They were the first band I got obsessed with. But I never got to see them - I couldn't drive, and no one would drive me. It's kind of sad to think about what could have been. But I never thought I'd get a second chance - I never thought I would go through that stage all over again with someone else. I thought I grew out of it. It's kind of nice, though. But as I remember now, I don't think I could ever articulate why I liked the Goo Goo Dolls so much. I think it was mostly in my head. I mean I liked the music, but I had no idea what it was about, and I had to make things up about what I wanted it to mean. And now that I look back on it, it seems like such a shallow obsession. Makes sense - I was 15 years old. I hardly even remember it.

*Ugh. Not Lifehouse again.*

I know, I know. But I recently found that Lifehouse is going to be at Toms River, NJ on August 2nd. That's a little while away, so I still have time to get all psyched about it. But today I found out that Lifehouse is coming to Point Pleasant, NJ on May 23rd! That's in like two weeks. And, it's free. I don't need to get a ticket or anything - I just have to show up. So, you might think this is excessive, but think of it this way:

1. I'm spending less money on going to concerts this year than I would spend on one professional sports even. Looks like I got into the right field of pop culture.

2. I'm just going to all the Lifehouse concerts within range. I had no idea there would be so many when I started. So it's really Lifehouse who is being excessive - they can't even go a couple of months without seeing their beloved New Jersey and Philadelphia fans. They're from Los Angeles, they're touring all over the country, and they just happen to stop by the Philly area (2 hour radius) eight times within the past nine months (five of which I've attended), and two more times in the next couple of months. So who has the problem here? I think Lifehouse just can't get enough of me and the New Jersey gang.

*An interesting thing about the Point Pleasant concert: it starts at 6 a. m. on Friday. Looks like I have a sleepless night of spot holding ahead of me. Especially since there are no tickets involved - it's first come, first serve.

I'm interested in E. C. Don't ask me why. I won't tell you what it stands for in this case. But I'd like to try it if I ever have kids.

Have at it. You must choose... There's no way out of it. Except if you don't take the poll.
<--(in which case, this is what I would look like)


Poll #1183255 The Hypothetical Questions Poll
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

If you were Superman, who would you save? Check all that apply.

If you could only wear one piece of clothing for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

If you were me, would you go to the Toms River Fest just to see Lifehouse?

If you had to do without one of the following for the rest of your life, which would you choose?

I don't remember what the exact statistics were. Perhaps my anonymous stalker can correct me. But supposedly, this is the statistical likelihood that I will talk about a certain subject whenever I say, "Hey, guess what?" So Lifehouse, if you're reading this, you should be highly flattered. Although I would be impressed if you were. Did you also read my cartoon preview about stalking fans on MySpace? And Anna, I already told you, and you should be less flattered than Lifehouse, but still, 30% is a significant chunk. It's probably because you're not around, so I talk about you. And Superman, if you're reading this, I'll be even more impressed than I would be if Lifehouse were reading this. I don't really think you should be particularly flattered, though. I mean you are a pretty significant figure in your realm, you have many fans at this point, and 1% isn't really noteworthy. I am one of your fans, but I think your costume is too garish and revealing. That's my main problem. Good thing I'm not superficial, though. I think it's what's in your soul that counts, not what you're wearing. Oh, and of course your super powers. As for the remaining 9% of you, you should be thankful that I'm not obsessed with you. Or maybe I am, but I'm so ashamed of it that I don't go around proclaiming, "Guess what?" whenever there's news about you. Actually, if you're reading this and you haven't been mentioned, you should probably assume that that's the case.

All these years
All these tears
That I've collected in a jar
When I was lonely, very far
From anyone to see;
Now I take them, old and colder,
Put them in the microwave
And pour them on your shoulder
Where I wanted them to be.

It's time for the first episode of my new comic! For those of you who aren't devoted watchers of Lifehouse's YouTube channel, here's the video blog for this episode:

How to Open Bottles With Random Things

And here's the comic: Click on the image below to read it.



These comics will also be posted at the Room of Plastic Flowers website, in the fan art section. The collection of comics can also be found here. There are more to come. Hopefully this comic will continue for as long as Lifehouse continues to post video blogs.

