Season 4 Step 1: Christmas Special: First Christmas In Two Years

 First Christmas In Two Years

Jingle Jam Ends

AJR played their last song and after a failed encore cheer from the crowd, we all filed out to go home. When we were almost at the door I saw Mom and I told Anna and Jordan I had to go. I hugged both of them goodbye and told Anna, “I'll see you in March!” Anna smiled and walked out the door to begin her next adventure…

New Story

Before I could get across the crowd to where Mom was out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone. I approached this person and sure enough, it was my coworker from New Story Mandy. We hugged and I asked her who she came to see. She said she loves AJR and I explained that Ryan plays in Cousin Simple. After we talked about that for a second Mandy asked, “Are you excited for next week?”

I was! The following week was our last week of school before break and so they were going to be some celebrations. I was so excited because as you may recall last Christmas everyone in my family, except for me got covid. Since they could all be together I was forced into the attic alone over the holiday. While I was able to look on the “Bright Side Of Life” at that moment, I was definitely looking forward to celebrating Christmas for the first time in two years!

The following week on Wednesday most of the staff at New Story brought in cookies. Thursday was Pajama day and Friday was ugly sweater day. After work on Friday, a few coworkers and I went out for a drink. After that, I went to my coworkers’ Clo and Lucy’s house with another coworker of ours.

Grandma Opper’s Cookies

My great-grandma Grandma Opper had her very own Christmas cookie recipe. Every year Mom's side of the family gets together and we make the cookies. We made the cookies at my aunt Melissa and uncle Andy's house. Their children, Alex, Maci, Nicholas, and Ellie, along with Alex's girlfriend, Emma, Josh’s girlfriend, Sophia, our grandma (Nimba), our cousin Lexi, our aunt Erin, aunt Cyndi and her children, Caitlin and Cameron all helped in the baking and decorating. After we finished making the cookies the cousins went to see Spider-Man The Way Home, which was awesome! After that Mom, Dad, Ryan and I, went to an ugly Christmas sweater party!

Shopping

Throughout our childhood, my “sister” Arden would take me Christmas shopping because she's really good at it and quite frankly it overwhelms me. As a result, I haven't gone Christmas shopping since Arden moved to Colorado in 2019. Dad owns an art studio called Kobolt and the day before Christmas Eve was their company Christmas party. We just went out to lunch, but it was a fun time! As we were walking back to the studio Mom asked me If had gotten all my Christmas shopping done. “No…” I said, “I don't know what to get anyone!” One of the employees told me just to go for it, and with Mom and Dad’s help, I bought gifts that mostly everyone was happy with!

Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve my family went to Mass, ate dinner, and got ready for bed. Christmas morning we said the rosary as we always do and then we went downstairs to open the presents. After we had opened all of our gifts and I had said hi to the Andersons, we drove back to Melissa & Andy's. We ate lunch/dinner and then started our yearly white elephant game. 

Most years there are a lot of joke gifts, and while there were a few this year, most of them were still usable. I said most… Cyndi's fiance, Jeremy managed to get the majority of the joke gifts. One of them was a twerking game. While it was kind of funny when people were playing it… I will say I'm officially scarred for life.

Every year, Alex, Emma, Maci, Nicholas, Ellie, my brothers and I, play a game of Blackjack with Uncle Andy as the dealer. I think this started as a way for Andy to teach us, the dangers of gambling. I usually leave fairly early in the game, And this time when I left, Cyndi and Mom were singing karaoke. I joined them and eventually so did the rest of the party. Cyndi kept the karaoke going until about 12:30 at night. I’m so happy that I got to spend Christmas with my friends and family!

Hope you had a Greattastic Christmas!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 28: Jingle Jam Part 2: Cousin Simple, Spencer Sutherland, and AJR!

 Jingle Jam Part 2: Cousin Simple, Spencer Sutherland, and AJR!

The only time I thought about Jingle Jam was when I would hear a Charlie Puth song and I would get bitter. All of that changed on October 1st, 2021. That day there was a behavior science conference held by New Story at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. On top of that, it was Noah's birthday so Lori and I were planning to hang out with him that night (Perfect Timing). I got up got dressed and got ready for the big day ahead of me, not expecting anything else to come up.

To my surprise when I went to eat breakfast, Mom and Dad were excited to announce that, Cousin Simple was going to play Jingle Jam 2021, with All Time Low and AJR. I was so excited about this and I couldn't believe that it was finally going to happen. All Time Low eventually said they couldn't do it and that gave me some PTSD, but WNCI pulled a rabbit out of the hat with an artist named Spencer Sutherland.

The night of December 9th finally arrived and I drove Luke and Mom's college best friend, Anita, to the show to meet everyone there. When we got through security, I walked around in the pit, calling my friend Anna on the phone. Anna and her best friend Jordan eventually found me, and we found a place to watch the show.

