I'm getting a sister!

Well, a sister in-law, but who's keeping track? J's brother called with the good news that there will be a wedding in the near future and I for one am completely psyched. Isn't it strange that late in life you can get new siblings just like that? (Well, J actually found out he had a real sister he didn't know about a few years ago, but that's a different story). One of the biggest kicks for me after our wedding was thinking of J's brother as MY brother. It shouldn't really change anything, a simple title, but it does. Plus, wedding! It was serious wedding season for a bit with my friends, but now it's seemed to cool off a little. I'm a big sucker for the whole ordeal, and it's fun in a different way when you actually get to eat things and drink things and you don't have to plan or pay for most things.

Have you seen this show "Miami Ink?" It comes with our free cable and I found myself fairly engrossed with the whole idea of tattoo parlor culture. (This has nothing to do with anything, but I think the highest rate of the misused apostrophe s happens in signs that declare "Tattoo's." Like a family bar on Fantasy Island.) Here's what I couldn't get over: all the people coming in to get tattoos were doing it to "remind" themselves of something. One man wanted "some sort of puzzle man with the heart piece missing" to remind him of what his dad was like and what he didn't want to become with his own son. A woman came in wanting a pinup picture of herself tattooed on her outer thigh to remind her to "always be myself."

Which begs the question: how forgetful ARE you?

Like the woman who was missing her left arm? And got a tattoo of a broken heart on her left side? To REMIND her of what's missing? Yeah, you'd think the MISSING LEFT ARM would kinda serve as it's own reminder, but I guess not. She's all, "Something's weird with me today, but what is it? Hmm, what's this heart tattoo...Oh shit, that's right! No arm."

Unless you're the "Memento" guy, "remind" is not the word you're looking for.