Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 14: Back To Basics

 Back To Basics

    After the most emotionally confusing 15 minutes of my life, Ben and August left for Pittsburgh, leaving Marshall and I standing in the street. We talked for a good hour, during which time Marshall explained that his specific job site had closed down a week early. He then told me that he and his brother, Isaac, were going on a quick backpacking trip at the end of the month, right before returning to Columbus for good. He asked if I wanted to come!

    The day finally arrived, and Marshall and Isaac picked me up. We left my house around 2:00 and drove the two hours down to Wayne National Forest. We parked, put on our backpacks, and marched into the forest. It was so humid that we were all drenched in sweat, not even a quarter of a mile into our hike.

After miles of hiking, we came to a small clearing. We stopped there to catch our breath and got a clear view of a lake that stretched on as far as the eye could see. Overlooking the lake was a cliff. "Hey, guys!" Marshall said, "See that cliff up there? About 20 feet behind that is where we are camping! We're almost there!!!"

We continued walking until we arrived at the cliff's top. We took a second to take in the view and stood in awe of the nature surrounding us. Moments later thunder in the distance added anxiety to the awe. Our new-found freedom from the worries of everyday life quickly turned to haste in pitching our tents. Broken stakes, rain, and failed attempts at being helpful from Isaac and me, only hindered Marshall's process of setting up camp.  We managed to get my tent pitched. As soon as we had finished, the rain stopped because, of course, it did. We got Marshall, and Isaac's tent pitched. By some miracle, Marshall managed to get a pretty big fire started using only wet wood.

After we ate and the sun had set, Marshall, Isaac, and I went out to the cliff and looked at the stars. As we sat there, I got pretty excited! Marshall was coming home! COVID-19 has changed many things, and things are not back to normal, but Marshall coming back marks a very significant point for me. My personal life is at least starting to look like what it did before the virus hit. I know that things are far from normal, but I consider this the start of things getting back to basics!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri  

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 13: Marshall Returns

 Marshall Returns

As I knew Marshall's job at Battelle was only going to last through the summer, I called him near the end of July and asked him when he would be home. He told me that he planned to come to town and move into his new apartment on 8/10/2020. He would go to Cleveland to spend the rest of the month with his family before starting both classes at the Ohio State University and a new job in early September.

August had a summer job last year in Colorado. She had to come back to Columbus to finish her last semester of college at Ohio State. Upon her return, she had to get a new job. After a lengthy search, she got hired at an indoor rock climbing gym called Vertical Adventures.

As soon as August started working there, she and a co-worker named Ben hit it off. She spent the whole semester talking to me about him. After some minor convincing from me, August asked Ben out, and on New Year's Eve, they started dating.

In early January, August went on an internship in Utah. Things didn’t go as planned with the internship and she ended up back in Colorado with Arden. When Vertical Adventures shut down because of COVID-19, Ben drove from Columbus to Loveland and spent the entire lockdown with August and Arden. When the lockdown ended, Ben and August returned to Columbus, where they spent all their days together. All of this is to say that since the middle of March, August and Ben have been together constantly, they are nearly inseparable. Unfortunately, this eventually had to come to an end.

Ben's pre-COVID plan for this year was to move to Pittsburgh to help a struggling gym owned by Vertical Adventures get back on its feet. The only thing COVID did was delay this plan. On July 31, 2020, Ben officially moved to Pittsburgh.

August, Aspen, and I went to Ben's apartment to load everything into the U-Haul he was renting. We finished getting everything in the truck but realized there was no room for his plants in the cab. Fortunately, August was driving to Pittsburgh with Ben, so he would have to come back and drop her off. We took all his plants and put them in August's car and drove back to our street, Meadow Park Drive.

We got back to my "sisters'" house, took the plants inside, and August went inside to say goodbye. By that time, Ben had arrived and parked the U-Haul right in front of the house.

I walked with August down the driveway consoling her with words of hope and love. Right when I was about to get all inspirational, my phone started to ring!

"Hey, Marshall!" I said, "Can I call you back?  Bens about to- Actually you're going to miss him so I'll give my phone to him." When I gave Ben my phone, he gave me an awkward look, but I wasn't aware enough to figure out what was going on.

After about two minutes, Ben gave me my phone back, and he and August prepared to leave. Suddenly Marshall appeared from behind the U-Haul and hugged Ben. I was so focused on supporting August that Marshall's sudden appearance put me into a state of shock, and I couldn't react to anything for a good 15 minutes!

To be Continued...

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 12: Marshall vs. COVID-19

 Marshall vs. COVID-19

On March 11, 2020, I awoke to August moving around in Arden's apartment in Loveland Colorado. I asked her what she was doing, and she said,  “I’m doing an 'Instacart' I’ll be back in an hour”. I got up to get ready for the day and accidentally woke Marshall up. The day before, we found out that the Ohio State University was closing down due to COVID-19. Marshall was a student ambassador at Columbus State Community College. We figured that because Ohio State had closed down, Columbus State would close down soon after.

