How He Proposed

The Scheme

"The day I propose to Alejandra I would like her to have a fun and goofy time that involves many of her interests. If she’s in a good mood it might sway her to say yes."
- Merle in his proposal plan document to friends and family

Locations/Phases

Merle created a list of some things she enjoys :

Puzzles & riddle solving
Board Games
Inside Jokes
Cats + cat rescuing
Twilight
Music
"Witchy-Woo-Woo"
Corny or stupid jokes (see: Corning My Religion)

That led to Merle coordinating 22 of their closest friends and family into a
multi-part, multi-location scavenger hunt.

(This included several Google Docs with instructions, video and script creation, scheduling, driving to NJ/Frederick/Gaithersburg, and gaslighting Alejandra)

Phase 1 - Corn Scavenger Hunt

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Phase 2 - BSG Game Night

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Phase 3 - The Real Hunt Begins

Location: Miscellaneous Off-Site
Proposal Spot: Ferguson-Diaz Backyard

DDay (Date Day)

"Its corn in the corner 🎶" - Alejandra

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Phase 1 - Corn Scavenger Hunt

Alejandra and Merle wake up on Saturday (otherwise known as 'Date Day' for Alejandra or D-Day for Merle).
Alejandra: I thought it was going to be a lazy Saturday where we have a date night with all day relaxing

Merle: I was hoping to get plenty of sleep the night before the big day but it didn't happen. There was still a lot of setup to do. I went to bed at 3am and set up 3 alarms just in case.

Merle grabs some Dunkin' (Ale's favorite) and tells Alejandra to grab some headphones for a bit while he sets up a surprise. After around 10 minutes she looked around and found Merle gone with a puzzle taped to Merle's locked office (6-digit combination lock) and a note:

Heya hun,

Welcome to the timeline where there is slightly more corn around the place. It's a cornucopia!

To find me you'll need to find the corn first. And to get started here's a hint: Where on a person's body can you get corn and how do you prevent it?

I love you and happy corning! - Merle <3

Finding all the Corncobs

Alejandra started to check around the house and found the following (plastic) corncobs with a number and clues written on each one:

Proposal Suspicion: 10%

Alejandra: Had tiny suspicion since my SIL (Mickayla) insisted I get my nails done with her, my mom, and my grandma for my mom's birthday, which was weird since she is usually pretty chill.

Not only that, mom made a joke about family visiting the US for my wedding and she became nervous when I told Merle about it. She also told me I should dress nice for our "date day" (a little sus).

Yellow Corn - Found in staircase corner
Clue: https://naughty

Purple Corn - Found in center of table
Clue: Check the family email and The word of the day is peppercorn, like corn but with more SPICE

Ale: I went to the joint fam email and found an email from Merle's personal account with an mp3 attached "Taylor Swift - Dancing with our hands tied". When I listened, the lyrics were slightly changed "I had a good feeling/dancing with our hands tea'd (?)" Not sure what to make of that so I kept exploring. I then checked around the kitchen and found another corn in a cooking pot

Black Corn - Inside cooking pot
Clue: This corn got burnt :c

Ale: This was a funny dead end lol. I started looking around at shoes (from the original written note) and found a corncob!

Blue Corn - Inside a shoe in the closet
Clue: -cat-registry.web.app

Ale: I had two different clues to pursue. I went back to the T-Swift clue and realized that the two changed lyrics were "good" and "tea", aka "good tea", which is what we call our Peruvian tea at home. I looked around the teas that they have in the living room. Found a clue hidden in a tea box!

Red Corn - Inside tea box
Clue: Orange the corn from Merle's favorite to least favorite colors

Ale: Now that the TSwift clue made sense, I went back and joined the 2 parts of the URL (http://naughty-cat-registry.web.app) and found a page with "Naughty Kitty Registry" with an input box "Enter Cat Microchip ID". I quickly looked up Tobi and Mischief's microchip #s into the textbox.

