Who taught: Jake and James

These days, James and I are working on the same project. It is really fun to work with other coworkers, sharing ideas and talking about different approaches to solve any issues. Today, there were some requests from the customer. As we work on the items, James and I were sending emails to them and ccing each other. I sent an email with the status regarding an item and, a few minutes later, he sent an email and, in his email, he started with the expression, “To add to that, …….”, referring to my status update. And, a few minutes later, as I finished one of the other items, I sent an email, starting with the expression, “Above that,….” After the email, James pinged me and taught me that he would use the other expression, “on top of that”, instead of “above that.” “To describe a situation when something is stacking up, ‘on top of that’ is correct,” he said. Well, I was kind of confused because I always thought “above that” is the same as “on top of that.” And the literal translation into Korean of the two expressions is exactly same. Well, again, this kind of subtle difference is something I have a hard time. But, it is good because I am learning from my mistakes. (As long as they are not really huge and critical ones to make. I hope I do not make those in the future.)

At around 4:30 pm today, Stan and I started to talk about a woman outside. (FYI, Stan and I are sitting right beside window so that we can see outside.) She was surrounded by some other people and it almost looked like she was trying to teach them. Suddenly, one expression that I learned from Jake the other day came to my mind, “get on your soapbox.” “Yeah, she looks like she gets on her soapbox,” I said. Stan was surprised by the expression I used. “Wow, that is really perfect one to describe her. Nice!”

The simple definition of the expression is : Someone is expressing his/her opinions openly.

soapbox

If you hear its etymology, you will have a better understanding about the expression. So, what is a soapbox? Let me guess! Do you now think about a small box which can contain soap? You know something you can find in your bathroom. Well, it is not that one. It is a wooden box where you can put bunch of soaps. Here is a picture for you! Think about a situation that someone is trying to get attention from other people to make a prompt presentation. You want to be taller than others. That’s why you are getting on a soapbox. But, remember! It does not mean that you need to literally get on a soapbox. The expression just describes someone is openly talking about something he/she strongly believes in. Now, what if someone becomes obnoxious, speaking about something stupid, what would/could you say to him/her? That is right! You can say, “Hey! Get off your soapbox!”