I went to New York City this weekend to see a band and some friends. After the show on Friday, I went out drinking with these long-lost friends of mine in a completely unrestrained manner. This resulted in me vomiting as soon as I woke up next morning. Now, a full three days later, I’m still not feeling quite myself.

This just all reminded me of some things Obama said a few weeks back:

“I made some bad decisions … You know, got into drinking and experimenting with drugs, there was a whole stretch of time where I didn’t apply myself,” Obama confessed to the study hall class. Obama added that it wasn’t until he went to college that he “started realizing, man, I wasted a lot of time.”

The drugs bit is superfluous: of course those are a waste of time. What resonated with me when I read this a few weeks back was the inclusion of alcohol in his litany of time-wasters. Again, of course alcohol is a drug—it’s just that I had not been considering how many days I’ve lost to nursing hangovers.

As I grow older and the penalties for alcoholic excess become more prolonged and severe, I’m starting to evaluate an excellent night on the town with friends in terms of opportunity costs in the ensuing lost days. It’s clear, as I approach a better appreciation of my own mortality, that my time is more precious to me than it once was.