Our friends David and Sudesna hiding until they get the all-clear

Tobi's ID resulted in a clue under the Notes section: "[...] Tobi was recently spotted stuffing corn in the clean litter in the kitchen. His motive is currently unknown." Ale searched the bin they store the clean litter and found another corn!

Orange Corn - Inside clean litter bin
Clue: I don't know why the lawnmower isn't working

Purple Corn - Inside Lawnmower
Clue: Sometimes, you have to roll the hard six.

Ale: Obviously the boardgame Battlestar Galactica (BSG) since that is character Admiral Adama's quote in the show!

Green Corn - Inside the BSG boardgame
Clue: Please set up the game

Ale: I was confused by this but set up the gameboard anyways (are we playing this game later tonight???), and went back upstairs to put the numbers in the right order for the combination lock.

Ale arranged the colors from Merle's fav to least fav colors and got in! Expecting Merle inside, she instead found the following note:

Heya hun,

You might've seen this coming, but I'm not in here "MWAHAHA!"

Where am I?

Well let's just say you're not the only gremlin in the house ;)

Ale: I really thought this was it but went to the downstairs storage closet we call "the gremlin" closet.

Merle: During this I was working on the shared Google Doc for instructions on the next step of the plan.

Once Ale found Merle in the gremlin closet, he told her surprise! He said our friends are right outside the door to play BSG and she scrambled to get out of her PJs

Proposal Suspicion: 0%

Alejandra: Lowkey thought after the elaborate escape room-esque combination lock that he'd propose in his office, but I also wanted to enjoy the surprise as it was, a really nice thought-out gesture that ended with some of our friends playing one of my favorite games!

The Fake Out

"Help! We found a kitty" - Mickayla & Sergio

Location: Mex Restaurant, Elkridge

Phase 2 - Battlestar Galactica Night

During this time Ale had a great time playing BSG with some of their friends and she misplaced her phone (as she usually does). Normally she would search for it immediately but this time she wasn't in a rush since she believed she had nowhere to be.

Ale gets there aaand its a stuffed cat named Brutus 🫠 He has a collar with the inscription: "Brutus, Escape Artist"

Mickayla and Sergio give her more Dunkin' (yay!) and leave with a very confused Alejandra.

The Kitty Chase

About halfway through the game, Ale gets a frantic call from Mickayla & Sergio about a found cat. Story goes that they were out by a restaurant and found a friendly cat with a collar next to a busy road. Can Ale take the cat with her to try to find the owner?

Ale: I really want to help but we have guests over! Merle reassured me its fine and some folks had to leave anyway, so I was getting a cat carrier and trying to get info from them. In particular, I needed to know what county they were in since, as part of a cat rescue, I need to call Animal Control for the right county per law. I'm rushing to the address they gave me.

Merle/Mickayla/Sergio: Trying our best here to avoid answering the county law questions since its not an actual cat, she can't call Animal Control!

Proposal Suspicion: 20%

Ale: Yay for Dunkin coffee but what in the world is going on??? A little sad that the boardgame was cut short but moreso very puzzled on the prank. I'm thinking if its a ploy to get me out of the house, but for what reason? In my thinking I accidentally missed an exit and took longer to get home.

Merle: The plan is for Mickayla & Sergio to call Alejandra away on a fake kitty chase, but she needs her phone to do that! I'm super stressed in finding it, but she can't go to the backyard since Sarena and Crystal are in the back setting up the flower garden.

Ale: I'm totally relaxed having a blast, but Merle was super insistent to find the phone. I wanted to retrace my steps of the corn scavenger hunt (around the house and in the backyard) but I ended up finding it on the couch :)

The Real Hunt Begins

"What the fuck is going on" - Alejandra

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Phase 3 - The Real Scavenger Hunt Begins

Part 1: Retrace Steps
When Ale came back to the house, there was no one there! On the dining table there was this note:

Heya hun,

I went to Weis to get milk. If I'm not back in 20 minutes (by 4:20) assume I was kidnapped and please retrace my steps!

