MISSION: Laundry Money

It wasn't until recently that I had to start going to the laudromat to do my laundry. I know how fortunate I was to have free laundry right in my building. My best friend lived in a unit nearby and had a washer and dryer that I could use whenever I wanted. Then she moved. And now?

I have to dig around for quarters and lug my laundry somewhere else.

I know that other people, especially those living in the city, have to do the same thing. How fun I thought it would be to supply a laundry-doer with quarters for their weekly task!

Date: Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Location: Econ-O-Wash, S. Highland Avenue, Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA

Time: 5:18 p.m.

A few weeks ago, I went to Giant Eagle's Customer Service desk and asked for two rolls of quarters: one for me and one for a mission.


Turns out, I needed a roll and a half for my own laundry, which left me with $5 for today's mission. Better that than nothing at all, right?

I put the quarters in a little bag and put the bag in a little box. I also included a little note to let the recipient know that I wanted to help with their laundry.


I wrapped it all up in my signature pink and green, and included a little card explaining why the recipient was receiving this gift.



Tonight on my way home from a meeting regarding #helloSAL, I decided to swing by my neighborhood laundromat. As I drove by, I took a peek in the front window.

The laundromat is divided into two halves. The right half had a lot of people in it. The left half, however--the half with the change machine--was empty with the exception of one woman way in the back.

I walked in, pulled out my gift, placed it in the bucket in the change machine, snapped a few photos, and left.


Easy peasy. A nice, clean mission.

No pun intended.

MISSION: Fuel for the Body, Fuel for the Brain

Affiliated Agent M is at it again, folks. Three missions in one day! *high five*

Date: Sunday, 27 June 2010

Time: Afternoon.

Locations: Aldo Coffee in Mt. Lebanon, Tazza D'oro in Highland Park, and Coffee Tree Roasters in Shadyside.

Gifts: Quotable cards and a Barnes and Noble gift card

Affiliated Agent M tells us of his adventures:

If I had something of a food weakness, it'd be coffee. Good coffee, not the stuff that drips and stands in a pot for hours and hours on end, but a 'grind the beans, press the grounds, and serve it to you all made to order' espresso drink.

Then it's not really a surprise that the majority of my previous missions involve coffee in some way, shape or form. The mission on Sunday continued this fine tradition, but with an added bonus.

It may be a stereotype, but give me a good book to go along with a fine drink, and hours could go by before I look up from the page. There is something about saying, "I have so much to do, watch, and see, that I am going to deliberately set a few hours aside to just sit down, sip a drink, and read. Nothing more, nothing less."

And it was this slice of mental clarity I was hoping to spread with this mission. Maybe you're out to meet friends at a coffee house. Maybe you're out to get away from the busyness of your surroundings at home. Maybe you just kipped in to escape the frequent roaming thunderstorms of the greater Pittsburgh area. What ever the reason, you're out, sitting down, and boom, there's a card from an affiliated agent, commanding you to open it up, that the goodies within are for no other being in the universe but you. There's a puzzled look on your face, like, can this be happening to me? Is this a joke? Should I open this strange card; obey this written directive?

Let's open this card together, to share the experience, shall we?

Inside you pull out one of the Quotable cards that Secret Agent L and her agents often use. It's heavier than most cards, higher quality. The quote fires off a small spark of inspiration deep within side you; the fire burns to embers quickly, but inspiration and hope work better as slow coals, not a violent Bruckheimian explosion.

You open the card, and a tag falls out. You grab for it, while reading the silly note this stranger left in the card. A chuckle may escape your lips, it may not.

You look around trying to believe this is true, this is happening and not the set up for some vicious prank. Your friends pull the card from your hands, eager to read the cryptic message, when your attention turns back to the envelope.

It is heavy. Too heavy...

Inside there is something else, forgotten in the initial excitement until now. You reach in, a golden ticket moment if any. Your reward, if you so choose, may grant you access to a chocolate factory, but that is only one of an infinite set of options: a gift card to Barnes and Noble. The only question that remains is if you can choose just one wondrous thing to read.

Simulation over.

It was my intent that this scene, or something similar to it, would play out at three different locations across Pittsburgh. These places happened to match up to some of my favorite coffee shops in the city.

The first was Aldo's Coffee in Mt. Lebanon. Inside I took the table closest to Aldo's own library, as seemed fitting for the mission. The crowd there was steady, and it took some time to find the right moment to leave my card behind and make my exit.

Not that I minded, it simply meant I could get through a few more pages.


The next was Tazza D'oro in Highland Park. If Aldo had a steady flux of people, Tazza D'oro had what amounted to a full house. One of the few tables left was hidden by a small Christmas Tree and Virgin Mary statue.

It really seemed fitting to have some higher power watching over this little gift of mine, so I took it for the sign it was.


The last was the Coffee Tree Roasters in Shadyside. I personally love how they'll open an entire wall during good weather so the boundary between inside and outside is lessened, and given the length of the shop it can generate a nice, constant breeze.

Sadly, the photos of this last gift in the wild did not take, but one of the small tables near the back had a surprise waiting for the next person to sit there.


A good day for coffee, a great day for reading, and it's my hope that three Pittsburghers choose a book they've been thinking about for a while and now have no excuse left; that the instant smile generated on a hot Sunday afternoon is constantly fed every time they flip through the pages and continue the story.

MISSION: Boring Pittsburgh, Troy Polamalu, and Things That Go VROOM!