"Look," Marshall vented, "I've put all this work and dedicated so much time to Columbus State, now that it’s closing I don't know what I'm going to do. Graduation probably isn’t even going to happen!"

I tried to tell him everything would be okay- not that I believed what I was saying. Honestly, I was only saying it because one of us had to be positive! Little did I know how right I was, specifically when talking about Marshall's life. I'm not going to say that this hasn't been hard on him, but I propose that he has had the best 2020 out of anyone I know!

The next day we flew into Cleveland, drove back to Columbus right as Ohio completely shut down and Marshall dropped me off. That weekend Marshall and a group of his friends hiked the Smoky Mountains. After that, he returned to Cleveland to be with his family during the quarantine.

When the quarantine was ending, I got a call from Marshall. He said he was coming back into town for a few days before leaving for a job at Battelle, which, just by sheer coincidence, ended up being in Montrose, Colorado! After seeing me, August, Aspen, and Kid that weekend, Marshall left to start his job on May 1st.

Marshall worked 12-hour days, seven days a week. He was running one of Battelle Memorial Institute's Critical Care Decontamination Systems. They removed contaminates from N95 respirators. Despite the grueling schedule, Marshall enjoyed his job, still managed to climb miles of mountains, and see Arden from time to time. I was (and still am) so proud of everything Marshall has done! But of course, I did miss him, and I couldn't wait for him to come back to Columbus.

To be continued...

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 11: How This All Started

 How This All Started

I started "Rules For A Greattastic Life" on January 25th, 2019. But the idea that set me on the path to this series happened long before that. Let me explain:

I grew up next door to four girls. I refer to them in this series as August, Arden, Aspen, and Arlo "Kid" Anderson. Though we didn't get along at first, the girls and I developed a friendship, and they grew to become my "sisters."

We got ourselves into a ton of predicaments throughout our preteen/teen years. We did all the things normal teenagers do. We fell in love and dated people, we had movie nights, poked fun at each other, and fought a lot. And while those things are almost mundane, the personalities of both myself and my "sisters," added a layer of ridiculousness that I've never experienced in other situations. After each of our adventures, we would go back to my "sisters'" house and tell their parents what had happened. When we would finish telling the story, their mom would always say, "You guys should have your own sitcom!"

In the last installment, I talked about my brother Ryan's band, Cousin Simple and I explained why I wanted to write it. However, I posted it strategically directly before this installment. I posted it then as opposed to any other random time because I wanted it to be fresh in your minds. I wanted you to know that all the things I'm about to say have not affected my present-day feelings for the band! I love them, I love their music, and I always have. Unfortunately, when they started in 2017, I was in the midst of an identity crisis.

While I was confident and outgoing during my high school years, I was grappling with the reality of my autism under the surface. I was continually asking myself questions along the lines of, "Am I ever going to be able to be successful in life?" In the middle of my junior year, with senior year and graduation quickly approaching, these insecurities peaked. It was at this time that Cousin Simple came into being. All of a sudden, my baby brother was not only a "rockstar" but on the road to success! To cope with these rising insecurities, I started talking to my "sisters" about them.

One evening in September 2017, Arden and I drove to a place called "Alum Creek Dam," mostly because we were bored. We got to talking, and she could tell that I was feeling insecure.

"Mitchie," she said, after I told her what was going on that day, "You're such a good storyteller and you've been saying for years you've wanted to write a fiction book…you know how my mom is always saying we should have our own sitcom? Why don't you just write a book about our adventures?"

I thought about it and decided it was a good idea. So I started writing a book about our present-day life and when it was necessary, I would flashback to our childhood. However, it's nearly impossible to create a cohesive story in the present day (in a book format, at least). It would never end. After a year of trying to write a book that way, I deleted the whole thing, decided to write a book about my childhood, and created Rules For a Greattastic Life, to replace the present-day timeline.

I'm telling you this now because I have finally finished the rough draft of the book. I have gotten a group of people together who will help me peer edit it. I'm hoping to have the editing done by Christmas, so in 2021 all I have to worry about is publishing. I'm hoping that the book will be published sometime next year!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 10: Cousin Simple (Remix)

Cousin Simple (Remix)

In July of 2019, I posted a blog called “Cousin Simple” about my brother Ryan's band. In November of 2019, a family friend suggested that I read my own blogs via a podcast, and I took that advice. Unfortunately, it took me cutting out about 50% of Season 1’s blogs and then a global pandemic for me to catch the podcast up to the present day. It wasn't until April 14th, 2020 that I finally posted the “Cousin Simple” podcast. It wasn't until I was recording that podcast, that I realized how irrelevant it's content had become. Because I do want to start writing about Cousin Simple a little more then I do currently, here's a refresher and an update on Cousin Simple:

My Aunt Cyndi is an awesome dancer. In the summer of my fourth-grade year (Ryan’s second), Cyndi suggested we have a start of the summer dance party at our house. We invited a ton of people including one of Ryan's best friends, Will and his family. The playlist created by Cyndi started blasting at about 5 pm and did not end until after midnight. It was here that I saw it for the first time… Will had this energy that made him the natural life of the party. Now I don't really believe in destiny, but I do think Will was always going to end up being a performer.