Cousin Simple played first. I was singing along to all of their songs, including the one that was released that night, Chapstick, and at the end of the set a boy in the crowd asked, “Do you know the band?”

“Yeah, my brother plays lead guitar!” I replied.

The boy and his girlfriend started asking me questions and they were fine, but then I realized a line was starting to form.  I answered a few more people's questions, but they started to be questions that I didn't know the answers to or ones that I didn't have the right to answer. Anna saw the panicked look on my face and she said, “Come on guys, let's get a drink.”

As we walked away I said to Anna, “I probably shouldn't have said that Ryan is my…”

“Mitchell!” Anna scolded, “Be quiet!”

When Spencer Sutherland started playing we return to the pit. While he was good, it was nothing in comparison to AJR! With all the lights and the sound I honestly thought I was going to have a seizure. Despite how miserable that description sounds it was a really fun night!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 27: Jingle Jam Part 1: Well Of Course “We Don't Talk Anymore”

 Jingle Jam Part 1: Well Of Course “We Don't Talk Anymore”

WNCI (97.9) is Columbus’ local radio station. Every December WNCI hosts a holiday show called “Jingle Jam.” In 2019 Jingle Jam was scheduled for December 2nd. The lineup was for King & Country as an opener and Charlie Puth as the headliner.

On October 17th my parents, Luke, Josh, and I piled out of Mom’s minivan at WNCI’s office for a Cousin Simple show. We walked into the office before the fans started getting there, and we met up with the other Will (Frontman) Mitch (Piano/ukulele), and Joel’s (Former drummer) families. After a small walk around the office, we entered the room where the show would be.

It was a relatively small room and I knew it was going to get packed very quickly, so I stood in front of the stage to claim my usual spot immediately. Right before the boys were scheduled to play Chris Davis, one of WNCI’s radio show hosts, came out on stage introduced himself, and hyped us up. He then introduced the band and the core members (Will, Ryan, Mitch, and Joel) came on stage. The four of them sat down and after Chris Davis interviewed them for a little bit, it was time for them to play. Chris Davis left the stage and Fuad came on. Fuad was, at the time Will’s cousin’s fiance (now husband), and was there to play rhythm guitar.

The show was awesome as always, but it wasn't actually the highlight of the night. After they had finished playing, Chris Davis got back on stage and said, “We love your band so much we were wondering if you'd be willing to play WNCI’s Jingle Jam this year?!”

The crowd screamed and after they had calmed down a bit Will said, “We'd love to!”

I'm not the world's best secret-keeper. I've gotten a lot better…hiding the fact that I was writing a book for three years definitely helped, but it's still something that I have to be very conscientious about. This might take away some of the magic and I'm sorry, but Cousin Simple had already accepted the play Jingle Jam before Chris Davis asked. There were two reasons Chris Davis asking officially were important to me. 1. Everybody knew now, so there was no threat of me messing it up. 2. All of the fans screaming reaffirmed for me what we all had been saying behind the scenes, “They're opening for Charlie Puth…this is a huge deal!”

Starting the next day WNCI played Cousin Simple’s song “Star Destroyers” every day to build up hype for Jingle Jam. Unfortunately, about a week before Thanksgiving Charlie Puth canceled. December 2nd fell on the Monday after Thanksgiving, so with the holiday, WNCI was left with less than a week to find a new headliner which frankly was not possible.

Jingle Jam was canceled and we were all disappointed. The day before Thanksgiving Will's family hosted a “Friendsgiving.” For obvious reasons Jingle Jam being canceled was a huge topic that night. At some point, Will was standing with Ryan and people were talking to them about it. I sarcastically chimed in, “Well of course ‘We Don't Talk Anymore’ Charlie, You always cancel our plans!” I don’t think people appreciated that joke as much as they should have admittedly because it was too soon. While I was kind of mad about it for a while I'm glad he canceled because Jingle Jam 2021 was… well… Greattastic!

To Be Continued…

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 26: Boundless Friendship

 Boundless Friendship

Hello All!

How did I end up here writing this installment for my friend Mitchell?? It all started the night of the Create for a Cause event, which we both happened to be attending. The company that I recently started working for (King Business Interiors) has been putting on this event for a couple years, they choose different nonprofit organizations to partner with to help raise money for different causes. This year they chose to work with I am Boundless, a wonderful nonprofit organization that provides services for those on the spectrum. The goal of the evening was to raise money for I am Boundless. King Business Interiors had different people paint platers which in turn were auctioned off the evening of the event and let me just say they had some really beautiful platters there.

The event started at 7:00pm, and it was held at St. Charles Preparatory High School, which I had never been there before and I’ve lived in Columbus my whole life. Architecturally it's a beautiful building. When you walked in they had a table set up with folks to greet you as you arrived. Lots of lights, balloons, food, and people enjoying themselves.