I was trying to come up with a new entry to write, but ever since Friday's entry, all I can think about is what happened on Thursday. It's funny, too, I was just talking to Anna the other day before the York concert, talking about how I thought I might be starting to get over Lifehouse - not that I wasn't liking them anymore, but I thought my crazy obsessive stage might be coming to an end. And then the York concert happened, and let's just say I think Lifehouse knows how to hang onto their fans. Now my addiction is worse than ever.

Okay, I just have to get this out before I go to bed. I'm still trying to believe what happened at the concert. I'll start at the beginning. The concert was in York, PA. A 2+-hour drive from home, further than I've ever driven for a concert. I was questioning whether it was really worth going, but tickets were cheap, so I decided to go. Little did I know... (suspense)(unless you were there)

Anyway, I got my spot near the front of the line. The tour bus was right around the corner, and I heard rumors that Lifehouse sometimes comes out after soundcheck. Every once in a while I'd walk around to see if there were any signs of Lifehouse. Lo and behold, there was Jason talking to a group of people. I went up to them, and I stood there speechless. Shortly afterwards, Jason left - he had to finish the soundcheck. I was kind of disappointed that I hadn't said anything to Jason, because I don't know if it counts as meeting someone if you just stand a few feet away from them for a few seconds and look at them. I thought maybe he'd come out after the concert, and maybe then I could talk to him, but it doesn't seem very likely these days. I thought of introducing myself as the one who made the Simpsons picture, just so he'd know who I was. But I didn't. So that was that, and I got back in line.

So we got our tickets and all, and I got to be in the FRONT ROW for the first time! That was exciting. I had been in second row behind Andrea, which was almost as good, at the Electric Factory. And so went the concert - it was great. I was singin' along, enjoying the Lifehouse, just like at concerts previous. But excited that I was finally in the front row. When suddenly...

Near the end of the concert, Jason was saying stuff into the microphone, like he sometimes does. He said (and I don't know of the exactness of the words) "So, I see some familiar people tonight," Looking around the room, and in my direction. He pointed at me. "I've seen you before," he said. "Are you the one who made the Simpsons picture?" I wasn't sure he was really talking to me, even though he was looking directly at me, but I nodded shyly, and said "Yeah." Jason continued, "I thought I recognized you. And your name is Sylvia, right?" Again I nodded. "How are you doing, Sylvia?" he asked. I don't think I could get any audible words out at this point, but I probably responded somehow. Then Jason proceeded to play "Better Luck Next Time."

It really caught me by surprise. I still wonder whether it really happened, or whether it's part of a dream that I'm still having. I always have dreams like that. Anyway, this was the best show I've ever experienced. I waited a little bit after the concert to see if anyone would come out of the bus, but I concluded that I was completely satisfied with the evening as it was, and I went home. Maybe someday I'll have an interaction with Jason in which I am not rendered speechless, but not today.

These Rebus puzzles are all the titles of Lifehouse songs. These will be especially challenging if you're not very familiar with Lifehouse (except for the first one). If you're a fan like me, you'll probably get most of them right away. Have at it. The answers are at the bottom, so don't look there until you've given up.
( Click to start )

What will happen to Ethan this time? Click to find out.

I had a dream that I was asleep and Becky wanted the bean bag chair I was sitting on, so she tried to wake me up by drizzling honey on my head. When I first felt the honey on my face, I realized I was more alseep than I thought, because I could hardly move. Finally I got up, and there was honey all over my hair. I started washing it out, but it took forever. I was kind of annoyed. Why did she have to use honey?

Click on them to make them bigger.

