Last weekend I participated in the OC Mud Run @ the Great Park in Irvine.  It was a  5k and our coed team ended up third in our division.  It was a good test for my Vibram Five Finger shoes.  I think most people thought I was a tad on the weird side for looking like a ninja at the starting line but it if it does not have a story i don't want it.  I did not struggle out of the mud as much as expected, but the transition from mud to concrete was an adjustment.  I went from dodging potholes on the soft trail to hard impact on the balls of my feet.  They worked though; I even managed a sprint at the end.  Overall I am very pleased with the run.  I think that if I continue running, and staying off the DL list I will be able to complete the LA marathon next year.  I also had the chance to hang out on Saturday night for a birthday party.  I felt oddly comfortable with the people there although I am not intimately familiar with all of them.  There was a sense of mellowness in the room and I really enjoyed it.  I do think that I talked way to much, but if I was able to say anything to cause some positive thoughts I guess its worth it.  I generally do not wander around a room much to talk to everyone unless I am on a mission, whether it be networking or other.  But it was very easy too becuase everyone there was so unique that you just had to talk to everyone.  Maybe it was because I arrived a tad late and the first round had been poured, but I think it was more of an adult get together than anything; where conversation and good spirits dominated the night.  I had a series of engaging conversations with some old friends and met some new aquiantances.  

I have been reading Contracts like a maniac.  I feel that all of the concepts to some degree blend into each other.  For example, Acceptance of a K can be done by any reasonable method; but some contracts cannot be cancelled after accepted i.e. options, but what if the option is unconscionable?  It seems like for the creative mind there is always a way to argue both sides.  It is getting to the wire so the stress is mounting.  I am happy to announce I have not busted out my 1 liter coffee mug yet.  Although I do have it ready for this weekend…good times.  I try to keep that 1 liter coffee jug as a last resort but I have had to bust it out a few times this semester to rally thought the weeks.  I especially like using it when I go the library.  Is it strange that I like going to libraries I am not familiar with?  I like reading where I have never been because it forces me to focus and not be distracted.  I have a habit of going on tangents, its true. Contracts is teaching me that there is so much in every word, even in every day conversation that can be analyzed and dissected, but the beauty of it comes when there is a "meeting of the minds" and the deal is made.  I have read through the case book, and two study guides (almost as thick as the case book) but still the topics blend.  I am sure i will blog at least a few more times before the final, if anything at least to vent.   

I read a sad story coming from New York.  The facts are basic.  There was a woman who was attacked by a mugger.  A homeless man went to her aid being stabbed in the process.  He lay on the sidewalk and bled to death as 20 New Yorkers walked by, one was even seen talking a picture with his phone.  Ridiculous.  Has our society degraded to such a place where common decency is not permitted anymore?  I understand that you have to be careful but at least call someone if you are to much of a wuss to help.  Its a human person and unless you are a POS, you know that a human life is the most valuable thing there is, nothing compares to it.  Sorry if I offend anyone.  Those 20 people should really take long looks in there mirror because, do unto others as you would like them to do unto you, applies to them just as it does to the rest of us.  The only back story we got on the homeless man is that he was Latin American and had recently lost his job and home.  It sickens me to think that our society is so degenerated that common decency is no longer so uncommon as to cause a man his life.  Weird.  I read another bit about some ladies beating a man who did not hold the elevator door for them, the opposite extreme.  I swear this sounds stupid but I really hope those VW commercials would catch on, hell just smile at people.  It comes back to you.  Every kind act does not go unrewarded, just as no malicious act goes unpunished.  Justice is giving to each their due (Summa Theologica).  Why then are we so afraid to rack up good debt?  We are not afraid to throw useless crap onto the credit cards.  We are not scared to piss away our money before we even get or paychecks, are we?  Do good for others, the guy upstairs is not going to forget you for it.  Others may talk bad about you, slander you, or even go to great lengths to make you feel bad...but all for what?  Pray for them and do good.  Jesus said it best, Father forgive them for they know now what they do.  Just turn that other cheek and go about your business.  Maliciousness can only appear to win out for so long.  Do you know...takes 32 muscles to frown and only 15 muscles to smile....take it easy and just smile.