And now we turn two

… so it’s been two years since my first post.

I started (typically) by uploading an image that I had saved years ago and which I thought was cute (might I add to that that at that point, Blogger still didn’t have the image upload feature and I had to figure out how to link images using html).

For And Far Away, there were no hellos, there were no introductions, there were no “this is my first post”-style first posts. There was a headfirst dive into the world of blogging. Splash, splash.

This blog has gone through many transformations since that initial dive, in terms of content and design. The content grew as I grew, it changed according to my whims and fancies. It’s funny reading all the old posts and remembering what I was thinking as I blogged the older pictures and the older posts- they are full of memories, especially of people who I have drifted further away from during the past two years. I’m definitely a different person today than I was when I first started And Far Away.

Naturally, the visuals of this blog have changed a lot too in the past 2 years. The readers definitely get attached to the visuals, and some still email me saying they miss the very first design of “And Far Away” (which was very simple, white with a red header), and others are fond of bringing up the street header which was so much more ‘alive’(which is still functioning here) than the third design with the gray background and the city scene.

Today, to celebrate the beginning of the third year, I’m changing the design once again. I’m sure the “I like the old design better” emails and comments will keep coming, which is cool, it’s so interesting to see people get attached to a design, but personally, I think I like this new design the best so far. There’s a lot of white, a lot of colors, shoes, and best of all, there’s Amman right up there over everything else. This design gives an instant identity on first impression; it’s yelling, “Hey world, this blog is coming to you from Amman, Jordan” and I absolutely love that.

So here’s to a third year, And Far Away, live and kicking from the heart of the Jordanian capital, Amman.

I never though it so possible to love a page on the internet so completely.

Check out the first anniversary post ever.






  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennashaw Jenna

    html mess-up in the link to your old blogger page ;)

    Liking the new design, keep up the good work…this blog really is unlike any other out there, Jordanian/Arab or not.

  • http://www.black-iris.com Nas

    well let me be amongst the first to say mabrook first of all for blogging this long. for being an essential part of the jordanian blogosphere second of all. and lastly, the header is kick ass and you have to tell me how you made it. :-D

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Awww, my first two comments!

    Jenna, thanks, I fixed it :) Are you in Jordan yet? And thanks for your sweet words :)

    Nas, thanks man! Two years.. seems like longer. Glad you like the header :) I made it with Illustrator.

  • http://deessedechocolat.spaces.live.com/ nada

    Robaaaaaa =D
    3ogbal il 77 saneh ya rab heheeee
    the new banner is so yummiiiii ;D
    berfect… beautifooouuuuul =P
    love you maaan

  • Jenna

    Jordan on the 29th September for 11 days, then back to UK, then onto UAE in November, then back to UK for Christmas, then tentative plans to spend much of 2007 in UAE. Such a hard life ;)

    I’m still dreading landing during Ramadan though. I’m grouchy without food, but I guess it never hurts to try something. Although, of course, I’m not actually expected to fast, especially outside the family home.

    Ramadan karim :)

  • http://zozo2k3.blogspot.com Yazan

    kel seneh w enti salmeh…

    na3eeman 3ala al new look, bas still, u strike me as more “red-ish”… I liked the last one better… ;)

  • http://batir.jeeran.com Batir

    All my best wishes for a wonderful girl and a fantastic blogger. You are one of the very few who can combine between attractive design and great content. Keep up the great work.

  • http://www.thescatterload.com Hamzeh N.

    Congratulations on blogging for so long. Can we start calling you 7ajjeh now? :D

    I have an unrelated question. Who would I have to talk to in JP to fix the URL to my blog? Because it’s still pointing to my old blog. And I tried to send you an email but gmail says your email account doesn’t exist. I know the plus sign has something to do with it.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Nada, lol, thanks. The header remids me of you more than anyone else.

    Jenna, it’s not too bad :) You don’t really get hungry…

    Yazan, o inta salem :) I am a “redder” person, but really, it’s all about the colors :)

    Batir, thank you :)

    Hamzeh, no 7ajjehs for me :P Ma bilba2li :P
    I will pass on your request to Father JP. As for my email, it should be working fine, I just emailed myself on that and it’s all fine and dandy. Otherwise, try roba . assi @ gmail.com (minus all the spaces, but spammers, urgh)

  • http://healingiraq.blogspot.com Zeyad

    Happy Blogday!

    I don’t know, but I think I preferred the previous design. Still, the artwork above is really cool. You did it yourself?

  • Who stole the my Rainbow

    Honestly, the colors of the rainbow are making it stick out “un-beautiful-ily”, especially the “almost orange” top color, and that whatever it is bottom one. I understand that you won’t be able to use the true rainbow colors (angry sigh), and I kind of see some “Warholic” influence on the selection of the 5 colors, but I think you can come up with something smoother and better blending (color wise), to create the color contrast in the background.

