How To Break Up With People You're Not (Really) Dating

For the first time in a long time I had to break up with someone, of sorts. We weren't really in a relationship. We rarely talked on the phone. We'd gone out on a few dates and he was nice enough, but I think we both knew this was going no where. Something about the time he invited me out to the concert then informed me at the concert that I needed to buy my own ticket. Nice guy, but ... um, a little warning would have been nice considering the level of brokeness both of us were operating under.

Anyway, I felt kind of bad because I did my usual thing of "avoidance" in ending our nothingness. He essentially called me the night before I moved to Washington, D.C. and I had to tell him that I was going far, far away and that he was cool n' all, but I'm MOVING TO THE CHOCOLATE CIT-TAAAAY and we'll probably never, ever see each other again. Since we were barely dating, I think he took it pretty well, and was a good sport about it. We were just going in different directions and we both knew it. Besides, I had this strong urge to give him a total makeover and if I can't like a guy for whatever he is when I first meet him it's just never going to work.

I've been told by people in the past that I have a somewhat "masculine" attitude towards dating and relationships. I don't really believe in gender stereotyping, so I see it more that I have a REALISTIC attitude towards what I expect out of men. There have been plenty of times when I've relied on men to be rational, not emotional, about whatever we have going on. Especially if it's not going anywhere. Usually the man and I both know we're both wasting time, so there's no hard feelings when one decides they're tired of the other. There was never anything more horrifying for me than someone who didn't realize the true nature of things, got carried away and lead me down the awkward dance of "She's Not That Into You."

More after the jump.

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