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Relax
Bravo!
What's in store
for local theater
in 2003?
Girl afraid
old crush
will steal
boyfriend
Dear Nat: I have been dating my out
of-state boyfriend for a year. There is a
girl in his hometown who he had a crush
on throughout high school, and he keeps
in regular contact with her. He says they
are just friends, but recently, she has de
veloped an attraction to him. I feel
threatened and worried she will try to
steal him! What can I do?
—Troubled Girlfriend
Dear Troubled: Let’s see, the girl has
a bad case of “I want what I can’t have,”
your beau’s caught a “Women can’t get
enough of me” bug, and you’re suffering
from a “Get off my man! Hiss!” virus.
Every guy deserves female friends,
but this scenario sounds suspicious. I
don’t blame you for wanting to bear
your claws.
Since your
boyfriend is not a
marionette at
tached to strings
and cannot be
pulled in any direc
tion you wish, I’m
afraid verbal com
munication is the
only option for
change to occur.
Tell him that the
time he spends with
this girl makes you
feel unstable in
your relationship and request he cut ties
with her.
And if he doesn’t comply? Then you
have a choice. Stay in a relationship
that gives you headaches, or give it up
until a better one comes along. Warn
ing: By choosing to stay, you have no
right to complain every time you feel a
pang. Personally, if a guy knows his ac
tions are hurting his girl and he makes
no effort to change them, I see a big,
bright, fire-engine red flag rippling
in the wind. So don’t be disillusioned
— read the signals!
Dear Nat: I have a friend who is a terri
ble singer. Unfortunately, she enjoys to
sing along loudly to CDs in my car. She is
aware of her impairment, but continues
to sing while I drive because she sees me
as her only friend who will tolerate it! In
truth, I’ve been waiting for the car win
dow to break every time she opens her
mouth! How can I shut her up without
hurting her feelings?
—A Friend With Aching Ears
Dear Friend: There are a number of
strategies you can use when you get in
the car with her. Turn off the music and
begin a deep conversation. Choose songs
your friend has never heard before and
“lose” those CDs once she learns the
words. Announce you would prefer if no
one sang in your car in order to hear the
artists’ voices clearly.
Or, instead of timidly hinting at quiet
ing her, you could save her feelings and
let it go. A friendship is not worth ending
over a minor character flaw, so when you
get behind the wheel, hold your breath,
maintain your tolerant-friend status and
let her sing. Hopefully your friendship
takes place outside of the car as well,
where you can put her off-tune notes out
Turn to Ask Nat, page 7
Natasha
Chilingerian
Ask Nat
Designing away winter blues
Painting, plants and
maximizing light are just
a few decorating ideas
to brighten living spaces
Helen Schumacher
Pulse Reporter
Every year around this time, it
seems the sun is permanently
trapped behind rain clouds. The
weather report sounds like a
broken record with continual
forecasts of showers. The aver
age student’s once comfortable
and inviting apartment has
transformed into a cold, damp
cave. However, students can es
cape Eugene’s wet weather and
corresponding winter blues by
redecorating their house or
apartment to make it a brighter,
warmer place.
Eugene interior designer De
bra Wade said the easiest way to
change the feel of a room is with
paint. She recommended using
warm colors and earth tones,
such as reds and mustards.
‘‘Pinky reds, lemon meringues,
glazes and pearl essence are all
popular colors,” Wade said.
Cool colors like blues and
greens will only emphasize chilly
weather.
If time and money are too scarce
to repaint an entire room, Wade
recommends just painting an end
wall, which provides a focal point.
The surface should be one with no
door and the fewest windows.
Our House Interiors partner
Dorothy Pritchard said the most
important guideline is that the
inhabitant is comfortable with
the look of the room.
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Some common plants found at Indoor Garden to decorate one's house with
are the Chinese evergreens (bottom) and a Bird's nest snake plant (top).
“Yellow is ■ a bright color,”
Pritchard said. “But personally, I’m
not comfortable living with it. ”
If the property manager won’t
allow a new paint job, Pritchard
suggested buying inexpensive
slipcovers for couches, bright
pillows or artwork.
