Season 10 Greattasticly Ever After Blog 2: Crimson Cup Reunion

 Crimson Cup Reunion

On Tuesday, July 21, 2026, after I dropped Paige off at work, I walked into Crimson Cup at 4:15. I walked up to the counter and ordered my usual.

“Hey,” I said to the cashier, “how’s Lydia? I came here on my wedding day, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to her.”

“Oh,” the cashier said, “she got a new job back in June! But I think she’s doing well.”

After I got my coffee, I sat down, and waited. About 10 minutes later the door opened and Elena Collins walked though. Elena is a friend of mine that I've known since kindergarten. We worked at Kroger together for a brief time and we finally reconnected last year. At this point, I hadn't seen her since Paige and my wedding. 

“Oh my gosh!” She screamed as we hugged, “How have you been?!”

“I've been (chuckles) Greattastic! How's your summer been?” I asked. 

“Oh,” She said, “It's been… Interesting.”

“Interesting how?” I asked. 

“I’ll tell you later,” she replied, “I'm gonna go get my coffee, and then I wanna hear everything about your summer!” 

When she returned with a decaf coffee I asked, “what do you want to hear about?” 

“Everything!”  She exclaimed, “How did you and Paige spend your first summer as a married couple together?” 

“I mean we did a lot,” I said, “Where you want me to start?”

“The wedding reception!” She declared.

“You were there!” I yelled. 

“Yeah, but we never debriefed about it!” 

I saw her point and said, “Okay so, we had our first dance, and I was a little nervous cuz, while I can dance, slow dancing is not my strong suit…”

“Yeah, I remember that,” she said, “and then it was the father/daughter and mother/son dances, and then you surprised her mom and your dad with a dance. Then Cousin Simple performed and at the end you guys sang Prima Donna…”

“Said your name was Paige,” I sang, interrupting her.

“Paige I like the view,” she responded, and then continued, “What was the rest of your night like?” 

“Well…” I said,

Season 10 Greattasticly Ever After Blog 1: Greattasticly Ever After

 Greattasticly Ever After

So Paige and I are married! These last few months have been incredible and worth all of the stress of planning a freaking wedding. Before we continue the story, there is something that I would like to discuss about how this series is going to change moving forward. And the best way to do that is with a flashback. 

When I started this series, I was already in the process of writing The Greattastic Adventures series. Knowing that in my head I broke this series into books as well. Season 1-3 is a book (called The Coronapocalypse), Season 4-6 is a book (called The Mitchell Project), and season 7-Now is a book (Called the Age Of Weddings). While I definitely didn't have it laid out back in 2019, initially I knew I wanted to end this version of the series with my and my (at the time imaginary) bride’s wedding/honeymoon.

Shortly after Paige and I started dating however, I was fully considering quitting writing. There was a lot going on at the time. A lot of changes. August was newly pregnant, and that was causing a lot of tension in the group and my support system was changing. Now the Andersons are still there for me to this day, but I was struggling to cope with those changes on top of the innate imposter syndrome that kind of comes with being a neurodivergent person. And Paige, well at the time, Paige and I were still in our honeymoon phase of dating. I trusted her with all my heart and I knew that I was going to marry her, but I didn't want to burden her with all of my insecurities.  

In August 2023, Box Seats played a show at a Donatos’s on OSU’s campus.. It's a basement bar in the bottom of the pizza shop And while that's kind of weird, it's an amazing venue. Now because at this point I was so insecure I wasn't really sure if I was actually that great of a writer, and I really really wasn't sure if I was even going to finish both Greattastic Adventures Sequels. 

Now in attendance at this Box Seats show was Will, the lead singer of Cousin Simple and Ryan's best friend. In my first book, I depicted an event in which I jumped into a duck pond because Will hyped me up way too much. That event led to me gaining my confidence at my new school when I was diagnosed with autism. What I'm saying is even before Cousin Simple, I have always looked up to Will. At the end of this Box Seats show, I hugged Will goodbye. 

“Hey,” he said to me, “Paige told me that you were a keynote speaker a couple of months ago.” I, in fact, had been. The night before I spoke, Cousin Simple had a show and Paige went with my family without me since I was out of town. This was presumably when Paige told Will about it. 

