Sunday 3rd March
11.35pm - As I lay in bed, unable to sleep due to an ever-growing anticipation, I write this by way of a prologue to the journal that will document what I expect to be my most ambitious experiment to date - the testing and assessment of a natural elixir for arresting the ageing process.
Downstairs, my laboratory awaits me newly furnished and fully equipped. And upstairs, already ensconced in her bed chamber, I've secured the full-time services of a Miss Constance Goodbody, a somewhat severe seeming but well regarded spinster, who has agreed to act as both my assistant and my housekeeper during the period of experimentation.
As for the elixir itself, following months of thorough and dedicated research, I am convinced that I have within in me the ingredient key to its ultimate success, namely: reproductive semen.
It is my hypothesis that, imbued as it is with so many of the natural building blocks for human life, regular consumption of fresh semen will prove naturally efficacious in restoring and reinvigorating bodily tissues and fluids that advancing age has atrophied.
To that end, from tomorrow, I will be extracting samples of semen from myself, three times a day, and consuming them in a solution of milk and honey (to aid transit and absorption).
If my theory is correct, I am hopeful of seeing and appreciating a whole swathe of positive regenerative effects within a month of regular testing.
As such, I feel that tomorrow cannot come soon enough.
Monday 4th March.
9.00am (Extraction #1) - Even before commencement, Miss Goodbody has proved her worth to the experimental process by raising a number of extremely pertinent points regarding the method and validity of testing.
Firstly, she suggested that the efficacious effects of semen produced and then consumed by a single individual might be negated by any number of unknown or unforeseen biological factors. And that, because of this, the credibility of the experiment might then be brought into question by any subsequent peer review were this particular method of testing adopted. To address this potential problem, she proposed that it be her - an entirely independent and biologically unrelated subject - and not me, on whom the elixir should be tested. And, lastly, she suggested that diluting my semen in any kind of solution might compromise or degrade its restorative properties and that, if she were the subject of the testing, she would readily take it undiluted and unadulterated.
As I struggled to find fault in any of her arguments, I agreed with her proposals.
So it transpired that, after witnessing the extraction, Miss Goodbody accepted my first sample and consumed it without a moments hesitation.
I must add that I find Miss Goodbody's early enthusiasm for the experiment most encouraging.
3.00pm (Extraction #2) - Miss Goodbody's enthusiasm grows.
Not only does she consume my sample with gusto, but she has now insisted on taking charge of the collection vessel during extraction as a precaution against any accidental loss of semen during the throes of ejaculation.
9.00pm (Extraction #3) - Following the extraction of a slightly depleted sample, I am beginning to wonder if this thrice-daily procedure is asking too much of me. But, once again, Miss Goodbody seems to have the answer. She has offered to prepare me an aqueous tonic of pineapple, honey and pumpkin seeds three times-a-day to both nourish me and prevent any further depletion of ejaculate.
As it is Miss Goodbody (and not me) who is now the subject of the testing, I have had to rethink my assessment strategy. Although I'm certain to modify it at some point in the future, to begin with I have decided that I will simply observe and record her physical and mental conditions and note any significant changes.
Whilst I feel it far too premature to believe that the elixir could have had any real effect on her yet, I am, nevertheless, heartened to observe a lessoning in the severity of Miss Goodbody's demeanor.
And so, I end this first day of experimentation in good spirits, hopeful that testing will continue in a similar vein tomorrow and that further progress will be made.
Tuesday 5th March.