November 17....

...the day I officially started listening to Christmas music.

I freakin' love Christmas music.

I typically steer clear of Rudolph and Frosty and Jingle Bell Rocking. I avoid like the plague Alvin and the Chipmunks, Grandma getting run over by a reindeer, and mommy kissing Santa Claus.

But I'll take most of the other stuff.

Before you call me overzealous, let me first tell you that I may have begun my holiday season a week earlier last year. My roommates laughed at me and called me a nerd (let it be known that they began listening that very day. Hypocrites.)

But listening in mid-November made sense, and here's why:

I was in the middle of Missouri. It's cold there. Today, it's 41 and raining.

Now that I've migrated out West, my foray into an early season just isn't the same.

I'm in California. It's not so cold here. It's 63 and sunny.

In honor of my day off, I jubilantly hopped on Pandora in anticipation of some solid New York Times reading and Christmas music reveling.

But it just doesn't feel right.

I'm not curled up on my bed being blasted with hot air from my space heater, a giant mug of something hot in hand.

I'm sitting here in short sleeves drinking cold beer.

Yep, things have changed a bit.

One song really caught my interest, though. Maybe because it's not overly Christmasy. I've always loved it. It's simple and perfect and can be listened to any time of year.

Otherwise, I'll put the Christmas tunes on the back burner for a little while longer. John Mayer's got a new album out that should keep me busy for a while....