“With bright colors, a little goes
a long way,” Pritchard said. She
also encourages perusing garage
sales and looking for brightly col
ored glass pieces, which will help
catch and reflect light.
Our House Interiors, located
at 298 Banton Ave., can offer
additional advice for bringing
spring to you.
Eugene’s perpetual winter
darkness also makes it impor
tant to maximize light when
decorating, whether natural or
artificial. Add another lamp to
the room or hang translucent
curtains.
Wade said one way to make
the most of light is by strategical
ly placing a mirror across from a
window to reflect the light.
It is also important that the
space reflects the individual liv
ing in it.
“Pick things that have mean
ing and get rid of the clutter
and things that don’t mean
anything,” Wade said. “Make
the space meaningful.”
Flowers and plants are anoth
er good way to brighten a room.
Indoor Garden employee
Sara Rutledge said a plant is a
great addition to any room,
because “it gives you something
green during the gray days.”
She touted Chinese
Evergreens, Snake Plants and
Pothos as all being hearty and
easy to care for.
Rutledge also advised, “Keep
plants root-bound and don’t
over-water.”
Indoor Garden, located at
1915 W. 11th Ave., offers a large
variety of foliage to match dif
ferent tastes and budgets.
If none of these suggestions
sounds very appealing, there is
always the option of renting
“The Endless Summer II” and
taking mental vacation to
someplace sunny.
Contact the Pulse reporter
at helenschumacher
@dailyemerald.com.
New library looks ‘mildly futuristic’
The Eugene Public Library is
four stories high and contains
everything from computers
to signs to a DVD collection
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
The new Eugene Public Library is visu
ally overwhelming—so much that during
my first visit, I hardly noticed a thing.
Entering the place almost makes you
forget you’re still in Eugene. After living
here for more than 10 years, I’ve never
seen a single building make our place of
residence feel more like a large city.
During my second day at the library, I
made sure to explore and take note of as
much of the new library as possible. The
following are my observations:
The building is large, but quite ele
gant. The layout is divided into four
floors, and there’s a parking garage be
low it all. Right now, only three floors
hold books, with a fourth currently
closed off to the public. Library Public
Services Manager Rob Everett said the
“information services” division will rent
out offices on this elusive floor.
The first thing I did was get myself a new
library card. The lines for this are really
long, but it’s a relatively painless process.
Be sure to bring proof of Eugene residence
— the cost for those who live outside city
limits is #80, per year, per household.
Soon after I received my card, I transi
tioned seamlessly into the new environ
ment and sought out some books. There
are more computers than you can shake
a stick at, and they all have flat screen
monitors, lending to the library’s high
tech appearance.
The first two authors I looked up were
Iris Murdoch and Neil Gaiman. While I
found works of the former relatively easy
(the fiction section is in alphabetical or
der), the latter’s books were strewn in
various places about the library —
Gaiman’s selections were sparse and not
as numerous as the catalog indicated.
Of course, this is to be expected. The
place hasn’t even had its grand opening
yet —that will happen Saturday. There
are signs everywhere asking patrons to
be patient because certain services
haven’t been installed yet. A constant
beep-beeping noise reverberates through
most of the building because people are
still returning books checked out from
the old library.
Library reference assistant Clark Kent
said there are more features in store for
the new library: Extra copies of books,
new books and a DVD collection that will
make its premiere for the grand opening.
The overall design of the building is
mildly futuristic and obviously well
planned by architects. This is evident in
the smaller details — all the information
al signs are bilingual, in English and
Spanish — or, larger things, like how the
third floor overlooks the second, allowing
one to really feel the breadth of the place.
Most impressive were the available
modes of navigation. The staircase lead
ing to the various sections is downright
majestic, flowing in a sweeping spiral
Turn to Scene, page 7
Adam Amato Emerald
Milie the dog takes a nap outside the new downtown Eugene Public
Library, where "you forget you're still in Eugene."