Anna:

Ever since I had first joined the game, I was frustrated and disappointed at my inability to eat a meal in that rooftop garden on Market Street. Everyday, coming off the MUNI at Montgomery St. on my way to work, I was reminded again... 'it's not easy being green when you wear black on the outside because black is how you feel on the inside..."

But then Mr. Conor went out pirating, and with a spiny smoke, I'd found the ideal player of the green persuasion. It took a long while to puff myself up enough to ask a total stranger to collaborate, but then, I couldn't have picked a more pleasant person to harass.

Le Plan was organized over a weekend, and voilà tea in the garden found itself in scheduled in my calendar. I arranged to bring hot water, a lychee-black tea I found in Chinatown, and a selection of manchego, salami and chocolate from the local import shop, packed up with my camera and picnic blanket and set out to meet the mysterious mustachioed man.

On the way to our arranged meeting point, I devised yet another task to add to the game, inspired, or perhaps un-inspired by the gigantic posters of Audrey Hepburn plastered all over the downtown area. But that's a side issue.

A few blocks away, amid the roar of traffic and the wail of sirens, we rushed into the lobby of the bank, having glimpsed the golden doors of the elevators from outside. Moments later, the elevator doors opened and we found ourselves in the quiet three stories up.

A quick walk through gave us the lay of the land, a chance to admire the previously documented corporate art, and we picked our picnic spot, nestled in a semi-circle of benches. We spread out our tasty treats, and leisurely ate our way through a two-and-half hour conversation, which admittedly distracted me from focusing on documentation.
I know it was two and half hours because we were promptly kicked out of the garden, just as we were finishing our dessert, at 5:59, one minute before security closed the building. We were led out into the Galleria, which is really weird. First you're in a bank, then a garden, now a mall?!? How does that make sense?


Conor:

A couple weeks ago I received an invitation to do a task with the illustrious, the only Anna One. The message subject line was "Might you be interested?". "Hmm," I thought to myself, "here's an opportunity to rendezvous with an intriguing new person for a task that involves dining on luxurious snack foods in a slightly unorthodox manner." Certainly I was interested. And tea would have to be served!

On the day of, I took care to set aside plenty of time for aquisition of comestibles. Finding the sweet baguette was no problem, but my store was out of brie! Not even a scrap of camembert was in the shop. That's right. I was having a cheese crisis. A bit flustered, I headed to BevMo where I have never purchased cheese, but have often noted the large pile of it in inbetween the wine and liquor sections. With no time to lose, I high-tail it to BevMo only to discover that their decent selection of soft cheeses is oldish and poorly refrigerated. Moldy and scary. Nooo! Fortunately I manage to procure a wedge from a market on my way home -- but at what cost? I pack everything up in my wicker case and scurry out the door 20 minutes late!

Transit occurs.

Another fortunate turn of events: Anna turns out to be very conciliatory and will have none of this talk of lateness and related apologies. We exchange pleasantries briefly, then both agree that it is time to get down to business.

For super spies like us, penetrating the target was a straightforward exercise. The elevator guard did not notice the two smartly dressed individuals laden with delicacies.

We laid out our picnic elements in an optimal location and began our rooftop
enjoyment. Public space or not, the garden was ours. This was clear to any
passersby. We made tea. We drank. We ate. We documented. And the
conversation. Anna regaled me with tales of her younger years with the SBC. I countered with a yarn pertaining to my involvement in the Hive Groin crew. I offered stories of my travels in Australia. Anna spoke of her current film and why it took her to Eastern Europe.

Before long (it seemed) a security stooge informed us that it was 6pm and the garden was closing. Nearly 3 hours had passed? Perhaps.

We made our escape and bid one another adieu. Perfectly executed.