Indie Songs That Made Me Smile This Year

Every time Fall and Winter come around, I get into a very Indie mood.  I visualize lying by the fireplace with some super chill tunes and a glass of wine, and all the lights down low.  It's a great way to stay warm in the cold weather.  Anyhow, here's a list of a few indie artists and tunes that made me smile this year; hope it does for you as well =D

The Weepies

Not Your Year
Please Speak Well of Me
Nobody Knows Me At All
Hideaway
Gotta Have You
All That I Want
Take It From Me
Painting by Chagall




Kings of Convenience
I'd Rather Dance With You
Misread
Renegade 
Homesick
Gold For the Price of Silver (remix)
I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (remix)

Stars


Undertow

Changes
Wasted Daylight

Arcade Fire


Sprawl ii
Wake up

Phoenix


Long Distance Call
Girlfriend
Holdin' on Together
Everything is Everything

5 Awesome Places to Eat in DC

By no means do I consider myself a food critic.  In fact, I'm kind of baffled at how much love the average American has for food.  But I figured, if I find a place that I actually like eating at, other people will LOVE eating there.  So here it is guys, 5 awesome places I've discovered this year on my daily lunch outings while working in DC...

1.  Vapianos - This place is awesome.  Neat decor, fresh ingredients and delicious pasta made to order right in front of you.  They have pots of herbs growing all over the restaurant, and it's just cool seeing them pluck them straight from the plant and into your pasta.  So far I've had the Granchi de Fiume and the Filetto di Manzo e Rucola.  Both were simply amazing.  Another neat thing is the payment system; each person is given a card to scan their orders onto, so there's no headache splitting bills with groups.  I've only been to the Ballston location, and my only minor gripe is that all seats are stool style with no back support;  not a big fan of that.  Expect to spend at least $14.

2. Roti - Since eating at Roti, I've never been to Chipotle again.  This place just blew Chipotle out of the water in my mind.  It's like a Mediterranean spin on burritos and rice bowls with 10x fresher/better ingredients.  My typical order here is a Steak Sandwhich (sandwhich=burrito here) with dill yogurt sauce, which runs for $7.50 before tax.  Dining in is also enjoyable with some commendable decor for the limited space they've had to work with.  Expect to stand in a line extending well out the door if you get there at peak noon time.

3. Brown Bag - For lunch, this place has it all.  Salads, sandwhiches, soups, even freshly cooked pasta.  Seating is a bit limited, but the abundance of options makes up for that.  This place has a "cute secret spot" feel to it.

4. Devon & Blakely -  If you like soup, this is your spot.  There must be at least 20+ different soups to choose from daily, and you can sample anything before buying.  Not to mention, they have a good selection of wraps and sandwiches, salads, desserts, and a coffee bar.  A Wonderful place.

5. G-Street Food - Another madly popular lunch spot for local DC workers.  A large sandwich selection, and even dishes like kabobs, lamb, unique pizzas and amazing salads.  My personal favorite here is the Kalbi (Korean steak kabob).

Top 5 Chain Restaurant Soups

Wow, for a second there I actually forgot I had a blog. Let's try to get this thing up off the ground again.

I'm a big soup guy. I love soup, but it's pretty hard to find a good reasonably priced bowl of soup on-the-go. Over my 3 years working in DC, these are my top 5 soups:

1. Potbelly's Loaded Baked Potato - to me, this has got it all. It's loaded (hence the title) with substance, flavor, and that subtle warmth that just makes you feel good inside. Served only on Wednesday's and Thursdays.

2. Cosi's Lobster Bisque - I think this was a limited time special offering, but damn was it good. With a hint of sweet honeynut squash and actual chunks of lobster meat, you can't ask for much more from a chain store. Be on the lookout to see if this pops up on their soup menu again.

3. Met Cafe's Miso Soup - I had to throw in an Asian soup. This is by no means any special version of Miso Soup. The reason it's on here is because a bowl is free when you buy 1 lb. of sushi. And you can't beat free. What ticks me off is when people in front of me are stealing all the tofu pieces. Comon people. Check out their sister store Soho Cafe at 1901 Penn Ave NW.

4. Panera Bread's Chicken Tortilla - I love me some Chicken Tortilla, and this is the only chain store I know that serve's it, so there isn't much to compare to. I'd love to hear of better versions.

5. Bonefish Grill's Corn Chowder with Lump Crab - Okay I'm kinda reaching here since Bonefish is a bit higher class than most chain restaurants. But anyways...mmmmmm...

I'd love to hear what your favorite soups are, and which ones I've forgotten about.
Thanks!

I could totally scare my dog with this

Why I'm done with dating...for now

Just first want to say these are own personal biased opinions based on my experiences, and by no means fact or truth.

To me, romantic love is a very selfish thing. It's all about finding someone to fill a hole in your life, to fulfill your wants and needs, and a way to solve that 'loneliness'. And once you're involved in a relationship, a large part of your life is dedicated to a single person.

On the other hand, brotherly love extends to everyone in the world, and doesn't focus on just a single person. Brotherly love is much more productive, easily shared without drama, and can bring many people together under greater causes. Also, from a religious standpoint, Jesus never involved himself in romantic love as far as I know, and brotherly love is probably one of the key themes of the bible.

To dedicate an enormous amount of energy, time, and emotion on a single person greatly limits what you are capable of achieving in life, how you can change the world, and the number of people you can touch. I think back on the 6 years I had been dating various people, and can't really think of anything special I've accomplished. Then again, my memory is awful, but that's another story. I've been single now for about a year and a half now and have since done things I would never have imagined.

Don't get me wrong; to find and enjoy a romantic relationship with someone else is a great gift we have as human beings. So is marriage. But I'd kind of just like for people to think for one minute just how much more they could accomplish, and how much bigger their picture on life would be, if all that time and energy they spent chasing the opposite sex were redirected to something else. If you can somehow find a way to feel completely content with your life and what you have, you may just be able to get rid of that lonely feeling.

Take me away

inspired by the Flyleaf album cover