One time I was talking to Anna online, and my feet were covered with blisters. "Look at my feet," I typed. I took a picture of my feet, uploaded it and sent it to her. "That looks painful," she typed back. ( Too much information )

It's time to revisit the very beginning of the Bryn Athyn College rival newspaper, Issues With Issues. It all started as a joke (and remains one, as far as I know). Then it kept going, claiming it forced "Bryn Athyn College's Only Newspaper" to change its name. And here I present, published in cyberspace for the first time, the very first Issue of Issues With Issues. And now I will hang my head and confess that, although I did recieve articles for future issues, I did in fact write this entire first issue all by myself. I know, I know. Now if you'll remember back to February of 2006, when BACON Bits was exploding with controversy over the idea of Intelligent Design. Luckily, I put the issue to rest in my charismatic publication:
__________________________________

Issues With Issues
A Cheap Alternative to B.A.C.O.N. Bits

---

Edited by Sylvia Odhner     February 2006

Intelligent Design What the Heck?
    By Flylvia Odhniff
What’s up with intelligent design? It’s stupid. It doesn’t exist. What are you guys talking about? The world is a stage, the men and women merely players. In conclusion, I don’t see what the fuss is about.

Intelligent Design Is Not A Hoax
    By Syliviar Geographic
How dare you say that intelligent design is stupid! It’s the only way to explain life. I thought for several hours at one time, and I couldn’t figure out anything wrong with intelligent design, and I couldn’t figure out any alternative theories that would work. So there, Flylvia! I am right. End of statement. Anyone who disagrees with me is wrong.

I’ll Intelligent Design You!
    By Silvaria Corner
You’re both wrong! You think you’re geniuses, but really you don’t know what you’re talking about! I bet neither of you have done any research!

B.A.C.O.N. Bits Is a Lie!
    By Aivlys Rehdno
Everyone knows that BACON Bits is a college newspaper, but a little known fact is that B.A.C.O.N. stands for Bryn Athyn College’s Only Newspaper. This was true about it for a very long time, but is no longer true, according the authorities of Issues With Issues, a new, alternative newspaper. BACON Bits is no longer the only newspaper in the college! Ha!

I Have Never Been So Insulted In My Life
    By Ylviasay Odhneray
A while back, I read an article in Issues With Issues, which technically didn’t exist yet, and it was horrible and badly written and terribly sarcastic. I thought, “Who would write for such a newspaper?” So I wrote an article for the newspaper saying how bad it was. Please, don’t give into this trash. It’s not worth your time. Whoever created it must have just been bored one lunch time.
__________________________________________

So there you have it. The first issue. I wish I could link to the rest of them, but these "Issues" are very rare, and can only be obtained by means of subscription. Also, Issues With Issues is no longer my property. I associated it with Bryn Athyn College, and had to leave it behind when I graduated. As far as I know, the only other place on the internet where you can find any information about it is in this Facebook group.

Commission any 16x20 acrylic reproduction - temporarily only $70. Send me a message.



   

That Kendra murders people in the middle of the night when she sleepwalks. Actually I've done a darned good job of keeping that one until right now. Sorry Kendra. I failed you.

This Writers Block thing is revealing. I should do it more often.

In response to Stardate by Anne Elliot W.

This whole Stardate thing is interesting to me. I saw a documentary on some discovery channel a few years ago that said similar things - that they found evidence of bacteria on Mars. And when I first read Earths In the Universe ( What's that? ), I thought it had to be representative of something else, that it couldn't literally be true that there are people from Mars and Jupiter, what with all the scientific evidence against it, and to believe it, we would be like creationists who believe the world was created in seven days. And I don't really know much about the science of the universe (although I do find it interesting), but I realized later that my conclusion was based on two assumptions:

