goddammit, would you just DIE already??

More on Chicago later, complete with photos, but first, this interlude.

On the ride back with my friend C, she asked me the last name of Dead-to-Me. Knowing that she and he have mutual friends, I reluctantly told her.

As many of you know, Dead-to-Me became, in theory at least, dead to me after prolonged periods of ignoring me during our 5-month relationship. Finally he sent me an “It’s not you, it’s me,” e-mail one Tuesday morning in June saying he was sorry it wasn’t working out, he runs like hell when he gets close to someone, I’m a smart and intelligent woman who deserves better, hope we can be friends, blah blah blah.

I responded and said that as someone with more than a few commitment issues of her own, I thought his were a little extreme. I suggested that he perhaps hand out a card on the 3rd date, saying something to the effect of “don’t get used to the flowers and quirky gifts and massages, because I’ll only start ignoring you soon enough.” I also said I’d like to be friends, because his friends seemed like great people and I could only assume he treats them well.

When next I saw him, in addition to me looking absolutely fucking stunning, I told him he’s an idiot. Seriously. Who in his right mind gets rid of an (his words not mine) attractive and intelligent woman who’s “not too demanding and seems to enjoy a good rogering”?

Since then, DTM has taken on a Zombie From Hell-like tenacity in refusing to remain dead. There is an entire section of the city that I can’t seem to go to without running into him, and there’s one otherwise fabulous music venue where I know he’ll always be at the end of the bar, just hanging around being emotionally unavailable. When I do see him, I am unable to resist talking to him, and it usually ends up being the funniest, best conversation I have all night.

He’s even on the growing list of people (men, more accurately) whose houses C and I plan to egg one night when the weather warms up.

So then. Last night I told C his last name. She went on to tell me that several months ago, some of DTM's friends told her about how he’d been driving his friends crazy by moping around after breaking up with this woman he’d been seeing, and how he’d finally found a really cool woman who was good in a not-his-usual-stupid-skank way, and he fucked it up. And she said, “Was that you??”

And I said, “Yep, and he did completely fuck it up, and he’s an idiot.”

I mentioned how I love DTM's cool old house. C said she can’t wait to see how it looks with egg on it.