Somthin' Fishy Goin' On Here

So you all know that I have this lovely view out the fron of the building from my room. Plus, my room is dark and sad without the curtains open, so when it isn't sweltering I keep the curtains open. And my eyes work, as do my deduction skills. Combine all this with normal human curiosity and you can see that I can't help but be a spy on my fellow SCUers. Other than being drunk outside my window or smelling the hallway up with marijuana, they've been pretty uninteresting actually. But James has changed all that. The other day on the bus back from London he mentioned that he had this girlfriend (technicall ex-girlfirend) who was French but worked here, and they had broken up because her visa to come to the US had fallen through. Cool. I understand this.

Friday evening was the croquet match, and I saw him walking around holding hands with a black haired girl. Presumably French girl because that morning at breakfast he had shared that they spent the night watching the Break-Up with Jennifer Aniston and what's-his-face, and wondering why they had broken up. Cool. This makes sense.


Cut to Saturday. In the late morning I saw his walking some blond chick out of the gate. They weren't holding hands but it did seem a little fishy. Does he have some visiting friend? And then he returned about 20 minutes later girl-less, so it looked a bit like a one-nighter followed by the walk home. I actually considered that French girl might have bleached her hair, but it had been after 9:00 the night before when I saw her with black hair so this seemed unlikely.

Cut to Saturday night. Black-haired girl returns, and she and James sit on the lawn wearning his two nearly identical sweaters, drinking wne and chatting. No cuddling, but they had held hands the night before and she definately had not dyed her hair. WTF?

And just now...I saw him walking a reddish haired girl out the gate, holding hands!!! It MIGHT have been the blond from yesterday, but the hair definately looked redder. Either way, James seems to be workin' the system pretty good of late. He is actually a bit of a shmuck. I wonder what black haired girl would think if she knew he was all sad to be broken up with her, if indeed she is the French ex, only to be shacking up with various other girls only hours after hanging out with her. What a Collin.

CALLING THE 90 lb. ELBOW!!!

I thought maybe if I yelled it out you might check here faster. Anyway, are we still on for Petroglyphing when I get back? I was thinking Thursday the 10th would be good. I get my hair done at 1:00 and then, presumably around 3:00 I could be in Los Gatos. We could have Pizza my heart afterwards. Mmmmm. Ooo, and you can tell me all about your sister's wedding. Tina was so nice, just like you, and yet totally different somehow. I can tell you guys have cool parents.

And to all, Mom is getting out of the hospital today. Apparently they couldn't figure out what the infection was because of the one antibiotic my dad gave her when they got off the plane. It was so strong that it got rid of all the traces of the bacteria they might have tested. It was the results from her CA test on Monday that finally came in that told them what was going on. Anyway, she'll be on 50million anti-biotics and when she gets home, home, they want to put her one some chronic anti-biotics to kick this thing's butt once and for all. It's funny because I could swear she spent 3 months on injectible antibiotics already, but hey, what do I know? As far as I know the trip is not cancelled.

In the mean time I am trying to get all my materials sorted out on paper and in my brain for my exam tomorrow. And then we have a dinner, and then my paper is due Wednesday. When am I going to read for it? Well that is a great question. I have no idea. Oh well.

I'm Going to Denmark!

Apparently Disneyland has been replaced and Denmark is now the happiest place on earth. I have decided to move there because I am having trouble maintaning my serotonin levels here. Don't worry, red means happy on this map, not republican.

Triple Ugh!

So mumsy and popsicle headed off to Florida yesterday, only by the time they got there she had a temp of 104 and bad chills. Terrific. So they got to go to the hospital instead of the hotel, and when dad called me at 2:30 in the morning they had gotten her temp down but had now clue what was causing it. Her kidney hurts, but no bacteria showed up. I might mention that she had a fever on Monday, but it was gone by the time she made it to see the doc, who also found no trace of bacteria, and sent her home with enough antibiotics to make it through her trip if the fever came back. It did. So now they have admitted her because they want to find out what's wrong. They did a crappy CT and can see a spot on her liver which could be just about a million things given the wonderment of the radiologists report as he searched for organs she no longer has and tried to figure out the landscape. Now they need to do an MRI, but that has been postponed, so it'll be a while, and then a while longer before we know what it says. And then, does she continue on her journey or do she and my dad head back home and leave me here to rot away for another 4 days by myself? To know that, my friends, you'll just have to check back in and see.

