CAN’T LIVE WITH
The rent.
The rat race.
The dating scene.
51^st Street stop on the 6/E trains.
Starbucks and 7-Eleven on every corner.

CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT
The view.

The cute dogs of Chelsea & the West Village.

The Flatiron fitness scene.
Artichoke Pizza
Hudson River Park
Nail salons and bodegas open 24/7 on every corner.

Which leads me to the question that I always come back to in conversation with both myself and others: “Where else would I go??” My family is here, my friends are here, my blog is based here.

I’m exactly a month out from my birthday, a time when I typically come down with a mild to medium case of birthday blues. But, this year, I’m just saying no. Why?

Well, for one thing, I’m a fighter. I was born a preemie, so I pretty much had no choice, beginning with my actual birthday. I embrace the fact that if you look up, you’ll see better. And, if you look down, you’ll find worse. Plus, you never know what happens in other people’s lives behind closed doors. So, I take everything from elevator chit chat to social media posts with a grain of salt. In other words, I try my best to be content with the good things in life that are real, here and now.

So, with a new baby in our family, a hunky boyfriend by my side and having just seen Katy Perry’s amazingly inspirational show at Barclays, I’m riding that ever-elusive happiness wave all the way through to the end.

My friend Tara and I went to see her 30th anniversary show, “She’s So Unusual.”  And…she is.

When we gathered backstage, Cyndi was dressed entirely in black leather and lace with long, fire engine-red hair and bright red lips.  For the crowd, she performed all of the songs from the latest album, including classics that we know, love (and to which we can’t help but sing along): “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” “All Through the Night,” “Time After Time” and “True Colors,” mixed with funny anecdotes and insider stories (told in her high-pitched, squeaky speaking voice) about life and love.

In the beginning stages of the relationship with her now-husband, actor David Thornton, he accidentally broke a small clock in her Upper East Side walk up, when it fell off a table and onto the floor.  He quickly brought her a replacement (from his mom’s house), which was so old and so loud.  It drove her crazy while trying to fall asleep.  But, she had to keep it, so as not to hurt his feelings, they had just met.  Every night, before bed, she locked it in the bathroom, inside the shower and behind the curtain, all the way across the apartment.  But, she could still hear it.

And, so, the lyrics of “Time After Time”: “Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you…”

It was a fun, girly and upbeat night.  More than a few of Cyndi’s songs are on heavy rotation in my workout/cooldown playlists.
cyndilauper.com

P.S. Katy Perry’s “Prism” comes out tomorrow! (And, yes, I am fully planning my get-on-stage strategy for when her tour comes to town.)