Love you,
Merle

Ale: I looked EVERYWHERE and nothing :c Merle's office was locked again so I tried the combination 2x and kept searching, then tried one more time (it said it was unlocked!) and gave up. I figured I should go to Weis and see whats going on, though this was the first time our little 'escape room' game ever went outside.

Merle: More of our friends snuck in after Alejandra left and they hid in my office. I had forgotten to change the combination after the cornhunt! When Alejandra returned, instead of heeding the note, she tried to get into my office to find me. There were panicked texts in the group chat that she was trying to get in, but Cody was blocking the door. They stayed quiet to not give away their presence. I hurriedly sent a text to Alejandra saying that there was a milk emergency at Weis and she had to come quick!

Part 2: Milk is Too Milky
She went to Weis and found their friend David with some groceries. He said that he had a message from Merle, that "the milk he found was too milky" (inside joke on Ale's high standards for milk).

Ale: I...was so confused lol. David was here at Weis?? Where'd people go after BSG? Where's Merle? Where should I go?? I have so many questions, 0 answers D:

I saw what I thought was a post-it note taped to where the milk is, that Weis is now accepting a deal with a nearby gas station. It looked quickly scrawled on so I figure thats a clue?? Off to a gas station I go!

Merle: That post-it fake clue was really unfortunate but really funny. I guess I shoulda scoped out red herrings.

Location: WEIS Store

Part 3: Ale is so, so Lost
She goes to the gas station and not really much there....did she go to the wrong place?

Ale: I went into the station and I walked a little slowly, again super confused. I made eye contact with the clerk...and he looked at me...and I looked at him...and he looked at me...and I looked at him....and I left because it was awk lol.

I was in my car for a bit thinking about what to do and where to go, so I figure go back to what I know, which is my house haha

Merle: We had a group chat going and Alejandra dropped off the radar for a bit, no one having eyes on her. I was relieved to hear she made it back to home base.

Location: Gas Station

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Part 4: Why are there robes?
She goes back home and now sees friends from BSG but also more friends casually in black robes. They say that they're waiting to start their meeting but won't say more, because Ale hasn't gone through the "initiation".

Ale: I immediately text Merle (no response of course 🫠 ) and say hi to folks, including Billy decked out in camera and lights. I figure OK next puzzle is to find how to "join" this cult.

Merle: I got the most confused text from Alejandra about folks dressed in dementor costumes in our dining room.

Proposal Suspicion: 30%

Ale: At this point I'm expecting Sudesna at the gas station? And if so then it would confirm or greatly increase my suspicions that this is it.

Proposal Suspicion: 50%

Ale: There's a lot of our friends here, including Billy recording things. There has to be a reason (too early for a birthday present? Way too elaborate to include our friends to this level) but also I don't want to disappoint myself, so I'm gaslighting myself and leaving room for some doubt here. Taking it as a fun puzzle that my friends are involved in.

Cult Initiation

"Why are there dementia[sic] in the house" - Alejandra's autocorrected text to Merle about "dementors"

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Phase ?? - Secret Weekly Meeting

Part 5: Find the Owner
Having hit a temporary block with the cult meeting, Ale was guided by friends to find out Brutus the kitty's owner.

Ale: I was dumb and didn't even think about the Naughty Cat Registry website nor about a potential microchip. I literally searched online (Google, social media, etc) and hilariously found a dude in Michigan who happens to call his black cat his "escape artist", just like Brutus' collar tag. However social media posts says that he found Brutus a month ago BUT I found his contact info. I was thiiiiis close to calling but figured I should double check before calling a stranger.

Scanned for a microchip (success!) and searched the different national microchip registrations. I even filed a "found cat" form (oof). Had a d'oh! moment and put his info onto Merle's website.

