I make books. And now I get paid to do so!

As of next Wednesday, I will be employed by W.W. Norton & Company as an editorial assistant. I’m rather excited about it, and not only for the superficial reasons that I get my own office and I’ll be working across the street from the library and Bryant Park.

Two Fridays ago, on 16th Street, as I walked to Union Square to catch the R after work, I saw a middle-aged man, in conversation with two younger associates, leaning against a wall with one knee up and stroking two iguanas that were perched there, catching the afternoon sun.

One Friday ago, in Washington Square, I watched a woman with two parakeets on leashes approach a five-piece brass band from Harlem’s United House of Prayer for All People to tip them. The birds were startled by the loud music, and as she bent over to drop a bill in the bag, they flew up, as one, from her shoulders and continued to do so as she left and crossed the park.

I eagerly await this Friday, and wonder what pair of pets the ark of Manhattan will then have to offer.