Jay's Essential Software List v1.0

Stuff that I must remember in case I have to reformat again. Ha!

1. WinRAR
File extraction and file archiving needs. Tends to save some disk space. Why WinRAR over Winzip? Winrar handles .zip and .rar and more. Winzip has exclusivity issues!
2. SlawDog Smart Shutdown
Think of this as the sleep button on your PC. Just set the time you need, and your PC can standby, hibernate, turn off and tell you that your cookies are done.
3. Limewire
I use it for MP3 downloads, mainly. Just be sure to get the original version and be sure of what you're downloading. That's the ticket.
4. XP Video/Audio Codecs
Needed to watch DVD rips, .avis and other stuff.
5. Minilyrics
Handy little plug-in for your media players. Supports many players so you can sing along to your MP3 library…even if it is Air Supply!
6. FLV Player
To watch downloaded flash layer web videos. Not pr0n. Promise.
7. AVG Free 7.5
Updated daily, it's free and not too much of a memory drain. Oh, did I mention it's free?
8. Bittorrent
Bit risky, or I just have extraordinary bad luck. Simple to use torrent downloader.
9. CDisplay
Handy for viewing .cbr (Comic book scan .rars) files. You can also use this to archive your picture files and view them using this thingy without having to extract them.
10. Comodo Firewall
Well, it helps me monitor network activities. A little makulit at times, but it is worth it to block hacker attempts.
11. Free Download Manager
Coming from an age of Dial-up downloads where every second can mean your connection can be broken and thus, your downloaded reduced to zero, I find it comforting to resume a download of a big file. Sometimes, it's annoying but there's an option to press Alt before it activates.
12. iTunes
Essential for me because I have a Shuffle. Overall, a nice music player anyway.
13. MBSS Light
My father actually got this before me on his laptop. I saw it and immediately searched for it. Sometimes I can just watch this and forget about work. A very beautiful screensaver
14. Office 2007
Any Office Suite, actually. Office 2007 is just so fun to look at. Essential for schoolwork. You can also try OpenOffice, but Microsoft already had me in its grip a long time ago. Sad but true.
15. Mozilla Firefox 2
With IE7 looking more and more like Firefox, I don't really know the difference anymore. Mozilla is still better than IE or anything else because of Greasemonkey (makes certain sites be more fun) and AdBlock PRO (completely blocks anything you want it to - image, flash, gif - in any site you visit). Just my two cents.
16. Nokia PC Suite
Must have for me. It's easier to transfer stuff…at least for Nokia phones.
17. Picasa 2
Google at it again. Nice and cool photo manipulation/album thingy.
18. Adobe Photoshop 7 or CS2 or higher.
For your image editing needs. Assuming you have image editing needs.
19. Quicktime
Because Microsoft is not equal to the i.
20. Rocketdock
Fun toolbar app.Download it to see.
21. Yahoo! Messenger
IM of choice. Well, for one thing...the smileys are better to look at.
22. Various Casual Games
This is a genre of games that is plaguing (in a good way) the majority of laptops in campus. It started with TextTwist and Hangaroo. They're the type of games you can just pick up and play. Very user-friendly, very fun. Top picks? Bookworm Adventures, Mystery Case Files, Ricochet...you know?
23. Windows Image Resizer
Handy for reducing 1.3MB files to less than 100kB - without compromising quality.
24. Adobe Acrobat Reader
Mainly for compatibility reasons. You can also try Foxit pdf reader which is easier to download because it's lighter.
25. Microsoft Reader
For e-books that are in *.lit form.

Learning to use your left hand for everything

I punctured my right hand last night during one of our activities and now I'm finding myself doing mundane stuff using my left hand: shampooing my hair, washing dishes, texting. It's not really a big wound, but it doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt. Using the hand that I was using for at least 98% of my current life was giving me slight discomfort - exactly like a good friend who betrays you, but in a more physical sense this time. Unless he betrayed you by puncturing your right hand. You can't get any more pain than that.

This semester, I think I cried and felt sad more than the past 15 years of my life combined. The weird part of it was that at first, I really didn't know what I was being sad about. I took months, friends and alcohol (specifically beergin - an infamous mix that Shao, our bartender, concocted one birthday ago) to even get a grip on what was happening to me. I was blinded by love, fraternal and that other kind. The one that causes good songs to be written. Now I know that to love, sometimes you have to not love.

