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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2019)
A6 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 24, 2019 Long-distant friendship Dear Annie: I’m in a really Distance cannot take away bittersweet situation. I hit it a bond like that, especially off with a friend who hap- with the technology that we pens to live quite far away. have now. You could Face- The time we’ve spent hang- Time often with the person or ing out has been awe- use other similar tech- DEAR nology. The friends some, and I’m beyond ANNIE you lost due to dis- thankful to have them tance were not the right in my life. But I’m friends for you. Real frustrated by the dis- tance. I’m not scared friends will be with you we’ll drift apart, but no matter how far away I am anxious about you are. The reverse is how little face time we also true. You can be have between meet- ANNIE LANE physically right next Creators ups. I’ve lost friends to lots of friends and Syndicate Inc. due to distance before, not feel that deep con- nection you are talking and while those times weren’t pleasant, this one’s about. It is the connection that different. This person really is to be treasured, not the phys- just gets me in a way I have ical presence. With all that said, see where trouble articulating. Any tips for not going crazy? — Far- it goes. Perhaps the more time away Friend you get to know each other you Dear Faraway Friend: might organically move closer Just because a person is phys- to each other. ically far from you does not Dear Annie: I am having mean that they are far from trouble with my sister-in-law. your heart. Finding a person Every time I try to talk to her, in your life who really gets she interrupts me. I have told to you should not give rise to my husband about this, and he anxiety but rather comfort in basically says that there isn’t knowing that there is some- anything he can do about it. In one out there who understands turn, I try to avoid her as much you. as I can. But it’s hard to do that at family functions. What can I do to make her stop? — Signed Annoyed Dear Annoyed: Being interrupted can be rude and very annoying. But get- ting angry or avoiding her all together is not the solution. Try your best to be gracious and firm with her. Let some of the interruptions go. Some- times the interruptions might be helpful or supportive of the conversation. If the interruptions con- tinue, you could politely say, “Let me just finish what I’m saying so I don’t forget my point” You could steamroll the conversation by continuing to keep on talking until she gets the point that you are not going to stop until you are finished. Lastly, I would speak to her privately. Be direct, kind and honest with her. My guess is that she is unaware that she is doing so. Some people are socially anxious and much more focused on the impres- sion they’re making than on the exchange. The interrup- tions might be coming from a place of wanting to impress you. TOMORROW’S HOROSCOPE By Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc. best part. ARIES (March 21-April 19). You know who needs help. You can see it in their eyes, their body language, word choices ... this is delicate. Proceed gently, letting people know you are open to hearing and understanding them without directly asking. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Find the real thing. There will be no good substitutes. The fakes could work for a few days, but they won’t stand the test of time. So go on a quest, if you have to, looking for the genuine article. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). A gift can feel like a burden when you don’t know quite how to use it. Take a breath, thank the giver (or your lucky stars, if appropriate), and then don’t worry so much about it. Let this develop naturally. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). It’s good to know people’s reason for doing what they do, es- pecially if they’re doing it with you. Of course, they may not be aware of the reasons themselves, but don’t let that deter you. You’re very perceptive now. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). As it turns out, what you used to think was your fault is not your fault at all. There were obstacles you couldn’t understand at the time, factors in play that preceded your involvement. So shake off the guilt. It never was yours. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Maybe you don’t think what you’re doing is all that special, but it’s really not for you to say. How could you? You’re too close to the work to see what the others see, or to know the true value you bring. CANCER (June 22-July 22). This isn’t a competi- tion. You don’t have to be the best, brightest, most creative, quickest, coolest or anything else. What you really need to be is finished with this deal so you can move on. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Just because the tag is missing doesn’t mean it’s free. Similarly, just because you do not currently understand the emotional cost of an interaction, it doesn’t mean there won’t be one. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). There are many people who will be very happy to see you do well. Know- ing this will be a key part of your motivation. If you start to lose steam, then just imagine the smiles on their faces when you cross the finish line. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Human interaction involves a million tiny details. You’ll never get all of them right. So don’t harp on the little things that go terribly wrong. That’s part of it. Maybe even the 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 AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). You’re feeling empowered to follow your own whims, especially when they lead you to different physical locations than you normally haunt. You’ll go where you please, and you’ll please where you go. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). “Don’t wake up a sleepwalker,” they say, though it’s unclear what would happen if you did. And what of the sleepwalking that doesn’t involve REM? The urge to gently nudge the wrongheaded may be too interesting to resist. TOMORROW’S BIRTHDAY (April 25). With curios- ity as your guide, life unfolds before you in strange and unexpected ways. You’ll partner with people as adventurous as you are to terrific ends. You’ve a knack for attracting the right people to advance the thing you’re working on at the moment, both personally and professionally. Aries and Sagittarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 50, 3, 30, 44 and 10.
