Big things are afoot. It was recently hammered into my head that I have three months left of school. Three months. Three frikkin months. In three months, I return to the workforce, and this three year jaunt back to school will be over. I'll be 25, have a BFA, and theoretically, for the first time in my life, actually be qualified to do what I intend to.

So things are picking up. These next three months stand as my last opportunity to expand and refine my portfolio. Last chance to use the campus darkroom. Last chance to meet cute girls in class. Last chance for free mornings, or nonjudgmental critical feedback. After this, my critiques will come solely from co-workers, competitors, and clients. I'm going to have to start playing for keeps.

I'm trying to dive in, picking up Senior Project concepts that are real stretches. Enough that I finally swallowed the huge jolt to my pocketbook and bought a Nikon D70. The photo project this is ostensibly for served as only the straw that broke the back of my resistance to buying a dSLR. It's a gem. And it will, in theory, let me turn around photos fast enough to make this insane, ludicrous project I've assigned myself of shooting pre-dawn photos in Manhattan, then designing and building a book around them, viable. Yeah, I'm going to be seeing a lot of 4am in the near future. But it'll be interesting, at the very least. My only regret is that I didn't buy the camera in time for Shivy's wedding.

Ah, well, I'll still have it the next time she gets married.

A jump in lifestyle this big can be damn intimidating. I have friends who have been out of work for months. Am I going to be able to get a a job in January? Will I like it? If not, how do I make rent? Or get health insurance? If I get mugged while carrying $1,000 worth of camera, will I be able to throw it far enough from my body to ensure it won't catch any small arms fire while I unleash ninja justice on my assailants? These are all problems that real adults need to deal with on a daily basis.

I am optimistic. You have to be to leave a perfectly good, paying 9-to-5 to go back to school. It's just not brash optimism. I'm not going to own this city someday. I know better than that. But it'll be enough to own Brooklyn, I think.