“Yeah” I said, “It was a state conference for The Council For Exceptional Children!”

“Oh yeah,” he said, “I think I saw that on your Instagram. I need to catch up a little bit on your podcast. But I’m really proud of all the stuff that you do and I love listening to it!”

This was a weirdly inspiring moment. I knew Will liked me as a friend, but I kind of thought it was a one-sided admiration. I didn't realize that he looked up to me too. Ever since this Will and I have had this weird bromance thing going. There's really no other way to describe it. Like neither of us have talked about it but, while I'm geeking out about Cousin Simple related stuff, he'll geek out about Greattastic stuff and Paige and my relationship in general (especially that early on). The idea that he was looking up to me too, kind of inspired me to continue writing. And I started to think about what this series would look like long-term. Eventually I came up with a plan.

Rules for a Greattastic Life would run until Paige and I got married/our honeymoon, and then after the series finale, there would be a brief break, and eventually it would return as a new series called Greattasticly Ever After. So The Greattastic Adventures is about my childhood with autism, Rules for a Greattastic Life is About my young adult life with autism, and Greattasticly Ever After will be about my life as a husband and father with autism. Now let me be very clear, Paige is not pregnant! But we are moving into a different period of our lives and much like before I hope that my stories will inspire other autistic people like myself and those in their lives! 

Have a Greattastic Day and Be Safe 

J. Mitchie Ulibarri, SBT

Season 10 Trailer

 Season 10 Trailer

On my first night living with Shane (Out Of Body Experience), I woke up at 4:30 am. Whenever I’m on vacation, I’ll wake up early too, but until I moved to Gleeson Road, I just thought it was because I was excited about the trip. In reality, if I'm not sleeping somewhere that I’m not used to, my body wakes me up annoyingly early.

And so on Monday, July 20th, 2026, I woke up at 5:15 am. If I had not been up so late the night before, I probably would’ve woken up earlier. I tried to lie there very still so as not to wake Paige or my other hotelmate, but I got too restless and decided to look at my phone. 

I had a text from my friend Elana from the night before, sent right around the time I was dancing the night away. This is how our conversation went:

Elana (8:07 pm): Hey, Mitchell. It’s been a bit. How are you?

Me (5:25 am): Hi, Elana. I’ve been great! Married life has been amazing! 

Elana (8:22 am): That's awesome! We need to meet up soon to talk! 

Me (8:24 am): Are you doing anything tomorrow?

Elana (8:25 am): Nope. Do you want to meet up at Crimson Cup again?

Me (8:30 am): Sure! I have to drop Paige off at work at 4:00. So, would 4:15 work?

Elana (8:31 am) Sounds good!

Rules for a Greattastic Life Season 10 Greatttasticly Ever After will be out soon. 

Season 9.5: Meanwhile In Another Timeline 3 (Greattastic In Japan) Blog 5: I Love You (Across Times)

 I Love You (Across Times) 

On Monday, June 2, 2025, Ryan, Luke, and Josh stood up at the end of Shana’s funeral. Luke was in the middle with his guitar, Ryan was to his right with his guitar, and Josh was on his left with a harmonica. They began performing Warren Zevon’s Keep Me In Your Heart. I hadn’t told anyone that I was coming home, and I walked into the funeral home two minutes after the service started so I could slip in without being noticed.

At the end of the song, the pastor said a few words and a closing prayer, and the service ended. Everyone began to disperse, and I walked up to Mom. When she saw me, she jumped in surprise and hugged me. We exchanged condolences, and then more people started to come up to me. 

After the funeral, there was a reception at my parents' house. My grandpa, Pop-pop, had started dating a woman named Sara back in 2022 or so, and this was the first time I was meeting her. 

“So,” she asked after I had talked to her about my time in Japan, “what are your plans now?” 

“Ha,” I replied, “I don’t really know. I just kinda decided to move back home on a whim after I found out about Shana.”

“Well, that’s okay,” she replied, “you just got home. You have time to figure it out!”