When Will and Ryan were in seventh grade a new kid named Mitch came to their school. He joined their little group, and the three became ever closer. On their last day of school in 8th grade, they performed a few songs at the end of school mass and they had a private “concert” for their class. The three started writing music together and eventually put some songs out on Soundcloud.

After a landslide win in a local battle of the bands competition, the band took off! They have played in all kinds of places, from dive bars to music festivals, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! After some trial and error, the band eventually found their current drummer, Joel.

To date, they have released 13 “regular” songs, a Christmas song, and three music videos. They had just signed with a producer and were set to start touring when the pandemic hit, and we all know what has happened to live music. During the quarantine, the boys have been working on writing and recording new music, but more details on that later. I'm so proud of my brother and his friends in all that they are doing, and all that they have accomplished.

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 9: Groovetastic

                                                    Groovetastic

The first time I went to Noah's apartment, I texted him and told him that I had arrived. His response was, "Groovetastic! I'll be right down!" I laughed to myself because if I lived in the '70s, my catchphrase totally would have been "Groovetastic," as opposed to "Greattastic." I explained it to Noah when we got to his apartment, and he said that he actually uses the word from time to time.

As we have been working on the song, the biggest issue we were facing (outside of the song itself) was what we were going to call our band.

"Noah," I said at the beginning of our month-long discussion, "We should call our band 'The Slice' and then if we release an album call it 'Pizza' so the album would be 'Pizza by The Slice!'"

Noah replied, without a hint of irony in his voice, "That's cheesy!"

Noah eventually had the idea to call the band "Groovetastic," which I really should have thought of that! Come on, Mitchell, get your act together! About a week after we landed on the name, it was time to record the song.

Our song "Miracle Child" was written as an announcement for a secret project that I have been working on. We needed to get the recording done because the announcement will come in the form of a music video. I asked my brother Ryan if he could do the recording because it was the best option. Ryan has experience because he has recorded demos for his band, Cousin Simple.

Last Sunday (8/2/2020), Noah came over to my house to record. We went upstairs to our makeshift recording studio and started by recording Noah's guitar part. I sang a scratch track (a track that won't be used in the actual song), so Noah had something to follow and make it easier to keep tempo.

I have a naturally high voice. I have never claimed to be the best singer in the world. Still, that scratch track was so lousy that when it was finally my turn to record, I sang an octave lower than usual.

The finished audio we got was not the best because I focused so much on the tone that I was missing notes. As a result, Ryan had to come over, and we had to re-record my voice. It was actually a perfect thing, though, because I managed to find a good middle ground between singing in the original recording and my natural voice. I think that is a good lesson- sometimes imperfection leads to perfection.

Have a (Oh, I may as well) Groovetastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 8: NEOWISE

NEOWISE

On March 27th, 2020, NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-Field Infrared Explorer, or NEOWISE, discovered a comet that can only be seen from Earth every 6,800 years! About four months later, "Comet NEOWISE" Finally made its pass over the Earth. I'm not really that into science, so I didn't know about this Comet until my family went to see it.

I was in my "sisters'" backyard, Mom heard me talking to Rich. She texted me and told me to ask him if he had a telescope because ours was missing a piece. I asked Rich and he gave me a mini telescope that he had.

At 8:30 p.m., Mom, Dad, and my brothers, Ryan, Luke, and Josh, piled into the car and drove to a place called Alum Creek Dam. Mom and Dad told us to go find a spot on the top of the dam and set up our tripod while they found a parking spot.

The boys and I ran to the top, found a spot, set up the tripod, and waited for Mom and Dad to arrive. When Mom and Dad found us, we sat down in the blankets that Mom brought and waited.

Around 10:20, Ryan said he saw it through his binoculars. Shortly after, Luke Josh and Dad said they did too. Mom and I were left confused. Eventually, with a little bit of help from everyone else, Mom found it.

Because everyone had found it, they just kind of assumed that I'd found it too. I was getting incredibly frustrated because it's something that will never happen again in my lifetime, and I didn't want to miss out. Mom asked if I saw it. Everyone tried to help me find it on my own, but I just couldn't do it.

"Okay," Luke said, "come over here!" I walked over to him, and he continued. "See those brake lights on that car off in the distance?"

"Yes," I said.

"Take my binoculars and look up very slowly, starting from the brake lights."

I did it, and I eventually found the Comet! At first, I thought I was just looking at three stars that happened to make a triangle until I noticed that the top point of the triangle had a tail.

Challenges tend to arise in life. Sometimes the problems are so overwhelming that you just want to give up. But, you can't give up because if you do, you miss the reward of succeeding! Persevere through all the struggles of life, and you will see amazing things.

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri