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Bumped into ex, unsure next step

  • 29-06-2022 9:35am
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26


    Hey all,

    Seeking some help please, 33 female :)

    So Monday evening I bumped into my recent ex, I broke it off with him before christmas as I was dealing with some personal stuff and didnt have the head space to keep the relationship going. I didnt handle it well, did it over text and blanked him, immature I know but as I said my head was all over the place and I just wanted get myself sorted.

    Fast forward to now and I am in much better place and just happened to bump into him on grafton street, we spoke for a bit and ended up going for a coffee. It was nice to see him and yes I am still attracted to him. As we were leaving, he caught me off guard, handed me a small sealed envelope and said it was for me and left. Naturally I opened it and it was old receipts from our dates together and on some he wrote few sweet things.

    I never knew he had these or that he was sentimental and I dont know what to think. I still find him attractive and I know I hurt him and maybe thats why he left straight away.

    Any thoughts friendly boardsies? :)

    Post edited by HildaOgdenx on


«1

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,495 ✭✭✭Markus Antonius


    Ghosting people is a sad tactic. Leave him alone now, you had your chance.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,666 ✭✭✭✭retalivity


    So you randomly bumped into an ex you hadn't seen or spoken to in 6 months, and he happened to be carrying an envelope with old receipts and a letter for you? That's a bit...strange



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,839 ✭✭✭✭Donald Trump


    I'd be a bit worried if someone I bumped into, whom I hadn't seen in 6 months, just happened to be carrying around a sealed envelope full of receipts related to me.............unless it was someone chasing me for money to pay the receipts.


    Sounds a bit stalkerish. You sure your meeting was "accidental"? Do you walk through there regularly? Is he a literal ninja?



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    Ha I wasn't worried, but now that you and others point it out, it does sound bit strange.

    Yes because I have moved to different area and have different job from when we last spoke and he also has new job and neither of us are on the southside so yeah it felt accidental and not a ninja move :-D



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,666 ✭✭✭✭retalivity


    Sorry yes, i meant the notes written on the letters. That's a bit weird, and opens up a heap of other questions. Has he been carrying it every day walking up and down grafton st? Or is it something more sinister. 6 months has passed, you ghosted him, he seems a bit stalker-y, both of you are better off away from each other and moving on.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    I don't know, I didn't get to ask and haven't been in contact since nor has he.



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    by the sounds of it, you could just open up your window and ask him.

    In all seriousness, I wouldn't imagine it was anything sinister but it is odd. He obviously hasn't gotten over you. Or maybe after your last meeting he has closure and is free from his memories because he gave you back the receipts.

    Odd, if a little sad, behaviour. Seems like you really had an impact on him.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    its funny, my older sister said pretty much same thing as you. She reckoned it was his way of saying, I fucked him over and this is what I have lost.

    Think I will wait few days to see how I feel, might be best to leave it in the past



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,839 ✭✭✭✭Donald Trump



    Perhaps he's such a good ninja that you don't even know he is one, and that's what attracted you to him in the first place.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 436 ✭✭NiceFella


    How long did you date him before the break up? I'm assuming not that long if you broke it off by text. I do think it is odd that he has all these receipts on him but if he was going with you a while I wouldn't consider it that bad. I'd agree with your sister on that, he leaving a message of how he felt about it. It would not be my way any way but to each there own.

    It's clear he really really liked you. However It seems to me that you were not all that into him if you hadn't been that aware of his absence until a chance meeting.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,878 ✭✭✭irelandrover


    id say he was struggling to get over you due to how you ended it, and was carrying these around.

    Bumping into you and having the coffee gave him the closure he needed. And hence he could give away the thing that reminded him of you.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    It was close to 6 months.

    I wouldn't say I was not aware of his absence, I had alot going on and I felt at the time the best way for me to look after me was to end it and give me time to myself. Did I think of him after the fact, yes I did but I wanted to be a better version of me so kinda blocked him out and worked on myself.

    I did tell him I loved him and I really did but I just wasn't able to give myself into it as I was not in a good space.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    my sister said same and to give it some time that no matter what I do now, I shouldn't rush into anything



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 436 ✭✭NiceFella


    I think your sister is right. If you are in a better head space now, then best not unsettle that and keep going with your progress.

    Not to be negative but it's important to say that it sounds like you hurt this chap a bit. A call in my opinion was much more appropriate in the circumstances.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    Thanks for the response. Apt name :)

    Yes I can definitely see that and probably more so after this and yes I can agree I should have handled it better

    Thanks again



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,606 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    So do you think him having these in his pocket and bumping into here were completely coincidental?

