Season 7 To Be An Advocate Blog 2: Full Circle

 Full Circle

Friday, January 19th, 2024 happened to be a snow day. This made the day doubly great because not only was I able to hang out with Paige pretty much all day, but my brother Ryan's band Cousin Simple, had released their new EP Sugarcoat at midnight that day and I got to listen to it a lot more than I would have gotten to if I had to work. The following Monday, January 22, 2024, Will/Hash (frontman), Ryan (lead guitar), my other brother Luke (rhythm guitar & bass), and Dave (drums) left Columbus for a two week tour with a band called Wild Party.

The tour started in Memphis, Tennessee, they made about ten stops on the way to Canada, and the last show was scheduled for Saturday, February 10th, at Skully's Music Diner. Now that's really cool because Cousin Simple won a battle of the bands competition 7 years ago and that is what put them on the map. The final part of the battle of the bands competition was held at Skully's!

On Saturday, February 10, 2024, Paige and I got to my parents' house with the pizzas Mom had ordered around 6:30 PM. When we walked in we were greeted by my parents, my cousin Austin, Mom’s college roommate, Shannon and her husband Tim, our family friends Kristin and Tim (I know, it’s confusing), and Shannon‘s mother-in-law. After we ate and caught up for about an hour, we all headed to Skully’s.

We walked into the bar and I was pleasantly surprised that the floor was not as sticky as I remembered it being. I lost my group while buying a drink, but I found Paige and Austin at the back of the crowd right before Cousin Simple started playing.

Two or three songs in, Paige noticed the rest of our group standing next to my cousin's family, the Mitreys (Aunt Melissa, Uncle Andy, Alex, and his girlfriend, Emma, and Maci), by the side of the stage. We moved over there, and after saying hi, I noticed that one of Ryan‘s classmates’ siblings, Gabe, was standing right at the front of the crowd, and from that angle, I could make it to him. So at the first chance I got, I made my way through the crowd to the very front!

Later, as he does at nearly every show Will jumped into the crowd. The entire crowd converged on him, and because I was upfront, I got crushed. I bobbed and weaved so that I didn’t get trampled. When Will returned to the stage, and things had calmed down, I turned around and found myself staring at my brother Josh and his and Luke’s band mates from Box Seats, Freddie and Max!

After Cousin Simple finished playing Wild Party took the stage. They put on a really good show, although I had only heard one of their songs before. The boys have been on one major tour before, but I’m very happy for them because 1. They had a good time with Wild Party and 2. The tour ended with this full circle moment!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

You can listen to Cousin Simple’s new Ep Sugarcoat on Spotify and wherever you find your music!

Season 7 To Be An Advocate Blog 1: A Quick Trip To Cleveland

 A Quick Trip To Cleveland

As I mentioned a few times, one of my coworkers at New Story was a girl named Savannah. She was one of my first friends when I started working at New Story during the 2021-22 school year. She and I became very close over the course of our first year working together, so much so that when she got married at the beginning of our second, I was invited to the wedding (A Wedding In Wooster).

About a year ago, I learned that Savannah and her husband, Liam, were planning to move to Cleveland, which inevitably happened last summer. On Wednesday, June 28, 2023, Savannah and I met for the last time before she moved that weekend. After getting lunch and hanging out for about an hour, we began walking back to our cars.

“Okay,” I said as we hugged goodbye, “I’m giving you 7 months to settle in, and then I’m coming up to visit you!”

“Looking forward to it!” She replied

Last Saturday, January 27th, 2024, I got to Savannah and Liam's house around 11:30. When I pulled up, Savannah texted me that her dogs, Milo and Korra, were going to be a bit crazy when they first met me. I reassured her that it wasn't a problem and walked in.

After meeting the dogs, Savannah showed me around the house. I said hi to Liam, and then Savannah and I went to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. We saw a couple of 3D shows, I did a VR thing where I was a pterodactyl, and we walked around the museum. After the museum, we went to a Mexican restaurant. While we were there, we continued to catch up on how things were going in each other's lives. After returning to the house, we watched TV for a bit. Then we went to a sports bar for dinner, returned to the house, played Mario party, and watched a Bo Burnham comedy special.

