MeetWell is evolving. The mildly embarrassing personal stories are sticking around, but I’m also building something to make planning your next client outing easier.  

The idea is pretty straightforward: tell MeetWell a little about who you’d like to host, the rough budget, and where you want to go, and get personalized ideas that actually make sense. 

I’m putting together a small beta group to try it and figure out what’s useful, what’s missing, and what still takes too much work.

Want to be one of the first to try it? Reply to this short survey and I’ll be in touch about getting you started.

— Robbie

The November Luncheon brings the advertising community together at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire to raise funds and awareness for Ad Relief, the LA ad industry’s premier charity supporting those in the community experiencing a life crisis.

I think of the November Luncheon as a blend of media-Thanksgiving-meets-the-three-martini lunch. It’s been an annual tradition in the LA media world for decades and definitely has some old-school Mad Men era vibes to it. People get dressed up, have a cocktail (or three) at noon, and spend the afternoon catching up with ~500 of their closest clients and friends in the industry (often while the speaker is trying to speak, which in this case happens to be me!).

This year’s honoree is Jen-Jen Heyl, Head of Partnerships at Omnicom Media. Colleagues often come out to support the honoree, so if you’re looking to mingle with the good folks at Omnicom, that’s another good reason to get a ticket or table together.

Since it’s a big party, I’d think of it less as classic group entertainment, and frame it to your client more as an “I’m going to check this out, do you want to join me and I’ll grab you a ticket?” type of invite. 

There will be tons of photos from this event floating around LinkedIn afterwards so use that FOMO to your advantage! 

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Added Value: I’m currently the Ad Relief president and we have been trying hard to expand the reach and awareness for the November Luncheon, which has historically centered on the local TV and radio. Last year, we saw a meaningful increase in teams focused on other areas of the ad world (national, OOH, social, digital), and we’re hoping to continue the trend to sustain our mission of helping those in our community get back on their feet.

David Sedaris comes to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Tuesday, November 10th for an evening of readings, musings, a Q&A, and a book signing following the release of his newest book, The Land and Its People. Books will be available to buy at the event.

If you have a client who’s a big reader, David Sedaris fan, or feels passionate about elegant civic auditoriums, this is a good one to run by them.

To make an evening of it in Old Town Pasadena, here are a few good restaurants that are open on Tuesdays and within walking distance: 

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Added Value: Being the beloved to an English teacher, I have been dutifully whipped into shape and become a better reader. David Sedaris is one of our favs and we actually saw him do a similar reading performance a few years ago at the same spot. Vibes and levels of adoration were high, sort of like BTS fandom, but for the NPR, book nerd crowd. The line to get your book signed was impossibly long, and he stuck around and signed every last one (which I know because we waited in that long ass line!).

Padel is a doubles racquet sport played on an enclosed court, where the walls are part of the game. It’s often confused with pickleball, and has some key differences including court size, racquet, ball, and scoring. Here’s a good 60-second overview of the difference. 

Padel Up maintains padel facilities with bar and lounge space at both Westfield Century City (an outdoor rooftop space) and a larger, indoor option in Culver City. 

You can host events at either location, but they recommend Century City for client entertaining given the views and easy catering options.

Since many people haven’t played padel, they recommend enlisting a teacher to learn the basics and then getting into open play. 

They provide the padel equipment for private events, and catering can be arranged as part of the event. At Century City, the catering has to come from mall tenants, with Eataly and Katsuya/Casa Dani being the most popular options.

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Added Value: I’ve personally never played padel, but it sounds fun and I’m very intrigued. I also love the idea of activities like this that check a few boxes from an entertaining perspective: learn something new, get the heart pumping, and everyone’s fav: accommodating an early bedtime.

Ever been hanging with a client and conversation just runs dry? Whether it’s recent and topical, or general and evergreen, the Oasis is about giving you one idea for helping in that moment.

Here are a few stories that caught my eye this week.

M&M's are projected to be the most popular candy in California (and the whole West Coast) this Halloween. Can’t say I’m shocked, but I would have guessed Snickers or Butterfingers would have had more representation than Hot Tamales and candy corn.

Some high-end restaurants are switching to more affordable formats. Interesting one from Eater on how higher-end restaurants are adapting to inflation.

Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil has crushed the box office, setting records for both the franchise and its director. I loved his other films Barbarian and Weapons, and haven’t seen this yet but am excited to. A friend who saw it gave me a very 2026 review: “extremely gory but excellent.”

LACMA and Erewhon have announced a permanent café partnership, a museum-exclusive smoothie, and a Calder-inspired merchandise collection. The keyboard haters will hate on the Erewhon LACMA alliance, but I’m here for it.  

Also, thanks to the folks who sent me a note about my Father’s Office vignette of meeting Megan from last week. In breaking news, the first lady of MeetWell herself will be gracing us with her presence at the Meetup on 10/28 6-9pm, at Father’s Office in Culver. 

Would love to have you join us - here’s the RSVP link. 

Thanks for reading. Any feedback is appreciated - just hit reply to this email.