1. If there had been people living on another planet, there would be evidence of the ruins of civilization.

2. The human race will surpass the life of the planet earth, because we will have found a way to survive without it.

The Future:
I don't know why I made the second assumption. I guess I thought humans are intelligent. We can find ways around the natural cycle of life and death of a species. We have the intelligence and technology to live forever. But forever is longer than I previously was thinking of, when I think about it now. When it comes to the evolution of life, very little has happened in the short span of time that people have been alive, compared to the developmental periods before that. And I have given very little thought to the prospect of an entirely new race of humans evolving on this earth while we are still alive. I mean if it happened once, it could happen again in another billion years, right? Assuming the earth hasn't been paved into a giant city by then. I don't know when the sun is supposed to burn out, but that could interfere with it, I guess. But anyway, I guess people could still evolve on Mars. I mean, we started out as single-celled organisms, and that's what they have on Mars. Although I've sort of though as Mars as the overflow planet - when the Earth gets so messed up that we can't live there anymore, we'll move to Mars and get a fresh start. It's a little cold, but some insert some greenhouse gases and other things, and we could make it inhabitable. Although I somehow have it in my head that if we moved there, we would impede any evolutionary process that was happening there. I don't know why I think so. Maybe because we'd have to change the environment to make it inhabitable, and that would mess up the order of things. So that's why I thought there could never be life on Mars. But as I now look at my thought process, I realize that a lot of these assumptions don't have much reasoning behind them, so yeah. I guess people could still evolve on Mars. As for people on Jupiter: Jupiter is a young planet, and probably potentially inhabitable as well, so the same goes for Jupiter.

The Past:
Past life on Jupiter is a lot less possible, though. I don't really see how it would work. However, there could have been past life on Mars, I suppose, the ruins of civilization buried deep under eras of natural transformation. I think it would make more sense for the people to be from the past though, because Swedenborg saw them in the spiritual world, where there may not be time, but there is progression, so if the people were from the future, why would he have seen them?

In conclusion, yeah. It's confusing but I suspect the universe is a lot different than the way we assume it is. Because chemistry turned out a lot differently than we originally assumed. Who would have thought that atoms would be mostly empty space, the only thing keeping things solid being the electrical repulsion of tiny atomic nuclii? And we really don't know very much about the universe yet, so who knows what could happen? I'm no expert, but that's the impression I get.

I had a dream this morning that I was shopping with some friends (Becky, Skye, Miriam maybe?), and we went into some different stores. I wasn't sure how much money was in my bank account, but I bought some bread and cheese. We all bought bread and cheese, so I felt like I had to or it would be awkward for some reason. And I was pretty sure I had used up my money after that. Then (and this doesn't really make sense, and I don't know how to explain the purchasing principles behind it) the others came back from a different store and said they had bought some things for me that they thought I would buy if I were in that store, and I had to pay for them! I had no idea how to handle the situation without making it awkward, but I just ended up giving everything back and saying "I don't want these things! I can't buy them! Take them back!" They were kind of annoyed at me but what else was I supposed to do? People are so unreasonable in my dreams. I remember that they were things like a really weird-looking hat, some gloves, maybe? and some other things that I would never think of buying. Like a wicker basket.

Whose words these are, I think I know.
His house is in Bryn Athyn, though.
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his house fill up with snow. He he he.

It's something that I can't quite explain.
- (Have you ever tried to write a poem, and only existing lyrics come out?)
I'm so in love with you.
- (That happens when I really like a song.)
You never take that away.
- (I don't really know the next part.)
And if I said it a hundred times before
- (?)
Expect a thousand more
- calling you
You never take that away.
- (Blue October)
Expect me to be
Calling you to see
If you're okay when I'm not around.
Askin if you love me.
I love the way you make it sound.
Calling you to see
Do I try too hard to make you smile?
To make us smile?

I will keep calling you to see
If you're sleeping are you dreaming
If you're dreaming are you dreaming of me
I can't believe
You actually picked me

Fantasies are interesting, and I think different people have different truths about them. Like dreams. For some people, you can never look at a clock twice in a dream and have it say the same thing. But not for me. Fantasies for me aren't very much like dreams, but there are certain things about them. For instance, this may not be true for everyone, but I have three kinds of fantasies.

Some of them are just thinking about what could happen to me in the future - what I'll be doing with my life, my conversation with someone next week, meeting Lifehouse... things that are relatively likely to happen. That's the first kind. Then there are things that involve me and the people I know that will most likely never happen - rare situations we are thrown into. That's the second kind. And the third kind is the same as the second kind except it involves people I don't know or fictional people. The third kind of fantasy is more like a story in my head about rare situations, but it also has to include normal interactions because I have to establish the characters of the people I don't know. The third kind of fantasy is more work, especially since I'm no novel writer. I'm not very good at creating characters out of nothing.

