At this age, it's sad if you still go out

Last time I was downing a lukewarm beer in a pub in Amsterdam where I used to go bi-weekly and knew the toilet lady by name.

It felt good. Because: I felt young. Really young. The bar was still littered with the same grime, the guys behind the bar were still always just as handsome and blonde and lo and behold, those crazy posters on the wall were still there. Wonderful. Back in time, all thanks to that one beer. But after that beer, the excitement was pretty much over. I got tired and had to swallow my yawns. I also felt nauseous from the taste of lukewarm beer. Nauseous from the smell of dancing and sweating students. It got busier and busier and suddenly I thought: what am I doing here, standing and talking like a sardine in a can among four hundred six wild, thirsty, and drunk people? I went home with a big smile and had never been so happy with my quiet, clean, fresh bed and a glass of water.

Look, at some point we are all a bit too old to fully party in the city. I'm not saying you can never do anything crazy when you get older or that you can't drink anymore when you're thirty plus. No way, keep doing it. Otherwise, it all just gets a bit boring. But that real partying and clubbing, going out and ordering tequila shots until you drop – that's a bit not done. According to science, the ultimate limit is at 37 years. If you're still grinding in a wild nightclub after your 37th, it's quickly labeled as ‘sad’. Not only by the younger generation grinding next to you but also by your peers.

Yes, we can't make it any prettier than it is. That's how things go. Everything changes with time and maybe, just maybe, that's a good thing too. Maybe you shouldn't want to join in with those teenagers when you're almost forty. You can still be a party animal. But in a new, mature way, like having wonderful dinners with friends that get out of hand and suddenly last until three in the morning or just drinking one drink after another on a boat and watching the sunset. Just make sure to start on time. As in: around two in the afternoon. Because day drinking, see, that's for all ages, but especially nice when you're 37 plus. Then you're just nicely in bed on time. Saves you from a hangover.

Hangover or not, Monday I was glad that it was just Monday again. And then I felt very, very old. Luckily.