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

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 18: Mitchmas (24) Part 2: Send The Signal

 Mitchmas (24) Part 2: Send The Signal

August had to move out of Pittsburgh at the beginning of July because her lease was up. Around the same time, she happened to find a new job and the training for it was in Cincinnati, so she's been living with Marshall.

As she had promised, Aspen and Ben (August's boyfriend) picked me up around 6, the day after my birthday, and we drove to Marshall's house. When we got there, I hugged August, and I noticed that she was very sweaty. "Sorry," she said, "Marshall and I were just out on the lake. I'm getting in the shower after him."

After August and Marshall had made themselves decent, we all had a drink and hung out. The whole time everyone was telling me that they had a "big adventure" planned for the following day and that I "could possibly die." I fell asleep on the sofa around 2:30 a.m., so August woke me up and guided me to my air mattress.

When I woke up the following morning, I had to go to the bathroom. While I was washing my hands, I heard someone knocking at the door. So I walked downstairs and saw Kid standing there!

"What are you doing here?" I exclaimed.

"Well I wasn't gonna miss the big adventure." She replied.

We woke up everyone else, and we all went out to eat breakfast. "So," Aspen said when we had finished eating, "We're going to go on a little boat ride and then when we get back we will go on the adventure."

"Oh no!" Marshall said," I forgot I have a work meeting so I won't be able to make it on the boat, but I can meet you guys for the adventure."

When we got to the boathouse, we tried to order a motorboat for everyone except Marshall, but they did not have any that were big enough. So instead, we ordered two paddleboats. I sat on the back of August and Ben's boat, and Aspen and Kid got their own. Eventually, Aspen and Kid decided to get a motorboat and try to tow us back because it was just going to take us forever to get back.

As soon as Aspen and Kid were out of sight, August turned to me. "Okay Mitchie," she said, "the adventure starts now!"

"Wait what!" I said, confused.

"We're going to have to blindfold you." Ben said.

They put the blindfold on and started paddling faster and faster. Finally, I felt the boat hit land, and August and Ben took my hands and led me off the boat. I felt August put a cinch sack on my back, and she said, "Okay you can take off your blindfold now!"

I looked around and realized what was going on immediately. I was on an island with a tiny forest on it, and August and Ben were pulling away! "Have fun Michie!" August yelled, cackling away.

"What's going on!" I yelled, confused.

"Initiation!" Ben replied. "Send us the signal."

"Oh, no one's ever going to believe this." I said under my breath.

To Be Continued...

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 17: Mitchmas (24) Part 1: Thankful For Friends And Family

 Mitchmas (24) Part 1:Thankful For Friends And Family

Confession time! When I write a story based on my life, sometimes I do not tell the entire truth. I sensor or change things either to make the story flow better or for the privacy of an individual. I am telling you this now because you need to understand something that happened, but I can't tell you the whole story. I haven't made an installment in a couple of weeks and the reason is that I broke up with my girlfriend, and things got pretty nasty.

I call my birthday “Mitchmas” because it's such a good pun. Ishana and I broke up on August 5th and Mitchmas is August 19th. The two-week period between those two events was emotionally draining.

I left New Story at about 4:00 on Mitchmas. When I got into my car I texted Aspen and asked her if she wanted to get coffee. We met at Crimson Cup and we talked about our weekend plans. “So,” Aspen explained, “Ben and I will pick you up tomorrow around 6. We will hang out a bit at Marshall's house and then on Saturday... we have a plan.” I was intrigued but knew that Aspen would not give anything else up.

Aspen had to leave for work, but I told her she and Kid could come over for presents and cake later that night. After she left, I drove to Noah's house and we hung out until it was time for us to go to dinner with my family.

We went to an Italian restaurant called Buca di Beppo. After we had eaten, we went back to my house and I called Aspen and Kid to tell them we were home. When they got there I opened some presents and we ate cake.

All things considered, it was a pretty mellow day, especially in comparison to what happened the coming weekend, but it was still fun. It was the first time in those last two weeks that I had felt even relatively calm. I'm so thankful to my friends and family who made my birthday enjoyable!

To Be Continued...

Season 4 Step 1 Blog 16: Spring Break 2020

 Spring Break 2020

Spring break 2020 started off normally enough. Marshall and I flew to Colorado to surprise my “sisters” August and Arden who at the time were living together. When Marshall and I flew back into Cleveland at the end of our trip, every college in Ohio was shut down as a result of Covid. When we were about 45 minutes outside of Columbus, Mom texted me. She told me that all of the schools in the state were closed, effective the following Monday, for three weeks. Cool, I thought to myself, three extra weeks of spring break! It wasn't until the end of that first week of lockdown that I realized that it wasn't going to be three weeks.

If I'm being completely honest the lockdown itself didn't bother me. I spent a lot of quality time with family, caught the podcast up to the present day, and went on a lot of walks. The weirdest part was that because Luke and Josh were doing online school I was very aware of the fact that HLC was too. Since I had worked in the after-school program HLC didn't have a job for me at that time. In other words, by the end of the summer, I had been on spring break for about 6 months while everyone else had gone back to school in some capacity.

On August 13, 2020, I was about to clock out for my break at Kroger when I saw Kathy, walking to the doors behind me. “Did you hear?” Kathy asked after I asked how she was.

“Hear what?”

“HLC was purchased by another school called New Story.”

Now I will admit this did cause me to panic a little bit. Once Kathy reassured me that nothing would change (other than eventually the name), I stopped panicking. After I saw Kathy, I thought back to the hockey game event that all HLC staff had been to. More importantly, I thought back to the conversation Addison and I had had about me becoming a teacher's aide.

You should talk to Kathy about that, Addison's voice echoed in my head.

“What should I say?” I replied to her voice, “‘Hey Kathy! It was nice to see you today! I know the world's gone to crap and I'm sure you have a lot on your plate right now, but would you be able to promote me from after school assistant to teacher's aide cuz that would be just swell!’”

I continued to argue with Addison's voice for months on end. However, as my extended spring break continued into the fall of 2020, I realized that enough was enough and it was time for me to take Addison's advice.

On July 12, 2021, I pulled into the New Story parking lot for my “teacher support” training. It was surreal walking back into the school formerly known as Haugland Learning Center. There were honestly a few times where I did not believe I would ever be back there, but I'm glad that I finally am!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

I would just like to thank all of the Educators who have helped me on my teaching journey so far. First and foremost I would like to thank “Martha Green”, the half-day kindergarten teacher (and eventual principal) at my grade school who helped me to start my teaching career. I would also like to thank all the other teachers at my grade school Including, but not limited to, “Peter Livingston” and “Tom Perkins”. Finally, I would like to thank all of the Ace workers and all HLC/New Story Staff, I couldn't have done it without you and I love you all!