Although it definitely beats all the alternatives, getting older kind of sucks. I don’t really dwell on it, but occasionally something slaps me in the face and emphasizes how much times – and I – have changed.

This time, what struck me was a party my wife and I attended. And it wasn’t any one thing that struck me; instead, it was a lot of little things.

To begin with, it was on a Sunday. Can you imagine anyone in their 20s throwing a party on a Sunday? Well, actually, if you’re in your 20s, it wouldn’t matter – your recuperative powers are such that you could stay up all night drinking yourself into a stupor and dancing your legs off, and still be at work on time Monday. Of course, at that age your job is probably some minimum-wage gig and your boss doesn’t care if you come in late, unshaven and smelling like a bar towel.

My behavior at parties has also changed a lot. When I was younger, I’d shove people out of my way so I could get to the last unopened beer. At Sunday’s party, I was shoving people out of my way so I could get to the last unoccupied chair.

There was a band at this party and they were plenty loud. When I was young and stupid, the band couldn’t be loud enough. In fact, we’d hold our cigarette lighters up in the air and yell, “Turn it up!” At this party, though, we were holding our fingers up to our ears and yelling, “Turn it down!”

Another difference is the timing. Back when I considered partying sort of a second career, I wouldn’t leave the house before 10 o’clock, because a decent party didn’t really start rocking till about midnight. This party started at 2:30 in the afternoon. Back in the day, that was about the time I’d be rolling out of bed -- that is, if I’d even gone to bed.

Also, this party was over at 6:30, which is perfect if you want to get to Luby’s in time for the Early Bird Special and still be home in bed by 9:30. Of course, being from Austin, we’re far too sophisticated for Luby’s; no, we went to a trendy North Austin eatery and complained about the crowd and the long (15 minute) wait, and contemplated why all these people were out on a Sunday when they had to be at work the next day.

The most striking example of how much things have changed came after we’d been seated. Thirty years ago, the meal might have been prefaced by passing around a bottle of tequila and a couple of little hand-rolled cigarettes. This time, however, we passed around a bottle of Advil and a pair of little reading glasses.