Some people say that their fantasies are things that they wish would happen to them. I admit that I enjoy thinking these things, but if the second kind of fantasy were to actually come true, it would be bad for a lot of reasons. For one thing, what if it didn't happen the way it was supposed to? For another thing, there would be nothing left to the imagination. My fantasy would no longer be a fantasy, but it would be a memory, set in stone and played exactly the same way over again from then on. As it is now, it's the same basic story - a few versions, and each time it happens slightly or dramatically differently than the time before.

First Time
We’re both cooking up something
We’ve been afraid to try.
It’s easier to be choking
On what I can’t identify.

Looking at this, holding my breath
Afraid that I’ll get poisoned to death
I’m taking a chance putting it in my mouth.

Chorus:
We’ll have to start all over again
It’s as bad as the dirt that’s under the sink
We’re trying to cook some food for the first time.
Well maybe it’s bad, I think you’re right.
I think it belongs in the garbage tonight.
We’re trying to cook some food for the first time

The mold that I see inside this
Waiting to come to life
Is stinking up all the kitchen
Attracting all sorts of flies.

Looking at this, holding my breath
Afraid that I’ll get poisoned to death
I’m taking a chance putting it in my mouth.

(Chorus)

We’re trashing
Our dish unknown.
I think we fried
A chicken bone.

(Chorus)

( More parodies! )

Hi. I'm testing the LJ-cut feature, which I previously haven't discovered. ( Several things you don't want to know )

All this time of running round
Of chasing you, but you
Were always nowhere to be found.
I sat inside
I didn't know much pain
Until you died.
I didn't know what comfort was
Until I looked into your eyes
And knew that you
Would always be there.
Least that's what you said.
And I know that you didn't know either
Now you would be dead,
But you lied.

(fictional)

I can't be here alone.
I don't have any presence of my own.
I need someone to tell me
That I'm doing something right.
You can give me the approval
But I can't bring it along.
I'll lose sight
Of it the moment you're not there
No matter where
I am.
I can't be here alone.
I'll lose everything I've known
About myself, and all my confidence.
My own defenses can't stand up
To everything that's telling me
I'm wrong.

Okay, this concert was the best I've ever been to. The first concert may have been more exciting just because it caught me off guard and I didn't know what to expect. But this time I got there really early and got in line with the few people there, who were also really big fans, and had been to all the same shows as me. So I started to put names and faces together as I identified the people from the forums, and chatted with them for a while about our previous shows and whatnot. So that was good knowing I've made some connections. As for the concert itself, I got my best position yet: Second row, behind a short person, right in front of center stage! Lifehouse was really good, and I was ecstatic, having let go of my preconceptions and expectations and worries. Jason's voice is better. The people I was with were really into the show. So after this one, I've decided I'm not going to just call it a year and say goodbye to Lifehouse. I'm going to York on april 24th to see them again. He he. I just can't get enough. Good thing they like Pennsylvania so much. I guess they can't get enough of us, either.

I'm done posting things from college. But Lifehouse concert week is still upon us, as tomorrow is Lifehouse at the Electric Factory. There are several things that make me more confident and less nervous about this concert than I was about the one in Allentown. For one thing, I have my ticket already (my Allentown one never came and I had to be on the list). For another thing, I've been to the Electric Factory before, and I know they're not going to pull a 21+/-21 separation barrier on us. For another thing, it's a weekday, so the line won't be so long so early. For another thing, Jason's getting better as far as I know. I think this one will be better. Oh, and the title of this entry only refers to the first sentence.

Something you may have seen and an explanation
If you haven't been keeping up, and it's a lot later than it is now, you may have been subject to one of my publicly delayed Lifehouse posts, my index of song meanings. If not, good for you - you're on the ball. I sometimes post things like this privately at first, and wait until I think all my friends have passed that date on their friends pages. Then I make it public so that I can post the link in fan forums, but my friends don't have to see the post. If you're curious, you can click on my Lifehouse tag and see what I've posted in the past that I hid from you. Anyway, if you did read the index of song meanings, I'm sorry.

By the way, if anyone knows how to make public posts that don't show up on friends pages, I'd like to know what it is. Also, some people do things where they post the beginning of something and hide the rest behind a link. How do you do that?