Over the next year, a few things happened. I started working at Kobolt about a month after I got home, while I tried to figure out what I was gonna do next. After I posted an installment about my surprise return and Shana’s funeral, a classmate of mine, Elana, reconnected with me at Sam’s Fans event in October, in an attempt to lean on me after her sister, Natalie, passed away in March. 

For Thanksgiving, I went to Cincinnati and reunited with the Andersons. Around Valentine's Day 2026, Greg was in town, and we went out to dinner. At the end of February, I saw Box Seats for the first time, and Cousin Simple played a show in Dayton. Elana and her younger sister Jenna went to the Dayton show with us. After Cousin Simple played, Ryan walked up to us. Elana told him she enjoyed the show and asked when their next show in Columbus was. 

“Well, actually,” Ryan said, looking at me, “we are having a memorial show at my dad’s studio for my aunt on the anniversary of her death!” 

I was surprised, as this was the first time I had heard of it. On Friday, May 15th, 2026, at 8:00 pm, Cousin Simple got up on stage. I stood at the front of the crowd as the music started. During that first song, Mom came running up to me, dragging someone behind her. She practically threw the person at me, and to my shock, it was that girl from the ugly sweater party, Paige. 

I hadn't thought about her at all since I got on the plane to Japan. We started to talk, and the fleeting crush I had on her that night reemerged. At that moment, I knew that she was the one. 

Back in this timeline, I walked out of Dad’s office and back into Paige and my wedding reception. Paige was in the middle of the dance floor. When we locked eyes all of our guests and the room faded around us. As I walked toward her, I felt butterflies in my stomach, and I smiled. I felt it in my soul; no matter what decisions I had, or would have made throughout my life, it would not have mattered. I believe that no matter what, I would have ended up married to Paige Ulibarri.

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri, SBT

Season 9.5: Meanwhile In Another Timeline 3 (Greattastic In Japan) Blog 4: Not So Greattastic

 Not So Greattastic

On Tuesday, March 10th, 2020, Marshall received an email from Columbus State saying they were closing due to Covid. August, Arden, and Marshall made it back to the states 2 days later, right before Ohio shut down completely. I began FaceTiming my family and the Andersons daily for updates on everything as they went through the lockdown.

In Japan, the lockdown was not as dramatic as it was in the United States, since masking was already a prominent part of the culture. Yes, the trains were a little emptier, I had to distance a little more from the kids, and fewer shops and bars were open, but overall, the pandemic did not affect my plans too much. And that was almost more isolating. While my family and friends were “in it together,” I was on the other side of the world, not experiencing it the same way that they were. I began leaning even harder on Renee, her family, Yuka, and Ren. In December 2020, I prepared to write the Season 2 finale of Rules for a Greattastic Life. Before Covid, my idea for that final episode was going to be a summary of my time in Japan, and my last night before I went home. Knowing I couldn't get home, I wrote it with the half-truth that I was excited to spend another year in Japan. 

In early January of 2021, Cousin Simple released their first song since before the pandemic, and in June of that year, my other childhood neighbor, Greg, got married to his long-time girlfriend, Temi. Around the same time, August moved to Colorado with her boyfriend, Ben, and Marshall, and Aspen moved to Cincinnati (and Arden would follow the following year). In the middle of October, Luke and Josh followed in Ryan's footsteps and started their own band, Box Seats, and my cousin Paige got married on Halloween. In 2022, Luke, and Kid graduated high school, and my family went to my cousin's new lake house. In 2023 August got pregnant, and she and Ben had a son, Jasper. Around the same time, Greg and Temi had their daughter. Arden and Aspen went to see Taylor Swift, and my Aunt Cyndi got married. In 2024, both Greg's sister, Melody and Arden and Marshall got married, and Rich and Barbra prepared to sell their house. Then finally in January of 2025, my grandpa Papa died. 

I knew I could have gone home as early as 2022, But with all the marriages,  pregnancies, and graduations I felt like my life had gone on without me. On top of that it wasn't like my life was bad. I had made a ton of friends in Japan, I was about to publish my 3 and 4th books and I felt happy. I didn't own the people in my life. Why was I feeling so hurt that they had moved forward?

