Backpacking Light

[Zaldy O. Co]

It is that time of the year again when I examine myself, my goals, directions, and get rid of some stuff. Keeping things light has always been an obsession. I carry a backpack to work and office can mean anywhere with or without Internet connection, preferably with AC outlets although I could go 2 hours on battery. I just made an inventory of software installed after deinstalling those I have not been using. What is left are the following:

Outpost Firewall, Office 2003, Mitel Sales Workbench, CRM-Express, Nokia PC Suite, Oxygen Phone Manager

Adobe Reader, WinRAR, WinZIP, ACDSee, Real Alternative, Nero Burning ROM, MagicDisc, BullZip PDF Printer, FlashGet

Sogou Pinyin, PowerWord 2006, Skype, MSN, YM, Xlite

Delphi 5, Delphi 7, Delphi 2009, and VCLs.

I also carry along within the backpack an RJ-45 patch cable, serial cable, USB-to-serial adapter, 3-prong adapter, octopus adapter, ballpen, notebook, toothbrush, toothpaste, (umbrella), and backup DVDs in case I need to do some reinstallation. I also carry 2 cellphones, 2 USB flashdrives, a pair of contact lenses, 2 sets of keys, napkins, coin purse, and wallet in my pockets or on my wardrobe. That's the lightest I can go so far. The next step is to migrate to an ASUS EEE PC.

That is my physical backpack. My mental backpack (or focus) carries the following--CRM, SIP, Delphi, PZ, italki, and IS. Some are in acronyms but you can easily figure them out if you've read through the blogs.