This is what 3:30 a.m. looks like …

Friday night we spent hours on nYne ‘s dance floor, thanks to the fantastic grooves of Real Life Rockaz (make it a point to get to their shows, seriously). My friends at Great Shape Inc were hosting a fundraiser and I showed up to help and raise some fun!

Anyway, one thing led to another and before we knew it, it was time for last call. Boo. We finished up our drinks, packed the fundraising gear and loaded it into the car, then made a group decision that what we really needed was some hashbrowns.

When you’re downtown after 2 in the morning, there’s really only one place to go — the Satellite . Of course, you’re not the only one who knows this, which means there will be a line about 23 tables deep outside the door. But you will wait because, let’s face it, it’s 2 a.m. … you’re tired, you’re hungry and your judgment is probably not what it should be, so standing in the wind surrounded by hungry, obnoxious drunkards makes total sense.

So you wait. And you experience a colorful slice of Spokane life that you might not otherwise see. There are two bars next door to the Satellite that stay open until 4 — Irv’s and some other little spot where late-night dancers, and people who didn’t get lucky by 2, seem to congregate. Also, there’s a steady stream of slurring stumblers making their way home (God, please let them get into a car with a designated driver) and even a few moments of “Girls Gone Wild — Spokane” … you know who you are.

Then, after what seems like hours (most likely it’s about 45 minutes but who’s counting) you slip inside the golden glow of late-night Satellite. You order a portion of food that you’ll regret in the morning even more than the few-too-many gins, then you sit back and relax. You listen in on the tables around you because, let’s face it, hours of dancing next to 6-foot-speakers makes us all talk about 30 decibels too loud so it’s not like you’re a creeper for eavesdropping (and, at 3 a.m., other people’s conversations are much easier to follow than your own). And you wonder at least once why you didn’t just go home and crawl into bed.

Then your food magically appears in front of you and you’re like, “Oh yeah. Sleep can wait.”