out past my bedtime

last night I went out
I went out when I should have gone to bed
then I stayed out late
way later than my bedtime

towards the end of the night I got into some heated discussions
not beligerent like a frat boy at the keg
just sort of sensitive to the words from strangers when discussing dc and the east coast

first there was a guy from utah
a conversation about mountain biking
he said he went once... there were some horse trails... he made a face
and then said he put slicks on his bike and just commutes
not sure if he was ever a serious mountain biker
but I am certain that I would not judge this area and its potential for mountain biking by one ride on horse trails
well... I jumped down his throat

then there was a german guy with a british accent
this conversation went the same way
a stranger in a new town
just as with the guy from utah I was curious of his impression of dc
the german bloke said that dc was small
that he was surprised that it was small
which I thought was a simple observation
I poked and proded for more
this guy stuck with small
I asked what he expected
also told him that a glance at a page in a guide book would have told him the statistics of the area

in the end I settled down
as dc is a small town
it was not so much that I was offended by his calling dc small
but for that to be his first observation
in hindsight...
a first observation of NYC or Hong Kong may be the size of the city and the energy of the streets
yes... it is true... dc is just not that type of city
but
I am not sure if that would be my first impression of the city

it was late
I was drunk
this morning I woke up very tired