Time to Shine.

This week is shaping up to be every bit as wild and rampant as last week was, and truthfully, I'm ready to let all of my inhibitions go and just roll with it.

I met a very interesting man at the family dinner party I attended on Saturday night. Through his graying hair, uneven glasses and crooked teeth, I could tell that he was not a man of particularly eloquent status, yet the words he spoke ran deep through my veins like a surge of fresh water.

He first wandered over to our table in a goofy and rather aloof manner about half an hour into the party and started to speak to some of the other people sitting with us. I wasn't quite sure who he was, or whether or not he was related to me, as I had never seen him before in my entire life. I managed to pick up a few things as he chattered on and on, and immediately I knew that he was the joker type. BIG kidder. Probably cracks more jokes in an hour than my uncle Viet does in a year - and Uncle Viet is pretty damn funny!

A couple of drinks and dozens of jokes later, the man finally made his way over to my dad, where they spoke and laughed for a bit before he proposed a toast. "To a fresh start!", he exclaimed, as everyone around us took sips of their red wine. Not a bad thing to toast to...not a bad thing at all. Already I was feeling alive and anew, despite not clinking my cup with the others. I can't drink red wine, so Coke was my beverage of choice for the evening.

About fifteen minutes later, the man came back, and hilarity ensued once more. The man was a non-stop chatterbox. Where does this guy get all of these jokes?! It must be the alcohol. Always blame it on the alcohol, hah. As our table erupted in laughter, he proposed yet another toast: "To new beginnings!". It seemed odd, at least to me, that he would toast to the same thing twice. I wondered if he was trying to repent for a past action of his or whether he was simply too drunk to know what he was saying. At any rate, everyone was having a great time, and so was I, so I sat back in my seat, grabbed another shrimp ball, and let the good times roll.

It wasn't over. Oh no. Not by a long shot. Before I knew it, he was back again! Just great. What was it this time? The usual routine carried out: a few drinks, some more jokes and anecdotes, bursts of laughter, and another toast. Of course. Who could forget the toast?! This time, he yelled out, "To a wonderful tomorrow!". Clink, clink went the cups, and my mind went into a frenzy. My curiosity had risen to the point where I simply had to know what this guy's story was, but before I had a chance to ask him myself, my dad popped the question that I had been dying to discover the answer to: "Why do you keep toasting to these same things, over and over again?" And let me just say this right now...what the man answered with was amazing.

"Why not?", he questioned back to my father. "Why worry about the past? There's nothing that's worth dwelling on. Let's face it: we're not children anymore. Sure, we're not OLD, and we've still got plenty of days ahead of us to do all the things that we want to. But why waste time? Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. All that we have is now. And for that reason and that reason alone, I am constantly reinventing myself. Each and every day, I have a chance to make something amazing with this life of mine. Each and every day, I am a clean slate, waiting to be inscribed upon. Each and every day, I am a brand new person, making the best with what I've got and living my life to the fullest. That's why."

From just one little speech, I have taken, learned, and realized so much. I don't know what the future has in store for me, or what this week's challenges will be. Hell, I don't even fully know what I'm doing today! All I can do, from now until I figure something out, is just roll with it. Let it happen. Go with the flow. Where that takes me is still a mystery, but I'd be a two-faced liar if I were to tell you that I'm not totally stoked to find out. Let's do this thing. Are you ready? Because I sure am.