What does your shirt say?

As I sit here, still ill, with a cold, but drinking vegetable soup garnished with generous amounts of chili, I feel my nose draining itself. Yesterday, James bought me a bowl of spicy egg noodles with wontons. It was great, and it actually got rid of the soreness in my throat. I’m not feeling any pain there anymore, just an odd emptiness. My voice still sounds like P!nk, or as one of my workmates said, “like a man”. XD

I guess my cold is just stuffing things up but I hope to be better soon. Smelling some Vaporub seems to do the trick, too. I think the wind also gets to me easily. Yesterday I let myself into work (I have my own keys now) and I opened the windows because I was rather out of breath from walking from the station and up the flights of stairs, but soon enough the wind was making me feel cold so I shut them. The good thing about working in a converted loft is that it rarely gets muggy in there.

I caught up with Johnny and Fern the other day – I hadn’t seen them in months! I didn’t have a jacket with me and as I was waiting for them outside our meeting place, I was hoping it wasn’t going to make my cold worse.

I was wearing my shirt that said, “The art of conversation is, like, kinda dead and stuff”. A boy about my age was nearby with another two girls, and he asked, “Hey, excuse me, what does your shirt say?”

I walked towards them and let them read it out aloud. “Hey, that’s cool! Thanks,” he nodded.

Thankfully, that’s probably the only geeky shirt I own that has words on it; the others have prints of LEGO, rock-paper-scissors-lizard-spock or a TARDIS, which doesn’t really encourage people to ask what my shirt reads, or say. A popular online store from which I bought some of these shirts is ThinkGeek.com. I used to shop there quite often before I found their shipping costs to Australia were too high for my taste, not to mention they seemed to be out of any good merchandise.

More often than not, I find geeky shirts that quote certain memes or have Pedobear on them, or Double Rainbow, or reference some game like Skyrim or Minecraft or Pacman, or have some programming or HTML or blogger joke on it. I find the majority of these shirts, particularly the ones with jokes on them, to be very unfunny and very lame. Yes, I think a shirt with <body> on it is a pretty cool shirt, but I wouldn’t buy one and wear it.

It’s not hip and it’s not funny or cool or totally rad or fully sick [bro]. Let’s just say, if I saw an English teacher wearing a shirt like the one I mentioned earlier, I’d think he was being rather pretentious or trying to be cool. It makes sense for me to wear it because I’m part of the younger generation and even though I prefer writing formally and with verbose words at times, I do kinda, like, talk like that.

There’s a shirt that reads “Just shut up and reboot already”. If I saw an IT support guy, or just someone working in a computer shop or anyone interested in computers wearing that, I’d honestly think he was a snob.

It’s as if whoever chooses to wear these shirts will think that whoever is interested in the same thing as them or has the same kind of knowledge as them will understand their shirt and likewise, think it’s cool. Perhaps it does seem cool to that person, but you’re just showing off, really. I don’t see my boss wearing a shirt with <body> on it. I would understand it, but if someone else sees someone with a shirt like that and has no idea what HTML is or is unfamiliar with the internet, they wouldn’t think twice about it.

James agreed with me and stated that it was the reason why he wouldn’t buy something like a ROS shirt. (I’m sure that 98% of you would have no clue what that means.)

“It’s sad. It’s like you’re saying ‘I want you to ask me what my shirt is about so I can boast of my knowledge. NOT to converse, but for me to tell you about my specialised expertise on a topic. FOR I WAS HEAVILY NEGLECTED AS AN EARLY TEENAGER’.” And after a pause – he laughed.

If it makes someone feel good wearing a shirt that shows off some of your knowledge, well, fine, be my guest, I’d say to them. Hats off to you, mate. But don’t expect me to ask you what it means if I haven’t a clue, then mope and have a booboo at home because no one asked. Finally, if you do see someone with a shirt with something you like on them, are you seriously going to approach them and say it’s zarking awesome? I still think that giving strangers compliments makes my shoulder feel like spiders have crawled over it. I also think that receiving compliments from strangers gives me the same feeling (but on my other shoulder).

Maybe it brings this sense of community or something. “O HEY YOU LIKE VLOGBROTHERS TOO WELL SO DO I OMG…”
“Then why the fuck don’t you have a DFTBA shirt?”

“I would also take an arrow to the knee omg you play Skyrim? Man I love your boobs.”
“Ugh, go away.”

So even if girls do play Skyrim, or any other game for that matter, it doesn’t mean you get to make out with them. I know couples end up together because they have the same geeky obsession with something – they might have met online through playing a game, or found out in school that they had common interests, but I bet you my left foot that it wasn’t from wearing some godforsaken t-shirt with some geek joke on it.

(If you’re still wondering, ROS = Robot Operating System.)