“Are you okay?” Ren asked me one night in February of ‘25. 

“Yeah,” I said, a little taken aback. 

“No you're not,” Yuka said, “you used to be so happy and energetic. You’ve just seemed really depressed over the last few months.”

“I’m fine!” I said, “I just feel a little homesick I guess.” 

“Well, why don’t you go home?” Yuka asked. 

“Cuz I’ve built a whole life here… Ohio hasn’t been my home since before the pandemic… and I’m sure everyone else has moved on.” 

“Well you could at least go back for a visit,” Ren suggested.

“I think it’ll just be too hard for me,” I said, “like if I go I don’t know if I’ll come back.”

I held this position until on Friday, May 16th 2025 around 2:00 pm, I got a phone call from my mom. “Hi Mom,” I said, “why are you still up? It’s like midnight for you.” 

"Mitchell,” she said, “I’m sorry, but Aunt Shana just passed away.” 

I froze. Shana was my favorite aunt growing up. During my teenage years, Shana had her own life struggles and so from my perspective, the aunt that I knew died over a decade ago. Despite that I knew I couldn’t miss this funeral. I had to go home.

To Be Continued…

Season 9.5: Meanwhile In Another Timeline 3 (Greattastic In Japan) Blog 3: Korona Daisaiyaku

 Korona Daisaiyaku

When Renee first talked to me about teaching abroad in the summer of 2019, I was under the impression that Japan had a year-round school schedule. That's not entirely true. The school year starts in April. The first term of the year is from April to July, then summer break is from late July to late August, the second term is from September to December, and then they have winter break from late to December to early January, and the third term is from the end of winter break, to late March, Then they have a spring break before the next school year starts. Minamiwa Municipal Elementary School reopened on Tuesday, January 7th. I spent the first couple of days of 2020 getting acclimated to Minamiwa, setting up and starting my podcast, and spending time with Renee and her family. That week, I recorded every blog from Season 1 and started writing the first blog of Season 2, about me landing in Japan and going to the New Year's party.

I was Renee's teaching assistant. On the first day of school, at 8:45, Renee greeted the class. “Good morning, class!”

“Good morning, Mori-sensei,” the class replied. 

“So as you can see,” Renee said after asking the class how their break went, “I have a new teaching assistant. This is Mitchell Ulibarri. I taught him piano when I was living in America. He is still pretty new to Japanese, so you might need to ask me questions he doesn't understand. But he is learning along with you. I expect you to treat him with the same respect that you treat me!” 

Over the next month or so, I got really good at my job, figured out the train route, got 2/3 of the way done with The Greattastic Adventures: Miracle Child, went to a ton of festivals with Ren and Yuka, and got to know a lot more about them. Ren was the math teacher, and Yuka was an art teacher. Both of them were 24. At some point during this time, I started hearing people talk about something called “Korona Daisaiyaku.” It was only in passing, and I didn’t think to ask what it meant. 

On Saturday, March 7th, 2020, I woke up to a phone call from Yuka. “Would you like to run some errands with me,” she asked from the other side of the phone, “and then we could go to the park afterward?”

“Sure,” I replied, not suspecting a single thing. The day was mostly uneventful. It wasn’t until around 6:00 that I started to get suspicious. We had been out from 10 AM until about 3:30 running her errands. We got to the park around 4:15, and while I enjoyed spending time with Yuka, I was ready to leave by 5:30. By 6:00, when we were still hanging out there, I knew something was up. 

“What’s going on?” I asked for what felt like 1000 times. 

“Nothing!” She insisted. 

I was still not convinced, but I let it go because she wasn’t giving me anything. At 6:30, we finally made it to Renee’s house, and when I walked in, sure enough, August, Arden, and Marshall were standing in the middle of the main room!

“Surprise!” all three of them yelled together. 

“Oh my gosh, what are you doing here!” 

“We missed you,” Arden said, “and we thought this would be a good way for me to celebrate my birthday!” 

