Signed up for the Marathon

I know that I said I wouldn't pay the $4.95 extortion fee for signing up online, but thanks to a post on SlickDeals, I used a $15 off coupon which saved me $10.05 even after paying the fee. I guess I no longer have a choice, but to run this marathon!

Free checking

I see that Washington Mutual is offering Free Checking. This is interesting because they've been offering it for years; when I moved back to San Diego in 1999, I went to Washington Mutual to get their free checking, but closed my account within days because it wasn't completely free. I had to pay for checks, something that wasn't disclosed to me. That annoyed me and so I opened a new account at Bank of America, a bank I've been dealing with for years (Oregon and California branches weren't really linked at the time, so I had to close my Oregon account and open a California account). So now, it looks like Washington Mutual is offering free checks. How nice of them to finally make correct their misleading advertising.

Completed a video game!

I'm not very good at video games, but sometimes I enjoy playing them. Through some generosity of a friend of my wife, I have a big collection of PlayStation Portable (PSP) games. One of the most recent ones I got was SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALS Fireteam Bravo. While I'm not very good, I managed to get through the entire campaign mode of the game in about 1.5 weeks which is quite impressive for my lack of skills. I play to complete the game so I don't also get the best scores or complete the missions with an A rating, but I managed to get through it. There is still more to play including online and something called Instant Action, but I made it through the 12 missions. Unlike the PS2 version of this game, it only saved at the end of a mission, so if you didn't make it through, you had to start over. While the PS2 version also saves at the end, as long as you don't quit the game, you're taken back to a "temporary" save point. For me, this makes the game enjoyable as I can complete missions without having to make it through in one try.

I haven't played much online, but might have to give it a try. It might be embarrassing to play against teenagers and get the crap beat out of me.

Marathon, here I come!

Today I made the commitment to run the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon on June 4. While I sort of already committed in my head, I wanted to do another long run (today was 15.2 miles) to reassure myself that I could do it. I was about to sign up online when it looks like there is a $4.95 processing fee to do so. I've requested an entry by mail or fax (they're here in San Diego, so I shouldn't have a problem making the deadline. (I have a major problem paying fees to make someone else's life easier if I can help it; hopefully they won't charge me the fee registering by mail). I'll keep training so that I can tackle the remaining 11 miles. Today's long run was similar to my other long runs, but a little slower mainly because I didn't have to stop for traffic lights and didn't rest; also, it was 3 miles longer than I've ever run. It's still in line with trying to be at a 9 minute mile.