(This is a picture of me (MONA) when I was 2.5 years old!)

So, I thought about it, and I have many recollections when I was very young. One memorializing event was when I realized how people look at me from a distant. Because I saw my self in the mirror all the time, I kept wondering how I looked like in someone else’s eye. Strange as it may sound, but I do remember that.

I also remember the time when we arrived home from a long trip. I remember bags brought in to the house, and me standing looking around the house leaning against the wall in the living room.

I also remember one time when we were on a trip, and my dad did not want to drive in the mud, and the trip was over!

I finally remember, and I was always remember when my mom used to rock me to sleep in the balcony and sing me songs. The reason I remember this because my mom keeps telling me that she had serious time putting me to sleep when I was young.

I don’t know what age I was. I could have been 3, 4 or 5. All I remember was vague images of childhood. Some say it is best to not look at pictures when you were young, especially event related pictures, and try to remember something from the past.

Do you remember anything as far back as three years old?

Oh dear, I cannot believe it. 13 years in this country and I spent around 12 years of it complaining. You have to realize that I had a personal website live on the inter-web back then. That’s how much of a loser I was. I wrote poems (complaining about my life), shared favourite actors pictures (Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis, etc), and the best thing of all, I was in still in highschool studying the process of photosynthesis and the detailed stages of meiosis.

Was I destined to be a programmer? Was I destined to complain all my life? I keep telling a lady at work that all I do is complain. I just love it, and I find fault in everything. I just love perfection and being super organized. I get a headache when there is chaos and disorganization.

Therefore, I should be thankful that a country accepted us as citizens. The funny thing that 13 years ago, when I arrived to this land, it was written in my immigration papers that my country of birth nationality was the following: Stateless. I was a gal without a country. Now, I got a second beautiful home, and a beautiful story and love of my Palestinian country and ancestors to share with the world.

My blog this year won so many awards, that I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count them! NOT!! (Didn’t I sound cheesy and dorky like the rest of the bloggers out there?) But yes, my blog won a lot of invisible mind boggling awards. I won people’s readerships. That’s the biggest award I can get as a blogger. I don’t care about best blog, or best writer, or best anything. Who cares? It’s like winning a virtual banner to advertise someone else’s bright idea that started the campaign.

Really, if the prize was money based, then people will be all over it! I would be so all over it!

So, I am gonna list the top blog posts this year by comments, my favorites, and ones that I should have never published, but found their way online cause of my insomnia or excessive amounts of coffee!

Top Blog Posts 2009 | Comments & Reactions

1. April 28, 2009 | It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a conspiracy theory!
2. June 7, 2009 | The Arab Blogorette
3. June 16, 2009 | I think it is time for change!
4. August 25, 2009 | Why are Muslims turning Atheists?
5. August 30, 2009 | Analysis: It is much harder to get rid of her
6. September 7, 2009 | Arabs marrying non-Arabs
7. September 18, 2009 | Window shopping for a bride
8. October 27, 2009 | Symbols of being different

Top Blog Posts 2009 | Monaism & Love

1. January 15, 2009 | Are good people always the victims of life?
2. March 31, 2009 | How accurate is this?
3. April 20, 2009 | Airports think I am a perv!
4. May 21, 2009 | A way to relieve stress
5. July 15, 2009 | Teaching a child the basics of the internet world
6. September 6, 2009 | No Comment
7. September 24, 2009 | I am sick and tired of looking for work!!! NO MORE!
8. December 4, 2009 | The typicals
9. December 26, 2009 | I am the master of my choices

Top Blog Pots 2009 | Those That Should Have Never Been

1. January 28, 2009 | The blogging world is run by monkeys
2. May 4, 2009 | I thought I held the title of taking things too seriously
3. June 20, 2009 | The media has been following me for over two decades
4. September 26, 2009 | I don’t like talking about sex in public

I remember four or five years ago, when the climax of the online social networking scene started erupting, and like others who wanted to jump on the bandwagon and take advantage of the revolution, I dropped all my other websites and wanted to join all this commotion. The word web-blog was still unheard of or misunderstood by the majority of the Internet users. Who would want to write anything personal online? Who would read it? Who cares what is said?

Amusingly, I had a personal website years ago. I wrote out some poems, some thoughts, a little about me, and I attempted web designing something without any formal training. I liked web design because I thought of it as art, and I was an artist. I wanted to show at least one person out there that I have a little of bit of talent and persistence in creating something visual in an open medium.

Over time, this visual design was not enough for me. I can make something visually pleasing, but what about my writing? I practiced very hard. I read so many articles, and took writing courses in University because I wanted to write. I wanted to enhance my talent in writing because I had this tool, this online public presence that would not last unless I improved and became exceptional in it.

Everything that I learned over the years from writing for publication and from web-designing was over whelming, but helped tremendously. However, the only thing that I had to learn on my own is to be honest. To say what’s on my mind, and do the things that I want to do and portray them the way I want them to be portrayed, and let others accept it for what it is.

Be true to your self. Don’t just write for an audience. Write for your self, and convince your self first with a thought before you click that publish button to try and convince others.

The Keys to Open the Various Doors

It is hard to spread the word about something you created. People don’t realize how powerful the social networking medium is. Blogs are a part of it, but other social networking tools (sites) such as Twitter, Facebook, Friend Feed, and My Blog Log are the biggest aides for your blog.

Till now, I know people that refuse to use Twitter and they refuse to use Facebook. They refuse to do anything in the social networking scene and interact with their audience. Yet, they run a blog? And they wonder why it is not as successful.

The year 2009 has truly enhanced my blog beyond belief. Those aides helped me and removed a huge burden off my shoulders from continuing to advertise my blog. I didn’t have time or the patience to do it. I used to go on various blogs and just leave comments just so people will know I exist. I didn’t know who read my blog or who commented on it. I didn’t know how those commentors looked like, their personality, or what they like or don’t like. I couldn’t do my job because I didn’t know who I am up against. I didn’t know who was out there. But now I do…

God bless social networking!

Watch out everyone! You cannot survive as a blogger in 2010 without taking advantage of everything else around you in the social networking scene. I suggest you keep up and see how the Internet is shaping up. It’s going to get very exciting in the upcoming year. I can’t wait.

Where to Find Me?

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rebelliousgirl

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rebelliousarabgirl

Friend Feed: http://www.friendfeed.com/rebelliousarabgirl

Twitpic Photo Album: http://www.twitpic.com/photos/rebelliousgirl

Technorati: http://technorati.com/blogs/www.rebelliousarabgirl.net

My Blog Log: http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/rebelliousarabgirl

Alexa: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/rebelliousarabgirl.net

and last but not least..

My blog: http://www.rebelliousarabgirl.net

I wonder how much my bosses will sell those custom modules for!

Anyways, I am working on implementing a community right now. The part I have been working on is the simplest part. Guess what I am implementing from scratch? Yep, you guessed it! I am creating a blog!

How did my hobby become my life?

I thought writing in a blog was fun, but try creating one from scratch. I should work for WordPress.org. Seriously, also, I do all that fancy quick interface stuff like Facebook dynamic visual craziness. I am slowly becoming a Javascript and Ajax guru. Maybe Yahoo or Google can hire me later in life!

I feel like I am still behind, and I need more time to mature as a computer programmer.

On a side note, I need to seriously get the new module or feature I have been eying installed and ready to go on my site. I couldn’t the past weekend because the stupid thing I downloaded wouldn’t work with my template. Argh!! I hate hate hate editing someone else’s awful code. It’s like my worst nightmare!