I was looking for url encoding and decoding reference and found this cool resource.. http://www.w3schools.com/TAGS/ref_urlencode.asp

In C# to encode or decode string Uri.EscapeDataString and Uri.UnescapeDataString

so, due to my lack of thanksgiving plans, i decided to spend the holiday with my beloved little sister and extended family, and it made me realize so many things about us. we are two years apart in age, but two months apart mentality. she is just like me, and she doesn’t even know it. i swear—everything that comes out of her mouth came out of mine at one point. all of her random dramatic outbursts. every single one of her boy problems. every time she hated her parents. every time she skipped school. every time she got grounded. i am literally watching her relive my life, and it is the weirdest thing ever. and maybe because i know how i react to rules and restrictions, i let her be a little more free when she’s with me. i let her be grown. i let her hang with me as a bestfriend, not a big sister. she meets the people i care about, and viceversa. she comes to stay with me…but does her own thing. and that’s fine because i know her. no matter how many times you tell her, some mistakes she has to make on her own. and i let her. and i make sure i’m there for her when she makes them, like i wanted somebody to be there for me. and we fought all the time as kids…and now, as we grow older–we realize that we are twins. and that we love each other unconditionally. and that is rare. because neither of us trust easily.

but we trust each other. and that is something to be thankful for.

i sincerely apologize for not giving you anything new to indulge in. lol. sorry for not providing you the daily pieces of my life and advice, but trust me-to all my consistent readers- there have been some massive turnarounds. some huge changes. you might want to stay tuned because right now.

on this sunday morning.

with the sun looking straight through my windows.

laying in this warm bed.

stomach full of wings.

woke up from the greatest nap.

missing the person i napped with.

sitting here listening to “human nature” and it fits my mood perfectly,

if the feeling that i refuse to let escape me.

so i’m scrolling, contemplating deleting these tags like SAD, ANGRY, FUCK LOVE, etc.

because those topics are no longer relevant in my life.

i have claimed it.

By default when you add a WCF Service reference in WPF, it does not give async functions. If your application needs async features, while adding a reference to the service, lookout for a ‘Advanced’ button on Add service reference window at bottom right corner. On clicking on that button, a new window appears. There is a checkbox called ‘Generate Asynchronous Operations’. Hit Ok and you are done!

Simple isn’t it

Is beauty really in the eye of the beholder? Is it all around us, or only where you look for it?
What does beauty look like?  What does it sound like? Feel like?

Well yes,sure beauty does really lie in the eye of the beholder.Anything i find attractive need not be seen in the same way be you….and for good.
Or we would all end up liking the same person if we all found just one person attractive!!
I Remember the time when during graduation,one of my close friend used to often talk with this, well, i can say ‘not so attractive guy’ ( If you know what i mean !).
And we used to ask her if she were in love with that person for any dumb luck of hers and of course to the good luck of the guy…
And the reply was a groan with her eyes rolling suggesting we were completely insane to even ask something like that…
i recieved a call from her recently after years of our Jobs seperating us.And guess what people…The two are getting married next year!
well it really made me think about this guy in question in a whole new perspective and changed my whole thought process..
Different people will find different things beautiful and these differences of opinion don’t matter greatly.
It made me think there is something beautiful about a person that we all cannot see. It appeals to one’s Soul. It makes them complete.That is what makes them beautiful.
Yes, this is what i find so strange about attraction and beauty (inner and outer), feelings and emotions.

[ And it makes me wonder who came up with this quote....And I Guess it was some poor guy with a real ugly girlfriend!(Sorry for that dumb PJ).]

Jokes apart,But i do tend to think if this quote appeals to all five senses? (Taste, Touch, Smell, Sight, Sound).And now i believe it does,
because beauty is combined with pleasure and sorrow as well…Because it is sometimes the unseen which is more beautiful….
it is the silence that is more powerful than words….it is only the vague that you sometimes seem to understand….It is sometimes pain that that eases your soul….
As for me,Beauty looks like the morning rays kissing the lacy seas and the waters glittering in acknowledgment,Beauty sounds like a baby’s laughter.
And Beauty feels like a tight hug from someone you love and the winds circling and dancing around you as if to make that moment special…

But no matter what the saying goes…..women will never be happy about the way they look…
But its ironic that whenever we talk of beauty we somehow tend to relate it to a WOMAN.
I just feel that when GOD created woman he was surely trying to show off !! Ha ha…( Man,I am so glad to be a woman ! )
In some article i read, the observation was made that women tend to see more detail than men .
Tadaa so there lies the culprit ! And there are always moments when we are either feeling superior or inferior,better off or worse off than
compared to others
No doubt the superior moments are elating…but there are just some rare times when you feel EQUAL.
When we think of beauty the thought of we being the BEST or trying to become the BEST creeps and dwells in our mind….
But we need to know that there is no such thing as “BEST” in a world full of individuals…

We are all Beautiful !!