Merle: I ransacked Alejandra's office trying to find a microchip for the scavenger hunt. Sergio and Mickayla ended up making an excuse to ask for one. Mickayla sowed the microchip into Brutus and Sergio got the custom-made collar. When she enters the microchip ID into the Naughty Kitty Registry from earlier, she'll get the address of the owner where she needs to return Brutus.

Part 6: Tarot Readings and Crystal in the crystal ball
She has an address now, she checks Waze and it's a hotel! She brings Brutus the kitty and a fortune teller (Sarena) is there. Sarena is happy to have her cat back, and tells a fortune while Crystal tells a riddle.

Ale: Ok I feel like I'm hard to surprise but man was I so surprised. A hotel?? Is it a conference room or a regular room? I end up rushing to the car and I forget the room #, was it 217 or 207?? I hope for the best that I don't disturb people and guess the right door. Thankfully I didn't need a keycard to use the elevator or enter the stairs.

I knock and I hear someone with an unknown accent and I swear it sounds like Sarena. The whole room is completely decked out with decorations and Sarena is really sticking to her character. Once I saw Crystal (in the crystal ball, 100/10 pun) I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard!

Merle: Sarena, Crystal, and Robert worked hard on the garden and lights outside our house that morning and then had to rush to the hotel. They checked in, decorated, and got in costume in record time. They really killed it.

Location: Hotel

Part 7: Cult Meetings and Broken Doors
Back home, Ale finds her more friends and family in robes, waiting for the "cult meeting" to start. She needs to find the next clue ASAP.

Ale: They're dressed in black robes, and I still have some graduation robes that might blend in? I rush to our closet but in my excitement I broke the handle to the closet 🫠 Whoops now I can't get in, but Mickayla mentioned that its something else. I get a little hint that points me to our storage space where we keep important documents, and I find the next clue! Its a USB with a note + what looks like a temporary tattoo.

LOL it says 'TITSOAK' -> "This Is The Skin Of A Killer", Bella (Twilight reference, I love it)

Merle: Everyone was happy to get together and play games and be themselves, just with cult gowns and a greater purpose. I love the what-the-fuck factor, and I was excited for Alejandra to find out what the theme of the cult was. I'm supposed to be there to start the cult meeting, but since I'm not there Alejandra is going to have to do that. But first, she needs to be initiated.

Location: Ferguson-Diaz House

Part 8: Tattoos and Encrypted Messages

Ale: I apply the tattoo (lol) and get to unencrypting the drive. I (eventually, so much pressure from people watching me) get that the password is from the cornhunt and find a video!

Merle: Alejandra loves escape rooms and puzzles. I hadn't thought about how having 10 friends there pressuring her might have made things more difficult though lol. Here she needs two things to kick off the cult meeting. She needs to have "the brand" - the TITSOAK tattoo, and she needs to perform the secret hand sign. I had encrypted the drive, but the password to open it was "peppercorn," as hinted by the purple corn during the cornhunt. Now comes the video clue.

Part 9: Meeting Started
After that wonderful video, meeting can't get started until she also knows the secret hand sign!

Ale: OK so I got the tattoo mark, watched the vid, and now I need a handshake?? I figured out that I need to call Meredith and Grant since they saw the hand sign. They send me the hand sign and <hackerman> I'm in

Part 10: Connecting the Dots
Ale: Ayyy meeting started, AKA watching New Moon with some snackies 🥹Eventually they give me a connect-the-dots puzzle (used to love those as a kid) which created a duck and a floor map of the 2nd floor with 'X' marks the spot.

Merle: Alejandra likes hands-on. We have a shower in the master bathroom that we plan on remodeling, and it was the perfect setting for her to get her hands dirty.

