Review: Mountain Winery

So before I became a real cripple, I decided to spend my last crutches-free weekend wine tasting. I'll break my reviews up into a blog post per vineyard and go from there. The first vineyard I went to was Mountain Winery. Which, I really failed to take pictures... However, I do have to say that the wine wasn't the best, but the place as a venue was great. (If you could ignore the cheesy soundtrack of only artists that have ever played there) If you go to a tasting, make sure that you do the Santa Cruz Mountain wines, those were the best by far.

What I did immensely enjoy about the place was the picnic are, which was perfect when you wanted to chow down after a tasting - and enjoy a bottle while you were there! I thought that it was a great selling point.

A Little Too Much Food For Two People...

Another can't miss feature of the vineyard are the spectacular views, one one side you can see the Silicon Valley and on the other you can see some of the California State Land Preserves. 

The View Driving Down The Mountain

We actually happenstanced upon this place because we were not aware that Ridge was having a Montebello tasting, and thus was closed. This would make a nice addition to a vineyard hopping day in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but maybe the last stop. Ridge would still be the first stop (so the car would have plenty of space for a few cases).

injury, scmjery..

So for those of you who don't know, I tore my left ACL and MCL (two apparently very important ligaments in your knees...) so I underwent ACL reconstruction surgery yesterday. With that being said, clearly I have some time to blog about a few things in the past. But first, I'll let you know what happened :)

The Injury:
I was skiing at the fabulous Alpine Meadows three weeks back where I fell and my binding didn't pop off. This may sound typical, but it twisted in a way where my ACL tore. Unfortunately for my ego, there wasn't even a good story to tell. It literally went, wasn't paying attention on a new run, fell, tore my ACL. My friends think I should just tell people I saw a moose, was startled and then fell. I like their story better, butttt I'm not one to lie. So yeah, totally my fault. To be fair though, I usually ski Squaw, so I really don't know Alpine at all. First and hopefully last time being sledded down the mountain..

Being Sledded Down The Mountain

The Diagnosis:

The first thing I did upon arriving home (besides grabbing a cold one) was talk to our resident sports med doc, Eric. (Yay for doctors in our ski lease!) He thought that it was just a MCL sprain (a sprain is the same as a tear), and that I would be back in 4-6 weeks. Unfortunately, my pain didn't subside at all and so I went to my doctor's at Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) who are amazing. In less than two days, I went to many different doctors and had a my MRI in hand. To be fair to Eric, they initially thought that it was only an MCL tear as well but did a MRI just to be safe. Once they read my MRI, they knew that I had also torn my ACL - which is a surgical procedure to fix. Thankfully for me, my meniscus and cartilage around my knee still looked as it should. 

Torn ACL - The "Frayed" White Part Is Supposed To Be Thin And Black

The Surgery:

The surgery was done by the amazing Dr. Frank Chen who is also the team physician for the Golden State Warriors with past experience with the San Jose Earthquakes and Oakland Raiders.  I figured if the guys who depend on their bodies for a living trust Dr. Chen, I should too. The procedure took about an hour at the Fremont Surgery Center and I was sent home with all kinds of "toys" including: an ice machine that pumps cold water into your bandage that wraps around your knee (so amazing, if anyone has any injuries I would HIGHLY recommend this), crutches and a Kinetec (a machine that continuously moves your leg to reduce scar tissue). So far, everything is great. I was in a ton of pain when I came to right after the surgery, but after drugging me up, I felt great. Still minimal pain as long as I keep the same dosage of Percocet every 4-6 hours (already leaning towards 5.5-6 hours) so I am pretty happy. Honestly the worst part was probably my IV's - one left a nasty bruise and I hate needles so yeah...

Post Op At Home - Note The Nasty Bruise From One Of My IV's

The Recovery:

A lot of physical therapy in my future, but I'm confident that I will have a speedy recovery and I'm already looking forward to ski season 2014-2015! Already bought my Squaw/Alpine/Sugarbowl/Sierra-at Tahoe pass!