Cheers

♣Nairobi

even though i am not going to be home with my family and friends and pets, i have sooo much to be thankful for. my list is not the average list though, but great things to be thankful for, nevertheless. short, sweet, and NOT all inclusive. don’t be offended.

[in NO particular order of course. lol.]

1. mandarin oranges] no peels. they’re like miniature heaven.

2. sharpies] the colors of my life.

3. momdukes] taught me everything i know.

4. oversized earrings] they save every white tee+leggings+boots type of outfit. lol.

5. musiq soulchild] got me through alot in life.

6. omega psi phi] made my father the man he is today.

7. bojangles] you ALREADY know.

8. my AMAZING friends] who else am i supposed to laugh at?

9. brown sugar, thing 2 and twin] the people who keep me alive every second of every day.

10. wordpress.com] seriously, i think you just saved my life.

you all know how i feel about thanksgiving. i don’t get into the turkey or the atmosphere or the warm, fuzzy feeling. so this THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR LIST is already a stretch. be thankful,

it’s thanksgiving and stuff.

For the framework element set KeyboardNavigation.TabIndex="<number goes here>"

Simple isn’t it?

i don’t get mad. i get even. in every sense of the word. what a random statement to start off with without any background, right? lol. let’s just say, i was just encouraged to start a new series entitled: THE REAL WORLD: Bryant St, because the things that happen in this house can’t be seen anywhere else.

granted, 1] people are raised differently, 2] people have different habits/routines/methods of doing things, but ultimately 3] people are DIFFERENT. different personalities and different weaknesses. in this house, ALL of that comes into play.

like Scene 1…ACTION. somebody complain about garbage being downstairs after MONTHS of never taking it out. Scene 2…somebody use up all the tissue, paper towels, washing powder, sugar, milk, eggs, ground beef that they didn’t pay for [and anything else essential to life that they could easily get a hold of even if it doesn't belong to they]. and THEN complain about somebody touching their doorknob. oooh oooh ooh…i got a good one! Scene 3…somebody let their boyfriend live in this house full of girls and walk around freely at all times of the night although we like to walk around halfnaked in our OWN house.

there’s never a dull moment.

full of hypocrisy. blood and tears. love and hate. blogs and tweets. locks and music. missing ground beef. chocolate chip cookies.

and of course,

bleach

to be continued…trust me, there’s always more.

I am going to start a new contest with my blog. I love posting sneak peaks of the sessions that I have had recently. I also love for my clients to earn a little something, so I am offering a free 8×10 of their choice if their blog post reaches 10 comments!    It’s the simple things in life!

For example, you need to upload log file in case of error from desktop application to remote site using WCF service and if the log file is too big, you might have to tweak your WCF service’s Web.config.

By default the configuration for the service will be

      <services>
            <service behaviorConfiguration="ServiceBehavior" name="Service">
                <endpoint address="" binding="basicHttpBinding" contract="IService">
                </endpoint>
                <endpoint address="mex" binding="mexHttpBinding" contract="IMetadataExchange"/>
            </service>
        </services>

You need to specify the binding manually and add binding reference as highlighted below.   

    <services>
            <service behaviorConfiguration="ServiceBehavior" name="Service">
                <endpoint address="" binding="basicHttpBinding" bindingConfiguration="BasicHttpBinding_IService" contract="IService">
                </endpoint>
                <endpoint address="mex" binding="mexHttpBinding" contract="IMetadataExchange"/>
            </service>
        </services>
        <bindings>
                <basicHttpBinding>
                    <binding name="BasicHttpBinding_IService" closeTimeout="00:01:00"
                        openTimeout="00:01:00" receiveTimeout="00:10:00" sendTimeout="00:01:00"
                        allowCookies="false" bypassProxyOnLocal="false" hostNameComparisonMode="StrongWildcard"
                        maxBufferSize="2147483647" maxBufferPoolSize="2147483647"
                        maxReceivedMessageSize="2147483647" messageEncoding="Text"
                        textEncoding="utf-8" transferMode="Buffered" useDefaultWebProxy="true">
                        <readerQuotas maxDepth="32" maxStringContentLength="2147483647"
                            maxArrayLength="2147483647" maxBytesPerRead="4096" maxNameTableCharCount="16384" />
                        <security mode="None">
                            <transport clientCredentialType="None" proxyCredentialType="None"
                                realm="" />
                            <message clientCredentialType="UserName" algorithmSuite="Default" />
                        </security>
                    </binding>
                </basicHttpBinding>
            </bindings>

