Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 16: Colorado, The Long Way Round

 Colorado, The Long Way Round

Since I've worked at New Story, I've only had a month of summer before I had to return for a three-week summer school program. This year, however, my family went on a vacation to Colorado in the middle of that program. I've been to Colorado multiple times, but there are a few differences this time. 1. Every other trip has been for me to visit my "sister" Arden and (once she moved there) my other "sister" August. It's never been a Ulibarri family trip. 2. Before Arden moved to Cincinnati, she always lived within an hour of Denver. August currently lives in Arvada, about 20 minutes outside of Denver. My family was going to Breckenridge. 3. I've always flown into Denver, but it's cheaper for a family of six to make the drive instead of buying that many plane tickets.

My parents' college best friends, Ron and Anita Wallace, their son Tanner and his wife Alex, were meeting us in Breckenridge. Cousin Simple had a show on Friday, July 14th, but we were initially going to leave on the 13th. The plan was Mom, Dad, Josh, and I would leave Columbus right after I got off work, get as far as we could that night, and get to Breckenridge on the night of the 14th. The following day Ron and Anita would join my family in going to Denver to pick up Ryan and Luke, and I would spend some time with August. However, that was slightly unrealistic, so my family and I didn't leave until Friday morning.

At 7:28 a.m., my parents, Josh, and I piled into Dad's big white work van and headed west after quickly stopping at his studio. My favorite part about flying to Colorado is the time change. Colorado is two hours behind Ohio, and it's a three-hour flight. What this means is I can get three hours of writing done in about an hour. The problem with making that drive is that you have to go through two time zones, which is very discombobulating, and Kansas is very boring to drive through. So for most of the journey, the first day Josh and I either slept in our seats or in a cot that we had set up In the back of the van.

Ron and Anita got to Breckenridge on the night of the 14th, but it took them a while to get through Denver because Taylor Swift's "Eras tour" had made it there. In fact, Alex was going to the show. Knowing how crazy Cincinnati got when I went to see her, we wanted to stay out of downtown to avoid any complications. But I still wanted to see August, so when we were at dinner in Kansas, I called her, and we found a location to meet up at that was close to the airport and would avoid most of the Swifties.

We got up the next morning and drove the final four hours to a relatively small suburb of Denver called Aurora.. August and I met at a place called Stanley Market at 11:20 a.m. Now as you might remember, August is pregnant. The last time I saw her, even though she was pregnant then, she was at the end of her first trimester… now she's practically in the third. While I've known since April, seeing August with a baby bump was surreal! In the time before Ryan and Luke landed, August and I got lunch, coffee, and ice cream!

While we couldn't do much on the way to Colorado, I still enjoyed the journey! Yeah, fine, I was asleep for most of it, but when I wasn't, I was having fun! Sometimes in life, you have to just enjoy the journey. Even if it could be more interesting overall, where you are going is worth it!

To Be Continued…

Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 15: Rules For A Greattastic Life (Taylor’s Version)

Rules For A Greattastic Life (Taylor’s Version))

While I haven't said it in this series, in my first book, The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child, I mentioned that my "sisters" grew up loving Taylor Swift. Because I spent so much time with them and they always listened to her music, I also started to enjoy it. This came in handy when I started dating Paige because she also loves her.

On Friday, June 23rd, I picked Paige up at 5:30 pm, and we drove down to Cincinnati to visit Arden, Marshall, Aspen, and James. When we got to Marshall and Arden's place, we unpacked our stuff and went downtown to get dinner. While eating, Arden mentioned that Taylor Swift was playing the following weekend. I knew about the show because my aunt Melissa, and my cousins, Maci, Nicholas, and Ellie, were going. However, because of the price gouging that has been happening on her "Era's tour," I knew I could not afford the tickets.

"Oh no," Arden said, "we don't need to get tickets! Downtown is being converted into 'Swift-nati.' It's just going to be one big festival!" 

Paige couldn't go because she was leaving for a trip with her cousins on Friday the 30th. That same day, I drove back to Cincinnati. About an hour before the show started, Arden and I noticed the tickets had fallen to around $900 apiece… but we still couldn't justify buying them.