Mental Flexibility

I seem to be lacking it these days. Mental flexibility, that is. Maybe its that I had a horrifying 2+ hour tutorial today and learned that my whole paper was wrong, or maybe it was the irritating class afterwards where everyone went on and on about how the EU was a ticking time bomb, or like girlfriends who be come roomates and then grow to hate each other. Or maybe its the humid, unrelenting heat. But when I read the email that said my Wills and Trusts teacher had retired and my section was cancelled, I just sat there in shock. I had to choose between taking four classes on Wednesdays, the three hour evening version, no doubt with Kwami, or a new class altogether. But I don't wanna change my schedule! I like my schedule! My schedule is my friend! After much fretting I opted for the evening version, and then, after changing it over I realized that it would interfere with the appointment I made to get the Fritatta's feet done in Galt, especially once I added in a brief vet appointment to get his teeth done. Argh! So I thought seriously about changing the class again, but I decided it would be better to be late to one class than to take a whole different one just to accomodate my appointment. Still, I feel disgruntled. What the hell is wrong with me these days? I'm such a cranky pants. I even turned down a play with Ben because I just couldn't muster up the enthusiasm to leave the building and have fun. He called me to make sure, and he was all cute and sympathetic, but I held firm. I will not have fun, damn it! I was only slightly comforted by the beautiful tall, dark, handsome man who made me my sandwich and iced latte for dinner. Sigh. Oh, and Skye has diabetes, so that's why she went blind, has chronic ear infections, the never ending skin condition, and pees on the floor all the time. Doggy MMP, I'd say, but then, I'm just a law student.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Well, the good news is that my mom's fever is gone and she has antibiotics in case it returns. The bad is that it may return.

The good news is that Germaan finally gets to retire and play in the pasture. The bad news is that this is because he is officially, permanently broken.

The good news is that our vet got into see a doc quickly and get a scan done. The bad news is that he really does have a spot on his lung. Oh, and his neck still isn't doing very well from the time he fell playing polo and landed on his head and passed out.

The good news is that Skye didn't have a stroke. The bad news is that she is almost completely blind from cataracts that finally finished closing in on her vision. She can see the difference between light and dark when its 6 inches from her face. The ugly part is that, since she is also almost completely deaf, she is pretty much screwed. Dad is optimistic, but I am imagining many a tragic accident involving the deaf, blind dog who wanders the property filled with ditches, tractors, and rattle snakes. I am imagining pool access. I am imagining coyotes. My imagination is very ugly.

The bad news is that my mom's good friend from childhood has a spot on her lung too, which might explain why she has been coughing and hacking and miserable for the past year or two. As she has been a smoker all her life, the odds that it is just some abberation on the scan are low. However, since she is too poor to afford health insurance, she won't be going in to find out more any time soon. There really was no good to that part of the story. Sorry.

It has been a pretty weird week all around. Oh, and its still hot and I still want to go home. I hate essays. I hate exams, and I hate not really working full time while not really having time to play. I am in summer vacation pergatory.

Field Trip

Yesterday we all went to visit the Court of Justice in London. We got to sit in on a case and see the judges laugh at the barrister, and we also laughed at their silly wigs. I swear one of the judges was playing solitaire on his lap top. Then some other appellate judge sat and answered our questions in his AIR CONDITIONED chambers. It was fabulously cold, and he was a pretty impressive guy, too. He has actually argued cases before the European Court of Justice, and drug his whole family there to watch a case. I want to go, too! Then two SCU students competed against two English barristers in a moot court competition, and I could hear parts of it over the traffic noise from outside. I didn't feel like asking people to shut the windoes given the stiffling heat in the room, so from what I could tell, they did a good job. Next we went to have dinner at one of the four Inns of Court, and it was all formal and English, and no one at out table knew what they were doing, so it was sort of silly too. I met some nice girls working on becoming barristers, and we talked about teaching, rude teenagers, and basketball. I'm afraid I wasn't much help on the last one though. Finally, we ended the night with a visit to the pub next door. We were only there an hour but most were sufficiently drunk when we got on the bus to come home, so it was a roudy, loud, and odd ride home. I got to talk to James a bit, and the I fell asleep. I'm such a party animal. Today I slep in until 11:00 and then took a nap before my class at 3:00. Ha ha. Oh, and Ben looks ADOREABLE with a beard, and you know how I feel about guys and facial hair. Hate it. But sooooooooo cute! Stephanie and he are going to have the cutest children if they ever meet.

