There has been a new study that suggests great benefits for college students have been vaccinated with the influenza virus. Granted, there seemed to be some statistical problems with the study (Read the article for more details), but it would be a no brainer to be vaccinated against a contagious virus, especially if you live in a close environment like a dorm.

I have seen many friends get sick with flu during the most critical moments, such as finals week. The problem with college students not being vaccinated is not because there is a shortage of vaccines or the vaccinating health clinics are unreachable; no, it’s just the classical college student procrastination that drives students to put off vaccination before it’s too late.

Sure, most flu vaccinations cost around $20, but college students should see this as an almost guaranteed investment in the future. They probably won’t get the flu for this season, and thus they won’t have to spend money on medicine to suppress flu symptoms when they get sick.

Unfortunately, captain obvious can’t fight against the lazy college procrastination. Only sound judgment in each of us can prevent the flu from coming this season.

Now, let’s get started with the final exam preparation…

There were a lot of delays in the airport of Cleveland, Ohio, due to weather conditions. People have been waiting for hours to board their flights, but it was nice to see that there were no big attitude problems among the passengers and Continental airline workers.

After waiting two hours, my flight began boarding the passengers. Some of the passengers were standbys, but we had enough seats on the plane. It was a small plane with three seats per row, and I overheard that the plane had 55 seats for passengers.

So, we were boarding the plane as usual, and it was my turn to hand in my boarding pass, when the airline lady stopped with a concerned look on her face. People behind me were confused until we learned that there was a weight restriction on the aircraft, and six people could not fly.

The gentleman behind me said that the airline might pick the six people based on the check in time. If you did your online check in 24 hours in advanced, then you get higher priority when a sticky situation like this happens. People had a worried look on their faces, and as the time neared 7 PM most of the people wanted to board that plane and fly to their destination quickly.

Unfortunately, the airline agent had to recall three passengers who already boarded the airplane. There wasn’t any anger flaring, but a sense of frustration gloomed over the unlucky six.

As I boarded the airplane, I was surprised how empty it was. There were definitely more than six seats available, but I guess the weight restriction takes priority. Maybe the airline should consider taking out some seats and giving a little more leg room in those tiny planes.

The flight was a little bumpy, but I got to my destination on time. One lesson learned: Check in online as soon as possible.

If I had a choice between day and night, I probably choose night, because the dark surroundings can reveal the beauty of light and the reflection of the environment. Here is a great gallery of the “City Lights”!

Brisbane River and City Skyline at Sunset by CraigPJ

Rotterdam at night by rwaleson

Sydney Spectrum by CraigPJ

citylights by jc_2086

city street lights by jc_2086

Brisbane City by Genkaku

Sydney Skyline and Circular Quay at Night by CraigPJ

Avenue at night by zip16_2000

downtown miami 1 by tome213

bridge at night by pdufour
 

Budapest streets 5 by bizior

Gece Samsun by arsel

Toronto Night Skyline by davincci

It has been a while since I read a long book for leisure. Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky has been in my reading list for a while, and after I received a special eBook reader substitute device (Details will come in a future post) I have decided to begin my journey in a world of twisted psychology and human nature.

For reference, I will not provide you as summary of book but only provide my own opinion and comment on this literary work. The book is widely accessible on the Internet due to its public domain status.

Part one of Crime and Punishment was an emotional ride. Characters share sad stories about their hardship, and on one hand you had this helpless feeling of sympathy towards them. But as the characters reveal certain details on their own contribution to their problems I also had a certain degree of anger and somewhat hatred towards them. This mixture of emotional experience is greatly crafted by Dostoyevsky’s literary skill.

I was able to connect with the main character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, quite well, because we were both college students. Dostoyevsky mastery paints a detailed picture of a complicated network of thoughts of Raskolnikov, and these strings of thoughts allows the reader to at a certain degree understand Raskolnikov’s murder of two women, but I doubt the modern reader sympathizes.

It will be about a week or two until I finish Part 2. I am curious whether Raskolnikov is able to reconcile his sinful act or live in torment as he realizes the magnitude of the murder.

For the next couple of articles (Approximately eight) I will be writing about the books that I am reading for my summer reading list. Right now, school is done for fall quarter, and I am relaxing without work stress or sleep deprivation, a commonality in my busy school schedule. I want to make this summer productive with a good amount of reading, and I want to write my journey, be it successful or a total failure, through several articles.