    I'm not saying he's a stalker, but the chances of the above happening are very very small unless premeditated.



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    I dunno man. It's a little "Dawson's Creek" for my liking, but if he loved the girl, holding onto some keepsakes in his wallet to remind him of her isn't beyond the realms of possibility and much more likely than him being a stalker.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 21,437 ✭✭✭✭Ash.J.Williams


    did he want payment for the receipts? 😂


    odd things to carry around considering it was a random encounter



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  • Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 10,446 Mod ✭✭✭✭xzanti


    You didn't 'bump' into him. He was following you. Nobody carries a little envelope full of receipts around.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,606 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    I wonder is there a space somewhere between stalker and Dawson's Creek?

    'I'm going to keep these in a sealed envelope my pocket in the off chance that I bump into her as I know she takes this route regularly'.

    6 months later the above actually happens.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,337 ✭✭✭Bandana boy


    He has a doll back in his house made from your hair , run a mile !!



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Now if we are talking about an a4 envelope, you may have a point, but a small little tiny envelope with a couple of receipts in it doesn't take up much space in a tiny back pocket of a wallet.

    I went out with a girl who used to keep cinema ticket stubs, concert tickets and receipts from dates we went on in the back of her purse. This guy might have done the same and not gotten around to clearing out his wallet or couldn't bring himself to just throwing away the memories. He could have taken this chance encounter to offload them back to the girl he was in love with and get some closure.

    It's unusual but hardly stalkerish.

    I hope the poor fucker doesn't read boards.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,396 ✭✭✭Tefral


    OP, I'm a firm believer in what you do at the time (even if you messed it up) was the right decision to make.

    Usually when you look back at things you only see what you want to see so if you are in a better place now its best move on.

    Ill put it this way: When you go for a shower you don't go and put back on your old clothes.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 35,606 ✭✭✭✭o1s1n
    Master of the Universe


    It sounded from the OP as if it was more than just a few loose receipts though, it was a small sealed envelope with receipts which had things written on them.

    Why seal an envelope unless you're planning to give it to someone?

    I dunno, maybe I'm reading into a bit too much, I'd find it a bit strange myself though if an ex of mine from 6 months ago handed me a sealed envelope full of receipts from our dates with things written on them.



  • Posts: 1,469 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Not true, iirc, Orson Welles used to a carry a letter to an ex he couldn't get over on him at all times. One day, by chance, he had the opportunity to give her the letter and they got back together. Also, iirc, when Michael Collins was shot they found fabric ivy leaves in his pocket that he'd taken from a wedding he had attended on which he'd written the names of the people he'd been to wedding with. Some men are sentimental, no shame in it, even if it's a trait I dislike in myself....

    Anyhow, OP, if you loved this person how on earth did you break up by text? Think you need to be sure of yourself and your own feelings before you re-open any old wounds here. Good luck all the same.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,790 ✭✭✭Feisar


    The OPs ex read the Art of Seduction or some such waffle and planned this meeting.

    First they came for the socialists...



  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Oh it's certainly strange.

    Might have been a few loose receipts in a small envelope, then when he went to the jacks to seal it and then gave it to her.

    Plenty of variables open up a fair few more explanations before I would jump on the stalker scenario though :)

    Speaking of strange though, I have a friend who has kept a used condom from when he lost his virginity back in 1998. (thankfully he doesn't carry it around in his wallet to give back to the girl he used it on)



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,045 ✭✭✭JoChervil


    Nothing wrong with a premeditated closure, if it was so. He had a full right to do it. I find this way quite interesting. It would give me a peace of mind and some self esteem back, if I was a dumped person. But that's it.

    I wouldn't hold my breath counting for a great relationship after you finished it so bluntly. I don't think he would be able to trust you again. And if I were you, I wouldn't be able to trust him as well. If he was able to plan giving you this envelope, you don't know, if he didn't plan more hurtful breakup for you later on. With such starting point - with no trust from both sides - I would keep away from him. Especially that you didn't care much about him 6 months ago. He was not good enough for you in your bad days, so I don't think he will be good enough for you in your good days. I would save myself next bad breakup. Or at least be aware that making it work will require a lot of work from both sides. So only you know, if it is worth pursuing.

    BTW, if it was a woman carrying it around, I wouldn't be surprised. Being a woman, I know, how many unnecessary things I have in my bag...



