Good for you for doing what's best for you, rather than slugging out a bad friendship out of a sense of obligation, Indysteel!

I recently dumped a friend. We were very close for a year or two, and then she rather suddenly underwent a complete personality shift. That didn't end the friendship; I figured we were just growing apart a bit, which happens and is fine. Then she began to say really mean-spirited passive aggressive things to me when we'd be together and also on another internet forum we were both members of. One time she implied that I had some kind of problem because I would ride the exercise bike at the gym for 45 - 55 minutes at a stretch (oh the humanity! - she thought that was an insane amount of cardio for someone who's not trying to lose weight). Each time, I'd try to do the mature thing and talk to her, and each time, she'd sort of apologize but allude to the fact that I'd somehow offended her. When I'd ask what was wrong and apologize for inadvertently offending her, she'd refuse to tell me. She always had a weird thing about my weight (I'm normal height but of very slight build, though I eat like a horse) The final straw was when I found out she was telling people that I had an eating disorder behind my back.

The point, I guess, and as you obviously know, is that life is too short to suffer jerks, fools, and toxic people. I hope my ex friend sorts through her issues, since she's obviously troubled by something, but I don't need to hang around and put up with crap while she does it.