“You realize if we played by the rules right now we’d be in gym?”

The Movie: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 1986 (John Hughes, screenwriter and director)
Who says it: Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, a high school senior playing hooky
The context: Ferris says this to his best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) as they take a cab ride from one Chicago landmark to another.
How to use it: To give yourself permission to goof off once in a while.

I turned in extensive revisions on one big project yesterday, and now I have no deadlines -- none -- for at least two weeks. I have no rent due. All my bills are paid. I feel like a helium balloon without a string.

So I'm taking the day off. Dizzy and I will take a long walk, and then I'm going to yoga. Maybe this afternoon I'll see a movie. Because after all, as Ferris also says, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Although, given my current situation, I might be better off with yet another line: “It still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t own a car.”