I step out of the Dublin/Pleasanton bound train at 6:30 pm sharp, tightening my calves as I climb-jog up the escalators and into the open plaza facing the ferry building. It's a lovely evening, and the administrators are gathered around a cheap dining room table on the edge of the field. I turn down a bite of baguette, seeing as I had recently eaten, and meet a few fellow chasers and a few station-manners. The administration is very concerned that we not be there when the players start to show up, so 5 of us head down Market St looking for a bar or some other location to kill time in. For reasons I don't exactly understand we loop back towards the ferry plaza and have a seat near Vallencourt fountain, forming a "chaser station" where the support crew can meet and greet. After a few minutes I decide to go with Macc to a Pho restaurant, as I have a refreshing beverage in mind. As it turns out, the restaurant is closed and so we continue on.

We locate a pub a block or two away (Harrington's?) and pop in. Macc magnanimously buys me a beer, and we sit outside and chat about the service industry and information technology. Macc asks the waitress for some rolling papers and she responds by saying "don't go smokin' trees out here," which Macc finds hilarious. It was pretty funny. We shoot the shit until I notice it's 7:45pm sharp, and we go our separate ways.

I decide to walk down Market to Bush and cut across towards the Fairmount. As I weave gracefully through pedestrians I empty my pockets for increased mobility. I place keys, cigs, wallet, map into my backpack, leaving only my cell phone, important to have in an accessible and audible place as it is my direct line to the motherbrain. But you know, I should probably have the map in my pocket too so that I can, you know, realize where to go and all that. I open my backpack...no map. I somehow managed to lose it in the 3 minutes the game had been in action. I kneel near a trashcan and dig through all pockets of the bag, pat myself down, still nothing. Trashwater that actually smells warm is leaking out of the can and making me feel even more uneasy. I decide to head to the Fairmount and hope to run into any chasers trying to poach players in the surrounding blocks. Sure enough, at the top of the hill I see two dapper gents in a Go-Car, wearing sunglasses and helmets that remind me of one of the Hanna-Barbara wacky race cartoons they used to show. They are two and I am one, and they're kind enough to give me another map. I decide that I'm a little conspicuous in my Hippie shirt and purple sash directly across the street from the hotel, so I decide to head down a block and stake motherfuckers out there. I'm heading down the hill when I run smack into Vladypus and Pirateymonkey. I get a real kick out of Vladypus exclaiming "oh shit!" and I go for them both when PM decides to endanger her life by darting into traffic. I pursue V, and I am GAINING on him when he decides to brave oncoming traffic as well. He opens up a little space and dashes down the hill. He's gone. I need to get to Market quickly.

My preferred route to Market is to run balls-out down Taylor and through the Tenderloin. The adrenalin is really doing it for me, and I'm dodging bums at 20 mph for the next 7 blocks. I run past an overweight homeless woman, who looks at me in shock and then bends to vomit a bright yellow liquid onto the sidewalk in front of a liquor store. I get to Market in no time. I decide to wait at the nearest bus stop. If the F comes within 5 minutes I'll head towards location 2, if not I'll wait for a Haight bus and get a head start on people near the park. More than 5 minutes pass. A bum comes up and asks for a light. I give it to him and he tells me to get a good drunk on and get some pussy tonight. How can I tell him that I'm too busy stalking dozens of strangers across the city? He leaves before I have a chance.

It's getting dark, and the pedestrians walking down Market don't look like they're expecting to be chased. The 71 finally comes, and I hop on. I think I have tons of time, so I crack open my book, and it is a good book. I'm lost within seconds. Next thing I know I'm near Masonic when I hear Liam yell "Devin! See ya!" and jump off the bus. I can’t make it off in time, so I ride to the next stop and bolt off. Evidently there were 3 other players on the bus with me. I paid the price for literary amusement. I book down Masonic and get to the panhandle. I get a call from Ian telling me that I should expect people shortly, since only one person has made it to location 3 at that time. I hang out under a tree, and whenever anyone under 35 walks by I dart out and run towards them. I scare at least 4 people and 1 dog, but I see 0 SF0 players. After 20 minutes I give up and head towards location 4.

As I enter the park I hear hand drums and a guitar, and I turn down a dark path away from Middle Dr. I'm thinking I can wind around and camp out near #4, tagging players with the greatest of ease. Instead I end up skirting the south end of the park and getting hopelessly lost for about 40 minutes. I am frustrated, but also amazed at how pretty the silhouettes of the trees are and how still the park has gotten. I meander through the baseball diamonds near the botanical gardens, and end up taking a wrong turn and approaching the Japanese tea garden. I guide myself past the DeYoung, where there's some sort of wild party replete with live music going on. I eventually, eventually make it to the Circle of Peace, at which point I run into a bunch of converted chasers and realize I am far too late. Liam and I head to the beach and I admire the beautiful players before calling it a night far too early.