Day 35

So I’ve taken a couple of days to decide for sure what it is that I’ve been feeling. I must be at another stage of the game here, because I can now admit to experiencing mild hunger, something that has gone unnoticed, basically, since Day 3. Yesterday, I wasn’t sure if that was what it was or not, but today I decided to confirm my suspicion.

There’s something else I’ve been noticing over the last couple of days. It used to be that if I went four or five hours without a beer, that I could feel a little weakness, shakiness and if pressed without action, a little sweat. It was my blood sugar, rectified in about 10 minutes by a few pulls of my trusty Illuminator.

What’s happening is that the time span seems to be narrowing. I “need” a beer a little sooner. Moreover, I had previously not noticed this at all first thing in the morning, having lain quite still overnight–doing nothing except sleep and take four trips to the bathroom. Today, I could feel that shakiness straight away. I think my body’s ready for meat.

With less than two weeks to go, I’ve found myself at a crossroads. At the beginning, I had acquired four sixth-barrel kegs (5.23 gallons each) of Illuminator with one on deck in case I needed it. Since I killed Number 2 a day or two before the halfway point, I knew that Number 5 might be necessary, though I considered scaling back to four beers on the weekends to end at a fairly even point. Not a good idea, I decided. I definitely need that sustenance, so starting today, I’m going to dent Number 5, so it knows what it got into, by drinking five beers per day from this point forward. I’m too short on nourishment to do anything but add to it–especially when I have just the right remedy at my fingertips!

I’ll finish a few pints above 21 gallons for the duration of the project, and then toss a few back with my brother-in-law Kyle when we smoke a little pork on April 30. I’ll be ready for a doppelbock (especially with pulled pork as an accompaniment) after a seven-day break, for sure.

Finally, I keep forgetting to mention my weight. 140 yesterday and 139 today.

Cheers, all!