MadMup.com

The first time I met Improv Guy Steve, I was wearing a unique T-shirt. I think it was my Pac-Man tee. The next time I met up with him, I was wearing a ComedySportz tee that depicts an Atlas-figure holding up a sort-of globe. Next, my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt.

It's become something expected of me - he waits on pins and needles to see what I'll wear next. Frankly, it's starting to stress me out. I've only got so many interesting T-shirts! He's already seen my cool Superman tee, too! Pretty much the only cool ones I have left are my Weird Al shirt and my Chudnow shirt (Chudnow is the inventor of ComedySportz, and the Chudnow family had a junk metal business. The logo for that business is on this bright orange shirt with the word "Chudnow" under it. Pretty neat.). So I'm either going to have to start avoiding him or buying more T-shirts.

It got me to thinking about the whole "wearing T-shirts" process, though. I consciously go through a process when I'm picking out a T-shirt to wear in public. Does this one look good enough, will this give people a chuckle, is this out of place - all that kind of stuff. Other factors come into play - if you're like me, you have specific memories and thoughts associated with different shirts, too. "I want to feel like *Emotion A* today, so I need to wear the Beatles T-shirt. The Emmitt Smith tee is too *Emotion B* for me right now." This goes for when I wear them under other shirts or sweatshirts, too. Even if no one can see it, I still go through the process.

It makes me wonder when I see a person wearing a T-shirt that says "Rice Chex" or "Pennzoil" on it. You know the type - the rest of the outfit is nice-looking, but here's a strange corporate logo tee to top off the outfit.

"I like Rice Chex!" he's proclaiming.

"Good for you, buddy." I always think.

I prefer people to wear T-shirts that either a) are design-y, or 2) make me laugh. It's fine if you want to wear a purple tee with weird squiggles through it or a tee with the words "Can't Sleep - Clowns Will Eat Me." But why are you wearing a McDonald's T-shirt? Sure, you might have gotten it for free, but make it a work shirt, for Pete's sake.

And don't get me started on bumper stickers...