There are Christmas decorations up in the neighborhood where I work. It's just wrong. Merchants need to realize that the earlier they try to get me "in the holiday mood", the more I resist it, saying "no, no, it's too early!" I found myself last year realizing that it was the 18th of December, and I hadn't yet started playing carols on my mp3 player.

Listen up, retailers - we do not need to be "in the Christmas spirit" for a full sixth of the year. Early November is too early. Let's all agree to the day after Thanksgiving, the way it used to be.

And I really didn't appreciate seeing the Christmas decorations up when I went shopping for my Halloween candy.