I arrived with my boyfriend, Russell, and my sister and her husband, as you were allowed to invite relatives and friends to come. We made our way to the table where my parents, aunt, and uncle had been sitting. We chatted with them, enjoyed some drinks, and mingled a little. To be honest I was waiting for the music to start up. I had heard at work that they were going to have a live band there and they were amazing! I’m a dancer, not a trained dancer, just like to bust a move. You know like weddings, this is essentially what this event was, a wedding reception and all these lovely people were invited. I can easily get off topic...I’ll try not to anymore.

Okay, so we drank, ate, mingled and then the music started up. Not many people made their way to the dance floor, however, I didn't let an empty dance floor scare me, so off we went to dance. After dancing for a couple I was having a chat with my sister when a nice young gentleman approached us and kindly introduced himself to us, MITCHELL!! Mitchell has this energy and confidence like no one else, he has a smile that will literally make you smile even if you're in a bad mood, and dance moves like you’ve never seen before. As soon as we started talking I knew we were going to be friends. Mitchell told us about his podcast and blog, he began to tell us how it's about growing up as a person with autism. I wanted to know more about Mitchell. I have worked with friends on the spectrum for years, in fact, the non-profit of the evening, I am Boundless, I worked for them. Funny how things can come full circle. We continued our evening with dancing, taking short breaks to catch our breaths and refresh our beverages, we were breaking a sweat. None of us were ready for the evening to be over.

Mitchell:

When I first met Noah's girlfriend, Lori, I was uncharacteristically nervous. This happened because any “social grace” I had built up in my 22 and a half years of life before covid were long gone by the time the three of us sat down for that dinner. The reason I survived our meeting was that Lori and I have a lot of similarities and Noah knew us both enough to steer the conversation in the correct direction. In the almost year since I met Lori my confidence hadn't reached pre-pandemic levels. When I asked Deanna to do this installment, I knew that she was probably going to say something about my confidence on that night. When I was reading this over, however, I couldn't help but laugh because Deanna and presumably her family were obviously unaware of why I was so confident: THEM. When I approached them, I was super uncomfortable because I was just trying to mingle, but I had no idea what to say to anyone. Deanna and her family gave me a chance to work out any excess awkwardness I have developed over covid and let my confidence come back for the first time since March 12th, 2020!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe! 

J. Mitchie Ulibarri & Deanna

Season 4 Step 1: Thanksgiving Special: Step 1 Part 2

 Step 1 Part 2

For Thanksgiving, as they do every year (except for last year obviously), Pop-pop, Eva, and Zach came up from Florida. Similarly, my cousin Austin came from Pittsburgh where he moved shortly after last Thanksgiving. As always my parents hosted the dinner. Mom's entire family came including my grandpa and step-grandma (Nana) who moved to Columbus from New York only a few days before New York shut down. While I could talk about family stuff, something that is relevant to my goal for this season happened over dinner.

The Mitreys (my cousins) also came to Thanksgiving. The family consists of Melissa (Mom's sister), her husband Andy, and their children, Alex, Maci, Nicholas, and Ellie. We all ate dinner and when people were getting ready for dessert I saw Alex and Ryan sitting at a table. I sat down. Ryan knew what I wanted to talk about, so after he started the conversation, I explained the story to Alex:

In Step 1 Part 1, I introduced Izzy who was a co-worker at Kroger. Izzy and had I planned to move in together, fulfilling my goal for the season of moving out. Because of circumstances outside of our control, Izzy and I moving in together isn't going to work out. Shortly before Aspen took the offer to move in with Marshall in Cincinnati (The Goodbye Andersons Special), her mom, Barbara, tried finding a place for her in Columbus. As a result, when Izzy and my plans collapsed, Barbara gave me the contact information of the woman who was renting the apartments she had been looking at.

I sent an email to the apartment representative and scheduled a tour. After the tour, Dad and I crunched the numbers. “So you can definitely afford it,” Dad said, “but by renting you are just throwing your money away. Maybe you should talk to Ryan about going in on a house together.” Dad explained that once I move out of the new house we could either sell it or continue to rent it out. I thought it was a good idea so I decided to talk to Ryan about it at Paige's wedding.

Paige's got married the day before Halloween so I knew that I would have to write and record “The Legend of Walhalla” before we left for Florida. The day before we left as I was recording, the software I have been using stopped working. Because Ryan makes demos of songs for Cousin Simple, I also decided to talk to him about helping me record until I could figure something out.

As you may recall, I was a groomsman at my friend Greg’s wedding back in June. Since that was the only wedding I have been involved in as an adult I just assumed that the reason I was so busy that weekend was because I was in the wedding party. As a result, I approached Paige's wedding as just another guest and did not account for any other family engagements. In other words, I didn't have time to talk to Ryan until the morning after we got back and even then it was quick because we both had to go to work.

