Engaged
Originally, a blog post with a title of “Engaged” might have referred to the excellent conference I attended last weekend in Montréal by the name of Design Engaged. However, this time, it is not the case. As inspirational and involved as DE was, I’m afraid it pales in comparison to this different form of engagement.
The Mission
Sixty of our friends were gathered to play a scavenger hunt in celebration of my coming birthday. The game was organized with The Go Game in the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood. Each team of approximately 5 or 6 is armed with a smartphone and a camera and instructed to seek out people and clues throughout the area. Some missions are finding answers while others, called “creative missions” involve taking the camera and taking a photograph or video that would be judged later for its creativity. For example, you might be asked to re-enact a historical scene in dance form.
Secretly, I’d arranged for a final mission for our team which would lead to a certain question being popped. I have so much to tell but this video tells it so much better than any words I could write at the moment.
Go Game Engagement from Kevin Cheng on Vimeo.
The Date
The date on which the proposal occurred and the song that was being played were both significant and related. On 3:27PM EST, June 20th, 2007, before Coley and I were even dating, Coley text messaged me from across the country. The text said:
I’ll walk down the lane / with a haaaappy refrain / just singin’ / and dancin’ in the rain
To which, without hesitation, I responded:
I’m only happy when it rains / I’m only happy when it’s comp-licated
And so, SMS Song Soup was born. On that tumblelog, there was one song that directly referenced days. A song by Chris Cagle which appeared on Day 67, and Day 116. It was to appear one more time, played live. Coley and I explain it in more detail in this video.
Story Behind Day 482 (Engagement Day) from Kevin Cheng on Vimeo.
Thanks
Living with the person you’re going to propose to makes it surprisingly hard to shop for engagement rings, so I’d like to especially thank my longtime friend and coworker Nick for going on lunch man dates with me to acquire the ring and also for playing photographer during the proposal. Two of my best friends, Diana and Mike (who were in on the proposal the entire time), were great to bounce ideas off of and they played their parts in redirecting attention and video recording the whole thing (courtesy of a last-minute loan from another coworker, Charles). And thanks to Cynthia who helped with the logistics and end venue planning. Cynthia also lent her videographer skillz and counted us up to the happiest moment!
As I already mentioned in the video, I’m blown away by how great the Go Game staff was. I’ve always been a fan of the game and now I can’t recommend them more highly. If you’re looking for a party event or team building event for your company, check out The Go Game. If you ever get Charles as one of your actors in the game, know that you’re in great hands.
The garden where the proposal happened is in the middle of Cole Valley and is an extension of the beautiful establishment that is The Sword & The Rose. It was one of the first places we’d visiting in San Francisco together. Go check out Andy David’s store if you’re in the neighbourhood.
And of course, thanks to everyone that congratulated us and sent their wishes with just about every medium imaginable!
Update: We’re married! Our wedding date was 10-10-10, and we posted our vows.
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