It should be no secret to regular readers of this blog that I love beer. So much so, in fact, that in the past five years, hardly a day has gone by during which I haven't popped one open. The problem is that so many experiences can immediately be improved with a drink in hand. Cheering in the stands at the game? Better with beer. A round of early Sunday golf? Better with beer. Racing to finish an article you've only just remembered was due and you need to submit in half an hour lest you actually succeed this time in making your editor's head explode? With beer, everything is cookies and lollipops.
"How could something that's delicious make me sick?"
See also: - Summer Guide: Beer - Craft Beer of the Week Archives
But, as Troy realized after eating a cookie the size of a manhole cover, too much of a good thing can be -- GASP -- a bad thing. My memory, in particular, has become pretty shitty since i started drinking in earnest. Keeping in shape is also more difficult. And after the holiday party season, it feels like I've used my liver as a speed bag.
So, on New Year's Eve I plan to drink like I'm about to start a lengthy prison sentence -- which, essentially, I am -- and then go dry until February 1. January will become Drynuary: 31 days of alcohol-freedom. Long enough to feel booze's absence and to have to adapt to life without it. I want to see if it makes a difference. Will I sleep better? Will I be healthier? Will I look down smugly upon my friends as they deal with their Sunday morning hangovers? Will I even last a week? Time will tell.
Check back here for two-week and end-of-month updates. If you want to join my struggle (the other Chow Bella contributors sure didn't. CRICKETS.) follow @fowlelanguage for whiny tweets and/or moral support.
I can do this! I think!