The next Sunday Ryan came over so I could record “The Legend of Walhalla” and “Paige's Wedding Parts 1 and 2.” I planned to kill two birds with one stone and talk about moving after I finished recording, but unfortunately I only got through “Paige's Wedding Part 1” Before Ryan had to leave. Thankfully Ryan came back the following weekend to let me record Part 2.

“Well,” Ryan said after I told him what was going on, “that's a good idea, but we should get Alex in on this because he and I were interested in doing this last year, but we were worried about being landlords. If you're living in the house that could clinch the deal.”

After I explained everything to Alex, he agreed to help. We did some minor research and we have a few areas in mind. While my original plan for this season was to move out at the latest by January realistically it's looking a little more like March. I know that this could also fall through, but I’m thankful that my family is willing to help!

Hope You had a Greattastic Thanksgiving!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 25: Paige's Wedding Part 2: Doesn't Get Any Cooler Than That

 Paige's Wedding Part 2: Doesn't Get Any Cooler Than That

When Paige got my book, “The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child” she took a picture of it and posted it to her Instagram story. Along with the picture she wrote, “My cousin is a published author everyone! It doesn't get any cooler than that!”

On October 30th, 2021 I woke up at my aunt Eva and uncle Zach's house in Florida. I said good morning to my family, except Luke because he had to stay home for a soccer game, and then Dad and I drove to Windermere to help set up the reception. The reception was at Uncle Paul's parents' house on Lake Butler. We spent most of the day, working on putting the words “Mr. and Mrs. Beltz” on a greenery wall and collecting moss to use as decoration. By the time we had finished, it was time to go to the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful. When Paige walked down the aisle The way she and Naughstin were looking at each other was so pure I couldn't help but smile. After they were officially married, We got a few family pictures and then drove back to the venue for the reception.

The night started with a cocktail hour, during which time a dance instructor that they had hired, taught us how to do a basic dance. After we had finished, I went to mingle. 15 minutes later Paige and Naughstin entered the reception on a motorboat driven by Uncle Paul!

After that, the wedding party entered, and Paige and Naughstin had their first dance. We had dinner, everybody gave their toasts, the cake was cut, and an ice cream truck arrived. The DJ told us to all move to the dance floor and we began to dance the night away.

About 30 minutes into dancing, we were instructed to get off the floor so they could do the bouquet toss. When I got off the floor I stood next to Eva, Alexander (Paige's brother), and to my surprise his girlfriend Alexa. Eva and I prompted her to join the other women and she stood at the very back of the group.

“Alexa's going to catch it,” I whispered to Eva jokingly as I started recording. Paige threw the bouquet and it went right to Alexa! I'm so glad I was recording because after she caught it I got a close-up of her and Paige, and then one of Alexander, who was trying his hardest to process what had just happened.

When everything calmed down we returned to the dance floor. As I danced in the crowd with Paige and Naughstin at the center the only thing I could think was, my cousin is a married woman! It doesn't get any cooler than that!

Congratulations Page and Austin! Wishing you a Greattastic Life! 

With Love, J. Mitchie Ulibarri

I can't end this installment without talking about one other thing that happened. As the night wore on the DJ asked everyone who was attending to get on the dance floor so the photographer could get a group picture. As we gathered for the picture I tried to stay with my family. Mom said something to me and I replied. One of Paige’s bridesmaids, Abby, recognized my voice from my social media and the podcast, and she got so excited. “Oh my gosh, you're like a celebrity!” She exclaimed. Initially, her reaction caught me off guard because this is the kind of thing that happens to Ryan because of Cousins Simple, not me. Like yeah, it's Paige's wedding and Abby is one of her friends. Of course, she's going to know about Rules for a Greattastic Life, but it was just so surreal to meet someone who knows about me without me being directly involved. We ended up talking for a while and I realized that she really keeps up with what I do. It was really nice to meet a fan!- Hi Abby :)

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 24: Paige's Wedding Part 1: Naughstin

 Paige's Wedding Part 1: Naughstin

Back in “Can You Please Teach Me How To Dance?” my cousin from Florida, Paige Spears, got engaged to her boyfriend Austin Beltz. The problem is Paige has two brothers Alexander and you guessed it, Austin. To differentiate the two Austins, the Spears family started calling Austin Beltz “Naught Austin.” Soon the nickname was abbreviated to just “Naught” and my immediate family's personal spin on it, “Naughstin.”

I knew prior to the engagement that Paige was dating somebody, but I have to say I was a little bit frustrated when they got engaged. If you haven't been able to tell over the course of the series, I am a hopeless romantic and a perpetual third wheel. Because they started dating during covid and the distance between us, Naughstin was just a guy who showed up on Paige's social media to me and I didn't want to wait for our family vacation (or worse the wedding) to change that. I stuck it out, however, mostly because I didn't have a choice, until our family vacation.

