Tomorrow morning at 07a, Continental Flight 145 takes me to Los Angeles, and a week later I’m off to Singapore. So it’s my last day in New York City. I’ve put a Herculean effort into avoiding another overly sentimental goodbye, but in the end, I’m only human, you know?

As a parting gesture, here’s my semi-secret tip for making metropolitan life a little bit more bearable: With each and every encounter with sales help (deli cashiers, sales clerks, cart vendors, anyone and everyone), I made it a rule to smile when I said “Thank you.” Regardless of how miserable or inattentive or outright rude they might have been to me, I would always, always smile. I know this sounds absurdly Pollyannaish, but it makes a difference. Give it a try, it’s free. 🙂