THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016
FEATURES
Woman needs to stop singing
Dear Annie: I work in an area
where we are allowed to listen to
the radio during work hours. This
is great, as I enjoy the music. The
problem is, one of our co-work-
ers feels the need to loudly sing
along to the songs. It is extremely
annoying and also distracting.
I am hoping this letter will be
an eye-opener to all of those peo-
ple who act like they are audition-
ing for a talent show at work. This
is not the place. If you feel the
need to sing, go to a karaoke bar.
Even my earplugs can’t drown out
her voice. Any suggestions? —
Not Taylor Swift
Dear Not: Have you spoken
to your co-worker about not sing-
ing? Or at least singing more qui-
etly? You don’t need to disparage
her talent. Simply say that you
ind the singing rather distracting
and could she please tone it down
so you can concentrate on your
work. Be nice. Be friendly. You’d
be surprised how cooperative peo-
ple can be when you approach
them kindly. You also can ask
your supervisor to speak to this
co-worker, explaining that her
vocalizations make it dificult for
some people to get their jobs done
eficiently. And you might want
to invest in a set of good quality
Annie’s
Mailbox
Creators
Syndicate Inc.
Kathy
Mitchell and
Marcy Sugar
noise-canceling headphones that
will put her on mute whenever
possible.
Dear Annie: For the last 25
years, my brother’s wife, “Ruby,”
has been stealing my pain pills and
whatever else she thinks she needs
or can sell to her friends. At irst,
I was unaware of this. I thought I
was miscounting my pills or drop-
ping them on the loor. But one
day, I picked up a new pill bottle
and noticed that half of them were
missing. I had just come home
from knee surgery and needed that
medication.
After that incident, I developed
more devious and secure ways to
protect my medications. Someone
(Ruby swears it wasn’t her) used
a pry bar on two small bathroom
safes and again stole the pills.
Worse, she replaced a few with
identical-looking pills that I didn’t
notice right away. I had a terrible
reaction. I’m lucky the pills she
substituted didn’t kill me.
I inally bought a small safe
that connects to the wall. Then my
mother’s jewelry started disap-
pearing. So we put all of the house
valuables in the safe. This worked
well until Ruby lifted the spare
key from sister’s purse.
I was under so much stress,
that my therapist recommended I
move out, but I am disabled and
my funds just don’t stretch that
far. Fortunately, my sister sold her
condo. We plan to rent a house
together and move my mom in.
I know that Ruby will never
admit that she’s the thief. She
thinks this is a victimless crime.
But if I don’t get my pain meds,
I can barely get out of bed in the
morning and my whole day is
shot. — Need My Prescriptions
Dear Need: If someone is
stealing, but you cannot prove it,
your best recourse is to lock up
your valuables where no one has
access but you. If your sister has
a spare key, she should not keep it
in her unlocked purse. We’re glad
you are moving to a more secure
location. And thanks for the warn-
ing about taking the wrong medi-
cations. That can be lethal.
5A
Tomorrow’s horoscope
By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.
ARIES (March 21-April 19). It’s time to
convince the childish part of yourself that
your higher-minded self is worthy of just
as much respect as the other authorities in
your life and then a whole lot more.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re in a
position to be a tiebreaker; however, it is
very likely that you will see both sides of the
argument and agree with neither. Don’t vote
just because they ask you to. There has to
be another answer.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You’re learn-
ing the intricacies of an existing power
dynamic. What will it take to become so
self-sufficient you no longer have to deal
with this? Someone is going to be put in
charge of you, so it may as well be you.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). The work
doesn’t have to be pretty; it just has to get
done. Make this your mantra when too
many ultimately meaningless details call
out seductively to you like sirens on the
rocks.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You’ve a gen-
uine respect for younger people, as you
see the unique creatures they are — better
equipped for the future than anyone before
has ever been. Older people also have your
admiration and loyalty, in a different way.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There are sa-
cred places in the world that are kept secret
from people who wouldn’t understand them.
Your humble spirit will ingratiate you some-
where that a proud attitude would never be
invited.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). No one is the
same in every situation. You’ll be around a
person who brings out a rarely seen side of
you and shows you something about your
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
potential that you didn’t realize before.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There are
many ways to get attention. People around
you now seem to be pulling out all the
stops to get yours, some by being attrac-
tive and successful, others by being loud
and needy.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your
instruction will be valuable help. You’ll also
be excellent at matching individuals to the
jobs they are best suited for and the people
they are most compatible with.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Don’t
assume you’re being understood or even
heard. You may be surprised at what peo-
ple are taking away from your conversation,
and unless you check in and ask for feed-
back you won’t really know.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The fun-
ny people in your life are probably about as
high-maintenance as they are intelligent —
and so worth every ounce of attention you
pour into the relationship.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). When you
don’t know what’s going on behind the
scenes, waiting for it to come together can
be anxiety-provoking. The more you learn
about what’s involved in a production, the
easier it will be to flow with the timing of it.
TUESDAY’S BIRTHDAY (May 24). It’s a
DIY kind of year. You may not wind up as
autonomous as you expected to be, but
you’ll have a much higher quality of support
around you, because of your independent
spirit. Love decorates the next 10 weeks
with surprises. The fantastic story that un-
folds in September is one for the memoirs.
Pisces and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky
numbers are: 8, 20, 1, 22 and 18.