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!!!!

Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 13: Keynote

 Keynote

As you may recall, I spoke at OCALICONLINE last November with my public speaking mentor and family friend, Dr. Brooks, and Noah's soccer coach, Katie. Speaking at OCALICON (as it was called pre-Covid) was a goal that Dr. Brooks and I had been working toward since late summer 2019, shortly after I started speaking in her inclusion class at OSU. Our OCALICONLINE session was pre-recorded, so Dr. Brooks, Katie, and I spent the session answering questions in the chat box. This was stressful because when a question was asked, I felt like I had to answer it faster than I could type so that the audience could pay attention to my pre-recorded counterpart.

As soon as our session ended, I took a deep breath. I was not even able to breathe out before Dr. Brooks called me. I assumed she would just congratulate me on my first conference and debrief. While that was part of it, after she had congratulated me and we had debriefed, Dr. Brooks said, "So I have a proposal for you…."

According to their website, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is "the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the success of children and youth with disabilities and/or gifts and talents." Dr. Brooks just so happens to be the current president of the Ohio chapter of CEC. Her immediate predecessor, who we will call Ellen, came to our OCALICONLINE session. The board was planning this summer's conference, and Ellen headed the operation. In the middle of our session, Ellen texted Dr. Brooks, saying that she thought I would be the perfect keynote speaker! When Dr. Brooks told me, I completely lost my mind and immediately accepted the offer.

The conference was last Friday, June 8th, at Malone University in Canton, Ohio. On June 7th, Dr. Brooks picked me up at 1:00, and we drove to Canton. We got to the hotel around 3:20. Side note- I had my own hotel room, and the CEC Ohio Council paid for it, which was super cool! After we had checked in, we drove to Malone to help set up. When we got to campus, Dr. Brooks introduced me to the rest of the board, including another one of the speakers, who we will call Amy. I've known Amy since 2014 because she is the special-ed director at my high school, The Graham School (TGS), and its two sister schools.

After setting up and decorating, we went to a nice restaurant, and I got to know the board. Once we returned to the hotel, I took a shower. Afterward, Paige called me, and we talked about the Cousin Simple show she and my family had just gone to, and she hyped me up for the next day.

Dr. Brooks and I got to Malone at 8:00 on the morning of the conference. I spent the next hour mentally preparing myself. Fortunately, the conference started with a very quick yoga session. After yoga, Dr. Brooks introduced me, and I began speaking. I got really into the presentation, and honestly, I don't remember actually giving the talk. When I had finished, I went to my table to sell books (which I sold a ton of), and a woman walked up to me.

"Hi Mitchell," she said, shaking my hand, "my name is Jo Hannah, and I'm the head of the Special Ed Department at the Ohio Department of Education." After I greeted her, Jo Hannah continued, "Do you know someone named Sandra Ulibarri?"

"Yeah, she's my mom!" I replied.

"I went to high school with her!" she exclaimed.

Connecting with someone as influential as Jo Hannah is pretty cool, but it's not the only notable thing that happened. First of all, I meet a ton of other great people too, and I've made a lot of connections. Secondly, CEC of Ohio has offered me a spot on their board, and I am in the process of accepting! My goal for this season is to figure out what my "dream life" looks like and take steps toward getting there. I think this is a pretty big step, don't you think?

Have A Greattastic Day, and Be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 12: Fun Facts And Pizza

 Fun Facts And Pizza

On Memorial Day, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, Josh, Pop-Pop, Sara, Eva, Zach, Paige, and I entered Dad's studio to clean up from Josh's graduation party two days prior. Shortly after we arrived, Josh's classmate, whom he had shared the party with, showed up with his parents to help. When we finished, we all piled into Dad's big work van and went to the Leveque Tower, where Aunt Alicia and Austin stayed. Leveque Tower is a staple of the downtown Columbus skyline, and I've been looking at it my entire life, so it was really cool to be inside. After that, we went and got lunch, dropped Eva and Zach off at the airport, then went to a giant bookstore called the Book Loft. Finally, we went to a music store because Ryan had promised Luke a new guitar for his birthday, but he wanted Luke to pick it out.

After the guitar store, I took Paige home. Even though I wasn't looking at her, I felt the weight from all the socializing we had done that weekend hit her about halfway through the drive. I didn't want to burn her out by hanging out with her too much for the rest of the week. So after we had said goodbye and she was getting out of my car, I said, "See you at the show on Thursday!"

"See you then," she replied.