Now back in A Wedding In Wooster, I mentioned that Savannah and Liam’s wedding was the first one I went to that I was not in the wedding party or a family member of the bride or groom. As a result, I felt a little out of place, but the fact that Savannah invited me made me feel better about her and my friendship. Another factor in me feeling out of place at the wedding, however, was that Savannah and Liam’s families are so neurotypical, and I didn’t have any previous connections to them that I just felt a little lost.

I didn’t mention it in that installment because I didn’t think the point that I’m about to make would mesh well with an installment about a wedding. The entire time I was visiting, Savannah was obviously anxious, making sure that I was comfortable. To be fair, I think this is just because she’s a good host/person, but I want to use it to explain what our friendship means to me.

There are some people in my life that I feel like are only my friends out of pity. Obviously, this does not include my family, people that I consider family, Paige, or most of my friends, but there are a handful that I just feel only keep a friendship with me because I have autism. Savannah is someone who, by all accounts, shouldn’t really be my friend. Yes, we got along and hung out a handful of times outside of work, but when you really get down to it, she's just my coworker.

What makes our friendship so special is how accepting Savannah is of me despite just being my coworker. She has always been there for me and has always been willing to give me advice. And when I ask for advice, she doesn't treat me like I'm an idiot because I misread a social cue. I'm not saying she's the only one, but when I think of my neurotypical friends who truly support me, Savannah is one of the first that I think of!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

5-Year Anniversary Special: What Comes Next?

 What Comes Next?

As of the posting of this installment, January 25th, 2024, it has been exactly five years since I started this blog! So much has happened since then; I mean, for starters, this isn't just a blog anymore; it's also a podcast. Since the beginning of this series, I have traveled a lot, been to a handful of weddings, become a published author twice, got my driver's license, quit my job at Kroger, and gotten my job at New Story. I've dealt with more changes than I thought I could handle six years ago. I started dating a wonderful human named Paige, moved out of my parent's house, and did a lot of public speaking, not to mention that we went through a global pandemic! In honor of this momentous anniversary, I wanted to answer the question: what comes next for me?

To answer that, we must go back to the first time I spoke at OCALICONLINE, in November 2022. As a refresher, OCALI stands for the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence Disabilities. It's a non-profit local to Columbus, and they have an annual conference that went virtual and has stayed that way since the pandemic. My public speaking mentor and family friend, Dr. Brooks, and Noah's soccer coach, Katie, and I were doing a presentation called "Using Contact-Based Interventions to Create Inclusive Learning Spaces."

Dr. Brooks is a professor at The Ohio State University, and Katie did a lot of work with her at the time. Dr. Brooks has an inclusion class in which she teaches incoming teachers about inclusion. When I started this series, Dr. Brooks asked me to start speaking in that class to tell these future teachers about my experiences as a student with autism.

For our OCALICONLINE presentation, Dr. Brooks and Katie ran a research study. Each time before I spoke in Dr. Brooks's class, the students would fill out a survey, and they would fill out the same one afterward. What they found (in extremely dumbed-down terms) was having someone on the spectrum explain their story, put a face to Autism, and positively impacted these incoming teachers' understanding of why inclusion is critical to their role as teachers.

I took the entire week off work when I spoke at the conference. This was the first conference I had ever spoken at, and I wanted to enjoy the whole thing. I spent the entire week listening to other presenters who were autism advocates, and I'm not going to lie; I came out of it feeling defeated. Most of these other advocates had done so much more than I had! As I said, I'm always writing and telling my story as an adult with Autism. But most of these advocates spent a lot of their time lobbying for change, and a lot of them had spoken at multiple conferences. I just realized how much farther I had to go!

The presentation for OCALICONLINE 2022 led directly to me becoming the Keynote speaker at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) state conference in June of 2023. Dr. Brooks is the current president of the Ohio chapter of CEC. That conference led to two more things. 1. I was offered a position on the CEC of Ohio Board, and I accepted. 2. I met Jo Hannah. Jo Hannah is the Director of the Office for Exceptional Children at the Ohio Department of Education, and it just so happens that she went to high school with my mom. She and her coworker, Joe offered me a chance to speak at OCALICONLINE 2023 with my parents during the leadership session!