Part 11: Duck Demolition
Ale: Ran right upstairs to our master bathroom and with Mickayla's help I found a bin with a duck pic on it! It had safety glasses, a hammer, a putty knife, and a blacklight. The 2nd "X" is in our shower and after shining the blacklight there was a hidden drawn duck on a tile. I smashed the tile and underneath was a picture of my grandma with Sarena (ahem, sorry the fortune teller 😉)

Merle: The lore is that Sarena had a former business partner, but they went their separate ways, and that partner was Abuelita. I really wanted to include her because she was only going to be in the country for a few more days. She had the last tarot card for Alejandra, the Death card, which shows us having a Notebook ending and dying in bed together after decades of marriage.

Part 12: Notebook Ending
Ale: I head downstairs and I see my grandma! She gives me a really sweet message and tells me to go back upstairs and get dressed. At this point its around twilight (heh) and I'm excited because I know what's coming. I then panic because I realize my closet door is broken (whoops) and I won't have any nice clothes to wear. Thankfully we did laundry earlier this week and it was still in a hamper outside the closet so I was able to find a nice dress :) Once dressed I head to the backyard ❤️

Merle: Okay, so there was a lot of planning that went into that day, but I hadn't decided exactly what I was going to say in the big moment. I knew I would have some time to figure it out, and it was going to come from the heart. I was exhausted, and was feeling a combination of excitement and nerves. I was excited to finally see her after the adventure she went on. I was nervous about what I was going to ask. A month of planning was coming to a head. All of the chaos of the day led to that calm moment in the backyard, surrounded by the flowers and the lights just after sundown.

Proposal Suspicion: 99%

Ale: Yeah there's no way Merle would include Sarena (his sister), Crystal (his cousin), AND Robert (his cousin) if it wasn't for a proposal. (!!!!) The question is where, what time, and solving this scavenger hunt haha. Leaving 1% room for doubt because that's who I am. The box was a super sweet memory from when we first started dating 🥹

Message from the Crystal Ball:

To find your future you must unveil a secret
And there is but one creature who knows it
It's not the bear that bathes in the river
Nor the lion that sanitizes in the safari
But the duck.

Tarot Cards: (beautifully made by Sudesna, fortune given by Sarena)

Ale: I got none of this, I was laughing too hard

Ale: Super cute tarot cards on certain past hardships, having stability and peace, and a question mark for the future :o
(also hilarious joke about my descent into caffeine/coffee addiction lol)

At night the duck sleeps with one eye open
He knows about the dark
And the secret it has stolen
Follow the duck as the duckling follows its mom

In the ponds they bathe
And in the rains they shower
Reach back with great strength and smash the tile into powder.

After this she received a cute wooden painted box to store the tarot cards. The picture on the box references a short story that Merle wrote to Alejandra when they started dating in high school.

Merle: There's so much to talk about here. Sarena did such a good job in her role as a fortune-teller who is going to give Alejandra a freebee for returning Brutus. She also beautifully painted the cat and the coon on that box. The box will serve as storage for momentos as Alejandra collects artifacts over her hunt. Sudesna's beautiful art was on the tarot cards, which she designed and drew. The Crystal-in-the-crystal ball was all Crystal's idea. I almost died laughing when she texted the idea to me. Also big props to Robert for photographing here.

Ale + crew watch this beautiful, wonderful video:

Merle: Grant and Meredith weren't going to be around for the big day unfortunately, but this was another way to include them. We've got a lot of great friends. Everyone was on board to play that we've been having secret Twilight cult meetings, and that Grant and Meredith weren't fans. Mickayla and Sergio hosted us and made tacos. There wasn't much of a script going in. Everyone watched the movie and understood their roles. Grant and Meredith did great in the hot seat, and the heckling and back-and-forth was so organic that a large portion of the video was done in one shot. Nick texted me the day before asking if he could bring doctored images and I said of course. Billy did a masterful job filming and editing, taking all creative liberties. At the end, Meredith witnesses the handsign, which was the "is for me?" sign🥺👉👈

Our Proposal Video

Here is a great video showing the full day's shenanigans that led to our engagement!

(Big thank you to Billy Mason for putting this together!)