That’s it Simple isn’t it?

tonight, i can’t write.

sewing together thoughts,

patching together sentences,

but nothing sounds right.

everything sounds broken

and makeshift

and i hope my mind doesn’t make this

a habit.

because lord knows i need my words.

lord knows i need my sanity,

so fix my words.

and my thoughts, please.

fix my metaphors and similes.

fix my nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

and everything else that usually comes out of me

naturally

on every other night,

other than tonight

because tonight,

nothing i write

sounds right.

damn broken words…

sigh.

tomorrow will be the day that i wake up and do everything that i should have done last week. all in one day. YES, i am superwoman as of tomorrow. i am getting my schoolwork together. i am LIVING in the a-building tomorrow getting my account right. i am checking on people who say they never see me. having lunch with an old friend and spending time with a new friend…

and speaking of friends: i am getting mine back tomorrow. we are all going out to dinner. we are all talking everything out. because it makes no sense not to. in the next few days, everybody will be going their separate ways for the week to spend time with family. we should probably patch things up here, before we leave out.

you know me. i’m all about closure. endings and beginnings. starts and finishes.

speaking of endings: i wish i could patch things up with someone else tomorrow before he leaves, since i’m on a roll. i kinda just wish we could break the silence for one day to get everything out, then go home to our families/friends, and go our separate ways from there. i heard a song for HIM today. it never related to him until today. it’s not new. nothing recent. nothing special.

before you walk out of my life[monica].

everything i want to say to him right now because none of this just goes away. none of this erases itself and i know you’re over there forcing it. i know it. because i know you. better than half the people who claim to. and sometimes i miss…

I MEAN–i wish…

we could grow up.

so yea. tomorrow. the day of BUSINESS and BRANDNEWNESS. i’m already ready. washed my hair. got my to-do-list on deck. did the calendar for the week. sooo, 8am…i will see you shortly.

and i didn’t throw all his stuff away yet. i didn’t have time. i’ve been in church all afternoon…

right?

didn’t have time…….

I’m so grateful…. listened to the football announcer call out my son’s name after many plays… “tackle by Baker Zink”… “brought down by Baker Zink”…..  I could have blocked out everything… but considered the simple things.  He stood on a large field, covered like a gladiator.. and met another head-on… I’m so grateful.. just that he can stand.. play… run… 

This morning, I sat on the edge of Belle’s bed… a couple dozen braids in her thick hair… pouty little, round face….  she called out from her warm bed, “Daddy, can you get me a drink….?”  I’m grateful and it was my privilege…. to spend precious moments of her day braiding her hair…

Dad called…. drove across town to stop by one of our construction sites.. just checking in…. I’m grateful…  Funny to hear him laugh, the same laugh of my childhood.. But now, it’s warm to me…  I’m grateful for friends, family…

I’m grateful.. watched leaves fall for weeks after turning to brilliant yellows and reds… walked miles of trail… pet a stray pitbull… watched the fog settle in over the river…. 

I’m grateful for heroes… losers… winners…  beggars… for that mighty hand that cups us all.. shakes us out… calls us equal. The hand that sets us up… and takes us down….

I’m grateful for my immediate family…  We are truly… definitively… a family… My little girl…. my boy.  I’m grateful that hearts are capable of hardening… softening… becoming callus… melting… I’m grateful to be one of the lucky, blessed inhabitants of this big place.. given the second chance to reposition my unstable steps…  Stripped of the unnecessary interferences of life… my eyes are clear now… and I’m grateful for the walk I’ve taken.  As I break bread this week, I have a heart of thanksgiving.  There is much for which to be grateful…. the immeasurably, insignificant, priceless things…

just got a call from the boy that i thought would never call. but he did.

see—this boy is one of those boys that when you meet him, you know that you’ll never meet someone like him again. we’ll call him…ummm…well…idk yet. that’s just how shocked i was. i met this boy in the summer going to tenth grade at a journalism convention. didn’t even live in the same city. talked everyday our senior year, but never wanted to be more than good friends. made the hour and a half drive both ways every so often to kick it. fantasized about what our spouses/family/jobs would be like in the future. never fantasized about them being conjoint. and it’s bad that i was just talking about him yesterday, and he happens to call. and the minute i saw his number pop up, i smiled. nowadays, no one remembers too many phone numbers. you know, the usual: mom cell, mom work, the crib, pops cell, pops work, one grandma, brother, boyfriend, job…you know.

but i memorized his number, and still know it by heart. and he still makes me laugh hysterically the entire time we talked.

even when i told him about this tragic breakup.