The CEC conference was at Malone University, which is about two hours away from Columbus. I explained some of my insecurities to Dr. Brooks on the drive back. "I know I'm doing a lot,” I said, “but I still feel like I haven't hit my stride with my advocacy."

After a moment of contemplation, Dr. Brooks suggested, "What if you started a non-profit?"

 I thought it was a great idea. For one thing, it would give me my own platform for both this series and my books, so I don't have to rely on the Instagram overlords as much. I'll still have to use social media, but I won't be solely dependent on it. For another, it gives me the ability to grow as an advocate. As soon as I decided to start a non-profit, I knew the first person I had to tell.

As you probably know, growing up, my best friend was a girl named Samantha McCarthy, but I called her S.M. She passed away in 2009. Her mom, Nikki, started a non-profit called Sam's Fans that supports music and art therapy in Ohio hospitals. As I explained in my second book, Once In A Lifetime: A Song For Sam, Nikki's best friend, Mandy, works for a company that helps non-profits get started, and so naturally, she helped Nikki get Sam's Fans off the ground. So, at a Sam's Fans event last October called Thread of Hope, I told Mandy that I needed to meet up with her soon.

I went through a lot of ideas for what my non-profit could be. Paige and I came up with one on a date we had when we went to Cincinnati to visit Arden, Aspen, and Marshall last summer. While it was good, it felt a little too big. Like we were planning on starting small, but it did feel like we were doing too much. Even without Paige, when I was trying to think of ideas on my own, I felt like I was biting off a little more than I could chew.

The Sunday before OCALICONLINE 2023, I ran into Dr. Brooks after Mass. I explained to her that I was meeting with Mandy that Tuesday after my OCALICONLINE session, but I still didn't have a sustainable idea for a non-profit. After sitting there for a second, Dr. Brooks said, "What if you just build it around your public speaking?" She explained that I could create space for other autistic individuals (and other special needs groups) to tell their stories. On top of that, the fundraising would go to me hosting teacher workshops to help them better serve the special needs community.

I thought this was a good idea because it's not anything new. I'm already an author, a blogger, a podcaster, and a public speaker; starting a completely new non-profit just adds more work. But if it's an evolution of something I'm already doing, it won't be as overwhelming. On top of that, having an actual business model will help me stay structured with my advocacy as a whole.

Right after my OCALICONLINE 2023 Session, I drove to Crimson Cup to meet with Mandy. I explained everything to her, and she said she thinks it's a good idea. We talked for a little bit, and she gave me a few ideas on how I should start getting this ready. I need to think about who I want on the board, and I need to write a business plan. I got a little sidetracked because the week after OCALICONLINE 2023 was Thanksgiving. Then I had my ear surgery and got busy for Christmas and New Year's. On top of that, I've been preparing to release the ebook version of Once In A Lifetime: A Song For Sam and the hardcover version of The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child. More news on that soon.

While I haven't completely thought of who I want on my board, I know at least one person. Last July, I released an installment called "13 Years Of Autism Special: Meanwhile In Another Timeline." The idea was that the only reason my parents pursued an autism diagnosis was that when they initially took me on a tour of New Story (formerly known as Haugland Learning Center) to see if it would be a good fit for me as a student, the woman who was giving us the tour, Kathy, told them, "he's one of us!" As I showed in that installment, if Kathy had not been working at Haugland, I would not have been diagnosed, and I would not be where I am today! Since she was an integral part of my Autism journey when I was first diagnosed and in recent years, I offered her a spot on my board, and she has accepted!

Finally, before I end this installment, I need to say that there is something else I have to do before I even start building this non-profit. I can't talk about it right now; I promise we'll get to it. I wanted to release this installment now because even though it's going to take me a second to actualize everything that I want to, from this point on, there has been a shift in my life. I am now Moving toward becoming the advocate that I want to be!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Rules for a Greattastic Life will return with Season 7 soon!

New Year’s Special: Florida For New Years

 Florida For New Years

Disclaimer: The Paige that I refer to in this installment is my cousin, not my girlfriend. Also, she has a brother named Austin, and her husband's name is Austin. Her husband will be referred to as Naughstin.