Comments on this post

Now that’s a wierd topic you have chose to blog about….but then maybe I didn’t find it that interesting cuz I’m not into quoted Tees and stuff…My collection of chlothes is mostly striped tees, hoodies, and of course I’m an Indian so Kurti (if you know what that is)…and I personally don’t like printed tees….
and how was you week….I visited your photoblog the other day….it’s awesome ! /eee

Hopefully your nose clears up. The other day I went outside in just a hoodie – thinking now it was a bad idea but it was so warm and being the middle of winter, I wanted to. No one ever asks what my shirt says – normally it’s just a band shirt or something like that. When I’m home and know I’m not going anywhere I just wear second hand shirts which are mostly from local YMCA sports teams and such. I do enjoy the geeks shirts, just don’t own any. I’ve seen people getting as a tattoo – not on my list of tattoos. It’s totally cool to enjoy a hobby (or job) a lot, but getting codes as tattoos is going a little far – I’ve also seen someone with a whole css stylesheet as a tattoo on their back.

I’m so jelly of your rock paper scissors lizard spock t-shirt. :)

I had no idea what ROS means, you are correct.

I don’t really wear nerdy shirts anymore, but I assume most people like me either read a shirt and smile/get it or if I don’t understand it I just ignore it and move on. That’s how it was when I wear nerdy shirts. I either get a comment now and then from someone who gets it, or nothing from people who don’t understand/don’t care. No one really asked, I never ask. It’s a lot more simple for me, I guess. Haha.

Sorry you don’t like compliments or random conversations from strangers. Hopefully you’re not missing the chance to make some really great friends because of it. I think meeting a future significant other can be as easy as laughing about a stupid joke on a shirt.

Haha well it’s not so much that I don’t like random conversations. I am rarely the one who initiates them, and in the end it’s usually just small talk (from experience though!). If I’m at uni or work, I wouldn’t mind chatting it up with someone, but usually it’s not because of a shirt I saw them wear! Out on the street, I guess I’m just not comfortable chatting it up with strangers, that’s all.

I like nerdy t-shirts! But I gotta agree with you. Some of the recent ones are very lame and not even funny. I still like ThinkGeek XD I never buy the t-shirts because I think it’s too expensive for a t-shirt and I’m kind of uncomfortable with people trying to read my chest+tummy area O___o; Too awkward for me.

From ThinkGeek my friend got me the Electronic Butterfly in a Jar hahaha I’ve been wanting one for awhile along with the firefly one. I want to collect a lot of them and put it all over my room/house. It looks kind of morbid, but pretty.

HELLO. WUGGS.

/bounce that was an interesting conversation on the topic of novelty shirts. /eee

Time to get a robot shirt. Ngeo! Surprise /th

Glad your nose is clearer :) I sort of swear by chili for a lot of things. hhaha

Man I love your boobs

(Y)

Oh man! You know what ROS is! ROS is awesome! It made my research code work. =P And James and I are probably the only two people reading your blog who know what it is.

To me, I’d wear one of those random t-shirts (I don’t actually own any) just to enjoy the joke myself and among friends. I guess that since I’m at a tech school, everyone understands the jokes, so wearing one of them doesn’t mean anything except that you like the joke. I can see how they’d seem pretentious on the street, and I’ve stopped caring what people on the street think of me. (I like geeky jokes! They make me happy…)

I totally agree. :)

Reply:

*sigh* I already tried apologizing, but the fight just escalated. Whatever.

Haha, that sounds like a pretty cool shirt :D

I’m Dominican, so I have a t-shirt with some Spanish-Dominican slang on it. It’s very very nice. 🤬 Haha what’s up with this smiley??

BTW, I shouted you out in my blog again because I know you like Blur . . . :3 OH YEAH! I got Think Tank like you suggested I should (like 50 years ago) and I really liked it! So yeah, thanks for that :)

I’ll reply to your comment on my blog first – unfortunately we have a brief at University that only allows us to film a maximum of five minutes or we get marked down :( I think in the future though I’ll definitely remake my Hostile film into a longer story to make it more suspenseful! Thanks for the feedback though :)

I’ve been pretty ill the past week, my nose doesn’t stop running unless I’m lying flat – sucks! I was bed bound last Thursday – definitely can tell the weather is changing, if only it was for the warmer in England. :(

I went through a phase of having really random t-shirts, I still tend to wear my Batman t-shirt a lot and my Cookie Monster just because they’re totally awesome! Oh and I have a Scott Pilgrim t-shirt with ‘Sex Bo-omb!’ which is even more awesome. :P

I tend to avoid t-shirts with written stuff, makes me uncomfortable when people are staring at my chest region for a long period of time trying to read it :P hehe

I do hope that you feel better soon and that your voice returns to normal soon! I don’t know about you, but I find it a little annoying when people point it out when your voice sounds funky because your sick. Surely, you already realized that! Perhaps this opinion has stemmed from my experience every time my voice has gone hoarse, and then for some reason, everyone tries to talk to me…

You know, I haven’t really thought twice about geeky t-shirts. If I don’t understand someone’s shirt, then I don’t say anything. If I’m also interested in what someone’s shirt represents, then I might say, “Nice shirt,” but I won’t start fangirling with them about it. I have a few t-shirts with quotes from Slaughterhouse Five, a novel by my favorite author, Kurt Vonnegut, but I don’t think I’ve ever worn them hoping that some stranger will obsess about him with me. Hah, I wonder if people DO have that expectation when they wear shirts like that… I never considered it before.

