JT & the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat

Ok, this is not really about an amazing technicolor dream coat, an amazing coat, or even a coat at all, for that matter. But it is about the total lack of appropriate jackets (or any items of apparel with long sleeves) that one might wear in public for a casual breakfast.

So we went out to IHOP this morning to eat, to celebrate (I suppose) Linda's matriculation at the UCLA school of architecture. She was down to move some of her stuff just before classes begin next week. Probably because my room faces west, the air felt a little chilled this morning, a condition exacerbated by my having forgotten at night to close the window I left open during the afternoon to let out the warm air.

Having just moved back to Cerritos from Whittier last week (when the weather was quite warm), I am still in the process of moving my belongings, the most notable category of items of which I was bereft was long sleeved clothing. Without a reliable weather forecast to have guided the packing process, I found myself only with items appropriate for warm weather, or formal occasions, neither of which characterized of the occasion then before me.

I did, however, have at my disposal what seemed an inordinate quantity of clothing inappropriate for almost any event, that is my "costume" type clothing that I kept in Cerritos for storage—mostly silly items I got on a whim, or things I picked up because, at the time of purchase, they seemed like good halloween attire. For example: a Japanese-style silk robe; a happi coat from a gift store in Kyoto; a Japanese schoolboy uniform [you can imagine where many of these treasures were discovered]; a cap and gown (from my high school graduation); a tuxedo jacket with coat tails; and a manchurian collared, kung-fu style shirt with silk knot buttons. Such was the assortment of pieces from which I would have to choose if I decided to escape the cold, and instead, risk possible disapprobation.

I resolved upon the last item (the kung fu-style shirt), since it seemed both the most able to provide the level of warmth suitable for the meteorological conditions, and also the least offending of my options. That "least offending" did not equal "inoffensive" should have become clear to me at Linda's house when her mom viewed my attire and asked, "oh, JT, are you going back to China?" In fact I am planning a three-month stint in Guizhou beginning this coming January, but when pressed, Linda confessed that her mother had no way of knowing that, and only surmised my impending departure based on my unusual outfit.

Breakfast at IHOP was enjoyed by Linda, Pam, Ben and me (the four members of our circle who are both post-school and pre-career). I was able to finish my pancakes with minimal gawking from the other patrons. (Not that being stared at is always bad; if one has a sufficient ego, it is but a small step to imagine oneself a sort of celebrity, or a figure so like Adnois that he must accept the fact that others cannot resist gazing upon him.)

This episode taught me that, especially in an age dominated by the reality of global warming, I must be ready in season and out of season for all types of climatic deviation.

[I wanted to include an image here edited by Photoshop, but as of the time of publication still have not purchased said program. The picture will be of the variety in which I put a collage of images of myself together in one photo, each of the different "me's" will be wearing on of the aforementioned long sleeved shirts. When I get Photoshop and finish doctoring the image, I will upload it to my blog, along with this re-posted entry.]