As you may know, Luke and Josh are in a band called Box Seats. Luke is the lead singer, and he plays guitar, and Josh plays drums. The other two band members, Freddy and Max, attend college out of town, so they couldn't play shows during the school year (though they did still release music). As I explained in the installment about Luke's graduation (Graduation, Box Seats, and Chicago), Box Seats played Luke and Freddy's joint graduation party. I was excited for Box Seats to do the same for Josh's. However, because the guy Josh had his graduation party with is not in Box Seats, they decided it would be a good idea for them not to play it. I could only accept this because I knew they were playing the next Thursday, June 1st.

That Thursday, Paige and I hung out for a little bit. We picked up Noah at 6:50, and we Lyfted to the venue. They played at a place called Kafe Kerouac. Half of the venue is a coffee shop plus a full bar, and the other half is a small room with a stage for live music. It was a small venue, but it was packed with fans for both Box Seats and the band they were opening for. There were a few people there that I knew. My parent's neighbors, Stephen and Robin; their daughters, Megan and Rachel; our friends Kristin and Tim, both Freddy and Max's families; and Josh's new girlfriend, Lindsey.

Now I love Box Seats' music; it's excellent. But my favorite thing about the band is the fact that Luke and Josh don't have stage personas. I'm a great storyteller in real life, but I tend to ramble. This blog/podcast and my books give some much-needed structure to my storytelling. I am not saying that my personality doesn't bleed into this series; it's just a little bit restrained.

Luke and Josh, on the other hand, don't restrain their personalities at all when they're performing. My first example is their song "Old Friends." I can't explain to you why this song is so special without literally breaking the entire song down, but it's the perfect encapsulation of Luke's personality. My second example is, between two of their songs, Luke asked the crowd, "So does anyone know any fun facts?" Nobody responded because we were all caught off guard, But when Luke saw me standing in front, he said, "Mitchell, I know you have some fun facts!" In middle school, I got the worst case of poison ivy ever! It was all over my face, chest, legs, feet, arms… everything! I was miserable. It was so bad I couldn't sleep, so I spent a few nights watching TV. On one of these nights, I discovered the TV channel Investigation Discovery… And I got really into True Crime. So when Luke asked me if I knew any fun facts, I could only think of weird true crime statistics, and I knew I couldn't repeat any of them! So I awkwardly stared at my brother until he giggled and continued with the show!

My third and final example: shortly after Luke asked me the fun facts question, they performed a new, untitled song they have not released yet. This new song doesn't have drums till the very end. Josh took this time to go to the green room, and grab a slice of pizza, then came back on stage, sat at the drum set, and finished the pizza just in time for him to play. My point is… the level of goober you have to be to do either of those things while performing is ridiculous, and the level of confidence you have to have to pull it off is even more so. I hope that I can be a little more like them someday.

Have a Greattastic Day and be Safe! 

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 11: Graduation, Girlfriends, And A Pig Roast

 Graduation, Girlfriends, And A Pig Roast

As I explained in the installment about Luke's graduation last year (Graduation, Box Seats, And Chicago), my grandpa (Pop-Pop) and my cousin Austin were the only out-of-towners who came. This year for Josh's graduation, Pop-Pop brought his friend Sara, and Austin's mom, Aunt Alicia, also came. On the day of the party (Saturday, May 27th), my Aunt Eva and Uncle Zach also flew up. My girlfriend, Pagie, is from a big family, and every year, her parents host a pig roast for her Dad's side of the family over Memorial Day weekend. Coincidentally, the pig roast happened to be on the same weekend Josh graduated.

On that Friday, I arrived at Paige's house around 2:15. We hung out for about an hour and 15 minutes before her cousin Marcus, came with his kids. We played with the kids for 30 minutes, and then I had to get back to my parent's house, so we could all head to St. Charles Preparatory High School for the graduation Mass. My grandma and step Grandpa (Nimba and Papa), Alicia and Austin, met Pop-Pop, Sara, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, and me, at St. Charles. Toward the end of the Mass, all 114 people in Josh's class received their diplomas; the Mass ended, everyone cheered, and the graduates threw their caps.

Josh had an after-party, so the rest of my family went to dinner at a distillery. Coincidentally, the distillery that we went to was only four minutes away from an Irish bar that Paige's family was at. So my family dropped me off, and I said hi to the cousins I had already met and introduced myself to those I had not. I spent the night talking and playing darts with Paige's cousins and her mom.

One of Paige's cousins, Kelly, got married in February. It was a small wedding, so a reception was held on Saturday afternoon since the family was in town. I arrived at the house where the reception was held about 20 minutes after Paige and her mom did. After I mingled for a little bit, Paige and I left to go to Dad's Studio (Kobolt) for Josh's graduation party.