I just got back from checking the mail for my paper. Yeah! I got a 67. It's my highest grade so far. Sure, it sounds like a D, but it is actually a B+ (I think). The system is weird here, but at least I know that all my work won't be for naught. I have also played sodoku, called my mom, and changed the background on my screen-saver 4 times. I don't want to work anymore. I quit. Of course I am kidding, bu seriously, my vacation is wearing me out and I don't feel nearly so enthused about going back to law school in a few weeks as I thought I would.

On the more distressing side, my Mom has a fever and is supposed to leave for Florida and then here in two days. Also, Skye apparently had a stroke yesterday. She's all disoriented and having trouble seeing, or something. I guess she is eating and drinking, but it's not so good. She is 13, so it's not all that shocking, but she was doing so well. It'll be so sad if she has to live out her last days all blind, deaf, and disoriented. Worse yet if we have to put her down soon. Sigh. I guess this is just the way life goes.

Oh, and Sven's girlfrend broke up with him. I have mixed feelings about this, but I guess it could be a good thing. It might just be sad. Or it might just be news and nothing more. Hmmm.

Re-birth Announcement

Today we welcome Mira's life long love of horses and riding dressage back into the world.

I HAVE A PONYYYYYYYYYY!

Unfortnately I have no still photos to share, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Oxford, Day 1094

I feel like I have been gone forever. What was I thinking opting for a 6-week program? Perhaps I thought I'd have time for weekend get-a-ways and people to go on them with. Alas, neither has turned out to be true. I also didn't think at all about how un-airconditioned everything would be. I know this is a record breaking summer for Oxford, but as Lisa points out, they really do need to start preparing for global warming. My room has just cooled to 79, but now that I own a fan I have some small refuge. The weather has actually been cool, and by cool I mean neat, today. I woke up at 6:30 because it started pouring outside and my windows were open. There was thunder and lightening. It was great. I called the parental units and we chatted for a while. We actually searched online for dishes for our new beach house. It was sort of cute.

Me: "Hey, go to casual dining, page four and look at the green leaf plates."

Mom and Dad: "ooo, those are nice."

We're a wacky family, I realize, but it works. Then it was all sunny and clear when I went out to get lunch at 1:00. But within 2 more hours it was pouring harder than ever and the sky looked all scary. I had to close my windows because all the crap I have sitting on my sill was getting soaked. I decided it was a good photo-op, so I went out onto our front stoop and took pictures while the thunder and lightening show continued. I do love a good storm. The spiders all appeared a bit concerned, however, and so they crawled this way and that to escape the wind and rain.

Amadeus is coming home today, and so I feel, more than usual, that I want to be going home too. I have exatly 14 days left, and then I'll be on a plane. Yipeee! And then I have a million things to do to get ready for school. Like an idiot I forgot my book and help sheets on how to write good cover letters, and to be quite honest, I haven't really figured out where I want to apply other than Orrick anyway. Perhaps I'll be irresponsible and only apply there. I feel like I have become a little less responsible this summer, but I am sure Jesse and Stephanie would call it a weak attempt. I never did read Sven's paper. Oops. That'll teach him for not giving me a deadline. I need pressure. But not too much, come to think of it. I really hate that all my tutorial papers get written the night and morning before they're due. Apparently I have a B+ or something, but I don't think I have written anything good enough to be a writing sample, which was one of my goals, and now I only have two more tries left. Ug. Good thing I bought myself a jar of nutella to console me.

I have one week left of lectures, and then a weekend to study for my three hour essay exam. I don't know how 5 weeks of class can yield enough info to fill 3 hours, but apparently it is possible. I also have two essay to write in the next 10 days. Great. Just great. I better get my butt in gear and start reading.

If nothing else, the Oxford tutorial method is teaching me how to write a 7 page essay in 7 hours. It's hard to say if the essays are any good, however. They sound OK when I am 30 minutes late emailing them to the professor, but that could just be the optimisim of a procrastinator finally out of time. My professor did write on my first paper that it was "quite good for my first try." Depending on how you look at it, that's either a complement or a statement that there was plenty of room for improvement. Maybe it was both. I haven't gotten my second paper back, which is a little odd. I am thinking it is lining my tutor's bird's cage. Does he have a bird? Perhaps he has a puppy needing to be potty trained.

