PSA: Flu vaccines, go get 'em.

There will be 2 flu vaccines this year: a trivalent one with the 3 current seasonal strains, and a monovalent with the pandemic H1N1.

Reasons from the CDC for not putting these two together can be found here.

I suggest you get both vaccines, if possible. Odds are you won't die from H1N1 (at least not if it continues to follow current trends), but you'll save yourself a couple of weeks of feeling like you've been hit with a Mack truck full of mucus and give your body immunity.

If you're an IU student/staff/faculty, they'll be giving the seasonal vaccine at the health center and at various locations (e.g. the library) all over campus beginning in the next month or so. I think it will be a little longer before the pandemic H1N1 vaccine is available at all and/or to the general public (higher risk populations will get it first.)

And if you're scared of needles, I'll even come with you and hold your hand. :)

Read the introduction

If the first few pages of a book are titled "Introduction" or "Preface" or are numbered with roman numerals, 4 times out of 5 I won't read them. I guess I usually view them as wasting my time... come on, let's get to the real stuff! But despite my typical impatience for these pages, I do recognize their importance in many cases, like Tolkien using the intro to explain about hobbits in LOTR (especially helpful since I picked up The Hobbit last summer and never finished it) or Willard using the intro of The Great Omission to explain his reason for writing on discipleship. The introduction offers important pieces of information that will come into play later or shed light on the next few steps of the story.

So many times, I find life to be the same way, I can see that place that I want to be and the kind of faith that I want my mustard seed to grow into. But I feel like God constantly has to reign me in a little... keep me from getting ahead of myself. He promises to get me there eventually (or someplace better that I can't even see), but He wants me to read the introduction first so I'll be prepared, learn to walk so that I can run, go through this trial so that I can learn to handle the next, lean on Him with this small weakness so that I'll automatically turn to Him when bigger strength is required. I can try diving right into the first chapter, cutting a few corners, but then I only become discouraged from the pieces I'm missing and my inadequacy causes a constant struggle.

So my advice: read the metaphorical introduction. In hindsight, you'll be glad you did.
and if you get impatient... remember, as I was once told during a momentary panic, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.