I thought I knew what I was supposed to be doing. I thought I had chosen a path. In truth, I was fighting with myself. I didn't want that path. I didn't want to do that. My friends (you know who you are) opened my eyes, showed me the way. They're helping me walk it too. I don't think I can thank them enough...so here's another one: Thank You.

For my right hand, be well. I hope you know what I did for you.

Learning to use my left hand for everything. It's weird and hard at first, but I'll eventually get used to it. I hope.

Ang Huling Tag-init ng Kabataan ni Isko

Kakatapos lamang ng Marso, malamang kakatapos lamang ng graduation namin sa High School. Ginanap ito sa loob ng isang simbahan. Catholic school. May misa pa nga eh. Syempre iyakan lahat, pero hindi ako umiyak. Kahit tumugtog pa yung ‘Batch Song’ namin. Sino ba kasing pumili nun? Pagkatapos ng seremonyang ito, kumain kami ng pamilya ko sa McDo tapos umuwi na kami sa bahay. Nagbihis ako ng pambahay. Napansin ko na maganda pala ang tanaw ng kalangitan mula sa likod ng bahay namin.

Dumaan na ang ika-31 ng Marso. Kakaiba pala kapag wala ka nang pasok araw-araw. Hindi na rin kami masyadong nagkikita ng mga kaklase ko. Sa pagkakaalam ko, para kaming mga dahon na ikinalat sa kalakhan ng Maynila, sa Davao pa nga yung dalawa. Sina Janell at ang tropa nyang maingay sa Uste. Sina Ian at iba pa sa La Salle Dasma. Ang barkada kong sina Tetey at Angel, nasa Mapua. Sino nga naman ba kasing nagsabi na mag-UP ako? Wala na akong masyadong ginagawa kundi pagmasdan ang langit mula sa bakuran sa likod kung hindi ako inuutusan ng nanay ko.

Dumaan na rin ang unang dalawampu at limang araw ng Abril. Boring sa bahay, wala akong magawa. Wala kaming cable TV at ang pinakamatinong panoorin ay MTV. Wala kaming internet. Kung meron man, pagtyatyagaan ko munang paganahin yung Pentium II naming pinagtagpi-tagpi at labinlimang minuto bago magbukas sa Windows 98 Plus! Edition. Buhay nga naman. Kaya sige, tumitig ka na lang sa asul na langit. Hindi ba mukhang spaceship ang ulap na iyon?

Mayo na. Naisip ko, ako lang mag-isa sa Peyups. Ang hirap. Paano mo ba kasi sasabihin na 'hindi-ko-alam-ang-gagawin-ko', 'ako-lang-mag-isa-sa-lugar-na-hindi-ko-gamay' atsaka 'wala-akong-kakilala-at-wala-kayo-dun-para-mas-madali’ sa mga kaibigan mo? Paano mo sasabihin sa mga magulang mo na ‘inay-itay-sana-nandun-kayo-malapit-sa-kin' o kaya 'mukhang-ang-hirap-kung-ako-lang-aasikaso-sa-sarili-ko’? Tinititigan ko ang asul na langit hanggang sa maging itim ito at lumabas ang mga bituin. Nakilala ko ang konstelasyong Orion. Close na kami.

Hunyo na. Bukas ang unang araw ng klase ko. Iniwan na ako dito ng mga magulang ko, sa isang boarding house dalawang sakay papuntang campus. Wala pa yung mga magiging kasama ko sa bahay. Ang unang gabi ko, kausap ko ang ugong ng mga sasakyan na dumaraan sa kalye malapit sa min. Kausap ko ang kisame na hindi ko maintindihan kung puti na madumi o itim na may alikabok. Bago mag-hatinggabi, naramdaman ko bigla ang matinding takot at matinding saya. Walang gaanong bituin ang langit dito, masyadong maliwanag ang ilaw ng mga poste.

Pasukan na pala.

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(The short story/article I wrote for the FOPC thingy last summer. In short, it's something about me. I named real people here...they were my highschool classmates.)