My friend Einstein is also a poet. We were talking the other day about writing, how we feel awful for whomever we may end up dating because they will inevitably become fodder for whatever it is we write, that perhaps all artists of any form should seriously consider having their boyfriends and girlfriends sign wavers - for they will at some point appear in the artist's work.

Frankly, writing, or art, or whatever it is that a writer or artist or musician - whatever - does? It's therapy.

And I recently broke up with someone that I met in Broad Ripple. Lucky you, reader, you get to hear about it.

I've found that the only shared quality among the people that I've seriously dated is a love of music. From fans to DJ's to guitarists to saxophone players to bass players to God knows what else - they all have an undying love for the music they listen to and/or play. This person I've recently broken it off with is no different. In fact, we'd met over music, as he came into the deli when I still worked there, handing me a stack of CD's, saying, "This is for your hip hop education." I, admittedly, swooned. And I stuck out my hand for a shake and introduced myself. Over the next couple of months, I introduced him to the rock music I love and he introduced me to the hip hop I'd never known.

But the sucky thing is that I met him in Broad Ripple. During our relationship, it was phenomenal, going to our favorite restaurants, watching him play at bars, having him watch my band when we played at Indy CD and Vinyl. But now that we've broken it off, these places are permeated with a relationship that just didn't work out. Going to the bars I used to love now includes memories of how I met the people that I know there. Going to Qdoba reminds me of the times we went there late at night when he was finished playing. Even buying cigarettes at Rock and a Hard Place reminds me of how he always asked me to quit.

And I'm learning as I grow older that ending these kinds of things hurts on both ends. It is not more noble to be on one side or the other. It will still hurt to see him with another girl, and vice versa. Perhaps we both want a friendship now, but it can't be forced, and it needs time. Which sucks, because I am not a patient person. I want what I want and I want it now. But, even though I'm the one that broke it off, even though I'm the one that wanted this, I still care for and about him. And the friendship will come when we're both ready for it, not just me. And though it hurts to remember these things in my favorite Broad Ripple places, I thank him for giving me the memories at all.