Today, this here blog turned ten years old. I had a party, in my head. Everyone who has ever visited this blog attended; we ate cupcakes and drank tea all day. We reminisced. It was nice.
Previously on Saima Says
If you missed the last ten years here’s a quickish recap.
2000: In November of this year I first posted on the blog. I had a blog before but this was the first time I wrote on SaimaSays.com. I obviously had a lot of time on my hands as I was taking a year out from university; this is evident by the frequency of posts.
I was working at NTL (now Virgin Media) at the time as a Customer Service Representative and really not enjoying being shouted at by irate customers all day. Unfortunately I told my manager about the blog and she brought up some of the topics of my posts in our morning meetings. Highly embarassing. This was a wake up call for me and after this I never really told people I worked with about the site. It also scared me from writing anything too personal which is a shame really since I believe good writing is honest writing. I kept a separate private blog and also tried to develop thedj.nu, a music blog that never really took off. This year also saw the birth of the Younger Sister Chronicles.
2001: After nearly twelve years, I made a trip out to Pakistan. I also started back at university for my final year. Between these two events, 911 happened and it changed the world as we know it. Being a Muslim, I got a lot of flack, on the Internet and in real life (strangers shouting abuse at me at train stations). The world wanted every Muslim to explain and distance themselves; I tried. Just the other week I had a conversation with a colleague in Switzerland where they’ve recently banned minarets and he said the same thing, ten years on and I’m still expected to shout my objections.
2002: I carried on with my final year at university and I even graduated, yay me! As if you to show my love of science I tried to launch a science blog which failed miserably. I did however share two of my Philosophy of Science essays which you all loved(!) My angry artwork also received a lukewarm response.
I also took part in a 24-hour Blogathon to raise money for Cancer Research UK. My working career began with what I thought would be a temporary role at the Cheese Factory but ended up staying there for five years.
I am woman, hear me roar
2003: This year I started sharing my love of photography with you all. My nan became quite ill so I found myself spending a lot of time in hospitals. Thankfully, she got better.
Also, remember the Three Word Blog? It was like Twitter but limited to three words. For a brief period, I went a bit doolally.
2004: This was a quiet year in blog terms but rest assured I was having fun in real life. I started The London Underground Adventures with a friend (and we still play that game to this day). I started studying to be a Chartered Accountant whilst working but thankfully, I didn’t get the obligatory personality lobotomy at the same time! My love of arts and crafts was born. My mum became very sick and I took a long break from blogging. Thankfully she pulled through but focus definitely shifted to non-blog activities.
2005: Ah, what a year. I met the love of my life, Sol, and thanks in part to this blog, I tricked him into thinking I was awesome! Muhahahaha etc. A bit slow on the uptake but I watched the Star Wars movies for the first time. This blog celebrated it’s fifth anniversary. This was definitely one of the best years ever due to aforementioned Love Of Life.
2006: This was a mixed emotions kind of year. Sol and I got engaged and I got a massive promotion which propelled my career in a way I had never imagined. I also started baking and never looked back.
But then my aunt (mum’s sister) lost her battle to leukemia which devastated our family. Telling my mother this news was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. We all still carry the sadness with us every day.
2007: Blimey, bit of a quiet year blog-wise, eh? That’s because I got married, moved to London, got a new job at an Investment Bank and sat my final Chartered Accountancy exams. Busy busy bumblebees! My husband and I were busy discovering great comedy, going to gigs and generally having an awesome time. I also got myself a Twitter account and a Vox blog therefore the number of posts here slowly dwindled.
Best Day Ever!
2008: From January of this year I could officially call myself a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. This was another quiet year on the blog as we were holidaying quite a bit, Barcelona was particularly fun. We also took my parents and my mother-in-law to Mecca and Medina for the holy pilgrimmage of Hajj in November. Now there’s an experience I’m never going to forget. We spent the rest of the year trying to recover from the diseases we picked up from sharing campsites with three million other people.
Day of Arafat
2009: This wasn’t a great year for me health wise but helped by Sol I still managed to enjoy it. We went to the Edinburgh Comedy Festival together for the first time and it was such a blast we vowed to go again every year. I also took a trip with my girls to New York City; the greatest city in the world (after London!) I started yet another blog called Saima Says Style but then imported all the entries to this site.
I want to go back, waah
2010: This year is now drawing to a close and what a busy one it’s been. Two of our close friends got married, we bought our first house together and I got a new job which I start in a week. We went back to the Edinburgh Comedy Festival and hilarity ensued. (Being name checked by a comedian when he’s on stage is definitely a bizarre experience!)
We’re going to spend the rest of the year renovating our new home and possibly take a trip out to the States again.
The Future
So that’s what’s happened so far but what of the future? More blogging, more tweeting, but more importantly, more living! Thank you for visiting my blog over the last ten years. I have made many new friends through this site, some of whom I still haven’t met but I’m going to try and remedy that one day. Watch out!
I hope you’ll stick around and join me for the rest of the ride. Here’s to another ten years! Please help yourself to a cupcake.
oh, wow, just got exhausted reading that! thanking you tenfold (geddit)for ten years of great blogging, Saima. i haven’t blogged as long as that but i want you to know that you have always been one of my online/blogging inspirations, well done you! Bushra x
Ten years! Wowsers! Well done, happy days! xxx
Wow! 10 years is certainly a long time. What’s happened to me? Well I got engaged to Haseena in December 2001, married in August 2003, my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Iman in 2006, and this year I took a huuuuuge leap and moved to Qatar.
To be honest, I’d totally forgotten about your blog until I received your email – I will certainly try and visit a bit more often (I think the last time I visited was about 4 years ago!!!).
Congratulations on 10 years of blogging, may there be many more years.
The original Hasan (and the best ;-)).
I nearly cried reading this you douche bag. I hadn’t realised how much you’ve achieved in 10 years. I’m so self involved. Congrats!
You do have a heart! You big sap 🙂
Congrats saima! Those cup cakes are so good i dont actually need to physically eat one! Keep blogg’n’bakin !!!
Well done… and congratulations on keeping the blog going all this time. I know from personal experience how easy it is for blogs to fall by the wayside. Proud to have been there from (near) the start. What a defining 10 years. A decade that changed your life. Keep it real.
Thank you everyone!
Is it a boy or a girl? 🙂
A bit of both methinks.
😀 you think?
Why have I left it so long to come back to your beautiful musings! You made me feel happy and sad as I read this and you’ve inspired me to do my own ten year review! Well done and here’s to the next ten!! Xx
I’d love to read your 10-year review! 🙂