After recently reviewing the Twentieth Century Fox film ‘What’s Your Number’, the fabulous guys at Splendid Communications asked if I might be interested in dating one of my exes, to test the theory… I figured it couldn’t hurt to go for dinner with one of my exes that I’m friendly with – All in the name of research of course!
I have to admit it took a lot of courage to pick up the phone and ask the guy that ‘wasn’t that into me, so figured that he’d ask out one of my friends’. We had been quite good friends before the whole debacle, which was nice, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to see if we still could be friends after the ‘break-up’. Of course by break-up I mean – Guy gone AWOL! Come on, we’ve all been there!
In the film, Ally, played by funny-girl Anna Faris begins to panic after reading a magazine article which insists that if a woman has slept with 20 people or more, they have already missed Mr. Right. So much so that she starts tracking down all her exes, hoping to find her real true love…
My motivations were slightly different, I didn’t want to meet up with, shall we call him Mr X (see what I did there) because I was looking for true love, as we all know I have somebody special in my life at the mo! It was to find out, if you can be amicable, even friends with someone you’ve had a relationship with, or even worse, that’s hurt you in the past.
Is it about forgiving? Is it about forgetting? Is it about just plain moving on? Well my friends, I was about to find out!
I was provided with a Merivale voucher by the lovely Natalie from Splendid Communications, to ensure that the date location and the meal was great – which quite frankly you can guarantee when you’re dining at Merivale – even if the ‘date’ is a flop, you can guarantee a good feed – tick!
I decided to lock in Mad Cow at The Ivy, I’ve never been there before, but it came with really good recommendations from all of my friends – all of whom thought I was crazy for event speaking to Mr X, never mind taking him out for a lovely dinner at The Ivy, I guess they just didn’t believe that I was looking to be ‘just friends’.
Once the restaurant had been booked, then came the hard part duh, duh duuhhhhhhhhhh – the phone call! It went something like this:
Me: Hey, how are you?
X: Erm, hi, erm fine thanks – everything ok?
Me: Yeah it’s cool, I was just thinking we’ve not caught up in ages and wondered if you wanted to maybe have dinner sometime?
X: Sure, why not – you sure everything’s ok!?
Me: It’s fine honestly, was just chatting t the girls about when I first got to Oz and reminded me of you, figured we used to have a laugh. I figured, just because things didn’t work out between us, doesn’t mean we can’t hang out (CRINGE!!)
X: Sure, yeah, I guess so (knob) what ya thinkin’?
– Cue date, time, location confirmed – Two days time, 7pm STAT! Deep breath!
I told my boy about my arrangement – don’t think he was over the moon about it, but trusts me so understood – It was all in the name of research!
The date came around rather quickly and I was actually quite nervous, I wasn’t sure how I should act – I’d never been on a non-date before, especially not with an ex!
I got there at 7pm prompt, he was late – shock! We went upstairs to Mad Cow.
Mad Cow is a New York-style grill that packs a taste sensation every time. The food is fresh and consists of quality produce, all created by head chef, Christopher Whitehead.
Succulent teaks are grilled to your exact specification; Mad Cow delivers a one-of-a-kind restaurant complemented by an extensive wine list. My fave element is the informal atmosphere, there’s something for all tastes at Mad Cow – even vegetarian.
2011 SMH Good Food Guide Awards, One Hat
2011 Australian Traveller Wine List of the Year, Two Glasses
2010 Australian Hospitality Association Industry Awards, Best Steak Restaurant
Level 1, ivy 330 George Street, Sydney, 2000 Contact: +61 2 9240 3000
Back to the date in hand, it began a little awkwardly, with neither of us really knowing what to say – which is completely out of character for me, I usually can’t shut up! Once we had a glass of wine however (my old chum and inevitable ice breaker) the conversation started flowing and we began reminiscing about the days when we were backpackers without a care in the world – living on goon and $10 meals – My how times change as we each tucked into our $50 steaks!
It was actually nice and refreshing to be on a ‘date’ with no pressure. We could just be ourselves – no hidden gestures, the incessant wondering if he’s into me or the nervous giggles as I hope that he gets my ‘banter’ and doesn’t just think I’m a sarcastic b1tch!
It was quite the revelation, when you know that the date isn’t leading to anywhere and there’s no pressure – the ‘real’ you comes out. Kind of like the real you that appears at about the three month mark in a relationship! I could show him I’m a bit geeky, that I’m not always lady like and that I can in fact laugh at myself, without worrying what he thinks!
He told me that he’d actually just started dating someone and it was early days, but she was nice. Oh how nice it was to know he was saying that as a genuine piece of information and not to show me he ‘wasn’t that into me’. All once all the crap had actually been removed – the politics, the games and the chase – underneath it all we actually had a lot in common and made pretty good friends – Big revelation – I didn’t fancy him anymore – he wasn’t Mr X, I had been able to take him out of that box and put him into the friend box – genuinely!
What followed was a lovely night spent catching up with an ‘old friend’, who was now just a friend!
Suffice to say I had a lovely evening and we’re catching up soon with a group of mutual friends and I’m going to introduce him to my new fella too!
What I did find v funny is that once you take away all the politics of dating, what you should do, what you shouldn’t do and all that’s expected of you in between, you can actually be comfortable with just being you! If they don’t like you, you know what, that’s ok!
I wouldn’t ever condone getting back with an ex, you know my thoughts on the fact that if you break up, it’s for a reason. If however, you’ve moved on and there are genuinely no feelings there (and you know there are no feeling there with him) but you believe that you’ve moved on and at the base of it all was a friendship, then by all means hold out an olive branch.
It’s not to say that it will always work out, they might not be over it or have no desire to be friends – but that’s cool. If you have the realisation that you really are cool with being friends with an ex – and nothing more – you’ve moved on! And that my friend is somewhat of a big deal!
WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER? is a fresh and funny tale about dating, relationships and ex-boyfriends and was released on Blu-ray and DVD now.
About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC (TCFHE) is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on DVD, Blu-ray Disc (BD) and Digital Copy as well as acquisitions and original productions. The company also releases all products around the globe for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets — from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce -throughout the world.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company.
Dating101Sydney's Blog 