Too Old For This

I went to two happy hours this week. One was a total “corporate” happy hour. A function held to celebrate a job well done. The table was surrounded with people who, most likely, would not normally go out to the bar together. Still, it was a fine time and it ended at a reasonable hour. I think I was home by 7pm.

Last night, we had a “real” happy hour. 4 co-workers who get along on a personal level and discuss non-work related things. It was only supposed to be one, maybe two, drinks. It turned into several. Several drinks of cheap, tap beer at a really shitty bar. This bar is known as a cop bar. Hanging from the ceilings are the doors of various law enforcement vehicles filled with the autographs of local law enforcement officers. The staff consists of “ladies” in tube tops and hot pants. One barely dressed young woman danced atop a table with a sign saying “Beer Sold Here”. You have to wonder why she just doesn’t go all the way and start stripping. The money would be much better, and there is a little more dignity in it.

The atmosphere of the place really lends itself to drinking heavily. The beers went down like water and the next thing I know it’s 8:30. Yes, I know, that’s not very late. But two nights of post-work going out in the middle of the week catches up to me very quickly. I really need my unwinding time in the evenings. I need my time at home in front of the computer, relaxing and sorting through my thoughts. I do not need to make a habit of going out during the work week.

I really feel my age on mornings like this. There was a time, in my early twenties, where I could go out until 3-4am and get up for work the next morning with nothing more than a slight headache. Now, I go out, get to bed by 10pm and struggle getting up in the morning. It’s sad.

It’s not that I want to stay out until 4am. Not at all. And it’s not that I want to go out every night. I just want to be able to stay up past 10pm and not feel like I want to die the next day.

If I’m going to give this music thing a go, I need to adjust my internal clock.