Notes on the Go

My Picture.

After two weeks of madness at work, it is time for me to leave for the E3 expo in Los Angeles. Have you ever lived that kind of time bubble where things are so insanely urgent and busy that you feel like floating above time, and, paradoxically, intensely focused? Before I leave for another week of event madness, here are a few notes on the go.

• I love travel preparations as much as I love travel itself: making travel lists, buying pouches and bottles and other incredible travel stuff at Muji to Go, picking up paperbacks and magazines at the library, getting weird foreign money, synchronizing TV shows and music on my iThings, making little piles of clothes on the bed, packing the suitcase... Anticipation tastes just as good as the moment itself!

• As you may have noticed, I had a bit of a design change obsession this week. I didn't change much in the layout of the blog, just wanted to harmonize all my sites and blogs. (Yes, I have several. I guess that's the unbound, creative part of myself that always gets scattered in many directions.) So, I gave the Nife an updated look, with the post category list under the title, and a clearer menu for links. Still working on a page dedicated to a "bibliography" - with a Blogroll of my favourite reads, and other books and websites I find interesting.

• On the subject of blog updates, I have also reorganized a bit the caterogies of posts. All the wardrobe editing stuff is now labeled under "Style", more global, and also shorter for the top menu (I'm very picky about details when it comes to web design). Simplicity, Thoughts and Musings remain unchanged, and I renamed the music and books ones. Mainly because it was boring. Also, I'd like to share more of these finds.

• The next "new" Star Trek film is finally about to be out in France. I loved the first one, and with Benedict Cumberbatch as villain, I'll run to my local MK2 theater as soon as I'm back in Paris.

• There is an eerie feeling to airports, especially when you arrive there very early in the morning. As if the whole building was stirring to life, most counters are still closed, travelers are sparse and carry their luggage around like a turtle carries its shell... In the early morning, there is that kind of unsaid rendez-vous point at the airport's coffee shop, everybody queuing up for a freshly squeezed orange juice, black coffee or fancy cappucino, and some breakfast. Did you notice how breakfast choice seems to fit each person's apparent personality? Like master and dog from the 101 Dalmatians, in a way. Also, time feels suspended in an airport. Everybody arrives in early and then waits for one, two hours. A bubble of time with no expectations or obligations, except to show up at boarding when called.

• Like most people these days, I have been having this persistent melody from Daft Punk in my head for the past month. I have to be admirative of their extremely efficient teasing campaign, even though Random Access Memories isn't my favourite album from them.

"We're up all night to the sun, we're up all night for good fun, we're up all night to get some, we're up all night to get lucky, we're up all night to get lucky, we're up all night to get lucky... "

• So, I'll be in LA next week. I don't know how much free time I will have, but if you have any recommendations (cultural, shopping or otherwise) please let me know!

• As a final note on the subject of travel, I'll probably prepare a post about travel experiments, similar to this one from last year, but maybe more "capsule wardrobe" oriented. Packing for 6 days, with the challenge of bringing only a hand luggage, is quite informative in terms of outfit choices and uniforms.