We got coffee to keep ourselves going and then entered the party. We began to mingle, and I introduced Paige to my extended family and friends she had not met yet. The entire party went by quickly, but everyone told me how much they loved Paige the whole time. Toward the end of the party, Mom offered to let Paige stay at her house on the couch since she had to sleep on the floor at her house. After Josh's party ended, Paige and I returned to her house to begin the two-day pig roast. Her extended family gradually arrived until 10:20, when embers from the fire were put into the pit, and the pit was covered to cook the pig. An hour later, everyone gathered around, and last year's Christmas tree was burned to kick off the next day's celebration.

Yet another one of Paige's cousins, Chris, is getting married in mid-June, so all the women went to a bridal shower on Sunday morning. After Mass, my family and I went to lunch, and when we got back to my parent's house, Paige, her mom, her aunt Ronnie (Marcus' mom), and her Granddaughter were waiting to pick me up. Our families met, introductions were made, and Marcus' daughter chased me (and, more comically, Luke) around the house. While I was occupied, Ronnie and Austin got to talking and discovered that they both live in Pittsburgh, and they got each other's numbers to meet up at some point.

We got back to Paige's house, and once Paige's Grandma, who had just turned 100, arrived at 4:00, the pig was dramatically taste tested, and we all ate. Shortly after, Paige and I left to go bowling with my immediate family, Pop-Pop, Sara, Eva, Zach, Austin, Alicia, and the Mitreys (Alex, Nicholas, and Ellie… Maci is in Spain). After bowling, we returned to my parent's house. Mom, Eva, Zach, Austin, Alicia, Paige, and I played board games late into the night.

This was one of my favorite weekends in recent memory. For one thing, obviously, I'm happy that Josh graduated high school. For another, since Eva's mom, no one has met any of Pop-Pop's significant others. Plus, I'm too young to remember them as a couple, so it was nice to meet Sara. Mirroring my second point, while my immediate family (and Pop-pop) have met some of my previous girlfriends, no one else has met them. On top of that, I have met the families of two of my exes. Still, one was a high school relationship, so it wasn't serious. As you may recall, the only family member Gabby had left was her Grandmother (who hated me). All of this to say, the level of love Paige and I have received from the other's extended family is something neither of us has experienced before, and we're both still riding that high a week later!

Congratulations on graduating Josh, 

can't wait to hear about your Greattastic college experience! 

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 6 What's The Dream? Blog 10: COSI After Dark

COSI After Dark

In downtown Columbus, there is a place called COSI (Center Of Science Industry). It has a ton of interactive exhibits for kids and preteens/teenagers. The last time I was there was when I was 16. COSI hosts a monthly 21+ event called COSI After Dark. There's a different theme each month, and I've wanted to go for the last couple of years. May 4th is Star Wars Day because of a pun (May 4th be with you)!

On April 13th, Mom texted me a link for a COSI After Dark event happening that night. The theme for that night was prom, and Mom thought I should bring my girlfriend, Paige. I asked her, knowing she would probably say no, as it was too short notice. But after I told her about COSI After Dark, she noticed that the next one was on May 4th, and it was Star Wars themed, so we decided to go to that one instead.

I accidentally bought three tickets; Paige's best friend Nicole and my brothers Luke and Josh are underage, and anyone else I asked had other plans. I offhandedly told a few coworkers, Libby, Carly, Violet, and Mark, that Paige and I were going, and they said they would love to go. I explained that I could get one person in, and Carly was chosen. While Libby was inevitably unable to go, I also invited my other coworker Savannah, her husband, Liam, our former coworker (Savannah's workplace bestie) Ruby, and her fiancé, Jacob.

The event started at 7:00, so our Lyft dropped Paige and I off at 6:50. We waited at the front doors for everyone to arrive. Once everybody met us, we got in line, and my coworkers watched as Paige and I “nerded” out. When we walked in, we saw lots of people cosplaying (dressed up as) Star Wars characters, and they were all very impressive! There was also a full-size remote control R2-D2 rolling around the common area.

We made our way to a jello shot stand and then went to the bar. Around this time, we got separated from Savannah, Liam, Ruby, and Jacob. After we toured some special Star Wars exhibits, we heard they had karaoke in the planetarium. As soon as we found out… I had no choice… I had to sing!

The COSI Planetarium looks like a college lecture hall, with all the seats pointed down toward the speaker (or, in this case, the singer). I chose to sing "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Unfortunately, they used a weird recording of the song in which only drums were played (there's also a piano and guitar in the actual song), so I was singing way too fast. But considering that, I did pretty well!

After karaoke, Mark and I had a quick lightsaber fight, and then we went around to some more exhibits. To be frank, COSI After Dark wasn't what I had expected. I thought the night's theme would take over everything, but other than the cosplayers, R2-D2, and a few special exhibits; it was effectively COSI + alcohol. Even though it wasn't what I thought it would be, that's okay. Things don't have to be perfect. As long as you have good people by your side, you can always have a wonderful time!

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri