Exciting to watch were the Dutch and Germans, who brought fiery play to the field, though I miss the skilled long-distance goals from the Germans of 2006.

Disappointing as expected were the Italians and the French, and the upsets over Brazil and the destruction of Argentina were a pity.

So some of the greats were weaker than normal. Blame the new ball for all those high-flying balls. Blame the vuvus for just drying the players and spectators on couches nuts.

But my beloved Spanish team won and congratulations!!

I signed up for a British Airways credit card to receive the 100,000 bonus miles (after $2,000 purchase). Then I started using it for all purchases, since I was getting 1.25 miles for each dollar spent. Then, I tried to redeem some miles.

The shocker

I found that British Airways charges you the fuel surcharge and taxes and fees, a minimum of $100+ for transatlantic flights each way for the surcharge alone.  A search concluded that for a May round-trip flight to Madrid and back, I’d use 60,000 of my miles and pay $300 or more total.

My tried and true frequent flyer program

Redeeming American Airlines miles is much more rewarding. I’ve paid from $44 to $80 in taxes for round-trip flights to the same European location. And if I flew between October 16 and May 15, it would only take 40,000 miles.

The consolation prize

Thankfully, redeeming domestic U.S. flights via British Airways is useful. $5 in total taxes for a round-trip from Austin to LAX.

Why American Airlines is terrific

I’ve gone back to spending on my American Airlines credit card for another reason. All British Airways transatlantic flights stop-over in London, which sometimes means another stopover for me, which I don’t like at all. Through American, if I book far enough ahead, sometimes I just have one stopover for a flight from the small city of Austin! And another thing. In the last year, American has upgraded its mileage reservations system. It’s easy to see one month at a time what days still have rewards seats available in each category. British Airways’ search is much more shot in the dark and tells you NO more often than not.

Of course, with all these ripped gym bodies all around, one of the first things I did was find a gym, run and owned by of course, a gorgeous bronzed ripped guy, of French origin. He cracked me up because every time I’d cuss in Spanish or say the word “whore” he’d get embarrassed and utter “Madre mía” meaning “mother of mine.” I like oxymorons – huge guy who gets shocked by little foul-mouthed chick.

I hit the gym every day I could, with a great view of course, of the whatever body of water is there in Ibiza (I don’t pay attention to such things – is it a sea or ocean? Whatev).

Enjoyed myself thoroughly at the opening party of Pacha, formerly my favorite club in Barcelona before it shut down, though now it’s been replaced by a kick-ass club called Oshum I have yet to set foot in… next time I’ll have to check it out.

It was sardine-can packed, so I stayed away from the booze – plus, the fucking bartender lady wouldn’t serve me – seems like if you’re not bald, you’re not going to order as many drinks so you’re not worth her time. When it started to get reasonable, a guy who worked there, handsome Victor from Sitges outside of Barcelona with big innocent eyes, told me about some other rooms, so I got myself a juice in one of those, and this gorgeous black female DJ in awesome distinctive fishnets gave me a gift. But mostly, it was a juice and hang-out-with-Victor night.

More later. Just going to say: Viva Italia!!

1) We met in the Writer’s Store on Westwood Blvd. I thought, “Hm, they keep their men gorgeous  in L.A.”  Then he chatted me up, invited me to lunch, and a couple of days later on the way to dropping me off at the airport, we stopped by his Bel Air home for fifteen minutes of a little bit of fun. And he was right, I wasn’t late for my flight!

2) Some making out with a tall Keanu Reeves look-a-like in a secluded spot atop a gazebo at the airport watching planes take off and land as the sun came up.

3) Getting to act out a little fantasy with a guy who looked very much like my first big crush. Talk about closure and feeling like I was in high school again (along with the awkwardness – ha).

Though it has 2.0 Megapixels printed on the back, it’s really 0.3 Megapixels. That’s pretty much the worst of it.

It’s much like my previous phone, though even smaller. Just shy of 2″ wide, 3 1/2″ tall, 1/2″ thick. the 0ne I bought is in pink pearl. The screen is almost 1 1/2″ X 2″. It has one button. It accepts up to an 8GB microSD card for music, photos, videos, etc.

In summary: I love it. Like its predecessor, there are some nuisances like being unable to go to the next SMS message. You always have to return to the list view and select the message you want to see which takes a little bit of time.

But this time, the phone does not freak out, deleting all my info and settings. It has retained everything for two months, has a plethora of features, and is tiny and cute. The screen doesn’t seem as sensitive as the one previous, and that means it’s then quite a bit worse than that of the I-phone. But I still look at the I-phone and think–though it’s thinner–that it’s just so freaking huge.  I use little purses. I want my phone to fit. I love that I can select any MP3 on the phone as a ringtone.

I can’t wait to use it on my next trip. Till then, I’ve been enjoying its MP3 player, which offers a nice sound without the need for headphones.

I’ll have to take some good photos before putting them up to do the unit justice. Otherwise, you can just search in ebay for “KA08 phone.”

The latter is directed by a Los Angeles-raised but Hungarian film-educated man by the name of Nimród Antal, who has subsequently directed the American films Vacancy with Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale and the recent Armored with Matt Dillon. Laurence Fishburne and Jean Reno. Of course, now I’m curious about the latest two though I haven’t seen them, but Kontroll is so visually fascinating and engrossing, it’s worth a watch.

Molière is a delight, with actors Romain Duris whom I wasn’t crazy about before now (in L’Auberge Espagnole, or The Spanish Apartment ), Fabrice Luchini, the perfect pitiable cuckold, and the graceful Laura Morante. Let’s just say it’s at times hilarious and at times very heartfelt, a lovely film in the spirit of Shakespeare in Love but funnier.

I was researching a screenplay I’m writing. Thought I’d share this tidbit of info.

Another track for watching races instead of being on the track is the Hockenheimring. I know. Germans really need to remove some consonants from names. Just separate the “ring” from the word to help a touch.

I thought I’d found the perfect deal for Spain in Lebara (you essentially pay €10/$15 for the card), and I thought I’d even be able to keep my sweet phone number. Well, they’ve changed the rules. It used to be that you had to use it in some capacity every 90 days to keep it active without occurring additional fees.

Now, I see that they’ve changed the rules. See this FAQ page on their site where I’ve gotten the following:

Your Lebara Móvil SIM card will remain active as long as you top-up the balance at least once every two months (60 days). If you do not do this or if you run out of credit, Lebara Móvil will grant you an additional month to top-up your balance. During this month, and until you top-up the balance, you will only be able to receive calls or make calls to the emergency services. If at the end of this one month period, there has not been at least one top-up, the SIM card will be permanently deactivated and you will lose the number and, if applicable, any remaining credit.

Sorry. I’m just bummed. I had €17 left on the card when I left in October. And I really do have a sweet phone number. Lebara’s still cheap, especially when they have their frequent top-up deals – buy €20 credit, get €10 free. Ah, well. Here we go again.

It fits wonderfully, has a luxe, multi-dimensional shine, and if I wanted to take a couple of inches off my girth, I could, in a few months. Also, I look hot. Yes, my legs are short, except they’d actually look better in regular heels. The boots hide my great calves and little ankles. But enough about me.

BTW, I got this corset from the ebay seller: bestlingerieline.