I never really thought of wearing shirts as a form of expression in the way you are suggesting they do. I always thought of it more as a symbol of style, not boasting knowledge. Although, now I do think that is true. I think many people want others to ask them “What does that mean”, so they could give a full explanation. Maybe it’s for people’s own pride to feel better about themselves? I know everyone feels smarter when they say stuff or talk about stuff that others have little or no knowledge about. To be honest, I don’t think I would buy any of the shirts. They are funny to look at or read, but I can’t imagine myself wearing it. I am much more of a flowers and bright colors type of girl lol I also like skirts. I would never get the shirt because, I think it would be inappropriate, well especially as a teenager lol I think the shirts are good as inside jokes though, like as a gift. I am in a special peer education program about sexual issues, and we gave each other sexual shirts from Spencers lol Like they are stupid, but it kind of went along with the theme. I only saw one of my friends wear it once lol.

I also have a cold, get better though! I hate having a cold. I’ve also been going to bed at 10 lol I think I sound like a man too. I want to get this over with! I hate being sick/having a cold.

You have a bachelors degree? What do you have it in? I think that it’s too easy for people to become “famous” Like I think it should come with talent, not just auto tune. My friend had a good twitter post the other day “if steroids are illegal for baseball, than auto tune should be illegal for singers” I miss the natural talents. Also youtube has too many adds, sometimes the adds are longer than the actually show or clip i want to watch. smh.

I want egg noodles with wontons! Just not the spicy part. Would that be good for a sore throat? Wouldn’t it have made it much worse? Hopefully you feel better soon! Dress warmly even if it’s summer … I do that yeah.

Back when I wore t-shirts people would just stare at my chest. It kinda made me feel uncomfortable. Another reason I don’t like t-shirts. I do find geeky shirts funny but I don’t enjoy putting them on. Such as the “body” thing. I don’t dare type it out w the brackets.

I might not like t-shirts but I think they’re great if you want everyone to look the same … like on Korean variety shows.

Yup I know that China may be great or unpleasant and Shanghai is one of those great places! I don’t think I’d mind unfriendly people there are plenty of unfriendly people here too.

Okay I meant I hate the thick footless wear. I wear pantyhose with shorts on cooler days. I don’t think jeans and sandals are so bad, though I rarely wear them together. Jeans and ballet flats … okay that’s idiotic.

Lol I have no idea what aloe juice has. I just drink it because it’s better than soda. My friend uses aloe plant on her skin, I don’t bother with that even.

I love vaporub when I’m sick. I’ll carry it everywhere with me and it won’t leave my nightstand lol. Hope you feel better soon!!

I love graphic shirts and I don’t care what’s on them. It can be anything from something kiddy Disney to hello kitty to something incredibly geeky like “my RAM is too much for you so don’t bother”. Haha, sadly I don’t have that shirt anymore. It is funny though how one shirt can be such a conversation starter but yeah I can see how it can feel so awkward and creepy especially when you’re the one staring at them for so long in admiration if the shirt and they think otherwise haha. And like saying, “I like your shirt” is something they are going to believe lol.

In response to your comment, I’m the opposite from you!! I actually don’t like muffins and love the light airiness if cupcakes! But I guess that’s why there’s a difference! I still want to be able to make muffins though because I do have muffin-lover friends.that’s great that James can cook too!! Isn’t great having a guy that can cook?! Lol.

Soups are great for colds…I hope you feel better soon! Spicy food is always awesome XD. LOL @like a man.

Yeah when I have a cold I have trouble breathing as well but the wind seems to make it worse @_@

Uh oh…not having your jacket probably made things worse if it was chilly enough. I love your shirt now XD.

OMG I have bought stuff from ThinkGeek before too! I actually bought a lighter/usb drive for one of my friend’s birthday gift lol (no he does not smoke but likes fire XD). Recently though I haven’t seen anything fun there either.

Yeah as much as I am a geek some of those shirts can be lame…depends though.

A lot of times I will see people with shirts of stuff I like but I personally feel a little awkward to kind of approach them and be like “oh so I see you like bla bla bla”. No it is rare that anyone would meet up because of a geeky shirt lol. A lot of times you can’t even make out what is written on them like you have experienced.

Haha that is a pretty awesome Tshirt and also I’m pretty excited that you have a rock paper scissors lizard spock tshirt, too. ;)

I used to have a bunch of tshirts that had math and science jokes on them but they don’t fit anymore. I really want to get some more, though.