FEATURES
6A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
Friend needs help with funds
Dear Annie: A group of us
have been friends for more than
40 years. We graduated from high
school together, but while the rest
of us went to college, started ca-
reers and settled down with fam-
ilies, “Ray” was smoking pot,
partying and working paycheck to
paycheck in an entry-level job. He
was so wrapped up in “doing his
own thing” that it never occurred
to him to have a relationship.
Now we are nearing retirement
age. The rest of us are able to take
time to travel, pursue our interests
and spend time with our families.
Ray is still living hand to mouth.
And every time we get together or
see his Facebook page, he is grip-
ing about how hard his life is and
how much he envies us.
We’d like to point him toward
services that might be able to help
him a little bit and show him how
to make a realistic budget. The
services have to be free, though,
because Ray won’t take “charity”
from the rest of us, and if he has to
pay for anything, he won’t be able
to afford it. There’s no guarantee
he’d take advantage of even a free
referral, but we are tired of hear-
ing him carrying on about the life
that, after all, he chose for himself.
Do you know of any free resources
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy Mitchell
and
Marcy Sugar
that could rescue someone who’s
always been clueless about mon-
ey? — Ray’s Friends
Dear Friends: It’s romantic
to “live for the moment,” but that
doesn’t mean you cannot also plan
for your future. You undoubtedly
know that, even with outside as-
sistance, Ray might not change his
ways. It would require an entirely
new mindset, and that takes effort
that he seems unwilling to make.
You can look into Debtors Anon-
ymous at debtorsanonymous.org,
or get information on local credit
counseling through the Federal
Trade Commission at consumer.
ftc.gov. (Search “choosing a credit
counselor.”)
Dear Annie: I am responding
to the letter from “W.,” whose
neighbor constantly complains
about the noise from her town-
house, even though she’s not doing
anything particularly noisy.
The neighbors living in the
condo below me used to phone
and yell at me for practically any
noise. They complained about the
way I walked in my home even
though I went barefoot most of the
time to assuage them. They went
to bed at 8:30 p.m. and expected
me to shut down then, as well.
They spoke to an attorney who
told them I wasn’t breaking any
noise ordinances, but they still
called incessantly to complain and
were sometimes verbally abusive.
So I spoke to my own lawyer. He
suggested that I ignore them, but
I told him I was being harassed,
bullied and verbally abused and
that I was not going to put up with
it. If they were that sensitive, then
they should have not moved into a
condo with neighbors living above
them. The lawyer and I resolved it
by presenting them with his busi-
ness card and informing them that
any future complaints were to be
directed to him. If they complained
directly to me, it would lead to a
lawsuit for harassment. — N.C.
Dear N.C.: Threatening to sue
someone is always an option in
this country, although we think it
should be a last resort. Too many
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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). You will be
learning the ropes in some way. This is no
time for making up your own rules. You can
do that later when you’re the leader. Right
now, focus on duplicating the instruction to
the best of your ability.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Some flash-
es of insight feel brand new, while other in-
sights feel like ancient knowledge resurfac-
ing. Both kinds of thinking will come to you
on this intellectually charged day.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). There’s still
a space you’re holding open for the return
of the one who left long ago. Occasionally,
you’ll get a haunting — a surprise pop-in
visit, a dream or a wonderfully vivid mem-
ory. This will happen today.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). For you,
being creative isn’t just something to do. It’s
an actual survival impulse. It’s also what will
motivate today’s best work, a combination
of acute inspiration and the driving need to
make something.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Injustice can be
subtle, but usually, even if you don’t notice
it right away, you leave the scene with a
sense that something wasn’t quite right.
Work it out until you realize what’s off. You
can make a difference.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re a prob-
lem-solving machine. You’ll speak your
mind, ask for the truth, hear when it’s not,
get to the bottom of it and have everything
handled by the end of the day.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The opposite
of confidence is self-consciousness. At this
point, wondering how you’re doing will only
diminish your performance. Commit wholly.
You might be wrong, but at least you’ll be
FRANK AND ERNEST
BLONDIE
THATABABY
SALLY FORTH
PHOEBE AND HER UNICORN
B.C.
LOLA
DILBERT
SIX CHIX
BIZARRO
MUTTS
NON SEQUITUR
BABY BLUES
WIZARD OF ID
ZITS
ROSE IS ROSE
strong and wrong.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). The same
challenge that used to worry you to the point
of insomnia is now so easy for you that you
could win it in your sleep. The only problem
is now you long for a worthy opponent.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Ac-
tivities that you could do alone, such as
reading, listening to music or watching
television, will be made sweeter and more
interesting when you do them with a friend.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’ll mo-
tivate yourself by envisioning either the out-
come you’re most afraid of or the outcome
you most desire. Try both. The first will be
intensely effective, the second pleasantly so.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It’s not that
you’re trying to be emotionally unavailable
toward a certain person; it’s just that your
emotions are all tied up in another situation.
You have to sort it out before you can invest
yourself in any other direction.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). People who
need constant attention and validation take
a lot of energy to be around, which is why
you make the effort to be self-sufficient in
this regard. Self-appreciation and care is
one of your gifts to the world.
WEDNESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (Dec. 16).
Birthday Challenge: Come up with a “pow-
er pose” you can strike at any moment to
help you feel like the extreme winner you
know you can be. Physicality plays into your
success this year. You’ll improve your diet,
fitness level and general manner of moving.
February brings romance; March brings fi-
nancial freedom. Cancer and Scorpio adore
you. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 20, 14, 19
and 38.