On June 7 of this year, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, Josh and I, made the drive from Columbus to Orlando. On the drive down my Aunt Alicia and Uncle Paul (Alexander, Austin, and Paige’s parents) informed us that Paul’s dad had passed away. When we got to the house, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, and Josh went in and greeted Alicia, who was home alone because Paul had spent the day with his siblings. After they had said their hellos, Mom thought, Where's Mitchell? Before she could ask the question out loud, she got a phone call.

I had stayed outside to send a text to my then-girlfriend, telling her that we had arrived. I was about to hit send when out of the corner of my eye I saw the back end of a car speed by on the main road. My “sisters” and I got in a car crash one summer and the most traumatic part of that experience was the sound of the screeching tires right before the car hit us. To my surprise, there were no screeching tires this time, so I assumed the crash would not be too bad. I was wrong.

When I got to the scene, the car that had been hit was facing me which was in the wrong direction. The car that had been speeding was on the other side of the road and a girl about my age was being dragged away from it. At this point, I called Mom told her what was going on and that I was going to help. People were driving around the accident so before I got an opportunity to run across the street and help the girl, two more girls got out of the accident car closer to me. The driver of that car was having a panic attack, but her passenger appeared fine. Her passenger asked if anyone had called 911, just as the other car caught on fire.

“Is this about the crash?” The operator asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Okay, is anyone in the burning car?”

I got close enough to check and thankfully no one was. At this point, my family had joined the crowd of bystanders, and when Dad saw me in the middle of this chaos he ran to help me. As Dad comforted the girl who was still panicking, I saw the girl from the other car lying on the sidewalk next to (presumably) her boyfriend. I tried to cross the street to help, but Dad figured out what I was doing, stopped me, then walked across the street himself. I'm not going to tell you what Dad said he saw, but it was traumatizing. The police did say that they thought everyone was going to be okay though.

When everything had settled down we returned to the house, and Paul, Naughstin, and Paige showed up. That day was just a rough one for all of us, but because the day was so depressing and traumatic it was easy to see why Naughstin and Paige are perfect for each other. Through those dark and heavy emotions, their love shined through!

To Be Continued...

Season 4 Step 1: Halloween Special: The Legend Of Walhalla

 The Legend Of Walhalla

Last week, I drove Megan, Rachel, Luke, and Josh, around Clintonville because we were bored. Megan was riding shotgun, and the other three were in the back seat. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "You know what we should do! It's almost Halloween, we should check out the Walhalla house!"

"What's the Walhalla house?" Megan and Rachel asked in unison.

"You guys don't know what the Walhalla house is?" I asked. "Boys, you know what it is right?"

Luke and Josh informed me that they did, and after I took a sigh of relief, I drove towards Walhalla Road. When we started driving down the street, I told the story:

Walhalla Road is technically a ravine. The Calumet bridge crosses over the ravine. Overlooking the bridge and the rest of the ravine stands Mooney's Mansion. Mr. Mooney was a professor at The Ohio State University in the 1950s. One evening Mr. Mooney came home from work. As he walked through the ravine to his mansion, he greeted the children who were playing in their yards. He walked into his house, and he was met by his wife, his daughter, and the family dog.

There are multiple versions of what happened that night, but they all agree that Mr. Mooney murdered Mrs. Mooney and their daughter. Mrs. Mooney's body was found without her head, and the legend is that Mr. Mooney threw it into the ravine. After the murder, Mr. Mooney hanged himself from the Calumet Bridge. People to this day say that they can see the ghost of Mr. Mooney hanging from the bridge.

Over the years, kids of all ages would go down into the ravine to see if the ghost stories were true. Legend says if you take a car and put it in neutral right in front of the bridge, the ghost of Mr. Mooney pushes you away from the mansion. So when Mom was 16 years old, she and her best friend drove down to the bridge to see if this was true. However, they found a skinned deer lying in the middle of the road when they got there, and they were obviously freaked out!

I started telling the story about Mom and the deer right as we passed Mooney's Mansion. Before I could finish telling that story, a figure was suddenly illuminated in my headlights out of the darkness! Megan and I screamed, and we frightened the others. As we got a little closer, we realized that it was just a man walking his dog. When we understood that this wasn't anything out of the ordinary, Megan, Rachel, Luke, Josh, and I busted out laughing the rest of the way down Walhalla. In hindsight, however, I don't think we should have been laughing.

In preparation for this installment, I did some research because I wanted to tell the most accurate version of the legend, not necessarily the one that I knew. While I knew almost everything that I found in my research, I stumbled on a particularly interesting version of the story. In this version, not only did Mr. Mooney kill his wife and daughter, but he also killed the family dog. According to that same version, the ghost of Mr. Moody and the dog can often be seen roaming the ravine, searching for Mrs. Mooney's head!

Have a Greattastic Halloween!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 23: The Rainbow After The Storm

 The Rainbow After The Storm

I pulled up to the gas station, turned off my car, and popped open the gas cap. I stepped out of the car and started pumping gas. I could hardly stand still as the tank filled up. The dress clothes I was wearing tightened around my elbows as I held the nozzle in the car and I became very aware that I was wearing them and where I was going.

