty to make sure that these men pay, and don't get away with what they've done.

I can't say that I agree with her action, but it's certainly an interesting concept -- although it seems like way too much energy to exert. Personally, I have no desire to keep up with men who have done me wrong -- much less find out when they're getting married and embarass myself in front of room full of strangers.

A coworker mentioned that he rented "The Last Kiss" with his girlfriend. He is very regretful. Has anyone seen it? It's a movie with Zach Braff, and it's essentially the story of a happy relationship that's always been on the cusp of noncommital until she gets pregnant, and then he goes and cheats on her. Sorry for the spoiler, but that's pretty much what you can ascertain from the trailer, if you watched it.

I and several friends and coworkers have made the fatal error in judgment by seeing this movie with significant others. If you haven't yet made this mistake -- don't do it. It's not a romantic comedy -- it's negative-thought-provoking and depressing.

I have a unfortunate personal relationship with cheating, having been cheated on by EVERY SINGLE man that I've dated. And I'm fucking sick of it.

Here's the thing . . . I've never cheated on anyone, but most people I know have cheated (and by the way . . . this rant isn't limited to men. Women cheat too. But, having never dated a woman, I have no perspective). There are many times that I coulda/shoulda, and knowing what I know now, there are many times that I woulda! I've reached the point where I feel that I might be missing out on something. Is there something exhilirating about cheating that I've neglected to experience my entire life?

The problem with cheating -- and the biggest problem that I struggle with -- is getting over it when you're the cheating victim. Obviously that woman on the radio can't get over the pain.

Here's what I've determined -- cheaters have all of the information. They know all about the circumstances of why they cheated, who with, the frequency, why they were attracted to who they cheated with, if there were any shortcomings in their primary relationship that necessitated the cheating, etc.

The cheating victims have none of that information -- and cheaters, if caught, refuse to discuss it. All we know that is that it happened. We are left to wonder about the details. We don't know if it can happen again, what triggered it the first time. We have no recourse.

And if the relationship manages to survive the cheating, the onus is on the cheating victim to get over it. Cheaters have to realize that we're the ones who have to rebuild the trust. It's the victims who have to try to get the images out of our heads. Cheaters would love it if we could get over it and leave it in the past, but the reality is that cheating is hurtful, and it takes time and a lot of good behavior on the part of the ex-cheater to get over.

Enough of this topic. It's depressing me. But I'm curious . . . if you've been cheated on, how did you manage to get over it?

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a fun and exciting NYE. Mine was mellow. I've had better, and I've certainly had worse. It's all about the company, I say. :-)

I'm not looking forward to returning to work tomorrow. I have to say that I loved my work week last week -- which consisted of approximately 1.5 days of work -- which translates into two hours of productivity. Now? It's business as usual. Everyone's back from vacation and ready to do business. Yippee.

Here's the mystery of my workplace -- besides the woman who wears a toupee, which is an entirely different issue -- I would love to know who's bringing in the Harlequin Romance "Expecting" series books. No, I'm not kidding, and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen evidence with my own two eyes.

In our kitchen, we have a book exchange area. Granted, there's never anything truly compelling -- or at least nothing that has enticed me to add it to my ever-increasing stack of unread books. But I peruse periodically, just in case.

Well, over the last few months, someone brought in a Harlequin romance. While I was killing time waiting for my tea to steep, I picked it up and realized that the book was from a special series -- the Expecting series -- which is all about pregnant women getting their freak on -- and typically not with the father of the child that they're carrying.

Now . . . is it just me, or is anyone else completely and utterly grossed out? A few weeks after the first book popped up, lo and behold . . . a SECOND pregnancy harlequin romance popped up. WTF? I'm curious as to why, of all places, the office book exchange is a good place to highlight your penchant for trashy romance lit.

I'm trying to figure out just who, exactly, is consuming this reading material. The first pregnant love book that popped up in the kitchen was well-used -- it's warped pages indicate that the original owner was fond of bathtub or beach reading.

On second thought, maybe I don't want to identify the reader . . . I don't really need the additional visual.