Dear Isabel,

Can you post some clippings somewhere that we can read them? Stories you've done and the papers they've been in?

Can you tell us the angle you expect to take, the type of story you're imagining, and where you'll try to place it?

I'm slightly less cynical than Chubber, but only slightly. But if you can convince me that you're for real, I'll talk to you.

For what it's worth, as far as the original question goes, I adore moobs.

As for self-image, as we've all noted in various threads, we're much harder on ourselves than on others, by and large. I hate my double chin, but I quite like them on others. It's just like that. Take a deep breath and look in the mirror and imagine someone thinking the part you can't stand is hot to someone else. It's not easy at first, but it's fun!

I think exercise is smart. The healthier and stronger you are, the more you'll be able to gain in the long run.

The get-fat-quick plans are about as reliable and reasonable as get-rich-quick ones. Just not a good longterm investment.

I do too many of the things that have been mentioned to list. So I'll just add two:

1. Alphabetising: I also alphabetise my spices, and it's a source of much poking by my daughter, who finds it hilariously obsessive. But when I'm cooking and I want something, I could burn things while looking around among the spice, for pete's sake.

2. Colours: not only do I eat things by colours, but I also have to chew even numbers on both sides of my mouth. So, e.g., if there are 5 green M&Ms, I put two in my mouth, one on each side, chew, repeat, and then for the fifth, I bite it in half, and chew half on each side.

I can also get totally lost in words, esp if I'm bored. Irepeat them over and over in my head until they lose their relationship to their meaning. Then they just seem and sound weird to me. I also break them into syllables and repeat them, and I tense and release muscles in rhythm with the words. OK--very weird, and hard to explain, but yeah...