“danggg ash, you good?”

mannn, i wasn’t good until he asked. lol.

“yea, B. i’m good. you know me,” i tell him.

he always thought i was invincible and everything i did was amazing. i would go visit my mom in charlotte. he would tell me i was always traveling. he thinks i’m a genius. i pretty much am. he thinks i can work a million jobs. i pretty much can. he thinks that i have a million friends. i pretty much do.

he thinks that i haven’t missed him. he thinks i am still an “A” student. he thinks i’m dealing with this breakup just perfectly.

he was sooo right to call,

but so wrong about all of this.

i hope he calls back soon. we have a lot of catching up to do (:

i’m sooo stubborn. i accept all these offers to chill and kick it and watch movies and go on dates, only to decline them last minute. just to be able to sit in the comfort of my room. i don’t watch my favorite tv show. i don’t put on my favorite movie. i blog. and i tweet. and i blog. and i tweet until i fall asleep thirty minutes later. now, i always complain about how bored i am and  how i wish i could be somewhere with someone doing something, but really…i’d just rather be here between these four walls. because when i’m here, i don’t have to dress up. i don’t have to do my hair. i don’t have to go out in the cold. i don’t even have to wear pants.

because my blog can’t see me. and neither can facebook or twitter.

and that is the kind of comfort that i am sure i won’t find with anyone anywhere else—now that he’s gone.

and she says i can only pinch myself so many times before i become immune to the sting. so now it’s down to BAREBONED, UNLEASHED, UNCOVERED R E A L N E S S .

she begins:

this is not going to happen, ashley.

this is over, ashley.

he doesn’t care, ashley.

he doesn’t deserve you, ashley.

he sleeps good every night, ashley.

he has somebody else now, ashley.

he doesn’t want yall to be friends, ashley.

he doesn’t think about, miss, or love you anymore, ashley.

well, thank you. thank you so very much little sister for the truth

because you and i have always been blind to being rejected.

but if you can see this truth, then how am i missing it?

get your life together, ashley.

you’re way too cute for this, ashley.

you’re being a punk right now, ashley.

let it go, ashley.

just let it go.

i did, little sister.

i have.

or i’ve tried.

….

i’m trying to now.

….

i’m trying to from now on.

dang.

i just need a little help.

go on a date, ashley.

go party with the girls, ashley.

send me your closet, ashley.

alright.

you’re pushing it.

(:

[i.love.her]

so i’m sore. and i’m hungry. and i have been in my bed for HOURS straight.

but i am not blogging to complain.

i am blogging to..umm. clear my mind, because i have spent the last few hours in my bed doing random things such as looking up the WORLD’S TOP 25 SERIAL KILLERS and the 20-page biographies that followed.

yep. i was just that bored.

restricted to SOUP, ENSURE, or MILKSHAKES for the next day and a half, i am likely to die of starvation. so i am ordering hotwings. i am emailing my teachers. i am booking flights for christmas. i am writing [YES, LITERALLY WRITING] a letter to my best friend. listening to the tunes and sirius radio on tv simultaneously and tweeting song lyrics because my tunes is BOOMIN right now. i am looking up national news [that is another post in itself. smh.] googling home remedies for chest pains. deleting old text messages that i saved : ( . unfollowing people who are boring tweeters, and girls i should not have followed in the first place.

and pointlessly wandering facebook…

all so that i won’t think about people i promised i would stop thinking about.

as amy winehouse comes on shuffle.

“wake up alone”.

how appropriate.

After the huge amount of hard work to pull of last weeks event (which you can read about here on my shiney new work blog) – I have suddenly come down with the poorlies. Which has meant a couple of days off work convalescing, sitting in my PJs and bored sh*tless by daytime TV.

However, I was cheered up no end by a ‘little incident’ that happened this morning.

V left for work at around 7.30ish – but not 10 minutes after I had snuffled by goodbye to him he was back.

A bird had shat on his head when he was just 5 minutes from our front door.

Oh I shouldn’t laugh – but he does take so much time getting his hair just right in the morning.

As I say – it’s the simple things sometimes.  Especially for an invalid confined to her bed.