numbers are a state of mind

There's a certain defensiveness to being in your late-twenties-approaching-thirty. On a Friday or Saturday night, staying out past midnight becomes a kind of challenge. You sneak at a look at your watch while blearily swilling your drink, your eyes heavy, your head pounding, your brain focused on your comfortable bed and a hot chocolate. Thirty minutes to go, you think. Thirty minutes and it'll be past midnight and I officially won't be a boring old nerd. 

I recently went to a house party complete with neon lights, dry ice, a punch bowl, bewildering costumes, a sega mega drive "zone", and long lines to the loo. As I stood shivering in the backyard, trying not to fall into the bushes from lack of sleep, hunched over my plastic cup of suspect punch, I was amazed that there were people my age who still tried this hard. The very concept of a house party had almost become strange to me. My friends noted that these days it was all dinner parties and casual  drinks at mine. I loved the effort and the energy but was confused by it at the same time. Acting your age is full of confused concepts and stereotypes. What exactly does your age feel like?