Everybody loves to say legit.
It's like it's the SAT word of the week or something.

Don't get me wrong. I like to say legit too. But lately it's got me wondering. Does it really mean anything?

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legit

One entry found.

Pronunciation:

\li-ˈjit\

Function:

adjective

Date:

1908

slang : legitimate

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1.	legit	793 up, 139 down
	Real. Meaning: Not fake or Real(Cool).

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legitimate

2 entries found.

1. ¹legitimate (adjective)
2. ²legitimate (transitive verb)

Main Entry:

¹le·git·i·mate

Pronunciation:

\li-ˈji-tə-mət\

Function:

adjective

Etymology:

Middle English legitimat, from Medieval Latin legitimatus, past participle of legitimare to legitimate, from Latin legitimus legitimate, from leg-, lex law

Date:

15th century

1 a: lawfully begotten ; specifically : born in wedlock b: having full filial rights and obligations by birth legitimate child>2: being exactly as purposed : neither spurious nor false legitimate grievance> legitimate practitioner>3 a: accordant with law or with established legal forms and requirements legitimate government> b: ruling by or based on the strict principle of hereditary right legitimate king>4: conforming to recognized principles or accepted rules and standards legitimate advertising expenditure> legitimate inference>5: relating to plays acted by professional actors but not including revues, burlesque, or some forms of musical comedy legitimate theater>

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Alright we get the point. It means for real. Or something like that. It makes sense when you're talking about a movie or a song or something. But when you start hearing it in sentances like

"Oh dude! My mom's home made orange juice is so legit!!!"

or

"I like Mark. He's a legit guy."

That makes you stop and scratch you head a little

Perfect Flaws

I think it's safe to say that everyone's goal in the world is to be 'perfect'
It's what everybody dreams about.

But would being perfect be all that great?

Take Twilight for example.
The Cullens are smooth, godlike in physical appearance, and just 'perfect' overall.
But because they are so perfect, they intimidate all those in their wake, isolating themselves in the process.

Is that what it would be like to be perfect?
Living in your own little world, unable to relate to anybody?


Humans by nature are flawed. To be perfect would be to be inhuman. If you think about it, alot of our talks with our good friends are about problems. If you were perfect, you wouldn't have problems. How would you ever be able to become close to someone? It's like trying to discuss your issues with the spider on the wall. I'm sure he won't be able to relate.

To be flawed is to be perfect...ly human. It's just the ways in which you are flawed that change the way you are perceived by other people.

Trends, Change, and the World

Trends are really interesting. It's unclear who starts them. In our modern day society, everyone is content on being a conformist, just 'going with the flow' or doing what everybody else is doing.

If you stop to think about it, you really wonder how trends get started.

That's exactly what I did today. I sat there and wondered how trends got started. I came to an interesting conclusion.

You know those people that everyone calls 'weirdos?'
Yeah, those people who hang out with the other 'weirdos.'
They're 'weirdos' because they dress differently, they talk differently, they act differently than the rest of the general population.

But if nobody ever acted different, would society ever change?

If the naked crab way back in the day never decided he was tired of being cold and put on a shell, would we have the hermit crab today?

If the Quadopus back in the way never decided he was tired of having only 4 legs and grew 4 more, would there be the animal we know today as the octopus?







If some random guy there didn't decide he was going to wear the ugliest shoes in the world and not care at all what people thought about him, would we have ever been introduced to crocs?(TM)

Change in the world isn't like the mailman. It doesn't show up every day Sunday on your doorstep at 12 pm just waiting to be recieved.

Change, whether big or small is like driving to the mail office to get your mail. It requires a big bowl of idea, a half pint of motivation, and exactly a tee-spoon of pro-activeness.

Everybody aspires to do something with their lives that affects someone else's. It's the people who turn thought into action that are hoisted up, heads and shoulders above everybody else, and proclaimed heroes, saviors, messiahs, miracle people, whatever you want to call them.

Honestly, everybody in the world could do the same.
We're just all too lazy.


So quit reading this blog and get off your butt and do something to change the world.
Well I guess you could start small.
The world's a big assigment for a rookie (; .

"Somebody once asked for some change to get some has 'I need to get myself away from this place'

I said yup, what a concept, I could use a little fuel myself and we could alll use a little chaaaaaaange."

[Background Music Fade out]

Tangant of the Day

I'm just going to put a thought out there
This is something I've wondered for a very long time.

What's at the front of a traffic jam?
Can YOU [I] be at the front of a traffic jam?

I've always imagined the front of a traffic jam being a tandem of cars, and in front of them, miles and miles and miles of unoccupied road just waiting to be driven over.

Doesn't that sound awesome.

The Escape

No, I'm not running away from home.

My pet has not escaped the house.

No convict has recently broken out of the county jail.


....What could this entry possibly be about then?
This is so....AMBIGUOUS [Thank you freshman vernacular]

ok enough flaunting of 9th grade vocabulary.
Let's get to the bottom of this.



R

E

A

D




T

H

I

S



Ok that was really obnoxious.
What I'm really trying to talk about in this post is movies.

Wait no sorry I meant.....


movies.

.


Yes, movies.