It's interesting looking back at these things and seeing whether my perspective has changed at all. Anyway, I'm still posting articles and stories that I wrote in college. This is an article I wrote and published after being fed up with all this pressure around me that says I should vote.
___________________________

I Don't Want to Be Pressured to Vote

Often, when I tell people that I’m not registered to vote, nor to I plan to be in the near future, they look at me disapprovingly, and say something like, “You really should vote.” But no one has given me good enough reason why I should vote. They say it is a citizen’s duty to vote. But I never asked to be born into a democracy. I never asked for women’s suffrage, although these are probably valuable things, and I have nothing against them. I just don’t want to be told that I have to be involved. I hardly know anything about politics. Why should I make decisions about how my country is run, when there are plenty of more knowledgeable and opinionated people out there who understand the system?

Here is a logical fallacy that I have encountered: If I give in to peer pressure and vote, then I will only vote to conform to what other people want. If I’m going to conform anyway, I might as well just let them tell me who to vote for, because I don’t know. And if I’m going to give away my vote, I might as well just not vote at all.

One thing I know about Democracy is that it is there for the freedom of individuals. The right to vote is a choice, and I believe it is a privilege and not a responsibility. But it does come with the responsibility that all privileges do: that it not be abused. If people have any responsibility when it comes to voting, then it is not to vote ignorantly. Voting when you know nothing about the situation is far worse than not voting at all.

Even if people are politically informed, they may see that their options are so similar that it would make no difference to them who they voted for, in which case, they may as well not vote at all. The only people who should vote are the people who are politically informed, and have an opinion about the way things should be, and they see that one side is better than the others.

I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from voting. I just want people to see the point of view of those who choose not to vote. Although I have not voted yet, I may find reasons to in the future. If anyone can give me a valid, logical reason why I should vote anyway, I will be open to it.
_______________________

I think I wrote this when I was a junior in college. And now I'm thinking of voting in the primary. I accidentally became a registered republican while at Starbucks, waiting for Coleman to meet me. I was just outside, and Coleman wasn't there yet, and I was going to register but never got around to it. There was a woman there who offered to register me right there, and I couldn't think of a reason not to go through with it, so here I am. Anyway, I still agree with myself. I didn't say I'd never vote, I just said I wasn't ready. And maybe now I am.

This is just a collection of quotes by Jason Wade from interviews and concerts where he's talking about the meanings and inspirations behind his songs. I found quotes for all the songs I could and organized them by song. If you find any quotes from songs that aren't listed, leave a comment so I can add them.


( Click here to see the index. )

Well, as you may be aware by now, I'm posting some of my old stories and articles that I wrote in college interspersed with the excitement of Lifehouse concert week. Here's an article/advertisement/whatever that I submitted to BACON Bits for stuck students:
___________________________

Free Titles!

Do you ever have trouble coming up with titles for your essays, articles, or speeches? My favorite part of writing an essay is coming up with the title. So, I thought I’d help you out a little. I’ve written a bunch of titles. If you ever have an essay, an article, a speech, etc., and you’re desperate for a title, but you just can’t think of one, then look over this list below, and see if anything fits. Feel free to use these titles.

1. The Frosting on the Cake: Fiddling With Good Poetry
2. Life Without the Quadratic Formula?
3. A Closer Look at Black Holes: Get Sucked Into the Mystery
4. How to Choose Ring Tones Without Losing Friends
5. A Bad Paper
6. A Lesson on Being Very Succinct: Showing You How to Omit All Those Unnecessary Words in Your Writing
7. Forty-three Ways to Distinguish Between Right and Left
8. Free Titles!
9. How I Spent My Summer
10. Watch Out For This Essay!
11. The Most Effective Ways to Manipulate People: From My Own Experience
12. An In-Depth Analysis of Pop-Tart Dreams
13. Mermaids Search for the Square Root of Negative Four
14. What Exactly Is a Spork?
15. The Ethics of Jump-Roping
16. The Most Embarrassing Things to Eat

Well it wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but I blame the Crocodile Rock Cafe for that, as well as Jason's recovering bronchitis. Several issues - this one didn't affect my experience, but