Growing up, my family would go down to Orlando, Florida, for two weeks every summer to visit Dad’s side of the family. However, in more recent years, we have been going to other places for our family's summer vacation. To make up for this, in December 2019, we went to Florida for New Year's. We obviously didn't go in 2020, but we went there twice in 2021. Once to make up for 2020 and once for Paige’s wedding. We were going to go for New Year’s last year, but Dad hurt his back, so we couldn't make the drive.

On December 27th, 2023, my family drove down to my Aunt Eva and Uncle Zach’s house. The next day, we spent time at my grandma’s house. Then, at 5:30, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, Josh, Eva, Zach, Pop-pop, his friend Sara, and I got on the SunRail, which is the local train system, and went to a minor league hockey game. The team was called The Solar Bears. When we got there, we met up with my cousin's family, the Spears (Aunt Alicia, Uncle Paul, Alexander, his girlfriend Alexa, Austin, Paige and Naughstin). It was a really fun night, and the Solar Bears won!

On Friday the 29th, my family went to Paige and Naughstin’s house to meet their son Bentley, and he's one of the cutest little babies I've ever met! The next day we went to Titusville, which is about an hour from Eva and Zach's house, and saw my great-grandma Biba, and went to Dad’s cousin's family Christmas party.

New Year's Eve was a very packed day. Bentley’s baptism was after the 12:30 Mass, and then Paige and Naughstin had a reception at their house. From there, Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, Josh, Pop-pop, Sara, Eva, Zach, and I went to a memorial for my friend Elizabeth that her family has every year. It was a really nice event, and I got to see Elizabeth’s parents and grandparents, her sisters Madison and Blinne, and Madison’s new husband!

But the best part of the trip was the Spear’s New Year's Eve party. Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, Josh, and I got there first, and Alexander, Alexa, Grandma, and her husband Joe showed up about an hour later. We spent the night watching football, hanging out in the hot tub with Austin, and setting off fireworks!

Now, Alexa’s family has a New Year’s tradition that I have never heard of before. 12 grapes (one for each month of the year) are put into champagne glasses. Right when the ball drops, everyone starts eating the grapes, making a wish for the New Year with each one. If you don’t finish your grapes by 12:01, you will have bad luck for the whole year.

As soon as the ball dropped, we all started eating our grapes, and Alexander set off the biggest fireworks pack we had! As people began finishing their grapes, we began blowing on party horns. Alicia was practically screaming into hers, and that encouraged everyone else to scream into theirs. We spent the first 10 minutes of 2024 trying to be the loudest person and inadvertently sounding like a flock of dying geese! It was random, epic, and a little disturbing, honestly.

I always hear people say that New Year’s is always a letdown. I understand the sentiment, but I think people feel that way because it’s billed as one of the biggest nights of the year, but it all leads up to a disco ball exploding on TV! I’ve learned that if you lower your expectations just a smidge, your New Year will be more entertaining than it would be otherwise!

Hope you all have a Greattastic and safe 2024!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Rules for a Greattastic Life will return with the 5-Year Anniversary Special soon!

Season 6 Whats The Dream? Finale: Man I Want To Be

 Man I Want To Be

There's a musician named Jake Scott. My “sisters” introduced me to him, and I'm pretty sure that they found him through their friends in Canada. He has a lot of good songs, but my favorite is one called, The Man I Want to Be. My favorite part is the bridge. It goes, “If I got everything I’ve wanted and stood beneath the lights up on the stage, would the boy when I was young love the man that I've become or would he even recognize my face?”

This is a very weird season finale. In all the previous ones there's been something dramatic that happened. In Season 1, I lied to my other three “sisters” and Marshall to surprise them when Arden returned from Colorado for Christmas. In Season 2, Covid hit, and in Season 3… Well, admittedly, Season 3 wasn't super dramatic, but I did learn a very valuable lesson during that event. Season 4 was me moving out, and season 5, was my ex-girlfriend Gabby, returning for a final time. This installment is more of a reflection of what has happened between the Season 5 finale, and now.

I started writing books first, and that kind of snowballed into me starting this blog and, eventually, the podcast. Knowing that the books were coming, I sort of structured this series as if it were a series of books, too. Seasons 1 to 3 were one book; in my head it's called The Coronapocalypse. And Seasons 4-6 are one; I call this one The Mitchell Project.

