Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

We all know the song. We all know the lyrics. And the prolific Ms. Lauper would agree.

Some boys take a beautiful girl

And hide her away from the rest of the world

I want to be the one to walk in the sun

Oh girls they want to have fun

Oh girls just want to have fun

And - for me - it's so true.

I recently had a stay-cation in NYC over the July 4th week and I really loved it. I didn't do too much that was overly fancy or special. I went to the beach a lot (yep - Coney Island)! I went every day from Thursday through Sunday. And by being "the one to walk in the sun," I got myself a nice tan.

Earlier in the week, the weather was muggy and hot, but cloudy and rainy and stormy. And grey. Not pretty weather to do things.

Goofy Hydration Deprived Self Pic.

So, I went to the New York Transit Museum by myself, where I took photos of myself in different train cars through the years.

You can see the goofy self-pic. The museum, in a former subway station, is now a historical site. As such, they will not air condition the parts that were once the actual station. The only air conditioned portions of the museum was in the way back, and was basically a movie room and one exhibit.  The rest of the place was pure Summer heat. Needless to say, my face is the result of losing 10 lbs. of sweat. Just look at how skinny my arms look?

(Consequently, I recommend everyone go to this museum in the blissful month of October.)

On any vacation, I like to do something a little vapid - like sun, shopping, drinky-poos. But, I always like to do smart things: educational, historical and special. So, I learned about New York traveling. I've been traveling in style since 1979, but could New York say the same?

Well, I watched a Grand Central short film that inspired me that New York could. However, I will still never forgive the City for demolishing the former Pennsylvania Station and building Madison Square Garden in its place. Look up the photos of Penn Station in the early 1900s and look at pictures of what it looks like in its modern form. Your jaw will drop at the disparity.

My little trip inspired me.

Do things. Little things. Fun things.

Everyone's life can be amazing. Every day can be filled with something special. You just have to find it.

Some days, I splurge . . . on a drink at Starbucks. That is my special thing that day. Wa-hoo! And it cost less than 5 bucks. But for that brief few moments  - where you take that chance to just breathe and smile, talk and laugh, and sip on a drink with a friend - can be absolute magic.

Some days, I do truly splurge on a theater ticket. I am going this Friday to see a new Broadway show called "Date Night." I was going to "Date Night" by myself. I will let the irony sit in for a second.

I can wait.

Now, I have a married couple going with me, too. A married, heterosexual couple. They bought their tickets later, so I will still be sitting alone. At "Date Night."

But, it's fun. And I didn't actually splurge (code: spend much). I got the ticket on sale at Living Social, with an extra 20% off coupon code. Did I mention I used ebates.com to get some cash back?

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=M5W50P93x%2FIypJry1Er1Xg%3D%3D

Online shopping is awesome!!

I digress. My point is: I strive to enjoy my life every single day. A few years ago, I made this pledge to myself to find joy every, single day. And most days, I do.

The trick is, though, that you have to remind yourself to do it.

On a particularly stressful work day, I ran out of the office to go to a gallery I had seen on the Today show. For the cost of ZERO dollars, I looked at some paintings of Snoopy by Tom Everhart. And they were awesome, and suddenly - so was my day.

It's just about finding your simple pleasures. Some people find their happiness in food, in drugs, in drink. And while I do like my win-o, I challenge people to find the joy in a beach trip, in a museum, in a an afternoon with an iced coffee with a friend. Or in my case, in all 3. But, don't forget about "Date Night."

Because "Date Night" with my straight homies is gonna be awesome!