Whoa. I've been watching the news reports about the tornado in Stafford County- there were about 100 houses damaged, several almost completely destroyed. And those were less than three miles away...Counting my blessings here tonight! A few branches down, some plants knocked over, and garbage can moved about 100 feet away! I didn't get to sleep until 3 a.m. last night. The Late Show was mostly preempted for weather coverage...and that damned tornado watch lasted until 3. Plus there was a lot of thunder and lightning, and heavy rain and wind. Not fun.

In other news, I went back to the doctor for a follow up- I've lost ten pounds, and she seemed pleased with my progress with Effexor (it is getting better). So I'm going to continue what I've been doing, and hopefully will lose more weight and get even less depressed!

Finally caught up with Doctor Who, though I missed the Pompeii episode. I watched my tapes of Voyage of the Damned and Partners in Crime and enjoyed them a great deal- I want one of those cute little fat eating creatures for a pet! Of course, they'd make a buffet out of me... :p I watched The Planet of the Ood tonight on Sci-Fi. That was pretty good, too.

From Fragments, mostly. Two pages of 'em, starting at this link.

http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=3142036&view=findpost&p=10093505

Got home really late from the bell festival last night...and I forgot to tape Doctor Who (yes, I'm starting to like Who too) and Torchwood. Oops. Thank God they repeat next week!

Medicine is already making me sick. Hope I adjust to it soon...I'm only taking a quarter of the dose I'm going to end up with!

I did something to my neck while I was at my sister's. Now I've had a headache for three straight days. Time to go back to the doctor. Damn.

I was up part of the night. I'm still so sick about what happened at VT yesterday. The names of the victims are starting to be released. So many bright lights snuffed out because of one madman. I just can't get my mind around it.

Borrowed this icon from brotherflounder . Someone made it for VT's Facebook.

Food rant ahead.

I can't believe how bad customer service has gotten. My family went to Red Lobster for lunch. We placed our order, and waited and waited. Finally, after 40 minutes, our server informed us that the kitchen lost our ticket!!!!!  We had to wait another 20 minutes for our lunch. The server was nice- it wasn't her fault, but she was genuinely upset. She talked to the manager for us. We ended up getting free desserts out of it...a free lunch or two would have been better, but it's hard to complain when you're eating a heavenly dessert on the house. But I still don't plan on ever eating at that particular restaurant again. Some kitchen workers are going to be in big trouble. We weren't the only table it happened to.

Rant over. I've been feeling bad the past couple of days. I may have to ask my doctor to up my medication again, or try something new. I've felt really down this weekend. I really can't say what's wrong. I just can't figure it out. I'm doing what my doctor told me to. I'm exercising more, eating less, cutting back on sugar, and getting out in the sunshine. Maybe I just need a whole damn new life.

http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/noms.html

I'm especially glad about all the nominations for The Queen and Little Miss Sunshine. That darling little girl got a nod!

I was a bit disappointed that Ben Affleck didn't get a nom for Hollywoodland. That was easily the best performance of his career. But most of the nominations are great- though it's clear who will win for the acting: Forest Whitaker for Last King of Scotland, Helen Mirren for The Queen (yay!), and Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls.

2006 was very, very good for movies. And I just love the fact that three of the Best Actress nominees are past 50. Dame Judi Dench is 70, I think. There ARE good roles for older women out there.

Babel and The Departed are coming back to my local theaters. I'll have to check them out. Not so sure about Letters From Iwo Jima, though. I think I want to wait for DVD on that.

On a more serious note, I went back to my doctor. She decided to up my medication slightly...but gave me some good pointers, like I should try to get out in the sunshine as often as possible. Also, I'd lost a little bit of weight in the past six weeks. She told me to keep doing what I've been doing, and I should lose a lot more!

I'm re-reading Jane Eyre. I watched part one of the new BBC version on PBS last week. I liked it, and can't wait for part two. It's nowhere near as good as Bleak House, though.

I hate this new format...it just ate a post. Grrr.

Anyway, thanks to

tselmende  for posting that picture. What a sweet face that man has...he can teach me acting any day!

My physical therapy is done! I have one more session and a re-evaluation, then that's all! Best news I've had all week. It really did help me recover faster than I would have without it. My ankle is still a bit tender at times, but it's manageable.