Bottom line: I should make t-shirts of myself and give them to all my friends.

I went out for pizza with my ladyfriend and some of her new coworkers yesterday evening. She had just finished a long day of orientation and was leaving directly from the hospital (/school/work), and she offered to swing by and pick me up since I live nearby. I was still in scrubs (currently in my anesthesiology rotation), so I quickly threw on some jeans. As I ruffled through my cupboard of a closet, I spotted the perfect shirt for the night. An all-white shirt with a turquoise bird in flight across the lower left corner, Look Mom No Hands across the bird. The old band of one of my closest friends.

Suddenly, a strike of genius: invite that friend. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, but it was late enough that he might be home from the hospital (/school/work). Five seconds later, Siri was getting him on the line.

What impressed me about this sequence of events was the unlikely but fortuitous reminder: a t-shirt. I and my hellaciously busy friends are stuck wearing scrubs throughout much of the day. Often, if we get a chance to go out for an evening, it will be after a long day in scrubs, and we’ll want to change into something more befitting. As we select a casual outfit for our casual evening, we’ll inevitably see reminders of people that we’d love to invite along and might not otherwise consider.

I already have a perfect shirt idea for another friend. I’m not sure what will be funnier — hanging out with a friend while wearing a t-shirt of them (“I ♡ Pete” apparel comes to mind)… or handing out t-shirts of myself to my friends.

It’s genius. Maybe I’ll start a post series for ideas like this and tag them #GeniusIdeas.