    P.S. The above statement has the credibility of homeless bum analyzing the effect of the mortgage rates on the real estate market. It is completely ignorable.

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Zeyad, oh, yeah. Come on, where would I find such Ammani stuff otherwise? :P

    Who-stole-my-rainbow, thank you for your insight, totally appreciated. I actually spent a lot of time working on the rainbow in particular, and it was difficult to not get it to look like it’s out of a Care Bears episode, so I resorted to using the most “trendy” colors. I like them, but I will try to look further into it, as this header is supposed to be dynamic (which is why the clothesline is there, to hang stuff!) :)

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Yay I have Ajax commenting. Tres cool.

  • http://omernos.blogspot.com omar

    I want to marry your header

    i’m
    in
    love!

    omg
    You’re like, the best blog design ever! EVER! EVERRRRRRRR
    I used to say Mark’s 2:48 AM’s for it’s super minimal, but this AMMANY vectory header, with the rainbow and the clean lines is just wooing me!

    Happy 2nd Anniversary Robs,
    You’ve always managed a great interesting blog
    Rock on! :D

    omar

  • http://healingiraq.blogspot.com Zeyad

    Nice!

    Okay, I’ve decided that I like this one more.

  • http://linasturmoil.blogspot.com Lina

    I love the new design :)

    and while I’m at it, I love your blog ;) and love that I discovered it when it was 5 months old!

    oh, and you have to give me a photoshop crash course Roobs ;)

  • http://moey.wordpress.com Moey

    your blog was the first jordanian blog that i spot..

  • Ziad D.

    Nice layout Roba.. :)

  • rami

    really nice, but u obviously have a lot of time on ur hands to be blogging daily and redesigning bi-weekly …

    u remind of the iyyam il-khawali, when i was 22, graduating from Uni of Jordan back in 1998 with a lot of free time to do all kinds of stuff…

    let’s c if u will keep this up after u start working …

    good luck from a fab or ur blog …

  • rami

    fan

  • rami

    of ur blog

  • http://rebecca-jordan.livejournal.com/ rebeca

    What? No satelite dishes? No, seriously, though, I love the skyline.

  • Ziad

    Love the new banner!

    Mabrook, and sorry for the long absence :)

    P.S. I’ve read every one of your posts :P

  • http://omars2cents.blogspot.com Omar

    Congrats Roba,
    This is a very fresh look, I like it a lot
    you’re a very talented person :)

  • http://21stcenturyshea.blogspot.com Peter S

    The new banner is superb & sublime & sly…it is…robaesque. :)

    (Do I get credit for coining a new word?)

  • Oleander

    mabrook :) it looks great

  • http://silveraminoacid.wordpress.com Amino

    Congrats! Me loves the new header, great job gurl ;)

  • http://thearabobserver.blogspot.com/ The Observer

    Happy 2 years of blogging. Congratulations.

    I honestly prefer the old red image. It gave more style to your blog than this new one. Maybe the new one has a lot of black, or maybe it still doesn’t fit with the color of the menu below the image. I guess you still need to work on this one. The layout is good, but the image needs some more brightness.

    Keep up the good work…

  • http://donthatemebecauseimbeautifulandsmart.blogspot.com {13}

    Red shOe..& rainbOw…h’m…?!…

  • http://bakkouz.net bakkouz

    Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal !!!
    hada ana jay mit2akher kteeeeeeeeer.
    yalla baseeta baseeta, better late than never moo?
    Alf mabrook o 3o2bal il 100 years of blogging o 3o2bal il 1000000 spam comments =p

  • http://www.ramblinghal.blogspot.com Hal

    Rami – don’t judge people when you know so little about them. I bet the girl has less time than you do: she attends classes at the university and has SEVERAL jobs, that keep her up until all hours of the night. Get off your might horse.

    And Roba, this is hands down the best blog banner I have ever, EVER come across. I reeeeeeeally like it. I want to attend that crash course with Lina! Wellek happy aniversary, and Ramadan kareem, and I will pay you to never stop blogging ever.

  • http://dudettesblog.blogspot.com Dima

    I like this design!! :)

  • http://blog.sweetestmemories.com Qwaider قويدر

    I can PROUDLY say, I’m a huge fan, WAY TO GO Roba.
    Your blog is FASCINATING, the new look is AMAZING and the progress you made is astronomical. I am soooooooooooo proud of you. This is THE BEST looking blog I’ve ever seen in my life, hands down …
    Allah ya3teeki el 3afyeh…..
    This success is worth way more than my few words here in your comment field, but But I’m sure you’re rewarded by your own success way more than words.

