It's That Time of Year

The reason I feel that this is official is because this week put us in the 20s, amidst the month of November. This puts us nearly only 30 days away from Christmas itself, and though Thanksgiving falls quite late this year, the holiday season feels... present. My friends and I were chatting tonight about our distressed capitalist society, in which retailers this holiday are concerned about their profit margins' potentials, being that Black Friday is as late in the year as physically possible - leaving only about 26 days of heightened consumerism for Christmas shopping and retail therapy of the depressed-holiday-sort. What will we do?
This time of year is also marked by my yearnings for: 
  • Hot chocolate at all hours of the day 
  • Christmas songs from every corner of the musical genre spectrum 
  • Scarves, boots, leggings within every outfit 
  • Holiday cards of all shapes and sizes 
  • Friends' addresses and life updates from all around the world 
  • Friends at my side constantly 
  • Candy and peppermint-flavored things in my mouth at all times
  • My favorite seasonal flicks, such as The Holiday and Just Friends
  • Someone to cuddle with for every occasion, be it a holiday party or a solo night on the couch 
  • Red-colored accessories, lipstick, shoes (i.e. new TOMS), and more... all to match my red work shirt that we began donning this week!
Maybe this is why the impending holiday season feels so imminent: it literally began yesterday from the fruit stand's standpoint - which means today, for me. Thank goodness for a mid-week weekend; but today, it's back to the grind. Our windows will be newly decorated when I arrive at work to close tonight, and our holiday promos are advertised throughout the store in the single event of marketing-in-paper-form that I've ever witnessed in our stores.
This time of year is really coming into its own. I'm usually snuggled into my bed, with a teal crew-neck sweatshirt and my tiger fleece hat on, while writing to my daily goal. Last weekend, at my mall, Westfield hosted a "tree-lighting" ceremony for its grandiose Christmas tree that barely compared to the one held annually at the Grove. Wreaths and fake, snowy trees line the walkway to our store and shoppers appear to be in a festive mood, already humming holiday tunes and shopping for Christmas and Hanukkah presents.
The days are getting shorter, the dark sets in quite early and sunset takes place around 6pm... sometimes before. Last night, I got home to damp asphalt out front due to the light rain over the past several days, as well as a night sky so bright from the full-ish moon that I could have turned my headlights out as I turned onto Michael Drive. Katniss was out stalking her feline neighbors; Hoppy was bustling like a tiny gray polar bear getting ready to hibernate - we think this might be his last winter, due to his deteriorating health and continually oozing hair, tummy and eyes. It's heartbreaking, really.
The fake bubbles of snow are falling hourly each night at the Grove; my holiday Spotify playlist is catching my eye these days; it's here. The days of bright early mornings and early sunsets, chilly evenings in bed and crisp California nights out on the town, have begun. It's the time of year to give thanks, to feel thanks often, to spurge on gifts for those you love and to make time to put thought into those people, relationships, and thanks.
It's nearly that time to make resolutions, too. It's a good time to start nice habits, like running around my neighborhood in that brisk, CA air and drinking more water via the Nalgene that Santa (a.k.a. I) delivered not a month too soon. I sometimes dread a few things about this time of year, including my tendency to eat whatever sweets and luxuries I want all month and, consequently, get a little fat. I never feel too inclined to work out, mostly due to it being so cold out that a jog around town sounds awful and there's no longer a gym that I'm obsessed with around the corner. I need to find somewhere I can exercise minimally, shamelessly, faithfully and excitedly, preferably in the Zumba way!
I'm working on my financial goals and progress, which should be in full swing due to my rent-saving living situation. I have a newly calculated budget to help me out with that, c/o GoogleDocs. It's time to solidify all of my New Years Resolutions - such as when I plan on getting my own place - and my Christmas and Thanksgiving presents. I need to make time for Lights, Camera Cure! and start reaching out more intentionally to my friends/ colleagues/ fellow alums/ family about my involvement in and love toward Dance Marathon. Finally, it's game-time around my bucket-list item and goal of going sky-diving before I turn 25 and hit my quarter-life milestone... which is only a little over two months away. LivingSocial gave me an excuse, an opportunity, to go for it this morning, in my email inbox. I think I'm going to do it! 
To taking leaps of faith, and to Holiday time 2013. 


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