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 638 ✭✭✭gary550


    That receipt thing is a bit weird

    I just can't imagine walking out of the house every day and saying "keys - check, wallet - check, plugs out - check, doors locked - check, little envelope filled with receipts I kept from my time with some girl who ghosted me 6 months ago - check".

    Yeah, weird.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    Ha I don't think he does.

    Yeah maybe it was a closure thing for him, but I do find it quite sweet and unusual, but that could be just the surprise of it all.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    I was not in a good place and decided it was best way for me to do it. Not proud of it but its how I felt at the time.

    Thanks for comment



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    You should see my bag, everything bar the sink in it :)

    Right now I am not going to do anything and not sure if I will, but I am going to continue what I am doing and just see, thanks :)



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 823 ✭✭✭Liberty_Bear


    The receipt thing albeit a bit odd he never made contact in those months and I assume he had your number. For him this might have been some form of closure, he wants to make one more attempt as he felt the ending was on poor terms. On a personal level I dont hold people who end a relationship after 3+ months with a text in high esteem (not you OP but people who have done it), a coffee or a talk on the phone suffices. If its a few weeks or a couple of dates Im fine with it. The romance of the movies carries around with it this notion that everything is all lovely and fun and that things like that chap with the receipts would capture your heart and you sail into the sunset. As you say though you were in a bad place and now are doing well..I can only assume the chap knows that and is happy in that regards. Summing up, the chap could have reached out in those months but never did, that to me seems perfectly ordinary behaviour.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    Ok I am going sound bad here..

    He did reach out asking to talk few weeks later, I replied that I didn't want to that I didn't want talk anyone and to leave me be and blocked him everywhere.

    Horrible I know but I did block others too to give me headspace.

    The person then and now is much different and while this envelope thing appears unusual, it did make me feel both sad and happy

    Thanks for commenting



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 823 ✭✭✭Liberty_Bear


    Ah ok I wasnt aware that he had reached out, well look at the time you were not in the head space, looking after yourself is important. I wonder how you can be sure he is different though after a short space of time? Id have to stand at the sidelines for a while myself. Anyways hope you find whatever you are seeking :)



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,349 ✭✭✭sprucemoose


    think its one of those things you'll have to figure out on your own op. if you want to try again then reach out and see what happens. sounds like he wanted to try and see if things could be fixed but you werent in a place to do so at the time, which is totally understandable.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12


    Thanks :)

    No doubt he is different now, Heck I am too. It ended because of me and I dunno maybe seeing something I wasn't expecting and remembering how things were kinda makes me smile that he thought alot about me.

    But as I say I'm not going to do anything for moment if even.



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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,349 ✭✭✭sprucemoose


    my very nosey side would be interested to know what happens btw!



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26 Ninjafan12




  • Administrators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 14,917 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Big Bag of Chips


    Usually when a person is going through a tough time they turn to the person closest to them for support. If you turned away from him it's likely he's not the one for you. What you're feeling now is nostalgia for the nice times. You had opportunity in the last 6 months to contact him if at any point you felt you made a mistake. But you didn't. Leave this where it is. If you go through a tough patch in the future it's unlikely you'll lean on him for support.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,979 ✭✭✭YellowLead


    Do you really love him OP, or are you just really flattered by the fact that he kept those receipts and wrote notes on them?

    I do find it super bizarre he was carrying them around at all times in an envelope. If you are 33 presumably he is of similar age, not a teenager.

    How did you guys leave things when you said goodbye? That coffee and giving you the receipts might have been closure for him. If you dumped him out of the blue by text, he might find it very hard to trust you again.

    It sounds like a relationship that is better left in the past. You have the chance to meet somebody else while you are in this good head space.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,043 ✭✭✭Jonnyc135


    Carrying a sealed envelope with all those things in it on the off chance he meets you or follows you to accidentally meet, sounds like a lunatic of a man.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭gameoverdude




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,043 ✭✭✭Jonnyc135


    Just the premeditated thought of it all doesn't sit well with me. Maybe he is a lunatic and maybe there was a full moon that day



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,581 ✭✭✭gameoverdude


    Maybe he is, maybe he's hurt and carrying it as a reminder as how they hurt him and stell themselves i future. Maybe he'll burn it when he meets someone he believes he can trust and it'll be cathartic. Who feckin knows!

    But from the ops later post which I do not understand the difficulties they were going through, they were in a very bad place. I'm glad they're on their way out of it. It made them happy/smile or whatever it was, I find that odd.



  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 57,377 ✭✭✭✭walshb


    He sound like a keeper!



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