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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2017)
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2017 FEATURES Tired of friend’s complaints Dear Annie: I’m writing to you victim in a lot of areas of her life. And that’s part of why I’m regarding one of my best friends, “Melanie.” Melanie and I are both scared to confront her. I want to tell in our late 20s. We met in college her that she’s been talking about and bonded over our senses of these same problems for years humor and our preference for stay- and it’s time to change, but I know ing in and watching a movie over she’d be offended. Lately, I find myself going out to frat parties. DEAR screening her phone calls She’s been there for me because when I get home during some hard times. ANNIE from a long day of work, She’s one person I can rely I just don’t want to hear on to always answer my the negativity. I feel bad calls and be there for me, for avoiding her. I want and I appreciate her. to be a good friend. What But she seems unable should I do? — Emotion- or unwilling to get out of ally Exhausted the rut she’s been in for Lane Dear Emotionally: the past few years, and it’s Annie Creators Syndicate Inc. It’s frustrating to watch a become increasingly frus- friend languishing in a rut trating to listen to her com- plaining about the same things that she could easily climb out of. every day. She took a retail job out But if you tried to yank her out of of college, just to make ends meet it, she’d only pull you down into until she could find something in the wallowing hole with her, and her field. Five years later and she’s that would be a toxic place to be. still there, and I’ve had to hear So keep a healthy distance between you and that aspect of her, not just about it pretty much every day. I’ve tried to help her look for for your sake but also for hers; by jobs and sent her lots of links to job listening to her venting about the postings, but I’m pretty sure she same problems every day, you’re hasn’t actually applied to any of actually enabling her not to change. So draw the line. Tell her your them. She always has a list of rea- sons — e.g., “I don’t have time to New Year’s resolution is to not apply for jobs,” “I need to update dwell on negatives. Whenever she my resume.” She tends to play the starts up the “woe is me” routine, tell her that you’re happy to discuss solutions but if she just wants to talk about the same problems again, you’re not able to listen. Eventu- ally — let’s hope — she’ll get out of that rut all on her own. That will give her the self-confidence to keep the momentum going. Dear Annie: Your answer to “Worried About Mom,” who is looking out for his or her elderly mother and trying to protect her finances, perpetuates a misunder- standing about power of attorney. Someone’s having power of attor- ney does not allow him or her to take control of the other person’s checking account as you said. Power of attorney allows some- one to do things for the other per- son — “for” being the operative word there; it can’t be against the person’s will. In this case, “Worried About Mom’s” power of attorney cannot stop his or her mother from giving money to the ne’er-do-well sister. Having the mother found incompetent and obtaining a legal guardianship would be the only thing that could do that. — Heard It All Before in Lafayette, Ind. Dear Heard: Thank you for your insight. I encourage anyone in such a situation to consult an attor- ney for proper legal advice. 5A TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Collaborate. The compromise you strike will be worth it, as long as you approach it like an experi- ment. What can you discover by working with others that you could not find out by working on your own? TAURUS (April 20-May 20). You’re in the mood to uncover a mystery. It seems by now something would have come along to pique your interest. Alas, you’re going to have to go searching for new inspiration, unanswered questions and purposeful quests. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Optimum productivity isn’t really about how much you get done; it’s about getting the right things done — the things that matter to you, make a difference to others and possibly enrich and improve your overall experience. get you there with more grace, stability and certainty. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You have no interest in making a “good” impression. You want it to be spectacular. You want them to be thinking of you long after you’re gone. If anyone can cast such a spell, it’s you. Re- straint and a sense of mystery are key. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You’re in danger of digital overload. Try this radical idea: real life! Meet in person. Tell the joke or the story to someone’s face. The payoff for actual human contact will be brilliant. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). The one you interact with most, in your head or other- wise, is the one you’re having a relationship with. The dynamic doesn’t have to be positive for it to be meaningful. CANCER (June 22-July 22). The beautiful thing about a fantasy life is that it can be anything you want it to be and, no matter how big and wild it grows, it can always stay contained in your head and completely portable, with you wherever you go. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). The journey ahead gets increasingly interesting and demanding, too. Answer the challenge by planning to get more sleep. You’ll need to be sharp, and sleep deprivation will only lead to mistakes. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your wish will be granted precisely as asked. This will inspire you, in the future, to ask in even more spe- cific terms. You’re getting better and better at accepting help, by the way. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your pa- tience is legendary, and you’ll stick with the program, person or project long after others would have given up. Your intuition tells you to hang in there, and it won’t steer you wrong. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). If you’re wonder- ing why you can’t seem to give a care about the work at hand, it’s because the stakes aren’t high enough to motivate you. So make it more fun. Impose a severe limit or an outrageous reward. TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 8). People want to know you and be a part of your team this year, not because of what you can do for them but because of who you are. Your talents are a perfect match for the March agenda. August shifts the energy to your physical self, and you’ll get stronger and fitter. Leo and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 4, 20, 44 and 17. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Though you may fantasize about making a drastic change, the reality is that a series of small steps will 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