  • http://blog.sweetestmemories.com Qwaider قويدر

    WOW!!! the submit comment ANIMATION also kicks ass … WOW !!!!!! This is just AAAMMMMAAAIIIZZZIINNNNGGGG!!!!
    Really awesome!

  • http://www.suberoblue.com MMM

    Happy blog anniversary Roba :)
    I really enjoy reading your blog and hope you go on for years and years to come.

    Loving the new design. Great header.

  • http://www.oceancreep.com/blog Ibrahim Owais

    Roba, the header kick ass :D i love it …
    mabrouk :)

    i think this theme is more better than the old one …
    i feel jealous, i need to change my design :( …

    Happy blog anniversary Roba :)

  • http://www.oceancreep.com/blog Ibrahim Owais

    yel3an 3omrey bas … ow ajax kamman :P

  • http://www.hotice130.blogspot.com Dar

    Way to gooooooo

    CheeerZ!

  • Heba

    Roba,

    I have been reading your blog for quite a while now, congratulations on turning 2 :)
    I have a question, did you do the vector illustration of the Amman cityscape?
    I think it’s very well done, and was wondering if you would be interested in freelancing for a project that involves vector illustartions of Amman?

  • http://andfaraway.net Roba

    Omar, lol, yay, someone wants to marry my header. That’s so cool. I thought you’d like this design :)

    Zeyad, haha, great! :)

    Lina, hi babe. Missed you wallah! Thanks a lot :) When are you visiting for ftoor?

    Moey, ooh, yay. Thats awesome.

    Ziad, thanks! :)

    Rami, lol, I WISH I had a lot of time on my hands. If I did, I would blog more than daily :P Anyway, no, unfortunately, I don’t, I’m just really good at time management.

    Rebecca, haha, good point. *adds a mental note to add Satellite dishes in next header design*

    Ziad, welcome back! We missed you! What happened to your blog? Wein ikhatfat ya zalameh?

    Omar, thanks a lot :)

    Peter, haha, of course you do. Awesome. It even sounds like Arabesque, and that’s so artsy fartsy! So perfect!

    Oleander, Allah ybarek feek :)

    Amino, thanks!

    The Observer, thanks. LOL, you think the old one had more style? Though I would agree that the older one was a whole lot more professional and sophisticated, I would think that this one has a lot more style.
    I will check out the brightness issue though, which sucks for me as I use an LCD, and man, I hate LCDs! They totally mess with that.

    13, shu, ma 7abeito?

    Bakka Bakka, hala hala 3ammi. Hehe, and 10000000 spam comment?!!! Ya 7aramak!

    Hal, hehe, mwah. Thanks a lot babe :) You’re a gamar. When are we going out?

    Dima, thanks :)

    Qwaider, lol, thanks a lot, khajaltni. I’m glad you like the design! And oh, yeah, I love the Ajax commenting :D It’s my favorite part.

    MMM, thanks :)

    Ibrahim, great! Yalla, looking forward to seeing your new design. And yay for the awesome Ajax commenting. It makes me more excited to comment!

    Dar, thanks :)

    Heba, thanks. Yeah, I did do it myself. As for the freelancing. can you please email me more details? (my email is on the menubar under contact).

  • wedad

    Like your header… fazee3a :)
    ramadan karim

  • http://iman-a.com Iman

    Kewl! I like this a lot!

    Congrats …. just think, **10 yrs down the road….going through each and every single post archived here…** so, what are you thinking? :D

  • http://www.anolitasmind.com Khalidah

    WOW … Alf mabrook Roba

    You know what I think about the header already … I love it … it reflects you and your personality and your love for Amman

    3ogbal el yobeel el fiddi w el thahabi w el massi

    :)

  • http://me-in-jordan.blogspot.com OmAr

    Never ever could stumble across any better header! This is pure art Roba! Increadibly amzing! I’m lovin it :) You should be designing some international ads or something, seriously!

    Happy anniversary! And happy Ramadan, say hello to everyone…;)

  • Omar Assi

    YA roba mabrouk, hopefullyu with this done we can have more time on the PC, instead of yalla um i got to finish :P

  • http://www.pheras.blogspot.com Pheras Hilal

    Mabrouk!!

    I guess it feels good to have a thing going on for quite a while, with such consistency. Yallah, enjoy it to the max ;).

    And the design looks really good. Great job.

  • Rula

    Roba
    MABROK 7abibtee

  • http://je-suis-ici.blogspot.com Ha Ana Za

    Love the new design! And I agree that this is the best yet…of what I’ve seen.
    Kul sana wa inti tayiba

  • http://www.rampurple.com/blog rampurple

    mabrook!
    i love the new look!

  • http://nadershnoudi.blogspot.com Nader

    Congrats ! Ehhh, wallah seems longer than two years