{Why yes, that IS Troy Polamalu!}

When my friends at Boring Pittsburgh contacted me and suggested we work on a collaborative mission, I immediately said, "YES!" The more people in the world who want to combine forces for good, the happier this secret agent is.

The collaborative mission began with instructions for me to retrieve the mission materials at a super secret location. I, of course, complied.

exhibit a:

Upon retrieving the "top secret mission materials," I opened the container to find 1) said materials {Hairy Helmets} and 2) a memo from my co-conspirators.

exhibit b:

The memo instructed me to place the contents of the tube on unsuspecting individuals' car attenae. And the only special request indicated in the memo was to include the co-conspirator's logo.

exhibit c:

I love a good mission, and I love collaborating, so the obvious next step was to tell myself,

"Let's do this."

I typed up a happy note for my recipients...

...and made sure to include my co-conspirator's logo, as requested:

Location: Shadyside neighborhood, Pittsburgh, PA

Date: Thursday, 17 June 2010

Time: between 5:43 p.m. and 8:27 p.m.

I gotta admit: messing around with people's cars isn't something I enjoy doing. Which is why this was probably the hardest mission I've completed yet. And in broad daylight? Yikes! I worried about not only being seen but also setting off potential car alarms. Can you imagine that? I can just see the headlines now:

"Secret Agent L Nabbed by Police as She Vandalizes Neighborhood Cars with Steelers Paraphenalia."

Nonetheless, I bucked up and began on Alder Street.

After walking around and looking for cars and trucks that showed the owners' obvious love for the Steelers, I stumbled upon a grey pick-up truck that had a Steelers sticker on the back window.

Target #1 acquired:

Next stop, Shady Avenue and Howe Street:

Target #2 acquired:

Final stop? Shady Avenue and Walnut Street:

Target #3 acquired:

I gotta tell ya, this was a rough mission for more than just the fear I felt because of messing around with people's cars. You'd think, after completing over 100 missions, that I'd remember to WEAR SENSIBLE SHOES.

Needless to say, these--

--were barking by the end of the mission.

But on my way back to Command Central, I ran into a beautiful display of flashing flourescent lights in front of me. Nothing like lightning bugs to remind you just how beautiful this world is, even if your feet hurt.

MISSION: Giant Eagle

Hello, All!

Secret Agent L here. Well, it's been quite a while since I did a mission. I apologize! Life got kinda busy, but today I swore up and down that I'd do a couple of missions.

And I did!

I actually did three missions, but was only able to take photos of two of them. So, here they are!

For those of you not familiar with the Pittsburgh area, we have a grocery store chain here called Giant Eagle. There's a really nice one in my neighborhood (Shadyside). Giant Eagle also has a gas station called Get Go, where you can get money taken off each gallon of gas when you use your Advantage Card at the store. It's a great place. My parents have gotten whole tanks of gas for free sometimes!

Today I thought I'd complete my missions in complete Giant Eagle fashion: at the gas station and at the store.

MISSION #1: Quote card

Location: Get Go gas station, corner of Baum Blvd. and Morewood Ave., Shadyside neighborhood, Pittsburgh, PA

Date: Monday, 24 May 2010

Time: 5:11 p.m.

I'm a big fan of quotes. I came across these lovely free downloads over at Kind Over Matter, and I thought to myself, These would be perfect to leave all over town!

I printed out several of my favorites, put a Secret Agent L sticker on the back of each one, and I was ready to go.


Luckily, this wasn't too difficult of a mission. Despite the fact that every pump at the station was in use, my car and I were positioned such that nobody could really see what I was doing.

I filled up the ol' tank ($0.20 off a gallon!), put the gift in place, snapped some pictures, and was on my way.




Next up on my list of missions was a mission I was really excited to do. Don't get me wrong: every mission I do excites me. But this one felt extra special.


MISSION #2: Beautiful necklace from Antique Renewal

Location: Women's restroom, third stall, Giant Eagle, Shadyside neighborhood, Pittsburgh, PA

Date: Monday, 24 May 2010

Time: 5:23 p.m.

A few days ago, I got a beautiful necklace in the mail from the woman who runs Antique Renewal on Etsy. She explained to me that she'd been going through a really rough time lately, and that she'd wanted to send more jewelry for me to use in my missions, but that she couldn't right now. Instead, she mailed a beautiful necklace to me. I assumed it was for me personally, since she mentioned in her note that she wasn't sure if it was my style or if I even wore things like it. I was so touched that I decided I couldn't possibly keep it. I had to pass on the kindness. For her to offer something to me during a difficult time in her life touched my heart. And I knew that I had to continue spreading that kindness.

So, I printed out my explanation card, complete with a "P.S." at the bottom explaining just how special this particular gift was, and got to work.

My friend explained that the particular stone used in this necklace is thought to bring healing.


I think it also brings kindness. :)

I had to go to the grocery store anyway to pick up some necesseties (ice cream and hot fudge, of course, for tonight's season finale of Chuck).

Because the store is so large and such a priceless gift could get lost or overlooked on one of the shelves, I opted for one of my favorite hiding places:

I walked in, chose the only empty stall there was, and got down to business. Well, not that kind of business!

I hope that the woman who finds this beautiful necklace will always remember how extraordinary the simple act of kindness really is.


My third mission, which I didn't get to photograph, was another quote card, which I left in the shopping basket on the floor near the checkout counter. I think an employee found it moments later when I saw him walking towards the lane with other shopping baskets, as if he was making his rounds and collecting them. I hope it made him smile!