Where have all my old friends gone? Day 24
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 29 comments
Today's group of 18 are the end of the line. One last post is significant, something we say to ourselves and each other all the time. "Today is the first day of the rest of my life." That's a true statement. However, since she disappea... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 23
Monday, May 30, 2016 20 comments
" I thought we were already friends" Today's group is a recent addition to my friends list since I'm proceeding chronologically through it. Yet many are long term spark veterans whose presence I've always noticed. Through this project we are no... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 22
Sunday, May 29, 2016 16 comments
The Spark World and my gym have several things in common. As I analyze and synthesize what I've learned during this project I've noticed several similarities. Some people are regulars in the fitness classes - something for everyone. So... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 21
Saturday, May 28, 2016 17 comments
Three weeks along in this project and the finish line is in sight. I expected it to take much longer checking out 10 old friends per day, but I doubled that early on. It was like bumping into old friends on the street and catching up. I even m... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 20
Friday, May 27, 2016 20 comments
" It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." For Sparkers either can be true. Sometimes sequentially and occasionally at the same time. Congrats to Watermellen who identified my last literary reference. Along with the basi... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 19
Thursday, May 26, 2016 16 comments
" In Times of Change, Learners Inherit the Earth while the Learned are Perfectly Prepared for a World that No Longer Exists" That was one of the quotations displayed prominently in the front of my classroom. It's also the title of my person... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 18
Wednesday, May 25, 2016 18 comments
" Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" Anyone get my reference? Yes, even Math majors read the classics. In the context of my project, substitute "sparkers" for "families" I'm looking at unhappy ... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 17
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 17 comments
"It's not our old Brooklyn anymore" That's what an old friend told me 2 years ago when I was planning to attend my 50th high school reunion. It's also the comment I got from a spark friend about this community as she returned after a long brea... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 16
Monday, May 23, 2016 16 comments
Hopefulness and Discouragement - Our attitude makes a difference in our ability to stick with a plan. That's the reason for all those inspirational quotes on spark pages. I believe they help, but it's not enough just to say it. We have to rea... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 15
Sunday, May 22, 2016 15 comments
" Let the Haters Be Your Motivation" - Persistence and Resilience Yesterday we attended the HS graduation of grandson #3. He is class valedictorian and made a speech at the ceremony. He's known as "Math Guy" since he enrolled in Calculus a... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 14
Saturday, May 21, 2016 19 comments
Today's group of 20 friends deserves a gold star from Spark. 18 are still active. That's a remarkable 90% I didn't have to remind myself of who they are because they are active here regularly and I "see" them here all the time even if ... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 13
Friday, May 20, 2016 12 comments
Suddenly, recognizing old friends became a bit more difficult. Heck, when I logged in on Wednesday for my 654th consecutive day, I hardly recognized myself. My profile picture, where I proudly display my Spark T-Shirt, was a tiny little "post... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 12
Thursday, May 19, 2016 28 comments
" My live-in BF calls me fat chick" - That was one line of the last blog of an old spark friend. It was no surprise then that she became inactive before reaching her goal. The blog didn't say she was leaving, so that wasn't her intention at the... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 11
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 18 comments
The law of unintended consequences is usually invoked when describing an unexpected outcome of a project. My original goal was to check in on old friends, reconnect with those still active and maybe discover why others had disappeared. ... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 10
Tuesday, May 17, 2016 13 comments
Each day of this project a new question pops into my head. Of course, I still want to know the results - active vs inactive/missing, but today I was wondering about the "old timers." Some sparkers have been here longer than I have and I co... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 9
Monday, May 16, 2016 19 comments
DH calls my spark friends my "imaginary friends." I envy those who are able to meet in real life after sharing experiences online. So far in real life I've meet exactly ONE spark friend (Teri-rific) when we realized we would both be participat... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 8
Sunday, May 15, 2016 19 comments
Each day I look forward to this project. I'm glad I have the time to do it. I'm retired so there is no boss (principal or superintendent in my case) to demand something be done immediately if not sooner. I was a math/computer science teacher ... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 7
Saturday, May 14, 2016 19 comments
Today I'm thinking about my "class" - those who joined the same week that I did. I know that we are supposed to be automatically assigned to a team when we sign up, but somehow that did not happen to me. I know I didn't have any friends or any... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 6
Friday, May 13, 2016 21 comments
Perhaps there should be a subtitle today? Why did they leave? I'm learning a lot both from my stroll down the memory lane of old friends and also from the comments. Is the efficiency of the website a reason to leave? In the beginnin... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 5
Thursday, May 12, 2016 21 comments
I used to be a fan of the "Survivor" TV show. I remember that on the day before the finale the 4 last "survivors" would walk down a path lined with the torches of those who had not survived and would say a few words about each one of them. This... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 4
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 15 comments
Another reminder from my project. Some sparkers return with a new screen name. Either they left for a while and returned with a brand new persona and outlook or like me they just deleted their old page and joined again without a spark break. ... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 3
Tuesday, May 10, 2016 21 comments
I'm working on this project gradually, checking in on 10 old friends per day. That's my mindset about most things - gradual, slow and steady progress. It's worked so far for weight loss, increasing fitness/strength training/steps per day, c... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone? Day 2
Monday, May 09, 2016 18 comments
Before I post the data for today, I want to clarify something because of a comment posted on yesterday's blog. It ended with this statement. "I am not one of those people who feel the need to have hundreds and hundreds of friends. For me, tha... Read more

Where have all my old friends gone?
Sunday, May 08, 2016 27 comments
Today I decided to find out. Over my 7+ years on Spark I've made hundreds of friends, followed their journeys, celebrated their successes and sympathized with their problems. Perhaps it's the recent losses in my life as members of my own gene... Read more