THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2015 FEATURES 5A Siblings like to take her things Tomorrow’s horoscope By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. Dear Annie: My twin sister and I are 57. Every time she visits me, she takes things. Often, I don’t realize the things are missing until I need to use them, or when I want to wrap them as gifts, which is what happened last Christmas. When this has happened in the past, I’ve confronted my sister, but she de- nies taking anything. However, during my last visit to her new home, I caught her. I was hanging up my clothes in the closet, and to my shock, the top shelf had several of my missing things. I called my sister in to explain, and of course, she couldn’t lie about not steal- ing the items I could plainly see. ,¶P ¿QDQFLDOO\ EHWWHU RII WKDQ P\ twin, but she does quite well, too. I have always been there for her when she needed anything. She lived with me for several years when she had nowhere else to go, and I helped her get out of debt. My brother also steals from me when he stays here. And when my sister came last week, after she gave me her word that she could be trusted, I discov- ered several items missing. Is there a reason people do this? — Kansas Twin Dear Twin: Your twin (and your brother) may suffer from kleptomania, an impulse control disorder that makes LWGLI¿FXOWWRUHVLVWXUJHVWRVWHDOLWHPV that, for the most part, you don’t need and won’t use. Your risk of developing this mental health disorder is increased Dear J.: Most people use their hands when they speak, some more than others. Hand gestures can under- score what you are saying and, to some Creators extent, can also indicate friendliness or Syndicate Inc. engagement in the topic. Keeping your hands still might be misinterpreted as Kathy Mitchell indifference or boredom. But large and and constant hand gestures can be distract- Marcy Sugar ing and annoying and tend to be more common within cultures or families. if you have a parent or sibling with This obviously bothers you a great kleptomania, obsessive-compulsive deal. If you are good friends with some- disorder or a substance abuse problem. one who waves his hands around ex- Your siblings seem to qualify. You can cessively, you can gently point it out talk to your sister, saying that you are and ask whether he would temper the worried about her, and suggest she ask gestures a bit. her doctor for a referral to a mental Dear Annie: I would like to thank health professional. We hope she gets “Powerless” for writing in with con- help before she steals from someone cerns about her atheist friend. I grew who will have her arrested. up atheist in a suburban school where, Dear Annie: I hope my question is although I was a proselytization target, not too far out of line. I have noticed I was fortunate not to experience that many people are not able to talk with- kind of relentless bullying. I would like out using their hands. And they can’t to offer a resource that might help, es- seem to keep their hand movements to pecially if the school district is uncoop- a reasonable limit. I recently stopped erative. watching one of my favorite TV shows The Secular Student Alliance because the constant hand waving is too (www.secularstudents.org) is a group distracting. of students and families who help each When a person I am close to gets out other with situations like this. Please let of control, I lower my eyes and do not Powerless know that she and her friend ZDWFKEXW,¿QGWKHFRQVWDQWJHVWXULQJ are not powerless. I hope both of them very annoying. Why do they do this? remain safe and get through this situa- — J. tion. — W. Annie’s Mailbox FRANK AND ERNEST BLONDIE THATABABY SALLY FORTH STONE SOUP B.C. LOLA DILBERT SIX CHIX BIZARRO MUTTS NON SEQUITUR BABY BLUES WIZARD OF ID ZITS ROSE IS ROSE ARIES (March 21-April 19). Optimism might not come easily, but it will pay off. A sunny attitude will reduce your overall stress levels and help you stay focused on your top priorities, like helping yourself and your loved ones thrive. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You may feel deprived of what you need, when the reality is that you’re only deprived of what you want. It’s not that you’re spoiled; it’s just that you’re getting used to something you ought not to. Get back to basics. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Things break along the way, and that’s to be expected. You’ll have time to fix everything, and all will be working properly when you most need it. Until then, see this as an opportunity to research some upgrades. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Look for the superstars in your area of interest, and study them. They are likely people who have helped many others, gone the extra mile and put the universe in their debt, just as you are doing now. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Ready or not, start investing your effort in the direction of your big goal. It’s going to take hundreds of hours, and for many of those hours, you will have no idea what you’re doing. You may as well start learning now. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The mes- sages you send will create an echo, except that the feedback is not instantaneous, so it can be difficult to understand the cause- and-effect relationship. Just know it’s there and adjust what you put out accordingly. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). You strive to communicate heart-to-heart and soul-to- soul, because at the end of the day, this is the communication that will really make a difference. Today this mostly involves lis- tening with your whole being. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Everyone wants something. You just have to figure out what they want and give it to them. You’ll find out because you assume noth- ing and ask excellent questions. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Each dollar has the potential to grow more dol- lars. This is why you are hesitant to spend on unnecessary, temporal and unmemora- ble items. You even second-guess certain drink purchases these days. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your mind is occupied with love. This is the reason you have the energy necessary to work on critical items and not much more. The 80/20 rule very much applies today. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Watching people react to an entertaining episode of life can be more entertaining than the actual episode. This explains the trend of “reaction videos” on YouTube, and it also explains what happens with you tonight. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). There’s no secret solution. Whatever your goal, it will take work. You can get there if you’re willing to trade whatever you’re doing now for the work you need to do to get to the goal. FRIDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 6). If you’ve forgotten, the sun will remind you that you’re magnificent. To ward against the self-consciousness this may rouse, get on with the business of promoting the people and causes dear to you. Your care is the magic ingredient to motivate others into high production. Your love life is invigorated in May. Sagittarius and Capricorn people adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 45, 1, 11, 24 and 16.