When Danilo Balaban came to the lower square this morning, I noticed how thin he was. And so we started talking about body shape and food. I complained that my stomach was getting bloated as of late, and he quickly came to a diagnosis. “Too much alcohol,” he nodded seriously. I agreed with him without much ado. “I abandoned cigars last year,” I nodded in turn, “and it is high time to abandon alcohol, too.” Danilo seems to know quite a bit about diet, and his body proves it beyond any doubt. Now it is my turn to cut my alcohol consumption to a few glasses of wine per week. That is the goal. As well as a solemn promise.

Addendum I (June 20, 2014)

As of the following day, I have kept a careful record of my daily alcohol consumption. Everything I drink is calculated in terms of wine. To the best of my reckoning, I have managed to cut my alcohol consumption to about a half of where it was previously. The average is still around a bottle of wine a day, which is far from ideal, but that is good progress given my proclivities. Yesterday I drank only three glasses of wine, and I felt pretty proud of myself. Not surprisingly, the bloating of my stomach has subsided quite appreciably in less than a week. Danilo’s diagnosis seems to be right. With some luck, as well as a lot of perseverance on my part, the bloating will be history in about a month or maybe two. Yes, I do feel proud of myself. For alcohol is hardly a joke, and especially at this stage of my life.

Addendum II (July 7, 2014)

Some three weeks into my new recording venture, the picture is pretty clear. In spite of my effort, I drink a bottle of wine a day. Three quarters of a liter is the average. The standard deviation, or the average deviation from the average, is one tenth of a liter. The maximum is a liter of wine a day, and the minimum is half a liter. At any rate, my stomach is much less bloated than before, when I drank about double of what I drink today. Once again, Danilo’s diagnosis seems to be right on the money. Returning to my effort, it strikes me as quite serious, if not even valiant. Which only goes to show that my fight to reduce my daily alcohol consumption will not be easy. Far from it. It will take quite a while, as well. All I can do under the circumstances is to endure. And to promise myself never to give up. Never ever. Amen.

Addendum III (September 27, 2014)

More than three months into recording, I am doing rather well by my own standards. Now I drink a bit less than a bottle of wine a day. The average is seven tens of a liter, to be exact. The standard deviation is two tenths of a liter. The maximum is double the average, and the minimum is a quarter of a liter. So far, so good. In three more months, the results will be appreciably better still, I am quite confident. A year from now, I will be drinking a glass or at most two a day, which translates into two to three tens of a liter. This is my goal, and I will get there soon enough. And then I will quit recording, too. It will have exhausted its lofty purpose.