Cassie and I are used to working side by side on couches at our respective apartments (up until a year ago we lived together!) and quarantine has changed all that for us. While we are still Bundling away and communicating via Skype, Zoom, Google Chat, text, phone, Blue Jeans (that was a new one for us) our apartments across the park from each other in NYC have never felt so far away. So I wanted to interview her to get a little bit more insight about what her daily life is looking like and to get her to tell me she missed me. #fulltransparency
Jackie: Hi Cassie! Thanks for letting me interview you and going Behind the Bundle with me. *cue cool magical sounding music.*
Cassie: Did I have a choice? Just kidding. ;) I'm excited for this! Jackie: Can you everyone a little bit about what your current work set up looks like? (Pics or it didn't happen!)
Cassie: Two words: BUNDLE CHAIR. I'm sure you remember our old roomie, Vinny, from when we lived in Queens together. He found this chair on the sidewalk one day and brought it home. I've loved it ever since. Because it's purple, I started to refer to it as my Bundle chair. Who knew the gems you could find on the streets of Astoria, Queens. Jackie: What is the biggest challenge about working from home during the quarantine?Cassie: Well, as you know, I work right next to Mark [my boyfriend], so let's just say when we're both on a call, it can be a little tricky. I've had to become adept at muting/unmuting myself at the exact right times to eliminate any background noise from Mark. ;) I guess you could say it's my quarantine superpower. Jackie: How do you organize your days? Do you have trouble keeping a structure?
Cassie: By rolling out of bed at ~8:30am and starting my work day (unshowered, shh!) Then it's diving into whatever you and I have on the agenda for that day: making Bundles for customers, talking with our manufacturer, planning a virtual game night, doing a pitch meeting for a new licensing deal, etc. And yes, it can be tough keeping a structure while working from home - and it's definitely something I've struggled with. (You know much I usually embrace structure, Jackie.) If I need to go for a walk now in the middle of the day, I do. Jackie: What is the most fun thing about your work set up?
Cassie: Aside from the major construction going on outside my window? ;) Jackie: Do you have anything you're binge watching right now? (I know the answer to this but I think it's something that needs to be shared, because you are very passionate about it.)
Cassie: SURVIVOR! I started binge-watching it right after we made a Valentine's Day Bundle for Sierra Dawn and Joe (two Survivor contestants) in February. And now I've watched oh, I think, 25+ seasons?!? The show pairs so well with quarantine; seeing the contestants duke it out with barely any food or water in 90 degree weather kind of makes my own quarantining seem like paradise. Plus I have this new amazing Survivor book that you got me for my birthday last week. :)
Jackie: How has Bundle changed during this time?
Cassie: Well, more than anything, it's made me even more committed to our mission of bringing people together. Quarantining can be very isolating, and I love that Bundle can play a small part in making people feel closer to their loved ones. On another note, running a company during this time also comes with challenges. So many of our games revolve around special events, like bachelorette parties and birthday parties, and those in large part aren't happening right now. Jackie: What are you proud of yourself for accomplishing in 2020 so far?
Cassie: I loved that you and I were able to get creative and launch virtual versions of Bundle. Mother's Day and Father's Day was tough for a lot of people this year because they couldn't gather physically with their families. It made me so grateful that families, instead, got virtual versions of Bundle to play with each other over Zoom. We even played Bundle with Mom & Dad! Jackie: What has been the most quirky or outrageous thing you have done in the last few months?
Cassie: Back in April, I was inspired by Jesse Itzler and Colin O'Brady to do something called "Calendar Club" - where I biked the number of miles to correspond to the calendar day (i.e. April 1st, I biked 1 mile, April 2nd, I biked 2 miles, all the way up to April 30th, where I biked 30 miles). Getting on the bike for 30 days straight was a challenge. But I actually loved having something to "check off" each day - especially in quarantine, when it sometimes feels like we're not making progress on anything. I'd listen to podcast episodes of "How I Built This" with Guy Raz while I was biking - it was the perfect way to spend my April.
Jackie: Do you miss me?
Cassie: Yes! I miss you! And I miss Artie! And I miss our Thai lunches at your apartment and the pierogie lunches at mine!
It was so much fun getting to interview Cassie (one more way for us to communicate during quarantine!) and I got her to say she missed me...even though it sounds like she misses my cat just as much. I mean, who can blame her, just look at that cute face!