For those of you who don't remember, The Mitchell Project was a plan that my “sisters” and I came up with on my 25th birthday to better my mental and physical health before my 26th. It was a direct result of my breakup with Gabby because I had immediately tried to fill the void of not having a girlfriend, and I had gotten myself hurt. There was a list of five things that I was supposed to do to complete The Mitchell Project. There was sort of an unspoken sixth rule, though: don't go looking for a girlfriend while doing The Mitchell Project. I planned, as a result, not to get a girlfriend until after my 26th birthday… Oops.

The reason that I wasn't supposed to get a girlfriend during that time was because my “sisters” and I knew that if I got a girlfriend, I would put my self-esteem into whatever girl I was dating, and it would all be for nothing. And I will admit, The Mitchell Project itself did fade away as soon as I started dating Paige, but not because I stopped using it. It faded because it wasn't needed in its current form; in other words, it evolved!

Paige herself is a major part of that evolution. I’m not going to lie to you; I did start to put my self-esteem into Paige and my relationship, as my “sisters” and had I feared. I'm not going to go into too many details, but basically, I became a little insecure. Insecurities are a natural thing in any relationship, but I'm so confident as a person that when I do get insecure, I’m not really good at handling it. The girls and Marshall have been helping me manage these insecurities, and Paige has continued to push me to have a life outside of our relationship.

On that note, this season, I've done a ton of great things myself! Firstly, I was a keynote speaker at an Ohio conference, and I was offered a spot on the CEC of Ohio Board! I also spoke at OCALICONLINE for a second time with my parents and some big names in the special ed world! On top of that, I have an idea for my next steps as an Autism advocate! I can't say anything right now, but just trust me, I'm really excited! In my non-romantic personal life, I saw Taylor Swift live, climbed a 14er, published my second book, finished writing my 3rd and 4th, became an “uncle” to August’s daughter, and spoke at my aunt and new uncle's wedding!

My essential question for this season was, “What’s the dream?” This was my essential question because my goal for the season was to figure out what my dream life looks like. I realized that looking for my “dream life” might have been setting me up for failure just because reality tends to get in the way. Despite this, I think I figured out what I want my life to realistically look like, and as a result, I am on the cusp of becoming the man I want to be!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 6 Whats The Dream? Blog 30: Out Of My Mind

 Out Of My Mind

On Thursday, November 30th, 2023, I got up early, recorded and posted the previous blog and podcast, grabbed some extra clothes, and returned to my parents' house. Paige had stayed the night, so when I got back, we spent the last few hours before we had to go to the surgery center watching TV. We got to the surgery center at 10:15 am. I got signed in, put on a hospital gown, and crawled into my hospital bed. Mom and Paige were allowed to stay with me the entire time, except when I was actually in surgery.

Almost as soon as I was in bed, a nurse, whose name I'm pretty sure was Tegan, came into my room. She introduced herself to me, Mom, and Paige and then put an IV in my left hand. “I'm going to give you a little something to help you relax,” nurse Tegan said. “You should start to feel it almost immediately.” I didn't believe her at first, but after 15 seconds, I was feeling tired. I remember singing a song from the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and sort of having a conversation with Mom and Paige. Eventually, Dr. Blaze came in, and I was moved to the operating table. With the assistance of whatever Nurse Tegan had given me, I think I was out before they even put the anesthesia mask over my face. 

Dr. Blaze and his team took a piece of cartilage from the inside of my ear, used it to cover up the hole in my right eardrum, and then put some biodegradable padding in my ear so that my eardrum has protection while it's healing. The first thing I remember when I woke up was Nurse Tegan trying to get me to drink water out of a plastic cup. Because I wasn't stable enough to hold the cup, she was holding it, and there was a bendy straw in it. I thought the straw was a cigarette, and all I could think was, why are doctors trying to give me a cigarette? That seems counterproductive.

From this point onward, I don’t have a very clear memory of what happened or any sense of time, so everything is based on my vague memories and what Mom and Paige told me later. We left the surgery center around 3:00, and apparently, we went to CVS to get some goldfish, apple juice, and pain meds. Side note: I have been very fortunate, and I have not needed to take any medication for pain in the last week!

