You've got a few issues here. They are:

- Your ex is cold with you
- Your breakup hurt you
- You have trust issues with guys (no surprise, you were hurt)
- This friend keeps trying to get with you

This is just what I'm getting from what you posted.

Now, what should you do? First, you're not ready for a relationship and you know it. You should tell your coworker that.

As far as your trust issues being alone with guys, they seem to be a result of your breakup and when you get over that, they should resolve nicely.  (Well, maybe not, because he was the only guy you were ever comfortable with - but let's do one thing at a time.)

Now, how should you get over that? Cut contact with the ex. Seriously. It's been over since September 08 and you're still talking to him, despite the fact that he refuses to make time for you? Why? Is a part of you holding out hope? I don't know if your best mate is a guy or a girl, but clearly you aren't very high on his priority list.

Strictly speaking, one thing is needed: the amount of energy needed to drive the reaction should be less than the amount of energy the reaction produces. In short, the reaction must be what we call "exothermic." (Gibbs free energy is negative.)

However, you have probably noticed that we do not run our cars on rocket fuel, magnesium, or other such materials that burn well and thus satisfy the above statement. This is because there are other considerations as well. A fuel should be:

- Plentiful
- Safe (Not toxic, explosive, etc.)
- Easily combustible (low activation energy)

Beyond these elementary considerations, the design of certain engines is fitted to certain kinds of fuel. You can talk to a fire scientist to find out more about the specifics, but the entire process of burning actually involves forming radicals (smaller, unstable fragments of fuel molecules) which in turn controls things like "knocking" (small explosions.)

From No Starch Press, it's:

The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology
by Masaharu Takemura, Sakura, and Becom Co., Ltd.

August 2009, 240 pp.
ISBN-10 1-59327-202-2
ISBN-13 978-1-59327-202-9

After sleeping their way through Molecular Biology 101, Ami and Rin are forced to take make-up classes. With the help of Dr. Moro and his virtual reality machine, they travel inside cells, meeting cell organelles, nuclei, and genes and chromosomes face-to-face. They examine proteins and amino acids, watch DNA replicate and cells divide, and meet exciting characters like Enzyme Man. Once the girls learn the fundamentals of genetics, they learn about recombinant technology, cloning, and the role of molecular biology in fighting diseases. With an engaging storyline and charming characters, The Manga Guide to Molecular Biology makes learning this essential discipline lively and painless.

Frankly, that sounds like an awesome replacement for a dry textbook.

If you can't keep them, then maybe you should be destroyed.

But, in the time between when you make them and when you can't keep them . . . in the time when you are keeping them perfectly . . . you should be happy.

The older I get, the less concerned I am with winning.*

“Do you believe in the devil? You know, a supreme evil being dedicated to the temptation, corruption, and destruction of man?"

"I'm not sure man needs the help."

- Calvin and Hobbes.

More precisely, America doesn't value its scientists.  Pay is horrible compared to how much training is needed.  That's why we graduate so few of them.  I was a physical chemist; how many of my classmates are in science now? Out of a class of 50, I can think of fewer than 5.  Why would a smart person want to do chemistry and be paid under $30k a year when they can program computers and make $60k or sell insurance or something and make over $100k?  Sure, you love the job, but your love doesn't put food on the table or pay for your car and gas and mortgage.  And that horrible retention rate comes out of the few with a strong love for science to start with - the same school that graduated under 50 chemists one year had over 10,000 economics graduates in the same year.

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From the article at HealthZone:

Through a series of mistakes, miscommunications and misdiagnoses, she wound up having her arms and legs amputated. She sued the doctors, who essentially blamed one another for what everyone involved agrees were profound errors.

Everyone except the jury that ruled against Strong. The verdict came in the face of such overwhelming evidence that in a rare move, the judge tossed out the jury's decision and ordered a new trial.

This is probably the worst res ipsa case I've seen in years.  Let me ask you, though - if you were on that jury, what on earth would induce you to say there was not a medical mistake made?

Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen and his colleagues at Cambridge's Autism Research Centre have created the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, or AQ, as a measure of the extent of autistic traits in adults. In the first major trial using the test, the average score in the control group was 16.4. Eighty percent of those diagnosed with autism or a related disorder scored 32 or higher.

I scored 11.  I'm less autistic (more social?) than the average adult.

Drama is a metaphysical Katamari ball?