Your Playbook to a Global (and Local) Social Media Strategy | Dreamforce 2013 Presentation

Dreamforce 2013 was a great experience. Not only was I able to attend, I was also invited to speak at Dreamforce - something that was an great opportunity for me and it was an absolutely amazing tradeshow to wet my feet on the speaking circuit! For a little extra validation, I was even included in our media alert!

Our SFDC Panel Organizer Sully

Speaking at DF13!

You can listen to the recording on YouTube:

View my deck:

Your Playbook for a Global (and Local) Social Media Strategy | Dreamforce 2013 from Alison Yu

Review: Chimney Rock

As we all know by now (I'm assuming that you read all my blogs you know ;)), I ADORE Napa. I was really blessed to have the opportunity to FINALLY visit Chimney Rock in Napa Valley. I have passed by loads of times and I kept thinking, I really want to check that place out. I finally did after years of wondering.

Chimney Rock

I went up with one of my good friends Alyssa, solely for the purpose of stopping by this particular winery. I have to say that the wines were very good, but the tastings were a bit steep at $35 a pop. Don't get me wrong, I love good wine and there are many vineyards and wineries that I wouldn't mind paying $35/tasting, but unfortunately this wasn't one of them. I usually like to pick up bottles from the vineyards I visit, but I had to pass. The only bottle I could see myself enjoying was the red Elevage (Chimney Rock's signature blends) that they had, however at over $100/bottle, I feel like the wine should have knocked my socks off, which it didn't.

Great ambiance, decent wine, but the prices were a bit steep. Next time I'll skip this and go straight to Stag's Leap.

Kicking off Dreamforce 2013!

I am SO excited for this year's Dreamforce, and I can't wait to kick off another great year! Last year was my first Dreamforce, and it was absolutely spectacular. Of course last year I decided to opt for a "Silicon Valley Chic" wardrobe, but this year I have to be a little bit more formal as I will be SPEAKING there! (Can you tell that I am excited?)

SASSY & I!

The ambiance last year was amazing, I especially loved how they transformed Howard Street. I'm looking forward to what they are going to do with it this year as it is taking place so much later (and thus actually cold).

Howard Street

Okay, ONE LAST PLUG, if you have a full pass, and you don't want to "Lean In" with Sheryl Sandberg, you can "Lean Out" with me on Wednesday from 4:30-5:30 and hear me speak on: Marketing Cloud: Your Playbook for a Global (and Local) Social Media Strategy. Here's even a sneak peek of my session: 

First Slide

Just kidding, but seriously, come see me speak. See you there! If you want to connect at the show, tweet me: @alisonjudy

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Once I arrived home from Europe, I needed to hit the ground running so that I could go to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, one of my favorite San Francisco annual events and music festivals. Unfortunately for me, it felt like it was BLAZING hot (imagine coming from England and mid-50s to California's mid-80s), but it was a ton of fun and I was able to meet up with a few friends who I hadn't seen in weeks.

Hardly Strictly!

This year it was NOT for the faint of heart as it was the only event going on in the city - read: SUPER packed. Putting it into perspective, the year before 250k people attended, this year over 900k! If you didn't want to see things you couldn't ever (and I mean ever) unsee, this is not the event for you. However, as usual there was a great line up! I had a blast and am looking forward to HSB14!

Getting REALLY Cosy

Last Stop: Windsor, England

Train Station in Windsor

During my travels abroad, my last stop was Windsor, England. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to visit (what I perceive to be) the English countryside. It was also great to reconnect with many colleagues and to be able to have dinner with someone else! I ended up staying at the Harte & Garter which was the most charming hotel I stayed at during my time in Europe. It was nicely placed directly next to Windsor Castle, so much so that I could see it from my hotel room!

Fireplace in the Lobby

View with Windows Open

View with Windows Closed

Even though I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time exploring, I was still enthralled to stay in such a lovely place. (It also probably helped that I had already been to Windsor for leisure and not work.)

Random Painted Cow