Anyway, I don't have that sick feeling I had prior to writing my last two papers, and really had no anxiety about the fact that I had more reading to do than could ever be done even a few hours ago. So it took me 3 hours to read the case I am evaluating. Meh. There's plenty of time to write a mediocre paper before 11:00 am.

The more I talk to Mark, the less I like him. I have always tried to tell myself that I can be friends with republicans, but it turns out this is only true if we never talk about politics. Plus, he is a bit of a homophobe, even though he knows and might associate with one or two (I think it might actually be a cousin). We were having the nature/nurture debate about homosexuality and that's when I learned he isn't really a big fan of the scientific method unless it is saying what he wants to hear, and the reason he gives for his skepticism is that "those studies tend to just find what the researcher was looking to find." No, the irony was not lost on me. He spent 8 years in the military, and is all macho and weird in the way officers can be. He has to bring up that he isn't gay everytime he goes out with a bunch of us girls, and particularly when we have tea. I guess all Englishmen are gay because they drink tea everyday, AND talk to girls. And he thinks NPR is a liberal radio station, and mocked me because I called it balanced, and when I pointed out that people had actually done research into the different news stations, he simply remarked that there was absolutely no way for a news source not to be biased. Um, ok. Besides, it always scares me when people talk about how liberal NPR is because it indicates just how conservative they are. I guess NPR is waaaay to the left of him anyway. But my favorite political argument we've had was during the world cup final when he commented that he would never buy a Cuban cigar (which actually did come up in context), and I asked why because I knew what the answer would be and I was in the mood to be difficult. After we finished, he made some comment about how strange it was how I got all into it, like someone had programmed me to say it. Um, yeah. And then today we got in this argument about homeless people, athough I tried really hard not to say anything and just let him make all these typically republican remarks about how they're all hooked on drugs and alcohol, and deserve to be homeless. Grrrr. So Mark and I need to be physically separated I think, because I am starting to resent the fact that he is using up perfectly good oxygen that might be spent on more clear-thinking people.

I know you're all laughing, all two of you that is, because I know I sound just like me, all argumentative and difficult. Seriously though, if you listened to him, you might be smart enough not to argue with him, but you'd still be disturbed. You know I'm right. I mean left.

PS: does anyone who uses blogspot understand why all my punctuation has gone funky? It just happened one day, and now I look like I am typing with a foreign keyboard even though I am not. Werid.

I realize that lately I have only been posting about boys, my stalker, and Rachna's chicken pox, and that you'd no doubt like to hear something fabulous about England. Unfortunately, though, I have been working my tail off so that I can write bad papers because I don't have enough time or motivation to do a better job. Just so that you can sympathize, which you probably shouldn't because all of you are also working exceptionally hard, I have included my reading list for my tutorial due Friday. I have to get as much read today so that I can write tomorrow. We'll see. All the things with numbers and/or C's in front are cases. No case books here either, so we get to read the unabridged versions.

1. DIRECT EFFECT

Articles 249 and 253-256 EC

P. Craig and G. de Búrca, EU Law, ch. 4
T. Hartley, Foundations of European Community Law, ch. 7
S. Weatherill and P. Beaumont, EU Law, 392-423
S. Weatherill, Law and Integration in the European Union, ch. 4
D. Wyatt and A. Dashwood, European Union Law, ch. 4
B. de Witte, “Direct Effect, Supremacy and the Nature of the Legal Order”, in P. Craig and G. de Búrca (eds.), The Evolution of EU Law (Oxford, 1999), ch. 5
26/62 Van Gend en Loos above
43/75 Defrenne v. Sabena [1976] ECR 455
41/74 Van Duyn [1974] ECR 1337
148/78 Ratti [1979] ECR 1629
104/81 Kupferberg [1982] ECR 3641
152/84 Marshall [1986] ECR 723
C-188/89 Foster v. British Gas [1990] ECR I-3313

Rejection of the horizontal direct effect of Directives confirmed, but incidental effect accepted (and lately extended):

C-91/92 Faccini Dori v. Recreb [1994] ECR I-3325 (contrast AG's opinion with that of the Court)
2. INDIRECT EFFECT

