Phone Support

When you are alone in US, long distance communication is so important. Well u have roommates, friends, colleagues and others with whom u interact everyday but phone keeps u sane while getting thru traffic jams or sleepless nites or when u r going on long drives. I am not talking about short "long drives" which girls like, I mean driving for hours. I think an ideal phone book should have following type of people.

Replicas - someone u talk to everyday, maybe multiple times. Catch up day to day events at end of everyday or use the person as a sounding board for every important decision u make.

Short stop - two or three people (preferably in diff timezones) whom u can call anytime and keep the phone down anytime without worrying what they will think... very good for traffic jams or times when u have to wait for someone or something.

411s - one person in each timezone who would have access to internet and would give u directions when u r lost or when u want to find something in those unearthly hours. Can't live without them.

Once upon a friends - people with whom u were close long time ago but not in regular touch now. You could call them out of the blue and talk to them for quite sometime. These people help you to be awake when u hit the road.

International hotline - Friends on the other side of the globe whom you call when u don't get sleep.

Other things u have to consider is whether u r friends r "In network" or not, Anytime or nite/weekend minutes, etc. Most of my friends do more than one task listed above. Thankfully "They never stop working for me !".