People always seem to have expectations of us, especially as we get older. In a typical progression of American middle-class life, people go from being carefree teens and college students of whom not much is expected (and in fact mistakes are often expected to occur at this stage of life) to being adults in the [...]
Tag Archives: Life Balance
touch base, as in "we will touch base at the meeting" — To ensure
everyone has the same information. In baseball, a player who is touching a base
is not in danger of being put out. May also be a military term. Another
explanation is that a player briefly touches each of the bases when he runs
around after hitting a home run; therefore "touching base" is briefly checking
in (this is more similar to the meaning in the above example). It may also refer
to a seldom enforced rule, 7.08(d) which implies that a runner must touch base
after a batter hits a foul ball which goes out of play.
One Drink At Work, One Too Many?
In our culture there are many drinks: the relaxing-after-work beer, the celebratory glass of champagne, the with-dinner glass of wine, and the social-lubricant cocktail. However, in most office environments booze and work don’t mix, so what do you do when there is drinking at a mixer, happy hour, or office party when the line between [...]
Fighting Back Against The Quarter-Life Crisis
These days, it’s not uncommon to hear about our peers changing careers, pursuing graduate studies, or even taking a sabbatical to work in Africa. This is the point in our lives when many of us begin to think about the path we’re on, and wonder if we are on the right track. If we feel [...]
Tattoos More Common In Young Professionals
Getting a tattoo may result in your mother crying while your father tells you you’re now unemployable, but is this true? Well…your mother will probably cry, but you’re not necessarily unemployable. Body art isn’t reserved anymore for sailors or bartenders alone, but has now become common for all walks of life, from doctors and engineers [...]
Burnout—A Deeper Look
Burnout is a term that is commonly used to describe the plight of many employees in which extreme stress related to demanding work environments causes emotional and physical fatigue, stress, and other negative effects. Individuals from diverse industries, including health care, business, real estate, social services, and many others, can suffer from burnout. I [...]
“Recession-Proofing” Your Happiness
Sorry to begin the title of this post with a sort of “non-word”. However, with all the talk about the troubled economic state of our nation I have been hearing the term “recession-proofing” in relation to many things: recession-proofing your relationship, your business, your budget, your IRA/401K, and the list goes on and on. I [...]
Recession-Busting Tips for Getting a Job in Tough Times
There is a lot of doom and gloom out there. With all the grim headlines, it’s pretty easy to feel down and out about your job search. If you were laid off, downsized, or euphemized, then it’s hard to stay positive and vigilant about taking a bright, successful next step. The good news is that [...]
You Have a New Friend Request
Today’s economic environment has proven that almost every industry and profession provides little job security. Whether we work for a Fortune 500 corporation or start-up business, we are all “self-employed”. Corporate downsizing, outsourcing and consolidation are ever increasing the volatility in our employment and the frequency of our job changes. Networking, both social and professional, [...]
The Picture of Calm
Leading up to this President’s Day, I caught myself feeling surrounded by the image of Barack Obama. First, passing by a parking garage on my usual walk to work, I noticed the attendant’s computer flanked by two identical photos of a waving Obama. “Whatever gets you through the day,” I thought dismissively. Later, I [...]
Touching Base
Last week a friend of mine text messaged me during the day to ask if I'd be joining her that night at Karaoke at Four Farthings, a cozy irish pub in Lincoln Park. They've got karaoke every Thursday night, and a group of my friends can usually be found there a couple of times a month. We know the bartenders, the waitresses, and the guy who runs the karaoke machine was even a guest in my home this past Thanksgiving. But all of that is mostly beside the point. Ok, it's entirely beside the point. So, after getting this text from my friend Lisa, I responded that I was most likely going to be there that night. Her response was this: "Sounds Gr8. Let's touch base later".
Now, I'm aware that we live in a world in which we constantly say things we dont really mean: "Hi, how are you?", "Take care", and my personal favorite – "talk to you later (TTYL!)". We dont really care how the other person is doing, "take care" means I hope I never see or talk to you again, and TTYL simply means "leave me alone". But "touching base"? I know what that really means is "let's be in touch", but how did such a simple phrase turn into touching base? What base? Whose base? Mine, yours? Is there a neutral base? To find out more about this, I went to the source of all of life's information: Wikipedia. This search left me even more confused. Here's what Wikipedia told me:
everyone has the same information. In baseball, a player who is touching a base
is not in danger of being put out. May also be a military term. Another
explanation is that a player briefly touches each of the bases when he runs
around after hitting a home run; therefore "touching base" is briefly checking
in (this is more similar to the meaning in the above example). It may also refer
to a seldom enforced rule, 7.08(d) which implies that a runner must touch base
after a batter hits a foul ball which goes out of play.
Huh? how is this even close to an explanation?
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