Marshall drove Arden and me to pick up Aspen and then dropped us off in "Swift-Natti." After hanging out at the festival for a while, we got on some lime scooters so that we could eat at a restaurant that wasn't too crowded. After we had finished eating, I checked Instagram and realized that Taylor Swift had started playing. When we were about a mile away, I could faintly hear the music.

There was a closed bridge outside of Paycor Stadium (where she played). The three of us climbed onto what we thought was the edge of the bridge; it wasn't. In reality, it was just a cement wall that ran parallel to the bridge. There was a gap between, and maybe a hundred feet below was a garage. Seeing that drop was the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced!

While we sat there, listening to the crowd scream her music back at her, we all experienced the most extreme case of FOMO ever! "We should have just bought tickets!" Arden lamented. After some more discussion, we decided that if the tickets dropped below a thousand for the Saturday show, Arden would buy tickets, and we would pay her back incrementally. Almost as soon as we made that decision, Arden accidentally knocked Aspen's purse off the wall between the bridge and into the garage below! We looked at each other, looked down, and back at each other, and then we dashed to the garage so it wasn't stolen!

The next day was super stressful! We tried all the avenues to get discounted tickets, but none of them panned out. Eventually, the ticket prices dropped to right above $1,000. I talked Arden into doing it, but she still wanted to wait to see if the prices would go down anymore (they didn't). The situation was made even worse when the start time had to be pushed up because of an incoming rain storm. When we were about to get the tickets, the girls were so stressed they were about to back out. "It's just so much money!" Aspen said over the phone, and Arden agreed.

"I know," I said, "But I think it'll be worth it! Remember how sad we felt last night when we weren't there? The only thing that fell faster than our tears was Aspen's purse!" The girls laughed at how cheesy I sounded, but with a little more pressure, I convinced them. Taylor Swift performed for three hours, so I can't tell you everything that happened. All I can say is It is the most epic concert I've ever been to (sorry, Cousin Simple)!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Before I end this installment, I would like to congratulate my now-former coworker, Savannah, and her husband, Liam, on officially moving to Cleveland! I will miss you, and I will be coming to visit!

Season 6 What's The Dream?- 13 Years Of Autism Special: Meanwhile In Another Timeline

 13 Years Of Autism Special: Meanwhile In Another Timeline

Thirteen years ago today (July 5th, 2023), my parents took me to an ice cream social held at Haugland Learning Center (HLC). To this point, I'd been in and out of doctors' offices, and they all told my parents that I was not on the Spectrum. My parents explained to the woman who gave us a tour of HLC, Kathy that they were skeptical, and she replied, "Oh, he's one of us!" While I wasn't officially diagnosed on that day, it was from this point on that we knew I was autistic. A month after this, I turned 13 years old. This means that as of today (if we round a little bit), I have known that I'm autistic for most of my life. In honor of this momentous anniversary, I wanted to answer the question: What would have happened to me if Kathy had not been hired at HLC? Well, my parents likely wouldn't have had the confidence to seek a diagnosis, so I would not have gone to HLC… But what would have happened next?

Let's start with the positive. If I had not gone to HLC, I would not have gotten held back because the teachers didn't think I was ready for high school. This means that Ryan would never have caught up to me in school and I would never have started comparing our lives, and I would have had a more healthy reaction when Cousin Simple started. However, everything else seems to be negative.

As I depicted in my first book, The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child, my "sisters" and I didn't always get along. If I hadn't gone to HLC, I never would have met my friend Max who has a special interest in movies. I would never have made a movie with him or have been inspired to rekindle my relationship with my "sisters." Even if my "sisters" and I had decided to stop fighting, it would not have lasted long because they wouldn't have understood some of my quirks, and there would have been no explanation for them.

I most likely would have gone to Bishop Watterson High School because it was the closest Catholic High School to my parent's house. The problem is August and Arden went to Watterson for a short time, so we would have clashed, and this would have been on top of the bullying that followed me from my grade school. Ryan still would have chosen to go to St. Charles, so I would not have had any family members at school with me.

This would not have meant that I was alone. My two closest friends would have been my grade school friend Anna and my neighbor and soul "brother," Greg. Greg, Anna, and I would have been inseparable until we graduated in 2016. Greg would have moved to New York for college, and Anna and I would have grown apart because of our differing paths in life.