80/86 Kolpinghuis [1987] ECR 3969
C-106/89 Marleasing SA v. CIA [1990] ECR I-4135
C-456/98 Centrosteel v. Adipol [2000] ECR I-6007 (contrast para. 17 and the ruling proper)
C-397/01 to C-403/01 Pfeiffer etc., Judgment of 5 October 2004

3. INCIDENTAL DIRECT EFFECT

C-194/94 CIA Security International SA v. Signalson SA and Securitel SPRL [1996] ECR I-2201
C-226/97 Criminal proceedings against Johannes Martinus Lemmens [1998] ECR I-3711
C-201/94 R. v. The Medicines Control Agency, ex parte Smith & Nephew Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Primecrown Ltd v. The Medicine Control Agency [1996] ECR I-5819
C- 443/98 Unilever Italia v. Central Food [2000] ECR I-7535 (read also the Advocate General’s opinion – do you prefer the view of the Court or of the Advocate General?)
C-159/2000 Sapod Audic v. Eco-Emballages SA [2002] ECR I-5031
C-201/02 Wells [2004] ECR I -723

4. REMEDIES IN THE NATIONAL COURTS

P. Craig and G. de Búrca, EU Law, ch. 5
S. Weatherill and P. Beaumont, EU Law, 423-432
T. Hartley, Foundations of European Community Law, 220-232
D. Wyatt and A. Dashwood, European Union Law, ch. 5
R. Crawford Smith, “Remedies for Breaches of EU Law in National Courts: Legal Variation and Selection”, in P. Craig and G. de Búrca (eds.), The Evolution of EU Law (Oxford, 1999), 308
33/76 Rewe-Zentralfinanz [1976] ECR 1989
45/76 Comet [1976] ECR 2043
14/83 Von Colson [1984] ECR 1891
222/86 UNECTEF v. Heylens [1987] ECR 4097
C-213/89 Factortame (No. 1) [1990] ECR 1-2433
C-143/88 and 92/89 Zuckerfabrik Suderdithmarschen [1991] ECR I-415
C-465/93 Atlanta [1995] ECR I-3761
C-66/95 Sutton [1997] ECR I-2163
C-326/96 Levez [1998] ECR I-7835
C-473/2000 Cofidis [2002] ECR I-10875
C-453/99 Courage Ltd. v. Crehan [2001] ECR I-6297
C-255/00 Grundig Italiana [2002] ECR I-8003
5. ACTIONS FOR DAMAGES AGAINST MEMBER STATES FOR BREACH OF COMMUNITY LAW
6/90 and 9/90 Francovich [1991] ECR I-5357
C-48/93 Factortame (No. 3) [1996] ECR I-1029
C-392/93 R. v. H. M. Treasury ex parte British Telecom [1996] ECR I-1631
C-224/01 Köbler [2003] ECR I-10239 (state liability for judicial error)
C. Harlow, “Francovich and the Problem of the Disobedient State”, (1996) 2 ELJ 199

6. FRANCOVICH IN THE NATIONAL COURTS

Factortame [1999] 3 CMLR 597, [1999] 4 All ER 906; [2001] 1 CMLR 47
Brasserie du Pêcheur [1997] 1 CMLR 971

ESSAY QUESTION:

Was Köbler rightly decided?

I don't actually believe Stephanie and Jesse are reading my blog anymore, but I have pics to show now.

Here's Ben:



You can see he next to me here, with James across the table, the second guy with the blue shirt and pink tie. Ha ha.



And here is James (in the England jersey) again, with Eric, out coordinator.



Oh, and I ran into my stalker again today. He was pretty pushy again, but ess so, and I just said no in the friendliest way I could. See, I'm getting better!

Rachna has chicken pox. Weird.

OK. Ben is totally adorable and if Stephanie doesn't get out here to claim him, I might just have to snatch him away.

If you are looking for an interesting experience and aren't starving, the McDonald's in Oxford is great. Being one of the few food places open at 9:00, Rachna and I decided to stop in. I thought it would feel bit like home, like Starbucks does no matter what country you're in. I was wrong. Inside were at least 25 teenagers from who knows what countries,and they were all in line ahead of us. Behind the counter there were people of assorted ethnicities, all being led by one guy who yelled, maybe in English but who knows, whenever one of them had a problem. After about 10 minutes (no joke), we made it to the front of the incredibly slow moving line. Rachna went first, ordering a veggie melt sandwich from the deli menu. She asked if it was spicy, at which point the man had to leave so he could ask someone else, but he didn't really understand the answer, so the second guy came to help. They asked her if she wanted white or brown bread, to which she said wheat. Long pause...White or brown bread, came the same question. I said brown from the back and we moved on. Then she asked them if the sauce was spicy again, and the second guy said no but they could add chili sauce. She asked if it was vegetarian since she is a vegetarian. He said it was chili sauce. She asked if it had meat in it, and he said it had chili in it. finally, she gave up and paid for her sandwich with chili sauce, which I assured her was like thai chili sauce, and thus vegetarian.