Twelve years ago, on October 15th, my best friend, Samantha McCarthy (S.M.), passed away. In her honor, S.M.'s mom, Nikki, founded "Sam's Fans," which supports music and art therapy for sick kids in Ohio hospitals. A friend of Nikki's, Miranda, owns a fashion boutique called "Thread," and every year, Thread hosts a fashion show, "Thread of Hope" (TOH), benefiting Sam's fans. TOH Is the biggest night of the year for both Thread and Sam's Fans, planning for the next year starting a week after the event.

Shortly after S.M. died, Ladybugs started showing up everywhere. As a result, Ladybugs have become one of the many signs that S.M. is near. Another sign that she is Around is rainbows. Since Sam's Fans had to go virtual due to the pandemic, This year's TOH was branded as "The Rainbow After the Storm."

As I drove up to The Exchange at Bridge Park, where TOH is always held, I was in disbelief. First of all, I got my driver's license during the pandemic, so it was surreal going to TOH by myself. Second of all, and more importantly, I couldn't believe that I would see everybody again. When I walked into The Exchange, that disbelief Turned into Full-on sensory overload. Not a negative sensory overload by any means, but still way too much was going externally and emotionally to concentrate.

The event was a huge success (as always), and We all made a lot of good memories. I talked to all of S.M.'s friends and family and those who Sam's Fans have touched. I usually have more to say about social gatherings like this, especially when Sam's Fans. I think I'm better at this generally because I'm looking for content for these installments most of the time, but I was enjoying myself too much. So I guess all I have to say is I'm happy that Sam's Fans has returned, and I got to enjoy The Rainbow After the Storm!

Have a Greattastic Day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 22: Here We Go Again

 Here We Go Again

My brother Ryan's band, Cousin Simple, consists of him (lead guitar), Mitch Whitaker (Guitar, piano, and ukulele), and Will "Harsh" Hoag (font man). Will, Ryan, and Mitch went to middle school together. They started Cousin Simple while attending St. Charles Preparatory High School. St. Charles is also where Ryan and my two younger brothers, Luke (Senior) and Josh (Junior), attend school. Now I have known that Luke and Josh also have a band, but I thought it was more or less them making fun of Cousin Simple.

I work at New Story from 8-3 every weekday and Kroger from 6-10 Monday through Thursday. Even though I have a 2-3 ½ break between jobs, not a single member of my family is home at that time. I had a day off from New Story last week, so I saw Mom for the first time all week.

"Luke and Josh's band is playing a show this weekend!" Mom said out of nowhere.

I paused to process the information. "Well," I said with a big goofy grin, "here we go again!"

On Saturday, I got in my car with our neighbors, Megan and Rachel, and we drove to the house that the show was at. The only people I recognized at the show were my parents, a few family friends, Ryan, Will, one of Luke's friends, Cole, and Josh's girlfriend, Sophia. The boys and two other bandmates, Freddie and Max, performed in the backyard right in front of a pool. Thirty minutes after we arrived, the band entered the stage.

First, Josh started playing the drums while Freddie and Max began to play guitar and bass. When they had finished the intro, Luke ran onto the stage and sang the first cover song. When that song was over, Luke told everyone to come up closer to the stage. I did as Luke told me, and I found myself surrounded by a pack of Saint Charles guys.

They had eight songs prepared, one of which was an original that they would play for the encore. The band played their last cover and did their obligatory walk off the stage. Before they had all even left, one of the boys in the crowd started chanting" encore," and everyone else followed. Because nobody was walking back towards the stage, the crowd gave up. Knowing that they still had one more song, I tried to restart the "encore" cheer. Luckily I saw Cole in the crowd, so I started chanting directly at him. He got the message, and the crowd started chanting for the boys again. The band played their song "Almost There," and after hyping everyone up, they jumped in the pool at the end.

It was an entertaining night, Especially considering this was the first time I've heard live music since everything shut down. I'm so proud of Luke, Josh, and their friends, and I can wait to see what they do with this talent!

Have a Greattastic Day and be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1: The Goodbye Andersons Special

 The Goodbye Andersons Special

On August 18th, 2019, I awoke to the sound of my alarm at 6 a.m. I got dressed and ran to my "sister's" house. I walked into the kitchen and looked at all of the bags scattered across the floor. Aspen walked into the kitchen still in her pajamas, and I gave her the first of many goodbye hugs. Even though it's very in character for me to be sad when people move away, I wasn't this time. She was only going to college; I would see her again at Thanksgiving, then Christmas and New Years, and finally, she'd be back that next summer. August, Kid, and I stood in the driveway and watched as their parents, Rich and Barbara, drove Aspen away to begin her new life.

