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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2016)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MAY 16, 2016 FEATURES Worker brings down morale Dear Annie: I have a co-worker who often shows up late, constantly complains about how he doesn’t want to be “here” (in this city, at this job, etc.), spends most of his time reading Facebook posts aloud or trying to chat with the rest of the people in our department and gen- erally wastes his time when he’s supposed to be working. Our department works on a very strict deadline, and he often inds himself in a time crunch at the end of the day and asks the rest of us to do his work for him. When we say no, he either calls our boss to complain that we “aren’t helping” or tries to scare us by saying that it’s “everyone’s fault if we miss deadline.” Several co-workers have tried to explain this to our boss, but this guy always has some excuse that our boss is more than willing to believe. I am pretty sure it’s because they were friends before our boss was promoted. But this co-worker is making our boss look bad, along with the rest of us. I think our boss is truly blind to the fact that this guy barely does his job, and produces subpar work. It bothers me that this whiner is dragging the rest of the department down. What should I do? — Con- Annie’s Mailbox Creators Syndicate Inc. Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar fused and Frustrated Dear Confused: We think your boss overlooks this guy’s ineptitude because it’s easier than dealing with the situation and possibly losing a friend. But it damages the com- pany, not to mention morale. If there is a human resources department or your boss has an immediate supervisor, this is where you should direct your complaints. Make it a group effort with others from your department. Don’t criti- cize your co-worker’s personality. Simply say that you are concerned deadlines will be missed. If told to send your complaints to your boss, explain that you have already done so and it hasn’t made a difference. In the meantime, encourage this co-worker to look for another job, perhaps in another city where he will be happier. Try to do it with sincere concern for his well-being. Dear Annie: This is in response to the letter from “Morose Mom,” whose adult children kept borrow- ing money and never paid it back. As each of our children grad- uated college and went on to lead adult lives, we instituted a very strict rule: Your credit is only as good as your last loan. They had to pay back one in order to borrow again. And guess what? It worked. We’ve had every loan (we don’t charge inter- est) repaid and would not hesitate to let our children borrow again, espe- cially if they found themselves in an emergency situation. When my husband went back to college for a post-doctorate, we found ourselves with not quite enough money to make it to grad- uation. His dad loaned us $5,000, and as soon as my husband started work, we began paying Dad back. After the entire amount had been repaid, Dad’s wife said of all the adult kids, we were the only ones who had ever done so. — Respon- sible Adult in Florida Dear Florida: You did it right. Unless parents want their loans to be gifts, a repayment sched- ule should be set up and followed. A parent who continues to loan money to a child who never repays it is asking for a lot of aggravation. 5A Tomorrow’s horoscope By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. ARIES (March 21-April 19). No matter how experienced the authority figure purports to be, you may come up with an endless supply of better ideas today. Depending on the sit- uation, these might be best kept to yourself. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). If you’re giv- ing more to a relationship than is prudent, sustainable or healthy and yet it still doesn’t seem to be enough, that points to a faulty relationship, not a faulty you. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). An impulsive mood could inspire you to gamble today, and not necessarily with money. There are many commodities that are far more precious than money to put at stake — like your self-es- teem or your emotional resolve. CANCER (June 22-July 22). Be careful not to seek proof of your own legitimacy. Just because you have yet to achieve success in an area doesn’t mean you don’t belong there. Claim your right to be there. Assume it’s where you’re supposed to be. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). The potential en- ergy that is bound up inside of youth will be invigorating to be around. You’ll help, guide and contribute to the next generation, and this will benefit you in many ways. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You can only commit fully to one plan. You have a few choices, and honestly any of them will work, as long as you execute the plan because of the whole person you are — and not be- cause of the hole in the person you are. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). If your happi- ness does not hinge on another person’s interaction or approval, then why is it that ev- ery time you experience this, your heart flies over the moon? Enjoy it for now. It’s not a problem until it is. 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 SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Inspiration is cyclical, so there’s no reason to panic if you hit a dry spell now and again, as evidenced by this afternoon. This is the perfect excuse to drop the routine and follow a juicy little dis- traction. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). The answers are right in front of you; you just have to be observant and analytical enough to recognize them. “When you cut into the present, the future leaks out.” — William Bur- roughs CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). There’s a bit of a trickster in you today. Many will want to play with you, even if it means being the object of light teasing. It’s a form of love that the good-humored will appreciate. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Someone’s agenda is going to be your priority today, so why shouldn’t it be yours? The others need you, sure. But if you’re being honest, haven’t you been indulging them a little too much lately? PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You want progress and get minutiae instead. Perhaps you’ll see better momentum if you celebrate the incremental steps. Test the theory. Drum up some enthusiasm and see if the pace picks up. TUESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (May 17). You’ll learn how to turn a skill into more of a mon- eymaker over the next two months. July brings family together in celebration. You are fascinating to a group and will lead them all in August. You’ll devote yourself to creating domestic bliss and beauty in September and enjoy a very successful outcome. Aries and Virgo adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 1, 33, 30, 4 and 11.