My day started with severe grogginess and exhaustion. Five days of workshops, brainstorming, meetings, running, laughing and eating had depleted my energy. Flying from Orlando to Los Angeles with a stop in Charlotte, NC didn’t help. In fact, I was grumpy. Really grumpy. Then we arrived in Los Angeles and thoughts of swaying palm trees, 75 degrees and sunshine were washed away by torrential downpours, news of flash floods and crazy drivers.

I arrived at my temporary home, located in Downtown LA, completely out of it. I think I even fell down the stairs because my body just didn’t want to move anymore. I decided a night at my family’s home would be best. Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen any family faces in four months. That’s about 3 1/2 months longer than I usually like to go. The little tike above is my nephew who so kindly decided to roar in my face to say “hey, Nino.” My energy took a significant spike up after this shot was taken.