*Waves enthusiastically*
Y’ello everyone! Welcome to Grins and Clockwork! It’s my little spot on the ‘net where I ramble and have a grand total of maybe five readers who give a damn.
On the slight off-chance that there are those who may lurk here and are otherwise strangers here’s some info:
My name’s Hala, which, name-wise, is about as much as you need to know as far as I’m concerned.
(The domain name is Planet Jubne because “Jubne” is a nickname my friend, Kristin, gave me. It’s pronounced Jub-neh, with the ‘neh’ part being like ‘net’ without the T. It means ‘cheese’ in Arabic. Odd story behind that, which you can read about here.)
I’m a 23-year-old college student and a blog addict. And by ‘blog addict’ I mean I get addicted to other people’s blogs. See those people on my blogroll? The majority of them can count me as a near-religious reader of their stuff. Some of them I’ve followed for over a year. (Even though I’m awful at commenting).
Anyways, I’ve been writing my own blog since September 2006. I impulsively started one using LiveJournal and kept it going ’til March 2008. Since I moved to Doha, Qatar in ‘06, I used my LJ as a way to keep in touch with my older sister and best friend, both of whom resided in Canada. (My sister’s back, likely for good, after finishing her last year of taking Master’s classes. My friend, Kris, still lives there though, hehe).
Recently, for no significant reason, I decided to switch over to WordPress. *Shrugs* I’m fickle, what can I say?
My plans for this one is to make it less rambly and fill it with more of the types of things I enjoy reading on other people’s blogs. I will share stories and memories. I am also going to do the 365 person challenge! I will explain what that is later, in an appropriate blog entry.
Extras:
I am:
- An addict of chocolate and nachos (but not the two combined)
- A third culture kid
- A voracious reader
- A writer who hasn’t finished a single story
- A procrastinator
- Sarcastic
- A bit of a chatterbox
- Excitable
- Sensitive
- In love with the martial arts
- In love with CATS! And animals in general.
Until I add more to this page, I will simply say this:
Enjoy the blog! And if you don’t, then you can go trip over a dead turtle. Ner.
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I figured that I should introduce you to some names that will no doubt be appearing countless times on here. This is to avoid confusion and extra explanations in my entries:
Family: (Besides my mom and dad, of course)
- Lana: 26-year-old sister
- Mada a.k.a “Madi”: 19-year-old sister
L-R: Lana, Me and Madi. Awesome place, right?
Friends:
- Kris/Lebne: My best friend who lives in Canada. Lebne’s her nickname.
- Lisa: My other friend who lives in Canada. She has one-year-old daughter named Brianna.
L-R Kris, Lisa and me
- THE ARMY (my friends in Qatar): Adam; Arthur; Clyde; Faisal; Haji; Hoon; Ibrahim; Jama; Jayson; Kareem; Lina; Mikey; Mimi; Moodey; Nikko; Oz
Front Row (L-R): Kareem; Lina; Nikko; Jama; Oz Back Row (L-R): Arthur; Jayson; Me; Mikey; Haji; Faisal
Front Row L-R: Me, Mimi, Lina. Back L-R: Mikey, Hoon, Arthur, Adam, Haji and Jama
Cats:
- Oliver: The family long-haired white cat who lives in Qatar
- Jyspy: Black green-eyed cat who currently lives in Canada with Lana, Madi and my mom
- Bjorn: An orange, striped cat who lived in Canada with Lana but passed away from cancer on March 19, 2008
- TP: A cute and rather charismatic calico street cat who hangs around the compound
And now that we got that cleared up—-you may resume your blog enjoyment. 
April 5, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Okay so we are not allowed to ask about where you are from or your age as that would be classified under ‘too much information’
But I will go ahead and ask a question anyway:
How do you write your name in Arabic?
I am Hala too, so I am just curious!
April 7, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Heyya, welcome to my blog!
It’s fine. You can ask my age and where I’m from. (Actually, my age is already given in the post. I’m twenty-one). I’m from Lebanon but have lived in three other places besides. Long story really, which I’ll get to some other time.
And to answer your question my name is spelled like: ha; alif; lam; teh marboota. It’s the light you see around the moon–that kind of hala. What about yours?
April 8, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Oops, my bad. I read this then went ahead and read some other posts, so I must have missed the age part.
Anyway, we share the same name. And I am 21 too
April 10, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Woot! Another Hala! I rarely meet them, even when I’m living in an Arab country. I know a lot of Hala’s (ha; lam; alif). My name is often pronounced that way, which drives me a little nuts. But, hey, I’ve grown used to it.
What’s funny, is that now that I’m in Qatar, I think EVERYONE is trying to get my attention. ‘Cause people pick up their phones and go ‘Ya hala’ or just ‘hala’. And since my name is usually not pronounced correctly, I think they’re trying to get my attention so I turn around. It’s more than a little embarrassing. You ever go through something like that?
April 11, 2008 at 6:24 am
Does this mean you like chocolate-covered nacho’s too?
April 11, 2008 at 7:18 am
Dude…that’s weird! Nah, thank ye mucho, but I prefer that nachos and chocolate not combine in any way. The world would remain a better place.
August 31, 2009 at 1:34 am
I totally agree with your “nacho premise”, and have enjoyed reading your writings and ramblings. Please, do continue!