Well, I've been a member of this forum for nearly two years now and I'm getting to the stage where I can start to feel comfortable admitting certain things...I'm a serious drug addict. I'm hopelessly hooked on 2 mg Boots Peppermint Nicotine chewing gum. Honestly, I found some lying around, popped one in my mouth, gave it a chew and now I'm a nicotinotoxicodependent. On the bright side, I have lost weight - I need a belt for my 32" jeans! Result! On the down side, when I go to the chemist to score I look really shifty and say "she wants that," pointing at the chewing gum and therefore inferring it's for someone else :$ On the upside again though, I do have the the best all-day-long, minty fresh smelling breath and xylitol-enhanced mouth hygiene of my whole little hill-top town. I know it sounds a little backwards and makes me seem like the biggest rain-coat jacketed internet weirdo in the world, because the whole idea of using the gum is to beat nicotine addiction not get addicted, but I'm hoping to go cold turkey and beat this once and for all when my PhD is over. The whole idea of not having a piece of gum with my first cup of coffee in the morning seem unfathomable at the moment. Ruby Wax would understand me, I'm sure.
So, the idea of this off-topics thread is thus. For anyone interested, we confess our sins (obviously nothing dead serious) on this thread to one another and hopefully experience a feel of catharsis in the process. So this thread could be really helpful.

I've got another one to get us started.

I was supposed to submit a conference abstract for the deadline of the 22nd of November for an oral presentation. I didn't because I forgot. I've told my supervisor that it was because I submitted my abstract for the wrong academic discipline at the conference, only realised it after the submission date and the conference organisers are not willing to accept the submission (which was on time :$) for my discipline.

Oh it's all coming out now... your biggest vice is chewing gum. I can't wait for the autobio...

I'm not going to do it... really, really, I'm not going to do it; I won't rise to it.

I wash up as little as possible, within reasonable crusting and heallth and safety limits, probably about 4 times a week. This feels like a big deal to me, not sure if it really is.

I stole an original 1950s bottle green beret from the costume place I woked at, but I wish I'd lifted more - they were b******s. There, some criminal activity for people to chew on.

I have a wierd crush on Jeremy Paxman.

I've had a weird crush on Gillian Anderson since I was 8.

Right I can't help it, here goes. So, Clogsy then... are you about to tell us you've been on the game now? Or run an illegal money laundering service? Or been a dealer of class A drugs, surfing the tide of international crime? You need to spill the beans...

I was just about to log off and then I read that. Oh, Eska, thank God this forum is anonymous! Jeremy Paxman of Marks and Spencer's underwear fame?! What is it about female PhD students and their strange fixation on men like Jeremy Paxman? So far on this forum, I've discovered that female PhD students also have a crush on Kevin Spacey (you've got no chance there) and Ben Goldacre. Never mind male PhD students and their apparent infatuation with 'ooh la la, I am so French' Audrey Tatou. I feel vindicated now. I wouldn't worry about your crime, btw, as I'd like to confess that I stole some teaspoons and a cake tin when I did a catering job.

In third grade, I cheated on my history exam. In fourth grade, I stole my uncle Max’s toupee and I glued it on my face when I was Moses in my Hebrew School play. In fifth grade, I knocked my sister Edie down the stairs and I blamed it on the dog…When my mom sent me to the summer camp for fat kids and then they served lunch I went nuts and I pigged out and they kicked me out…But the worst thing I ever done — I mixed a pot of fake puke at home and then I went to this movie theater, hid the puke in my jacket, climbed up to the balcony and then, then, I made a noise like this: hua-hua-hua-huaaaaaaa — and then I dumped it over the side, all over the people in the audience. And then, this was horrible, all the people started getting sick and throwing up all over each other. I never felt so bad in my entire life.

I'm not sure of the Paxman thing has to do with spending too much time watching University Challenge, also, he's so super sharp and grumpy in a morally right way. Don't think the reality would uite pan out thoug, although, who knows.

I am also quite stunned by the male model in the new Channel aftershave ads in a Michael Angelo's David kind of a way. But that's not really a confession I don't think. I don't get Spacey at all.

cc = somehow, none of this suprises me.

I think Cleverclogs may be beginning to integrate into society. Someone just accused him of having an IQ of only 160 and he didn't correct them.