Whenever I go on a trip these days I think I am going INTO Facebook and Twitter, as if leaving my world going into the public means I will literally see every one of you. But of course you guys aren’t out there, all hanging out together, you’re each in your own personal computer worlds.
First stop, Paris, for 2 days, 25 interviews, 2 screenings. Tres bon. Here is the french Facebook for the movie: http://www.facebook.com/TheFuture.lefilm — only 35 people! It’s very exclusive! You have to be really chic! I know they are translating the oracle (Le Oracle, perhaps) so soon you can get your weekly fortunes in french, which will make them much more profound.
Meanwhile, I’m battling through travel anxiety by making various outfit charts and taking out the insoles of my shoes, scrubbing them with dish soap, letting them dry in the sun, and then reinserting them. I almost can’t wait til i have to take them off in in airport security and am not ashamed and smell like clean dishes. Here are a few more tips.

Travel Tip #1: When out of town I search bookstores for this book (see video above). Not to buy it (I already own it), just to flip through and remember that life is wide open and I have lots of options in terms of how to draw pleasure from it.

Travel Tip #2: In the airport go to the duty-free shop and find the most expensive face cream and slather the tester all over your hands and face. This is within your rights as a potential consumer and it will protect your skin from the drying effects of the plane. The flight becomes one long hydrating facial.

Travel Tip #3: Afraid of flying? My dad sent me this and it really did help. When it’s really bumpy I also like to turn to the person sitting next to me and grill them about every detail of their life. “What do you do for a living? Really? How did you get into that? Do you have kids? What do they do? Where do they live?” Etc. When it smooths out I thank them and then reseal my privacy bubble. It’s a little awkward after such intimacy, but who cares? I’m alive.

Travel Tip #4: This last tip I got from a website run by travel-advice-giving-stewardesses: When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., how many of you know for sure if the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror (i.e., they can see you, but you can’t see them)? Just conduct this simple test: Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface of the mirror and if there is a gap between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a genuine mirror. However, if your fingernail directly touches the image of your nail on the mirror, then be aware for it is a two -way mirror.

I Ask Of You: Please share your travel tips with us. Things they shouldn’t be: untested, vague. Things they should be: actually helpful.