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Birthday surprise: office filled with balloons dangling personal testimonials

Cory Doctorow at 3:14 pm Mon, Mar 9, 2009

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Felix sez, "It's my birthday today, and my fiance Liz surprised me by filling my entire office with balloons - each one attached to a note from a friend or family member. The balloons are all floating above me as I type this. I feel like I'm working inside an art installation. Sending this your way in the hopes it brings a smile to you, as it did me. And also sending it to brag that I have to best fiancee EVER."

It's true, Felix! Marry that one before she floats away!

Awesome Birthday Surprise: My Office, Filled with Balloons (Thanks, Felix!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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  • Tenn

    Did anyone else ever experience a sort of whole school ritual where you send off hundreds of balloons tagged with little postcards and a message?

    Did that about twelve years ago with my kiddie church group. Was highly entertaining, we wrote addresses on the cards in hopes of getting mailed back.

    It was about two weeks later when I stumbled upon information that told my tender young mind what happens to birds who accidentally ingest balloons.

  • Cigarsam

    Happy birthday Cory!
    Mine is today.

  • Takuan

    balloons`and plastic bags look like jellyfish and the turtles eat them. Do biodegradable balloons exist?

  • Teller

    I think this is a very nice sentiment and I toast Felix, but, to me, balloons are the kiddie clowns of the inanimate world.

  • igpajo

    My wife’s family has done something like this for some of the elder grandparents birthdays. They label a big jar “The Memory Jar” and have everyone in the family write down little anecdotes, favorite memories and stories about that person and then they all get stuck in the jar. Each time they’d spend about half an hour reading just some of them and by the end everyone was laughing and many were in tears. Makes an incredible gift. That jar was always displayed in a prominent place in the receiver’s home. Probably made for a great pick me up on a down day.

  • symbionproject

    thought balloon above your head
    filled with things i should have said!

    freezepop:
    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=264139236&id=264138843&s=143441

    happy birthday!

  • bbonyx

    Reminds me of a Valentine’s Day gift I did for a GF once. I took a bag of Hershey’s Kisses, pulled out all the little “flags” that say “Hershey’s”. I then printed (on tissue paper, which matches the flags perfectly) lots of little inside jokes or references to our life together and things I loved about her. Cut them in strips so that they matched the original flags, placed them in the re-wrapped kisses and gave them to her in an appropriate V-Day package. It took her a bit to realize that they had custom inscriptions, but once she did she loved them and opened them voraciously without even eating most.

    Feel free to use.

  • unicorn breath

    i have a fairly unconventional office space, and i didn’t get any notes (boo hoo), but i have recently come to work to find the place filled with balloons too, and can attest that it is a slightly surreal and surprisingly heart warming experience.

    here are mine:
    http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/59/n69014136513475645881.jpg

  • Boeotian

    imagine a birthday piñata in the office!

  • brie

    Very sweet, have a fantastic bday!!!!

  • Lexica

    How sweet! Many very happy returns of the day (to you both).

  • Johnny Cat

    How very awesome and cool. I even dig the fact that it reminds me of the Sloth death scene in Se7en. Happy Birthday, Felix!

  • Manooshi

    @#9 IGPAJO: Thanks for sharing about the Memory Jar. What a beautiful family ritual.

    Shitty that balloons aren’t eco-friendly, but what pure awesome sweetness. Aye yay yay.

  • LSommerer

    Super romantic!! Balloons are the way to go! I just read about a proposal done this way. (Note to all of you single guys out there.)
    http://blissfuldyn.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-challenge-you-to-have-better-story.html

  • stanfrombrooklyn

    Now we know why the economy’s tanking. Now get back to work.

  • Beca_is a geek

    that is super cool and sweet!!
    Ive thrown surprise parties before and they are very rewarding to plan and to see someone’s expression the whole day time the party is going on :)

  • wolfiesma

    Did anyone else ever experience a sort of whole school ritual where you send off hundreds of balloons tagged with little postcards and a message? I think that kind of thing might be frowned upon today for environmental reasons but I still think it was a pretty imaginative and whimsical experiment.