Saturday, October 11, 2008

A Frustaci Thing

Written by Erin

Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.

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I've decided that anything marketed as "Three Simple Steps" is never simple and always takes more than three steps. I finally caved to technology and decided I cannot live like a caveman without internet any longer.

Sure, I was saving a little money and I am on the Internet at work anyway, but it just wasn't working. After a three minute phone call, I should have been on my way to the information highway. My roommate picked up the self-installation kit and I pulled out a glossy direction pamphlet.

An hour later, I had cords running all over the living room, packaging strew across the floor and no internet. While the pamphlet was pretty, each of the three steps was really broken down into five other steps.

I'm convinced everything was set up right, up until the final step. Of course, the stupid disc would not magically load as promised, no matter how much I begged and bribed. So, now I am on day two. I will leaver work, get in my car and battle the self-installation kit again. Wish me luck!
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22. Got time to smile?

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Recently, I was reminded that no matter how busy life is, a smile takes no time at all. I was driving into work the other day when I got stopped at a red light. For no particular reason, I glanced at the car to my right. At the exact same time, the driver of that car happened to glance over at me. What could have been a brief moment of awkwardness turned into a lighthearted reminder not to take things so seriously. We both smiled at each other and laughed a little. A few seconds later, the light turned green and we were both back to wherever our busy lives were taking us. But it got me thinking. Just how often do we miss opportunities to smile at a stranger in passing? I know too often I get wrapped up in the daily drudge. Is it possible for people to simple forget to smile from time to time? After all, we have all heard it takes less muscles to smile than frown anyway. I'm not suggesting that everyone should be Suzy Sunshine and greet every person in sight with open arms. What I am saying is as human beings, we crave interaction with others and a random smile can easily brighten someone else's day. Now I can only remember this during rush hour.
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23. Who am I anyway?

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In case you were wondering who exactly I am and why I am writing this little blog, I thought I'd give a brief run-down. In case you haven't figured it out, I am the staff writer here at NEXTnc. Before embarking on the NEXT journey, I was working at a weekly paper in Castle Rock, covering cops, courts and town government. Before that, I was a student at Colorado State University and an intern at the Greeley Tribune. Being some-what of an overachiever, I graduated in three years. This was either really smart or really dumb. I haven't figured that out yet. Without disclosing too much information as to incriminate myself, I am outgoing, love to travel and am obsessed with dogs. I come from an Irish and Italian family and love Italian food, but am clueless when it comes to cooking. This is my first blog, but my second entry. We will see how it goes. I'm just going to wing it and see where it takes me. My life motto is, "Everyone has a story to tell, as long as someone is willing to listen." Willing or not, I will attempt to share a few of my stories as I experience life the only way I know how.
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24. Me and my cell phone

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By Erin Frustaci efrustaci@nextnc.com My worst nightmare finally came true last week. I looked down into my purse in horror. My cell phone was gone. I instantly knew what happened. It was about 8:45 p.m. and I was heading home from the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. While there, I made a quick stop in a restroom in a department store, which shall remain nameless. I had taken my phone out of my back pocket and set it down. Unfortunately for me, I never picked it back up. Because the store was closing soon, I knew I wouldn’t make it back in time. In a panic, I called customer service. The representative took my information and asked where I thought I left my phone. “The restroom on the second floor by the women’s apparel department,” I said. The next question seemed a little strange to me. The representative asked if it was the men’s or woman’s restroom. I thought this was apparent by my high pitched voice, but who knows. A few minutes later, I got a call confirming my nightmare. My phone was no longer where I left it and had not been turned into lost and found. At that moment I too felt lost. It’s amazing how dependent on cell phones we, as a society, have become. As kids we used to brag about how many phone numbers of friends and family we had memorized. Now, I am lucky if I can remember my own phone number. I have always dreaded loosing all my numbers. Now faced with this horror I came to a realization. If I can’t get a hold of a person through email or they won’t be calling me, do I really need their number? Still, it is going to be a long process to rebuild my social network. The sad part of the story is this isn’t the first time I have had separation anxiety over a cell phone. But this time we would not be reunited. About a year ago, I left another phone in a restroom. Are you starting to see the pattern? Luckily that time I took note of who went into the stall after me. I patrolled the whole bar until I found her. A friend of mine kept dialing my number as I approached the woman. She pulled out the ringing phone from her purse and claimed she couldn’t find where to turn it in. It didn’t matter though. The important thing was my electronic friend was back. For being so reliant on my little Motorola RAZR, I sure don’t treat it very well. My first one I dropped in a sink full of soapy water when washing dishes. I had only had it for two months. The good news for me is I miraculously have insurance on my phone. I don’t remember buying it, but that’s another story. One deductible later and a few days of emptiness, I am now with RAZR number three. I really will try to treat this one better, or so I say. At least I haven’t dropped it yet. I mean, it has been three days now.
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