The holiday spirit is officially in the air, and while I am a firm believer that advertising companies need to take a chill pill when it comes to pushing Christmas down our throats before Halloween, I find myself faltering. Take today for example.

Sundays are my solace. It is my one day a week when I don’t have to wake up before dawn and make the 45-minute trek to work. It is the day when I can sleep in underneath my cozy sunflower afghan and let the sunlight be my alarm. It is the day where I can catch up on my assignments and read and blog and drink my coffee in peace. And now it is the day when I can curl up on my unique yellow chair with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and binge Hallmark Christmas movies.

And that is exactly how I spent my Sunday, alternating between metaphysical poetry, business writing, and cheesy Christmas cheer. It is just delightful to see a trope-filled romantic comedy that brings forth the holiday spirit. I’m ready, although I am still bitter about premature advertisements.

But that is not all that my week entailed because as you all know, my life is a continuous string of crazy encounters. Let’s look at the other day for example, and let me preface by stating that this encounter is the perfect example of why I do not have a love life.

I was just leaving another tedious American Literature class when the weirdest thing happened. The material is boring; however, my professor is a charming man with classic red suspenders and signature phrases that make the one hour and fifteen-minute experience worth the boredom.

I began the brief stroll to my car and found myself a few yards behind a young fellow with a backpack on his shoulders, a briefcase in his right hand, and his phone in his left hand held right next to his head, almost as if he were holding a conversation except that the phone screen was facing behind him, aimed directly at me. I thought it was weird, but I just kept moving, minding my own business.

When I walk, people can hear me coming. I live in heeled shoes, so the methodical clacking of my heels on the sidewalk is almost as relaxing to me as the clacking of the keys as I type this excerpt from my life. The point, this dude definitely knew I was behind him, and made a point to initially turn around and give me “the nod.” That’s right ladies and gents, he gave me the nod like that was supposed to mean something to me or make me think he was special.

And then, one of the strangest things ever in my life happened. Like I said, I was walking a decent distance behind this gentleman so I could clearly see what he looked like and what he was doing. I happened to glance up at the phone in his left hand and noticed that the screen was blank, and then I noticed the dude continuously looking at the screen and then looking back at me and smiling.

This guy was using his phone as a reflective device to catch a glimpse of me as I walked behind him in the parking lot to my car. But, that’s not even the craziest part of this story. After a few sneak peaks, he noticed that I noticed him checking me out, so he stopped. He proceeded to switch his briefcase to his left hand and place his phone in his right hand. We continued walking. And then …

I heard something enter the sound stage that wasn’t my clacking heels or the general sounds of nature and bustling activity on a busy campus. In fact, I heard something that I haven’t heard in years. When this human switched his phone to the other hand, he actually started playing music, and not just your typical jams. No, this young chap began blasting “Seize the Day” from the Newsies soundtrack.

I was dumbfounded, and I immediately started cracking up. After a few paces to the beat of truly one of my favorite show tunes, this dude made it to his gleaming white truck, and I meandered past on the way to my own car. Once I made it a few yards, I heard running behind me, and because of the nature of the song, I was convinced that this guy was going to try and seize the day. He didn’t. It was just a couple cross country runners, but I would have died if he did actually tap me on the shoulder and get my attention more than he already had.

To end my week with a reoccurring story from the blog prior, ladies and gents the bird is back. This morning, before I even had the chance to drink my morning coffee, I heard the insanely loud chirping from the chipper little guy who likes to torture my already frantic heart.

I feel like at this point I need to give him a name … I’m thinking Ned. Little old Ned likes to try and break in through my air conditioner, and this morning was no exception. However, my coffee did help to calm my nerves because I truly have no clue what I will do if Ned ever succeeds at breaking in. As it gets colder I’m sure Ned will make more attempts, which means more coffee for me.