I have an account with a bank in Texas that has all of $1.23 in it, whittled down through minimum-balance fees from a hundred or so (why it was opened in the first place I've lost track), which I am reminded of by a statement mailed to me every month, more often than not accompanied by newsletters and credit card & loan adverts. Surely the cost of the paper and postage for the past several years must've registered some alarm to discontinue this service? And after a half-an-hour hold-time to reach one of their representatives, she still wanted to keep me as a customer by offering to refund $10 in those charges—which yes, would be gone again in a matter of weeks. For me to close it out and do my part to save the world (and my mailbox) from the bureaucratic waste? I'd have to send in a written request, with at least a 41¢ stamp. I think I've extended my day's effort to the limit.
Last week while waiting over an hour for a table at that ridiculously popular Anjin 焼肉 place in OC, I noticed a "INTERNET&MANGA&TAPIOCA 漫画&ネットカフェ」 across the street. Our only exposure to this sort of establishment was from 結婚できない男, but unlike the character-developing library-type environment depicted there, it was just a small sitting room with a dozen Ikea loungers cordoned off from a counter of overpriced snacks. The full cultural experience would cost $3 each for membership, $3 for the first half-hour and $2 for the next before I would tear myself away from 闘将!!拉麺男 #4 (their selection can't be criticized, however) realizing at our pace reading Japanese, we're better off just buying the books.
Must be my router doesn't like the PlayStation Store, either, because the ~1GB demo took all night to download. It's very 1080pretty, I'll give it that much, but it's still no more ninja than Ninja Gaiden in the arcade was. (I remember getting through the entire game at the Magic Mountain water park in Dallas on nearly a single quarter by always running for the gymkata bar and letting Dave B.'s deep pockets do all the work while I just kicked away. Good stuff, even for a summer of pon farr.) No sneaking around like Metal Gear or Manhunt, and neither massive-immersive nor multiplayer. Safe to say, I've completely lost interest in this type of thing.