The Calgary Vipers season is heating up as they’ve just finished their first in a five game series against the Yuma Scorpions, winning with a score of 4-1. The Yuma Scorpions are lead by player/manager Jose Canseco, who has captured the awe and ire of the Calgary fans already. The Tuesday game drew an impressive crowd, and with games going up to July 2nd, this is definitely the must-watch series of Vipers’ season.
Since getting hooked on Australian rules football last year, I’ve been wanting to watch a game live. Fortunately, Alberta has an AFL-associated league, and they regularly play games through the summer. I got a chance to go to a game recently and watch the action up close.
Hidden away on Edmonton Trail is the burger joint that is Peter’s Drive-In Burger’s main rival for burger/fries/shake supremacy. Boogie’s Burgers has been operating for almost as long as Peter’s, making some of the biggest and tastiest burgers in Calgary. Operating since 1969, this restaurant has been creating innovative styles of burger, making serious the claim that they have “The Official Burger of Deliciousness.” Continue reading »
Out just beyond the outskirts of Calgary, there’s a provincial park that’s unknown to most who live inside the city. Big Hill Springs Provincial Park is a great place to bring a hiking shoes or a mountain bike. With it’s tufa mounds and elegant waterfalls, the park has a trail about 2 to 3 kilometers long, making it ideal for short morning hikes.
The trails are primarily dirt, so going during wet season might be a sloppy affair. Nevertheless, the trail runs through impressive greenery, and the fresh air and quiet is a welcome escape from the city.
I’ve always had a touch of social anxiety, but fortunately this is something that is easy enough to overcome with practice. Eye contact is one of the biggest parts of social interaction – you can even have entire conversations with nothing but eye contact.
One of the books I read to help me with eye contact was Michael Ellsberg’s The Power of Eye Contact: Your Secret for Success in Business, Love, and Life
There’s been a few other things I’ve found that can help. A big one is working on your posture so that when you walk your eyes are level with the ground, so that you always look straight ahead. This has the benefit of helping you make eye contact right away, as well as giving you a naturally confident gait. Another trick that has worked well is to smile (as naturally as possible) when looking at someone’s eyes – it disarms the direct eye contact, and signals that you are generally interested in the person.
If you follow these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to convey more with your eyes than with your words!
