October in Storybookland

Thursday night, I finally made it to a playoff game with my friend Sue, an Executive Editor at The Mag (and a Red Sox fan). Although it took us two-and-a-half hours to get to the stadium, which is 42 miles from my house, it was worth it. It was a fun game—especially considering I anointed myself an Angels fan for the night.

It was easy to see why the Angels topped our Franchise Rankings this year. The stadium was great, the vibe was fun and family friendly, and the fans were a classy kind of dedicated. The woman in front of us, clad in a Gurrero jersey and wielding two Thunder Stix, turned to apologize each time she accidentallly wacked me with a stray Stick. And when, in a heated moment, she threatened to beat up the Yankees fan standing to my right, she then apologized profusely to the woman. Apparently her mouth runs more quickly than her brain.

After the game, Sue said she felt like we were leaving church on Sunday morning. As we walked out of our row, fans on both sides of the game were shaking hands and complimenting one another on a “good game.” That it was. The Angels pulled it out and now head to NYC for game six down 3-2. I hope they pull it off. I’d love to go back for a World Series game!

Red all over …

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Two more things I’m loving about Storybookland right now:

Cirque du Soleil’s new show, Kooza, which is currently playing under the big top at the Santa Monica pier. One of my favorites. My sides still hurt from laughing and the Wheel of Death is to die for.

Core Performance Center, a spinoff of Mark Verstegen’s Athlete’s Performance, a private-training haven for NFL and MLB players with locations in Arizona, Florida and California. CPC is available to regular folks like me, and it is like no other gym in the country. It celebrated its one-year anniversary this week and is located in Santa Monica, next to SM Orthopedic (home to some of the best sports medicine surgeons in the country, including Dr. Bert Mandelbaum, who is fixing a SLAP tear in my shoulder on Monday). CPC also employs a huge number of female athletic trainers, which I loved. Every woman I met was a former college athlete, extremely knowledgeable and someone I’d want to hang out with outside of the gym. It’s my new favorite SM hangout. (Minus the rehab.)

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