The impostor's hangover

2010 - 2017 I had the time of my life and that's not just a Dirty Dancing song. Wednesdays Karaoke, Saturdays - the regular night out in Oldies pub. You start off with a beer or two and you continue with tequila shots, Jagger shots and if someone offers, you'll take a whiskey too. 

You could catch me and Honey attempting some seriously questionable dance moves on stage, or if you looked close enough, you might even spot me busting a move on the tables.

Those days were pure freedom, with zero responsibilities weighing me down.

It goes without saying that we would return home long after midnight. Sometimes there was a feeling of guilt, especially when Honey's mom was around. I somehow suspected that maybe she was not my biggest fan because, seeing I was younger, she probably thought I was encouraging Honey to waste weekend nights out, keeping her away from her duties. I don't think I ever brought up the subject with her (so, Honey, if you read this, please confirm if my suspicions were correct).

2024 - I seem to always lose when I negotiate with my partner over who plays the dedicated driver when we go out. Living in the countryside has its perks, but the main disadvantage, in our case, is that there is no bus going to the top of the hill where we live. Therefore, we carefully strategize our outings. One of us has to pick the other one up or, if we both go out, either one has to drive or we take a taxi back. Last night we both went out separately and I offered to drive back. 

Even though I could legally sip on a beer or a glass of wine, thanks to Austria's laws (0.5ml/100ml is the limit), I choose to stay completely booze-free. I don't have the confidence of an experienced driver so why risk it?

Five or six ginger beers (*alcohol free) later, followed by picking up my partner and making the obligatory stop at McDonald's, I ended up going to bed at 1:30am. Add to that the hour change and here I am this morning, with an unexplained headache and hangover feeling. How can this be?? Am I getting that old? Have I lost my partying mojo? And most importantly, is it even worth to fight this? Oh, 39, I can’t even say you’ll catch me by surprise!