[Insert reader's name here] says to computer screen: "What? that doesn't make sense at all! I watch movies while sitting on the couch. What does this have to do with escape? I thought this was going to be an interesting post! Man, this blog is really going downhill..."

Movies are an escape from the toils and boredom of normal, repetitive, tedious routines of every day life.

Haven't you ever walked outside one day and just wished it was raining gumdrops of something?

Don't even dare to say no.

Haven't you ever wanted to be a swashbuckling pirate looking for mountains of treasures?

Yeah, don't even think about saying no.

Haven't you ever wanted to be stalked by an insane teacher that kills all your friends and does bad stuff like that?

Eh...I think we'll pass on this one.

Bottom line, movies are like a hole in the world.

Not to say that as a bad thing. It's like movies are a hole in the world that you can just hop into and disappear for a while, be someone else, somewhere else, doing some thing else. Think about it as teleporting into a different time, place, into a new life. It really lifts any burdens you have off of your shoulders for a while, removes all of your stress. Hey, who knows, maybe it even has health benefits, or something.


Everybody needs to get away once in a while.

Quotes

"The harder you fall, the higher you bounce."
-Doug Horton

The first thoughts I had upon hearing this quote was that it must only apply to bouncy balls, people on trampolines, or anything else made out of rubber.

Definitely not to people though.

Even though nowadays people say 'Gotta bounce'
I'm pretty sure they aren't thinking of this quote

Ok. Ok. Ok.
No more weak attempts at humor

honestly, this quote is really inspirational. It's nice and straightforward, encouraging one to forget a setback, a loss, a rejection, and spring back with more gusto than ever before.
It's simple too, but goofy enough to make you stop and think: 'Wait....huh?'

Here's the perfect case example of an embodiment of this quote.
See if you can guess who this is.

• 1831 - Lost his job
• 1832 - Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
• 1833 - Failed in business
• 1835 - Sweetheart died
• 1836 - Had nervous breakdown
• 1838 - Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
• 1843 - Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
• 1848 - Lost re-nomination
• 1849 - Rejected for land officer position
• 1854 - Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
• 1856 - Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
• 1858 - Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate

Any guesses?

He's a teeny shade over 3 foot 2
Wears funny hats
Lies come out of him like water out of a sprinkler


I lied. He's the opposite of all of that.


It's honest Abe! United States President.

You'd figure after sucking so much, he was bound to have something go well for him. Law of averages, right?

anyways, goes to show, even though he was beaten down over and over again, Abraham Lincoln rose up better than ever before and what do you know, even though he failed about a million times, in the end he captured the presidency.

Hope you learn something from that


Gotta Bounce
(;

Morning Adventure

This summer, my friend Krishnan [A.K.A. water buffalo] and I have dedicated as many of our mornings are possible to running at least 2 hours a day.

Yesterday was our morning debut.
Boy, was it a debut.

We met up at the stoplight across the street from the high school and made our way to Montalvo, so we could climb the hill. Krishnan insisted on going from one of our friends' houses because 'that was the only way he knew how to get there.'

Turns out, he didn't even know how to get there from there.
We would have been completely lost..if it weren't for a kindly middle-aged woman with a dog whom we wittily dubbed [Woman With Dog]

It was actually kind of weird. Every time we got lost, She'd be right there with directions. IE: no it's a left turn, or up that driveway, or down that street.

On one of our countless blunders along the road, we met an old man with a dog who also kindly gave us directions. We decided to be more creative with his nickname and dubbed him [Grampa Olivarri]

skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip

Attacked by a fatty bug.
Poisonous.
Gross.
Tried to attack my head too.
Ran up and down.

OK sorry about that this is the worst post ever.
Bottom line.
Morning Adventures are fun


Good thing we live in 'Toga, not Oakland.
Otherwise this might have gone really differently.

When You Wish Upon a Star

I've been listening to tons of Disney music lately, but I've really been stuck on 'When you wish upon a star' from Pinocchio. When I listen to music over and over, I start analyzing the lyrics and thinking about all of the possible real life scenarios and interpretations.

The lyrics are as followed.

"When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dream comes true"

Listening to it over and over again, I come to appreciate it as a universally uniting song. Change the lyrics to adapt to your own life, and you can sing the song with your own story.

Example: The typical Teenager.

When you wish upon a star
I could get a brand car
Anything my heart desires
Should come true.

Example 2: Your typical terrorist

When you wish upon a star
I could start a nuclear war
Anything my heart desires
Will come true.

Example 3: Your angry farmer

When you wish upon a star
My neighbor will be covered in tar
Anything my heart desires
Will come true.

As demonstrated, the lyrics can be adapted to be 'anything the heart desires.'
It's good that this stuff isn't for reals though.
That'd be a disaster.

But it's good to have a lil dreamer in all of us

Seizing the Moment

It seems like sports has a funny way of inspiring my posts.

Today, while I played my friend in foosball, [Foosball is a sport. No arguments.] I came upon a situation in which the ball was trickling slowly towards my goal. I judged the momentum of the ball and deemed that it did not have the speed to fall into my goal, instead, I assumed it would stop softly against the goal railing, providing me with an easy motionless ball to control.