They made the two-day drive from Columbus, Ohio, to Miami, Florida, where Rich and Barbara dropped Aspen off at Barry University. Within a couple of days of attending college, Aspen had found her groove. She made many friends, was doing well in her classes, and found her passion in the ROTC program. Of course, I wasn't there so I can't tell you exactly what happened. Still, in the most basic terms, the distance between Aspen, myself, and her family gave her the freedom to figure out who she is as a person outside of our childhood friend group.

When Covid-19 hit America, Aspen was forced back to Columbus and completed her school year online. Shortly after the lockdown ended, Aspen, Kid, August, her boyfriend, Ben, and I had a campfire and played guitar by the firelight (Season 3 Blog 3). When the night was coming to an end, we returned inside, and I prepared to go home. As I was getting ready, I offhandedly mentioned something about Aspen returning to school.

"I'm not going back to college." Aspen said confidently.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. "You gave me so-h-ho much crap when I dropped out, but suddenly you want to do it and it's okay?"

"You didn't have a plan!" She retorted.

"Fine I didn't have a plan," I argued, "but I got a job at Haugland (New Story) and I'm going to announce a book this summer! What's your plan?"

It turned out that as Aspen took her online classes, she realized that she enjoyed the social aspect of college way more than the academic. The other part of her time in Miami that she missed was ROTC. After some research, she discovered "High School to Flight school." Basically, after two years of training, Aspen would be flying helicopters for the Air Force! After five years of service, she could leave, and if she wanted to go back to school, the military would pay for it. Aspen was more or less guaranteed the spot because the program needed more women, and physically if anyone I know is fit for the military, it's her!

Throughout her time back in Columbus, Aspen and I spent many a night walking the streets of Clintonville and keeping our mental health in check. Honestly, she is one of the main reasons that I survived the last 19 months. When she wasn't helping me out or hanging out with the girls and me, she would spend her time working. Aspen would have to travel out of the city every few months to meet up with her recruiter and do a health or some other test.

Unfortunately, things started to fall apart pretty quickly. First, a rule was added that said if Aspen didn't get all of her tests done by October 30th, 2020, she would have to do ten years of service instead of five. Then the recruiter kept rescheduling the last test so that it would not be complete before the 30th. The rule did not stop Aspen, and she took the test in early November and then didn't hear back from the recruiter until the beginning of this year! When she did hear back from him, the recruiter told Aspen she needed to take even more tests! Aspen, ever the trooper, did what she had to do, and when it was all said and done, the military said they didn't have a place for her.

As I explained a couple of installments ago, August moved in with Marshall in Cincinnati to train for her new job. The training is over now, and she is most likely going to move to the Colorado office. However, as of the posting of this installment, nothing is set in stone. With August on the way out and Aspen's plans dashed, Marshall asked Aspen if she wanted to move in, and she accepted.

Most seasons of Rules for a Greattastic Life have an official name. Season 2 is "The Coronapocalypse," Season 3 is "The Empire Of Friends," and this Season is "Step 1." I didn't give Season 1 an official name. Still, in my head, it's called "Goodbye Andersons" because it dealt with the older three Anderson girls moving. Regarding my "sisters," we are back to where we were pre-Covid: Arden out in Colorado, with August heading out there soon. Aspen is off doing her own thing leaving just me and Kid in Columbus.

Covid did a lot of terrible things. But as I watched Aspen drive off to Cincinnati, I smiled. For me, the silver lining of the pandemic was that I got to spend a little more time with my "sisters" in Columbus than expected!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 21: Perfect Timing

 Perfect Timing

Lori (Noah's girlfriend) is a teacher in a school about a couple of hours outside of Columbus. On October 1st, her school held a dinner for Alumni. The problem was October 1st was Noah's birthday. Lori could get into town around 10 p.m., but she didn't want Noah to spend his whole day alone… that’s where I came in!

The plan was for me to go down to Adriatico's, a pizza place down on OSU's campus that Noah enjoyed when he was in college. Then I would drive to Noah's house, and after we ate our pizza, we would go to a bowling alley, where Lori would meet us.

Lori ordered the pizza in my name and told me it would be ready at 8:20. I arrived at Adriatico's at 8:22. I walked in and told the college girl working the cash register my name.

"We don't have an order under that name," she said, "Could it be under another?"

I gave her Lori's information only to be met with the same result. Confused, I walked out of the restaurant and called Lori. "Huh," Lori said, "That's strange… I'll figure out what's going on."

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Could you get another pizza?" she replied.

"Of course!" I answered.

I went back into the restaurant, placed my order, and waited 20 minutes for it to be done. Finally, I got to Noah's house around 9:15. We talked and ate, and we didn't end up getting to the bowling alley until an hour later. I set everything up, and we only played one frame before Lori showed up.

