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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2017)
6A FEATURES Her singing annoys us Dear Annie: I go to a small Dear Sick: Time to close the school, with only a handful of curtain on these lunchtime musi- people in my graduating year. cals. We all do embarrassing We’ve all known one another and annoying things from time since kindergarten and first grade, to time, and someone has to tell and we all spend our time talking us it’s become too much. That’s what friends are for. As for hurt- and interacting as a group. ing her feelings, you Sometimes at the DEAR don’t need to be bru- lunch table — or when a tal to be honest. Tell her conversation dies down ANNIE that it’s nothing personal and we’re sitting in com- — that even if she were fortable silence — one Beyonce, the singing of my friends, “Laura,” routine would get old. starts singing to herself. If the little nightin- This is bad enough gale can’t abide by that, on its own, but she is not she’ll have to fly off a very good singer. She Lane and find another table. takes voice lessons and Annie Creators Syndicate Inc. You’re her friends, not was taught to do some- her audience. thing weird with her Dear Annie: This is in voice that is extremely annoying to listen to. Sometimes someone response to “Child Forever,” who in the group will try to ask her to is feeling pressured by her par- stop, claiming to be tired or have ents to live closer to home even a headache and saying the sing- though she is enjoying life in her new city. I just felt compelled to ing is aggravating it. No one likes her singing. But give your initial response to this she just doesn’t seem to get the writer a thumbs-up. I had loving yet smothering hint. She keeps doing it when- ever she isn’t actively participat- parents who seemed to think of ing in the conversation. I don’t me as a perpetual 10-year-old. think this is socially acceptable, When I went away to college, but how can I tell her it isn’t with- they would make frequent unan- out hurting her feelings? — Sick nounced visits. When I secured a job in a neighboring town, they of the Singing THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2017 TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. made frequent surprise visits there, as well. The reason they gave was that they wanted to check on my welfare. They often said something like, “We haven’t heard from you for a few days.” So there was some passive-ag- gressive guilt tripping. I know that their intentions were good, but I realized it was up to me to get control of the sit- uation. I arranged to meet them weekly, sometimes in a neutral setting to buy them lunch, some- times in my home so they could feel reassured about my living arrangements and frequently in their home to help with projects and more. This virtually eliminated the unexpected visits. It also let them know that I valued time spent with them. And the lesson I took away from this is that that was what they really desired — time spent together. — Previously Smothered Dear Previously: Way to take the bull by the horns and promote communication over passive-aggressive behavior. If your parents didn’t see you as an adult before that, they most cer- tainly saw how grown up you were afterward. ARIES (March 21-April 19). Not only is it natu- ral to feel defensive around people who have a history of socking you when you’re not expect- ing it: It’s advisable. Likely this has to do with the soft jabs of a loved one. Arms up; protect your head; duck and cover. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s a point at which too much conversation clouds the meaning of things instead of making it clearer. While some seem committed to talking things to death, you jump in and fix it. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). It takes a confident person to risk being misunderstood and maybe that’s partly why you’ll do it. Plus, you’ll learn more from people who are dissimilar to you than from people with whom you have a great deal in common. CANCER (June 22-July 22). When things get a little more colorful and dramatic than is com- fortable, be grateful for it. Were you to be limited to a very confined and unvarying society, you would be quickly bored to tears. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Discipline is just not something you easily come up with on your own right now. Enlist the help of a coach, a champi- on or a supportive friend. Not only will you get results; you’ll feel loved in the process. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Before you get into the mix, remind yourself of your purpose. While you’re at it, revel for a few minutes in what you’re all about. Because if you’re not sure of this, someone will come along and fill in the blanks for you. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your big dream of the day may not be anything too spectacular; rather, it’s a small personal accomplishment or meaningful exchange that drives you to work deliberately and connect warmly with 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 others today. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Don’t be sur- prised if, when you sit down to make a positive plan of action, negativity comes first. Work through the grievances. Once you give them airtime, they’ll go away. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Fun-loving people are the best when fun is chief on the agenda. What about when it’s not? If their love of fun is stronger than their love of doing the job at hand, trust your instincts and get the right person for the job. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’re an art- ist. This doesn’t always present itself in the way some people think about creativity, but there are so many ways to turn life into a beautiful experi- ence. That’s what you’ll chase today. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Sameness leads to staleness. Seek variety and diversity. It takes an effort to mix things up, and you’ll probably meet with resistance from those more fearful than you. Do it anyway. Everyone will be better for it. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). It’s a day to read and learn. Social topics, in particular, will be lucky to know about. They’ll also be as exciting to read up on as any fiction, because this learn- ing paves the way to new adventures. TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (Feb. 21). A few stellar choices will carry you up this year. Happiness is having a pure strong love in your life. You’ll put quite a lot of effort into estab- lishing a habit over the next 10 weeks. After that, living the way you prefer will be nearly automatic. There’s intense competition in March and September; get serious. Libra and Scorpio adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 8, 20, 5, 33 and 16.
