Pulse Editor
Jacquelyn Lewis
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, January 21,2003
Oregon Daily Emerald
On Thursday
"Crying Waiting
Hoping" for
more Beatles?
Pulse grants your
"Wish"
Roommate needs
to give sloppy girl
‘rude awakening’
with complaints
Dear Nat:
I am a female sharing an apartment with another girl,
and she is a complete slob! I often leave the apartment for
entire weekends, and I’m forced to return to a living room
of scattered clothing, a sink full of dirty dishes and a grimy
bathroom. I usually end up cleaning it myself, and I’ve just
about had it! How do I deal?
— Squeaky Clean Roommate
Dear Roommate:
By now I’m sure you’ve mastered gracefully leaping over
piles of clothing while holding your nose, but I think it’s
time to take more aggressive action. Maybe what your
roommate needs is a rude awakening. Have a few friends
over who are willing to loudly com
plain about the hideous smells and
sights in your apartment. Hearing an
honest opinion from the public could
help your roommate realize how dis
gusting and unattractive her habits
are, and she might feel too ashamed
to leave a mess behind again.
If she remains clueless, try a more
direct approach. Tell her you do not
enjoy putting up with such filth and
that it’s not your job to deal with her
leftover weekend junk. And if a mess
in any corner of your home bothers
and distracts you, explain that limit
ing the mess to her half of the pad is not enough. Request
that she clean up her act entirely!
And who’s saying you have to stay there? You deserve a
comfortable living environment, so if it comes down to it,
pack your bags. Put an ad in the paper: Female roommate
wanted; cleanliness required.
Dear Nat:
I’m a junior male college student, and my parents still call
me three times a week wanting to know everything about
my life. I’ve tried to distance myself, but they won’t let go. I
still care about them, but how can I get them off my back?
— Calling It Quits
Natasha
Chilingerian
Ask Nat
Dear Calling It Quits:
Poor Mom and Dad! They must still get weepy staring at
an empty chair at the dinner table and walking past your va
cant bedroom — spaces that were occupied until just two
years ago. Three interrogating phone calls a week is a little
extreme, so naturally you became irritated and frustrated.
“Distancing yourself’ probably led to a change of atti
tude in your parents’ eyes — a new view of a rude and pos
sibly troubled son. I think your distancing strategy has
caused your parents to worry about you, and now they’re
prone to check up on you more! The next time a call
comes in from the ’rents, say you’d love to talk, but you’ve
got a hectic week full of exciting activities. Sound happy
to hear from them, but end the call quickly. That way,
they’ll picture you having a great time at college and feel
less of a concern or need to bother you. Then, set up a reg
ular once a week time when you can call them — say,
every Sunday. By being the one to make the call, you’ll feel
prepared and in the mood to talk, and one time a week is
much less demanding than three.
E-mail can be a wonderful thing when it comes to com
munication with parents. It won’t suddenly ring at an in
opportune time and can be responded to at your leisure. I
recommend giving a story swap with the folks via comput
er a whirl.
So answer the phone with a calm voice and a quick get
away, take the upper hand in making calls and give e-mail
a shot. Your parents will still miss you, but they’ll be wor
ry-free, and you’ll all be happier and ready to talk when it
comes time.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com. Her views do not
necessarily represent those of the Emerald. Send questions
to advice@dailyemerald.com.
Taste of fine wine
Those who appreciate wine
can experience Oregon**
wine country by tasting what
local wineries have to offer
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
During the past few years,
Oregon vineyards have
emerged as one of the domi
nant producers of wine in the
industry — and wine tasting
events are probably the best
way to develop a discerning
taste for this complex cul
ture. What follows is an in
sider’s guide for discriminat
ing palates in Eugene. Even
if your idea of a fine wine is
found in a box at the local 7
Eleven, this may be a good
place to start.
Wine retailer Sheldon
Glassberg says Eugene offers
many opportunities for both
the experienced and the novice
wine taster. Glassberg’s store,
Sheldon’s Fine Wines, located at
the Gateway Market at 822 Beltline
Road, offers wine tasting events every
Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The se
lection varies depending on what parts of
the world are offering the best vintages at any
given time.
Evidence of the industry’s growth is in the numbers.
According to the Oregon Tourism Commission, the number
of wineries in the state has leapt from 78 to 195 since 1991.
With nearly 25 years of experience under his belt,
Glassberg opened his establishment in 2000. He says
the increase in wine drinking may be traced to a
simple change in the restaurant industry during
the past few decades.
“Twenty years ago, restaurants only offered
wine by the bottle,” Glassberg said. “Now that
people can get wine by the glass, they are much |
more likely to try many different kinds.”
King Estate Winery tasting room attendant
Donelle Pettit agrees that wine tasting is a multi
faceted diversion.
“Wine tasting should be a fun and educational
experience that hopefully broadens people’s
Turn to Wine, page 6
Adam Amato Emerald
‘Lord of the Rings’ books cast spell
Courtesy photo
The trilogy is hard to put down and contains
beautiful language and a vast number of details
Reporter’s notebook
Georgia Billingsley II
Freelance Reporter
For the readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”
trilogy, the books are very much like the One Ring.
Tolkien has a way of easting a spell upon readers.
The novels — after years of reigning on best seller
lists, and with movies based on them in theaters
(“The Two Towers” topped the box office) — intrigue
and lure innocent bookstore visitors into approach
ing them. Then, with their beautiful covers and dec
orative box-set packaging, they beckon to be picked
up and more closely examined. At this instant of
physical contact, all hope of escape is lost.
As the Ring must be worn, so “The Fellowship of
the Ring,” “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the
King” must be read and seen. And the longer they are
held, the harder it is to put them down. The trilogy
and the Ring are very similar, except, of course, for
that whole “evil and destructive” side of the Ring.
One of the many reasons Tolkien’s works are so
irresistible is his power to describe the characters,
Turn to Rings, page 6