My parents had an event with friends that night, so Paige was going to watch me until they got back. Mom and Paige laid me down in the TV room for the night, and Mom asked me, “Do you want anything to eat?”

“Grilled cheese,” I replied.

Mom made two sandwiches and cut them up into little squares. I ate two bites before I fell asleep, and Paige thought that I had swallowed, but I had not. Some hours later, I woke up and thought that I had a huge clump of gum in my mouth. I stood up to spit it out. Paige asked me what I was doing, and I explained what was going on.

“Mitchell,” she said calmly, “you're not allowed to have gum. You've been asleep for hours, and I wouldn't have let you have any even if you had been up.” I didn't know how else to communicate the situation, so I apparently opened my mouth. I can’t imagine how gross what Paige saw was, but to her credit, she was very professional and helped me to the bathroom.

 Yesterday, Friday, December 8th, 2023, I had my one-week check-up. I have another appointment in six weeks, so I don't want to speak too soon, but as of right now, everything looks like it's supposed to. Honestly, the biggest hassle I've had this week is showering because I had to put a cotton ball in my ear with Vaseline covering the outside, and I embarrassingly haven't quite figured out how to do that on my own. The cotton ball is too sticky if I put the vaseline on first, and it won't stay on if I do it after I put the cotton ball in my ear. But if that minor nuisance is the worst thing that has happened to me this week, I’d say I'm doing pretty good! I'd like to thank Dr. Blaze and his team for doing such a good job, and I'd like to thank my family and Paige for helping me through this last week!

Have a Greattastic day, and be safe

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 6 Whats The Dream? Blog 29: Swimmer’s Ear Update

 Swimmer’s Ear Update

Growing up, I was notorious for getting ear infections. I probably had one every couple of months, and it got so bad that I needed to get tubes put in 3 times. In 2019, my immediate family and my cousin’s family, the Mitreys (Aunt Melissa, Uncle Andy, Alex/his girlfriend Emma, Maci, Nicholas, and Ellie), went on a vacation to Hatteras, North Carolina. At one point, Ryan, Nicholas, Josh, and I had a chicken fight. Nicholas and I were the tops, and as we were roughhousing, Nicholas grabbed my head and slammed it into the water, right ear first. Ever since then, I've been having complications with my right ear whenever I go into the water.

Last Summer (2022), my family went on a trip to the Mitrey's Lake House in Norris Lake, Tennessee. On the first day, I went tubing and fell off the tube. A wave crashed on the right side of my head, and you guessed it, my ear filled up with water. I ended up getting an ear infection, and I was miserable the entire week. Everything I have just explained was in the original Swimmer's Ear installment (in fact, the first paragraph is copied and pasted from that).

Now the thing that I focused on in the series from that 2022 Norris Lake trip was my break up with my ex-girlfriend, Gabby. But because of how bad that ear infection was, and since I've had trouble since the Hatteras trip, I knew I wanted to get my ear checked out when it was not infected at some point. At the beginning of this summer (2023), I knew that my family was going to Colorado, and we would be going white water rafting, and then we would be returning to Norris Lake a couple weeks later. Not wanting to repeat the events of “Swimmer's Ear,” I went to the doctor who gave me my tubes when I was a kid.

It was at the beginning of June when I had my ENT appointment. Dr. Blaze didn't recognize me, as I had been so young when he put in my tubes, but I did vaguely remember him. I explained to him what had been ailing me, and when I reminded him that I had had tubes, he explained everything to me.

“There are three layers of the eardrum,” he explained. “The top layer is naturally comparable to packing paper, but after healing from tubes, it's like saran wrap.”

That painted the picture for me. As soon as Nicholas had dunked my head…Pop. He suggested that I get surgery in the fall so I could go swimming and gave me ear drops to survive the summer. At the beginning of the school year, I had a follow-up appointment and scheduled the surgery for November 30th, 2023. For those of you who are following me live, you know that that is today.

Literally, all I am doing before the surgery is uploading this installment and releasing it on social media. I'm mostly making this installment as exposition for the next one. I hate to admit it, but I'm honestly a little nervous. The only thing that's getting me through it, besides praying, is knowing that next week, assuming that I've recovered enough to write and record, I can post an installment that is completely centered on my actions when I'm coming off of the anesthesia! See you then!