Next, I ordered my chicken tikka sandwich. I was pretty excited they had this, but the guy didn't seem to know what it was, so he just repeated back a chicken sandwich. I said chicken tikka, with a bit more enunciation, and then I pointed at the sign. he turned to look. Some other guy walked by and said yes gruffly, as if to assure the other that they did really have such a thing. He typed it in and then said white or brown bread. I was ready so it was uneventful, but when he went to enter in my garden salad, he had to stop and stare in confusion at the screen. After a while he went to get help...........When he returned he told me they were running out, which I guess meant they were out, so I did not get a salad.

Rachna and I were shuffled off to the side to wait, and after a few minutes her sandwhich arrived, labeled both as a veggie melt and as chicken tikka. We opened it, but phew, it was in fact vegetarian. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. We waited for the guy to return from India carrying my chicken tikka sandwich. Meanwhile, we watched all the people behind the counter and realized that they all spoke differet languages, none of them English so far as we could tell. They couldn't read the signs, and when they asked each other for help they didn't understand the answers they got. We decided the problem was that we were speaking in accents from other places besided the UK, and so they didn't even have the comfort of the language they were trying to learn (the British can hardly understand us, actually).Then some guy wanted his money back (shockingly), which caused the guy behind the counter to call out to the manager for help, to which the manager responded by yelling at all of them in some other language. Meanwhile, the rest of the people in line stood there completely at peace with the situation, which did cause me to wonder about the general level of efficiency in Europe. If this had been America people would have been freaking out, complaining to their neighbors in line, some leaving in a huff of exhasperation. But no, everyont was OK.

At long last my sandwich arrived, and it turned out to be quite tasty. It even had yogurt sauce. Rachna and I had a good laugh recounting the whole thing as we walked home. I don't think I'll go there again, but it sure was fun.

I told everyone there would be thunder storms but no one believed me. Bet they feel silly now. Of course, we'd probably all be enjoying it more if it wasn't 5:30 in the morning. I've only had 4 hurs of sleep and the alarm is going to go off in less than an hour. Might as well just give up and then take a nap after class. I am turning the after class nap into an artform. Yesterday, I slept for 3 hours. It was marvelous. Ooo. that one was only 2 miles away!

Today I woke up and got ready for the pub crawl. I thought it got this name because you drink so much you have to crawl home, but I was wrong. It's because they make you walk really far in the blazing hot sun, admittedly over beautiful country, and by the time you get home you can only crawl. I had a very nice time though. I got to spend a lot of time with both Ben and James, and also Santino and Jon. All the guys here are at least reasonably good looking, so it's hard to find a reason to complain. Santino is the hotest, but I suppose that's why he is off my radar.I decided that Ben is perfect for Stephanie. And James, although I absolutely cannot say why, is still my favorite. He is an enigma, and he doesn't talk to me much, but we walked a long ways side by side, silently, and I thought it was nice. I didn't really have anything to say today anyway. He did ask me about my yoga ring, and then he started talking about the Hari Krishnas and this case he clerked for this summer. Does this mean he thinks I am a Hari Krishna? I had him explain to me what he learned about them, but we didn't get far. He commented on my neckless the other day, so I am going to need to get more jewelry that explains who I am so he can keep asking. Ah boys. I don't really plan on getting one for myself, but I sure do enjoy window shopping. He did program his number into Ann's phone today, so I think a little less of him for that. I don't like her at all. Annie, her best friend, with equally bleached blond hair and over tanned skin is better, but not much. They are everything I fear in girls. Two faced and fake. Shallow and mean. Smart, but not beyond the walls of the classroom. So that is James' flaw. Oh and he smokes. Yah, I know. I just learned that today. Damn him. And he lives in Oregon. OK, he has lots of flaws, but I like him anyway.