Lonesome Cosmonaut

2011 has been a strange year, but no doubt I’ve learned plenty this year. As with previous years, I’ve collected wisdom that I’ve found along  the way:

• A new bed is worth it
  I had a lot of oddball injuries this year, but my body has felt a lot better since we bought a new bed. You don’t need a top-of-the-line model, just something better than your 8 year old IKEA futon.
• Make a conscious effort to find your weak spots
  I was having some issues listening to conversations in loud places, so I took a speech reading course. After just a few short months, problem solved.
• Don’t buy tech gifts for loved ones
  I’ve found that giving gadgets to loved ones just leads to eventual frustration, and isn’t worth the hassle. Instead, get them positive experiences – something they’ll remember getting years later. Skip the iPod.

• Do crazy things
  I went on the COP zip line this year, and I must say there’s nothing quite like the feeling of free-fall.
• Good things sometimes go away, so enjoy them!
  When I heard the Calgary Vipers had folded, I was heartbroken. Still, I got to go to a lot of games, and those memories will stick with me for a while.
• Learn another language
  After the lip-reading classes, I realized how important communication really is in life. I got a free account with Memrise and have been learning French ever since.

• Read more
  As a memory exercise I tried remembering every book I’ve ever read. I opened a Goodreads account to put my list in, and soon found myself using it to also store which books I own but haven’t read. After tallying it up, I’ve found I own 100+ books that I haven’t read yet (easily 2 years of reading material). I’ve taken to spending more time in the evenings reading and less time watching television.
• Treat all disasters as opportunities
  When my resident status was in limbo, I took the time out to really enjoy Calgary (in case I wouldn’t see it again). My immigration did finally sort itself out, and instead of worrying I got to see the beauty the city has to offer.

2012 is going to be an exciting year in a lot of respects, not the least of which is getting married. Here’s to another great year!

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. He has a few good exercises that can really improve your eye contact.

• When walking, look at people’s eyes just long enough to see their eye colour. Then move your eyes laterally
• Make longer eye contact with clerks and waiters
• Relax your jaw when smiling
• Look into your friend or partner’s eyes for 3 minutes (this one is a fun one)
• Look into your own eyes in the mirror

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!

I had a good time writing about the life’s lessons I learned in 2009. 2010 has been a really good year, and once more I thought I’d share what I’ve learned, which has so far has been invaluable. Continue reading »

This year I took another stab at National Novel Writing Month, determined to finish after last year’s poor performance. 50,123 words later, I’ve written down some personal good practices that I’ve discovered along the way. Continue reading »

Zombies are a menace to humanity, and having witnessed the carnage of the zombie invasion of Millenium Park, it’s all too clear to me just how fragile our society is when subjected to these bloodthirsty beasts. Make no mistake, zombies are mindless, godless, and intent on carnal destruction. I’ve even heard from some fringe elements that they are also communist (this last part has yet to be verified). Having survived the “Massacre on Millenium,” here’s a few pointers that could save your life.
Continue reading »