Boxes and exes, exes and boxes

We are Moving House this Saturday. We've hired the movers, we've booked the cleaning. We've sold the washing machine (the new place already has a spanking new one), we've got a new fridge (the current one belongs to the housemate).With any luck it'll all be done and dusted by early Monday afternoon and Moving House will just be a painful memory we don't wish to repeat any time in the near future. Of course, this whole ordeal means that the contents of the house are currently getting boxed up and you can barely move for the things. And they're not at all lightweight either *sigh*

Regardless, as aforementioned, with any luck, this time next week it will all be a distant and only slightly painful memory.

On to more gossipy topics: Last Saturday evening I was supposed to go to the Massive Attack gig at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Sadly our tickets fell through and I no longer had a good enough excuse not to go to a birthday party. I was still going to make my excuses when I received a desperate phone call from the Lovely Lari, gracing us with her presence, down from Shepparton* for the weekend, heading to said birthday party and in need of support**. So come 7 o'clock, she swings past and after a quick pause at the convenience store for some caffeine we made the trek out to Preston (I will admit it's not the hour long drive to Witchy's place, but certainly a long way from the cushy inner eastern suburbs I call home). As they were not expecting us, we were a welcome sight, it was lovely being a 'nice surprise' for a change.

However, we both - the Lovely Lari and myself - walked in and were confronted by our exes. One for each of us. I had seen my ex's car parked out the front, and on reflection should have expected it and prepared for it earlier as my ex and our Friend are pals, but had to look askance to the Lovely Lari, "am I looking ex-boyfriend good tonight?", thank goodness I was.

It was rather awkward. To say the least really. The Lovely Lari's ex was not quite so much of a big deal as mine, in terms of length of history and stature (being quite possibly literally half the size of my ex), however she had not seen him since the split some years earlier... My ex, M, has not been seen by me since our Friend's Thanksgiving party, and before then, another 12 months on the inside. In fact, last I'd seen him was when I was trying to be nice and polite, we'd caught up for a drink and he was attempting to impress upon me the many and wonderful ways in which he had changed for the better. Turns out this time was a variation on a theme.

Just to give you a bit of background (on my ex, because really, this blog is about me, not the Lovely Lari, as Lovely as she is), M and I were together for approximately 2 years. Once upon a time I was madly in love with him (even though he didn't really like Witchy, which should have been a big clue), he was The One for me. For about the first 9 months of our relationship anyway - I stuck it out for the rest of the 2 years in the hopes that with encouragement and basic evolution backing me up, he might change for the better. After that I woke up to the fact that he was not changing like he kept saying he was. He was, in fact, All Talk. Seriously. He had (and still has) opinions on everything. He thinks that because he has seen or witnessed a thing, or once spoke to a guy who did something he is subsequently and expert on the thing and therefore entitled to judge said thing with obstinate vengeance.

So after I got over the awkwardness of seeing him again, I decided that it has certainly been a while and perhaps I should just treat him like any other person again. This attempt seemed to be going well for a little while. We Caught Up and chatted about what we'd been up to, how his family was (his sister got married, cheated [before and during the marriage], got divorced***). And then when we'd finished doing that, being at a party I attempted to join another conversation, only to realise that M was attempting to monopolise my time and be the centre of my attentions, so I had to quite obviously turn away from him to get him to stop talking to me.

And then, after the party had moved from outside (cold) to inside (less cold) and we were all in on the conversation I noticed that he kept trying to comment on everything I said. Just so he could be Involved. He even backed down on something he'd said once I pulled him up on it (one of his ever famous Sweeping Statements), which has never in history ever happened.

All of this coupled with him leaving while I was indisposed in the loo made things very awkward. I'm trying to be Friends with him, and he's trying to impress me. Over 2 years after I broke up with him.

And then it hit me. I realised that he simply has not moved on, grown up, changed or matured since we were together. And not only that, he realises what he's missing and wants back in on the action. And it made me a little bit sad.

The Lovely Lari once postulated to me that it (generally speaking of course) will take a person half as long as the length of a relationship to get over a person. So that if a relationship lasted 2 years, then 12 months later it is reasonable to expect that the previously involved parties have moved on, gotten over things, learned their lessons, whatever.

By all appearances, M has not done this. I know it's not my fault, nor my problem, but I didn't feel that lovely glow of schadenfreude I used to associate with my post-relationship cameos in his life, looking fabulously slim**** and carefree. There was a bit of pity, and a bit of nothing... It was just very strange.

Anyway. Back to the real world. Oh, and boxes... *sigh*

*Or, as she likes to put it, the cunt-ry*****
**It's this Friend we have, he's... difficult... But that's a whole 'nother blog post.
***Mwahahahahahhahahahahahah! *ahem* I never liked her fiancé, he's always been an untrustworthy little worm and pushed her away constantly - totally unsurprised she cheated. Anyway... back to the story.
****I'm at least 10 kilos lighter now that I was when we were together. Go me.
*****It's her own damn fault, she can leave when she wants to, we're certainly not making her stay. Nyer :P