As the ball rolled closer and closer to my goal, I thought: 'What if I'm wrong? Is there any harm in hitting the ball before it even gets a chance to reach my goal?'
At that point, it was too late.
Contrary to my predictions, the ball was not stopped by the rail and plopped into my goal pocket with a dead thud.

This scenario starkly reminded me of a similar theme that I've been experiencing, and having difficulty with in my life lately: "Seizing the Moment."

Take the foosball episode for example. Had I seized the moment and gone ahead and delivered a crippling blow to the ball, the ball would have been cleared out of my side of the field, perhaps I might have even scored a goal. Even if my friend had pulled one of his annoying deflection kicks and scored on me, the result would have been the same as when I did nothing.

Passing up oppurtunities and doing nothing only limits your options, and by doing so you have taken control of your future out of your own hands.
It's something that I've stubbornly ignored up to this point in my life, and it's been killing me.
I can do nothing but wonder about the possibilities.
Never let someone else dictate how your future turns out.

It's important to live in the present while simaltaneously thinking about the future.
After all, there's a reason it's called 'The Present.' It's a gift. It's supposed to be great.
If it wasn't supposed to be awesome, they would have called it 'The Burden," or "The Nuisance," or something stupid like that...


P.S. People who know me pretty well are probably giddy with a case of 'I told you so-itis'
To them I say:

You told me so.

Lesson of the Day

I'm prodding the bottom of both of my feet right now.

You know how when you order pizza, sometimes it comes with those air bubbles that are fun to burst and then eat from the inside out?
Well...I have them.
Two, in fact.
On the bottom of both of my feet.
Only they're neither fun to pop, nor edible.
In fact they're blisters, and they're quite painful.

No more 6 hour basketball marathons in super thin non-supportive shoes.
It will never turn out well.

Enigma

I'd like to say I'm confident.

I'd like to say I'm intelligent.

I'd like to say I'm witty.

I'd like to say I'm talented.

I'd like to say I'm mature.

I'd like to say I'm wise.

My dad would like me to say I'm responsible.

I'd like to say many things.





I'd like to--but none of it would be true.
Don't get me wrong. That'd be totally sick if it were.

But I'm am none of these things.
Sure I'd like to be perceived that way, to emanate all of that as part of my natural being, but it would all be an illusion.

It's all just a mask.
Behind the smoke and the mirrors, the charade put forth in search of public acceptance, I'm really just another lost person looking for an identity.

But honestly,

aren't we all?


Confronted by the question : [Who are you?]
You'd probably answer that with your name, occupation, and possibly various titles and accomplishments.
And yet they're just meaningless words, holding up the structure of society, but at the end of the day worth nothing.

It's the one question that quite possibly might never be answered.
Because identity is what people spend their entire lives searching for.

Goals

A group of my friends and I have recently been trooping over to Will's house after school to play basketball. It was fun stuff. I discovered I could knock down pull up jumpers like it was nobody's business. It became my strong point, the first thing I would mention in a head to head argument about basketball skills.

A week later, it was still the same routine. Just one thing changed. I couldn't make a single shot beyond a layup. Frankly it was flat out ridiculous. I wasn't even consistently missing in a uniform fashion. I was all over the place. Wide, high, low, you name it. I missed. I tweaked my shooting mechanics constantly. Nothing seemed to help. I just got more and more frustrated.

After taking some flak from my friends, especially the water buffalo, I'd pretty much had enough. I went outside to play some basketball in the backyard to relax after doing some finals studying. Same old story. Left, right, up, down, I missed in every possible manner. Tired of tweaking my mechanics, I thought: "Hm, well it isn't so important how I make the shot, as long as I do." With that in mind, I shot around some more.

It was amazing how such a little change in mindset could change my game so drastically. It seemed like as long as I focused on landing the ball in the basket, it would be in any time. Well, almost. [If that was true, forget school, hellllo NBA.]

At this point, you must be thinking 'Well, that's all cool and stuff...but what does this have to do with goals...'

Getting to the point.
After my return to shooting respectability, I realized what my flaw was all along.
I'd become so enamored with my technique, convinced that that had to be what was wrong with me that I'd become so obsessed with how I'd achieve my goal [shooting into the basket] that I had completely taken my mind off of what I was trying to achieve by fixing my mechanics in the first place.

In essence, it's not really important what manner you achieve your goals in, but it's important that you never let it slip from your mind what you set out to accomplish.

It's important that you don't lose your way.

First Things First

Let's set one thing straight.

Honestly, are you wondering why this blog is called 'Chasing my Hot Air Balloon?"
Me too.
Cool, glad we're in the same boat.

You're probably confused now. I'm wondering about the blog's name, you're wondering about the blog's name, who knows the story behind it?

In truth, no one does.

This blog was started on sheer impulse, only because i felt compelled to get my thoughts down in words
The name? Sheer spontaneity.

So Impulse and spontaneity are pretty much the foundation of this blog.

What's soon to come?
No idea, but a voice in the back of my head tells me..yeah, you guessed it, it'll be random, hectic, silly, pointless, and not to forget, spontaneous.

Glad we could set things straight