I was excited to see my friends again, and we decided to go out to a bar to celebrate. The bar that we went to was mostly dead, but I liked it that way. While I've always liked being the center of attention, when I go to dead bars with my friends, it feels like we are the only people in the world. I spent the night translating what my new friends were saying to my old friends, telling stories about my adventures in Japan, and dancing. “So,” Marshall asked, about an hour in, “How do you feel about Covid?”

“What-vid?” I asked. 

August and Arden screamed, “You haven't heard about Covid?”

Yuka and Ren looked at me, waiting for me to translate. August,  Arden and Marshall, then explain to me what Covid is. Once they explained the term “novel Coronavirus,” I realized I'd heard about it before: “Korona Daisaiyaku,” I mumbled under my breath. 

Recognizing the phrase Yuka and Ren joined the conversation, and both groups helped me realize what I had been ignorant of because of the language barrier. “I don’t know,” August said, “It seems kind of apocalyptic.”

“The Coronapocalypse,” I mused. 

To Be Continued…

Season 9.5: Meanwhile In Another Timeline 3 (Greattastic In Japan) Blog 2: Welcome To Japan

 Welcome To Japan

On December 31st, 2019, at 4:45 p.m. local time, I got off my plane in Tokyo. I had been traveling for about 16 and 1/2 hours. I asked Siri what time it was in Columbus, and she replied with 2:45 a.m. the same day. Then I asked what time it was in Colorado, as Arden was living there; 12:45 a.m. Immediately, I felt a pang of homesickness. 2020 was a mere 7 hours away, and yet my friends and family still had the entirety of New Year's Eve to go through. In other words, I would spend the first day of the year alone due to time displacement. So this is how Steve Rogers felt, I thought. Before I could process my thoughts farther I got a call from Renee. With her guidance, I made it to baggage claim and eventually to arrivals, where she picked me up.

We hugged, she helped me get my bags into her car, and we began driving to Minamiwa, a small city just outside Tokyo, where Renee and her family lived. On the hour-long drive, Renee asked me how I was feeling with my fluency in the Japanese language. I told her I felt pretty confident, but that I'm more of a hands-on learner. “Well, the reason I asked,” she said, “Is because we are having a small gathering to celebrate the New Year tonight. It'll mostly just be my family, but I invited a couple of people who you’ll work with at my school. If you need any help, just let me know.”

When we arrived at her house at about 6:00, I greeted her husband, Rob, and reintroduced myself to her daughters. At about 6:30, her parents, her brother, his wife and kids, and her two co-workers, Ren and Yuca arrived. As soon as they met me, Ren and Yuca started asking me about my life.

“What do you do for fun?” Yuca asked in Japanese. 

“I like hiking,” I said to the best of my ability, “and spending time with friends. And I do a lot of writing!”

“What do you write about?” Ren asked.

“I have…” I turned to Renee and asked in English, “How do you say autism?” 

“Jiheisho,” Renee said to my new friends. 

I continued in Japanese, “Yes, ‘Jiheisho,’ And I have a blog about my adult life which I'm about to turn into a podcast, and I'm almost done writing my first book about my childhood! Renee's actually in it!”

When I said her name, Ren and Yuka looked at me, confused. “Who?” they both asked.

Then Renee jumped in and explained that “Renee” was her American name.  Her real name was Mori Hibiki. I felt confused and, honestly, a little guilty that I didn't know that about her. She then told me, in English, “Don't feel like you need to just start calling me my birth name. It would be weird for me if you did.”

I have always been a picky eater, and while I knew that this would be something I'd have to deal with when I got to Japan, I wanted to be respectful. During this get-together, I had a bit of trouble eating.

“You okay?” Yuka asked. 

“I have a bit of an issue with texture, because of my Autism. So I'm just figuring out what to eat.”

“Oh! Do they know?” She asked. 

“Yeah, I told umm… Renee… But I want to fully immerse myself while I'm here.” 

“Oh,” Yuka said, “Take your time, I promise no one will be offended!”

I knew she was right, but I still felt really awkward. Even back home, I’d always felt uncomfortable advocating for myself when it came to food in other people's homes. It just felt completely rude in another culture. But I was happy that Yuka was making me feel more comfortable and not guilty about it.

To Be Continued…