I would not have discovered that I wanted to be a teacher at Watterson. I don't know what I would have done, but I probably would have just gotten an office job. I'm not saying it's not a good job; some people enjoy it; I just know I wouldn't be happy. When Covid would hit, I would have moved back in with my parents and spent the lockdown with them and my family. And while that would have been great, eventually, we would have to return to normal life, and honestly, I think I would have been depressed!

Finally, let's talk about Paige. Since our brothers still went to high school together, we still would have known of each other. When Paige and I ran into each other at the Cousin Simple Newport show, in this reality, there's no way I would have been self-confident enough to pick up on her flirting, let alone do anything about it if I had! I'm not saying it would have happened exactly like this, but this is my best guess of what my life would have looked like without my Autism diagnosis. I'm so thankful that Kathy was put in my life to intervene and put me on the path I am on now.

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

On Monday, June 26th, back in this timeline, Kathy got on her computer at 9:00 a.m. Seattle time. She has lived in Seattle since she left New Story (formerly HLC) last year. She opened Zoom, logged in, and let me join the session. After we spent a little time catching up, I said, "So I have something I want to run by you…."

"What is it?" She asked. I smiled and told her my plan…

Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 14: Duck Pin Bowling

 Duck Pin Bowling

As you may remember, my brother Ryan, and the lead singer of his band Cousin Simple, Will, have lived in Chicago for the last year. I'm happy to announce that as of Thursday, June 29, Ryan and Will have moved back to Columbus! I am so happy to have you guys back!

Before they moved to Chicago, Ryan, and Will lived with their other bandmate, Mitch, and another guy they went to high school with. The first place they moved into in 2019 was a house on OSU's campus that my parents, aunt, and Uncle own. We call the 245. However, they moved into another apartment when my cousin Alex moved into the 245 with his friends. Shortly after Cousin Simple moved into the 245, they started having a weekly bowling night. After Shane and I dealt with our roommate drama at the end of last year, I wanted to start doing more stuff with him. I took a cue from my brother and his friends and decided to go bowling occasionally with Shane.

I'm not good at bowling. Well, I shouldn't say that… I used to be worse at bowling, and while I am getting better, I still have it in my head that I'm worse than I am. Pins Mechanical Is a chain of Duck Pin bowling alleys, and they have some other fun activities too. Fun fact: Dad does a lot of work for Pins and has the world record for building the largest ping pong paddle housed at their location in downtown Columbus! For those who don't know, Duck Pin bowling is a scaled-down version of regular bowling. The lanes and pins are smaller, and you use a skee ball instead of a bowling ball. Because the lane is smaller, there's less room for the ball to fall into the gutter, and it is, therefore, easier. Because of my mindset with regular bowling, when Shane and I bowl, we go to Pins.

The Pins Shane and I go to are at Easton Mall, and it's the biggest location (at least in Columbus). It has two floors, an enclosed slide, and a ton of arcade and pinball games. The first time Shane and I went back in January, it didn't switch to Shane after I finished bowling in our first frame. "That's weird!" I said. After we tried to figure it out on our own, I grabbed an employee and asked for help.

"Oh," the employee explained, "each player bowls three times instead of two in duck pin!"

On Thursday, June 22, Shane and I went to Pins again. We paid for our lane, got some drinks, and went to the second floor to play. Whether Shane and I are equally good or bad at duckpin bowling is up for debate. Either way, during this particular game, Shane and I were neck and neck the entire time.

We were in the 9th frame, and I had just finished my third Bowl. I sat down, took a sip of my drink, and replied to a text from Paige. "Your turn!" Shane said; I looked up from my phone, grabbed a skee ball, and took "my turn." Unfortunately for me, Shane had only bowled twice and had gotten gutter balls both times. I got him a spare!

"WHAT!" I yelled when I realized what had happened.

"Better luck next time," Shane cackled.

I growled. I knew there was no way I could beat him. At that moment, I promised myself I'd get my revenge!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Before I end this installment, I want to congratulate my COUSIN Paige (not to be confused with my girlfriend) and her husband Austin (or Naughstin as you, the audience, know him) on the birth of their first child! I can't wait to meet him!!!!