On paper, this installment does look like a negative review for Adriatico's, but I don't think I would have changed anything. Other than taking Noah to Adriatico's with me so we could have spent more time together. I understand why schedules are essential, but it's too easy to get caught up in them. As an autistic person, I was super stressed out waiting for that pizza to be made because we were behind. But if we had been on time, Lori would not have arrived at the same time as us. Sometimes being late causes you to have perfect timing!

Have a Greattastic Day and be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 20: Step 1 Part 1

 Step 1 Part 1

My former co-worker Lily left my Kroger about a year ago, and I have not mentioned her since the last season finale. She was my Kroger "workplace bestie," and we have been through a lot. I also haven't talked much about working at Kroger since she left. My reasoning is because the things that happen to me at Kroger tend to lean towards the outrageous. So while weird stuff has happened to me post-Lily, I'm not able to stretch most of the incidents into complete installments because the weird things are a lot more low-key without her.

Lily had the strangest effect on her friends. A year after she started working at Kroger, her best friend, Maya started working with us. Maya's brother, Ethan, started working with us shortly after that… and then the floodgates opened. After Lily moved to her new Kroger, her current boyfriend, Owen, worked with me for a short time. Then Chloe, Lily and Maya's other friend, began working at Lily's new store. Heck, even Lily's nemesis, Summer, started working at my store. Most recently, and most relevant for the sake of this installment, their friend Isabella (Izzy) started working in the front end with me.

While I'm here and talking about this group, I need to say that we had a big falling out with Lily very recently. It's a long story, and I'm super upset about what happened, but I hope we can resolve the situation someday. Despite the stress this has caused us, I have remained friends with Maya, Ethan, Chloe, Summer, and Izzy.

Now Izzy took Lily's spot as my Kroger "workplace bestie" even before we fell out with Lily because there was a void that needed to be filled. We've gotten super close since we started working together, and she has proven herself as a good friend, as she just helped me through a rough break-up.

As I mentioned in a previous installment, "Death Sentence," I don't want to spend my whole life acting like I can't be successful because I'm autistic. "Step 1" of my plan to prove the stereotype wrong is to move out of my parent's house. I couldn't do much for most of this season because I couldn't afford to move out on my Kroger salary, so I had to wait for the New Story job to start. When it did, the next thing I had to do was find a roommate.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my usual Kroger shift, and Izzy and I started talking. "You know," Izzy said in the middle of our conversation, "If you're looking for a roommate… I kind of need one…."

"Are you serious!" I asked excitedly.

"Dead serious!" she replied.

Now we're back to a waiting game because Izzy is trying to find a better-paying job so she can afford rent, but once that happens, the plan is for us to start looking for apartments! I can't wait to see what comes next!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe!

J. Mitchell Ulibarri

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 19: Mitchmas (24) Part 3: Initiation Island

 Mitchmas (24) Part 3: Initiation Island

I entered the forest on the island, and I looked around. There was a fire pile setup, and directly in front of it was a ton of small stones organized in the shape of an airplane under an arch. I sat down and opened my cinch sack. Inside was a note on top of a pile of stuff. The note read, "Welcome to Initiation Island! In this bag you will find a mosquito net-suit, matches, a bottle opener and a water bottle. Clue 1: Look to the trees to find your way."

I put on the mosquito net-suit, looked up, and immediately recognized Marshall's orange shovel hanging from a tree. As I got closer, I noticed there was a second note on the shovel. Before I could read it out of the corner of my eye, I saw a neon headband. I turned around just as Marshall emerged from the trees behind me. "What are you doing here?" I asked, "I thought you had a work thing!"

"No, that's the real Marshall." He replied, "I'm your spirit guide."

I laughed at that and then continued on my quest. The second note read, "Clue 2: In the water there are leeches- So no escape each other beaches. You must find the treasure on THIS island. Look for the pile of rocks." I started digging at the "airplane stone pile." After going a few inches down, I realized that there was nothing there.

"You know for a spirit guide you're not that useful." I said to Marshall, who was sitting in a meditative position.

"You haven't asked any questions." He replied.

"Is this the right spot to be digging?" I asked.

"No." He answered.

I rolled my eyes and continued hunting around until I found another pile of rocks. Under this pile, I found a box that had a third clue on it. "Clue 3: Boy drink up! Inside this box is everything you need to send us the signal. Once you leave this island, you leave behind your 23rd year never to return. You are officially 24! So make some noise & enter this new year of your life! Don the gear inside so we can recognize you as you hatch into this year!"

Inside the box was a bottle of beer, two bottle rockets, and, most importantly, was a chicken headband and elastic beak. "'Hatch into this year'!" I laughed. "You guys are ridiculous!"

I drank the beer, put on the chicken suit, and (with some assistance so I didn't blow myself up) launched the bottle rockets! I could not stop laughing because, okay, fine, a scavenger hunt on an island, that's fun. But what the heck did the chicken suit have to do with anything?!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe 

J. Mitchie Ulibarri