{D} 109: your smile is your passport

how to write, how to research, and how to prioritize like a psychopath

I was reminded this week of something a good friend said to me once, several years ago.

We were in Hong Kong, some cool evening in October I think it was. We were trying to get a table at one of those restaurants that appear on every Eater and Infatuation list, the kind that are jam-packed with other Americans. There were six of us, and the maitre’d told…