It's Thursday. Which means it's Throw Back Thursday. And in this week's spirit of looking back at some of our favorite moments of BlackBerry Live events in years gone by, today I'm sharing with you a never before seen moment. For me personally, it's not only one of my favorite BlackBerry Live moments, but one of the absolute most memorable moments of my life.... my BlackBerry Surprise Birthday Party!!
My birthday is May 16th, which last year fell on a Thursday - the final day of BlackBerry Live. I had a meeting scheduled on my calendar for 2pm that day, to meet up with a colleague (and awesome friend!) from BlackBerry to discuss some future-looking CrackBerry ideas. It was a meeting that I requested, so no alarm bells went off in my head. We made our way back to the conference room that BlackBerry was using as their makeshift BlackBerry Live HQ for the week. And that's when it happened. I opened the door and walked into HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
I'm not sure on every detail of how it came together (though I do know some of the details and thanked those individuals involved big time!), but BlackBerry pulled together an amazing surprise birthday party for me, complete with a functioning BlackBerry birthday cake!! The room was decorated up and packed with people from BlackBerry, including BlackBerry's CEO at the time, Thorsten Heins. I was also shocked to see the CrackBerry team when I walked in - apparently when I left for my meeting and my back was turned for a second, they all RAN to the party room and beat me there. Everybody knew what was going on but me.
I'm not an easy person to slide something past. Nor am I a person who chokes up easily. And it's rare that I run out of words. On this occasion, I was shocked. Totally shocked. Literally speechless. And while I did my best to fight the tears back, they still dripped down. It was such a nice gesture and it meant and still means so much to me. Even writing this article now, I still choke up thinking about it.
Thank You BlackBerry, for creating one of the most memorable moments of my life with an amazing Surprise Birthday Party!
The party that happened later that night... I don't remember so well ;)
Following the surprise birthday party, the CrackBerry team made their way up to the infamous "lobby bar" for a round of drinks. That turned into an EPIC hotel room party, and me... well... waking up the next morning in a hotel room bed that wasn't my own and not remembering how I got there (I blame the bottle of Cafe Patron of which I consumed way too much). Thankfully, a party full of BlackBerry addicts means plenty of photos were taken, so while I don't remember much of the nighttime festivities I do remember it thanks to the Story Maker video above! :)
All in all, #BESTBIRTHDAYEVER! Thanks BlackBerry!
Read more
Get Ready For It: CrackBerry coverage goes to Orlando next week for BlackBerry Live!
In just a few days the Crack Team will pack up and ship out to Orlando for this year's BlackBerry Live conference, taking place May 14-16th. When I say Crack Team, I mean we'll be there in full force this time - myself, Adam, Bla1ze, Simon, James, Alicia and DJ from the editorial side as well as some other members of the Mobile Nations team for added support (because we're gonna need it...
Get ready for it... the CrackBerry Live Show will be coming to you from BlackBerry Live!
If you can attend BlackBerry Live this year, definitely attend BlackBerry Live. If you can't make it, you'll want to do the next best thing and tune into the CrackBerry Live Show!
Last Chance: BlackBerry Live early bird registration ends today!
Don't miss your chance - BlackBerry Live early bird registrations are still open, but only until 11:59pm ET tonight. If you plan to go to BlackBerry Live in Orlando and haven't yet signed up, take advantage of this rate while you can. If you register today, a full conference pass will run you $449 - after today and it jumps up to $599. The pass gets you access to all the BlackBerry Live...
Registration now open for BlackBerry Live in Orlando
Registration for BlackBerry Live (formerly BlackBerry World) in Orlando is now open. The conference runs May 14-16th and if you register before March 22nd you can take advantage of the $449 Early-Bird rate - after that a full pass will run you $599. The conference pass gets you access to BlackBerry Live as well as BlackBerry Jam Americas where you can take in both keynotes, hands-on...