Slowly but surely, I’m settling into my career as a bicycle courier. My knowledge of the island is growing, I only need to look at my map occasionally instead of after every assigment, and I’m getting to know which buildings have messenger centers and which don’t (like IMG Models). Here are some scenes from my life. One of these days, I’ll bring along my cell phone and take some pictures.

• The offices of Bob Marley Music, Inc. have a lot of Bob Marley stuff on the walls, but no smell of marijuana.
• A casual wink from a very attractive woman at a/R Media can make your day.
• Resurrection is a place I’d like to go back and check out if I wasn’t in a hurry to get some of their stuff to Essence.
• Marj Dusay, a regular on CBS’s Guiding Light, attended KU. I delivered a script to the doorman at her apartment.
• The other day, as I was stopped at a light on 9th Ave. in the 30s, I heard this tremendous honking. I looked over and saw this gigantic tour bus (rockstar-type tour bus, not this type of tour bus that I regularly pass on my bicycle) driving in the right lane behind a latino pushing a Sabrett’s stand. Maybe the asshole behind the wheel thought he was being very New York by just laying on the horn behind this poor guy pushing the stand, but actually that is very atypical. New Yorker’s know that the hot dog stands have to get to their spots somehow and if you want to avoid them, you don’t drive in the right lane.

  I was so aghast that I could only stare as the bus drove past. The driver, wearing a cowboy hat, saw me staring and nodded his head in an exagerrated fashion like he was saying, “well, I showed that guy who was boss.” When the hot dog guy pushed his cart by, we looked at each other and rolled our eyes. The hot dog guy said, “fucking asshole” and I responded with, “he was wearing a cowboy hat. What do you expect.”

• To become a bicycle courier, you have to fill out an application and attend a morning training/safety class. After the class, they give you a radio and send you out to make deliveries. As a result, a lot of learning how to be an effective courier comes down to trial and error and the lessons of the street. Last week, I was crossing 8th Ave. when another messenger was coming up 8th. I couldn’t tell whether he was going to cut in front of me or behind me, so I braked. Thrown off, by my sudden stop, he swerved behind me and yelled, “always keep it roll’ nigga!”

  That’s the most important lesson to learn as a bicycle courier. You don’t need to burn down streets and risk your life at intersections if you play it smart and always keep it rolling.