In June, I will finally be an adult. I’m college-educated and my income is reasonable. Since graduating high school, I’ve only lived with my parents for about 5 months right after college. Unlike many of my peers, I’m lucky enough to be working in the field that studied in school. I pay my bills, and don’t do drugs. But in June, I’m moving in with my girlfriend. And that means, I finally feel like an adult. By the time we sign our lease, we’ll have been together for nine years. I can’t wait to get moved in. I’ve been ready for this for years.

And I’m not even the least bit scared. This blanket is a good example of why. We work together. We can cook a meal together without stabbing each other with a chef’s knife. She loves to crochet and I’m pretty good at sewing, so we’ll sit together and work on blankets. I think that we’ll be good at running a house together as well. We’ve been together long enough to know our strengths and weaknesses. Frankly, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.

This January, the skinniest house in New York sold for 2.1 million dollars. The house is 3 meters wide and, like a lot of urban homes, is squeezed between two other buildings. 2.1 million dollars a ton of money. But for a property in some parts of New York, it’s pretty common.

A lot of people in Cincinnati don’t realize how incredibly inexpensive it is to live here. I bet this house that sits near Central Parkway and Ravine would sell for a lot less than 2.1 million. Food, rent and property are all pretty reasonable here. Wages to certain extent reflect this, but I still think most people come out ahead.

Cincinnati is so overlooked, I think it’s a lot like this tiny house wedged between giant ones. We’re on the same street as great cities of our county. We have more Fortune 1000 companies per capita than any other city in the world, but we’re overlooked. We just need to start throwing some loud parties and put a few pink flamingos in our front yard. We’ll see what the HOA has to say about that.

Today we switch cameras and films. I shot the next roll with my Nikon F3HP. It is probably one of the best manual film camera ever made. The HP in the name means “high eye point.” The prism was designed in a way that made it easy for people who wear glasses to see the entire frame. The F3 was a favorite of photojournalists. It is rugged, well-sealed and ergonomic. I love the styling and the functionality. My work digital camera is a Nikon D700, a full-frame digital SLR. I can use the same lenses on both cameras, which makes shooting with either camera a breeze. Unfortunately, I chose a really crappy film to use with the camera. Kodak 800 speed film is awful. I had forgotten how horrible it was. The colors suck, the latitude sucks. It was a lot to overcome, but I still think I got some good shots, so keep coming here to check in. Here’s the shot of the day, some snow stuck to my favorite wall.

This was taken on my street in Hamilton. I didn’t go into work that day because I was basically snowed in. I would never skip out on work or call in sick just to hang out. I would feel way to guilty. But I do like it when I’m forced to stay home all day. No obligations, every thing is put on hold. I should probably carve out more days like this for myself, but again… I’d have some serious professional guilt. Snow days are awesome. I still do work on my home computer, but I don’t have to drive anywhere. My commute is brutal. I have a feeling the owner of this car was probably also having a snow day, surprisingly, all the snow on the roads was gone in a couple days. It’ll be awhile until my next snow day, but at least I get to go outside without feeling like I’m searching for the North Pole.

I always notice those remnants of other seasons. Those things that just get left out. The snow covered swingset, the plant pots. But the same things happen in the summer. The snow shovel left in the hallway of the apartment. The sled leaning against the side of the house. Until the past few years, I’ve really been a “the other season” kind of guy. When it’s cold, I want warm. When it’s hot, I want snow. But I think I’m settling in as a summer person. I love the long days and being able to ride my bike. At this time of the year, I feel like I physically will the weather to cooperate with me. After the first nice week of weather, I refuse to wear anything but short sleeve shirts. Even if the weather dips back down, I still pack up the bike and give my hoodies a mean glare as I walk out the door.

I, like most people, love my toys. But more and more of us are starting to ask, “do I need that.” A crappy economy and a growing consciousness about consumerism are causing many people to examine how they spend.

While I do purchase things I don’t need, I’ve found a middle ground. I love purchasing things used, and some of my favorite possessions are used. My bike… used. All of the camera being used in this Frame-A-Day project… used. I love Craigslist and Ebay. Jen and I are shopping for used furniture. Mainly, I just like feeling that I’ve gotten a deal, but I suppose there are some other greater benefits.

I think that our current economic state has a lot to do with the collapse of our consumer culture. I think the collapse is temporary, but when a large group of people stop making purchases, the whole system goes down. The more I think about it, the more unsustainable and fragile it seems. At the very least, it’s interesting.