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Uncommon Personalities

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Arnold McMayo

July 30, 2015

ArnoldMcMayo

Arnold McMayo – UncommonGoods Operations Team Lead

My hometown….
Port of Spain, Trinidad

I’m inspired by…
Success.

My favorite process in the UncommonGoods warehouse is…
Completing an order and getting it out the warehouse.

If any fictional character could be my best friend, I would choose….
John Wick.

Something that always relaxes me is…
Music.

My favorite place to eat in New York City is…
Grace Before Meals in Brooklyn

My style is…
All about comfort.

An uncommon fact about me…
I won the ‘Wittiest Person’ in my graduating high school class.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Jason Walters

July 28, 2015

JasonWalters
Jason Walters, UncommonGoods Area Operations Manager 

My hometown…
Peterstown, West Virginia.

I’m passionate about…
Books, movies and TV. I love that they allow us to see the world through someone else’s eyes.

The best gift I’ve ever received is…
A quilt that my grandmother made for me. I’ve moved around a lot on my way to Brooklyn and I can’t say that I have too many of the possessions that I started out with, but the quilt will always be something that I bring along.

The word or phrase that best describes me…
Easygoing.

When I’m not working, I’m probably…
When the weather is nice, I try to spend as much time outside as possible, so a picnic in the park or drinks outdoors are two of my favorite warm weather activities. Otherwise, you’ll probably find me at BAM. I try my best to see all the movies that come through.

Something that always makes me laugh…
Bad puns, Popsicle stick jokes, general Dad humor. In fact, here’s a freebie, where do cantaloupes spend their summer vacations?………..At John Cougar’s Melon Camp! You’re welcome.

The most challenging thing I’ve ever done is…
Deciding whether or not to tell you, the internet, the Melon Camp joke. Ultimately, I thought the world a better place with that joke out there. Again, you’re welcome.

If my 6th grade teacher could see me now, he or she would say…
“Oh, hi Jason, I see you finally got the braces off….and is the beard new?”

An uncommon fact about me…
I am a Knight of the Golden Horseshoe. Every year in West Virginia, students who score well on a test covering history, geography, economy, government, and general state trivia (Did you know that Don Knotts and Mary Lou Retton are from WV?) get inducted into the Society of the Golden Horseshoe. The end result is a knighting ceremony where each student kneels and then someone would do the thing where they tap a sword on both of your shoulders! I’m not positive that my knighthood is legitimate in any way, but occasionally I will request that people call me by my proper title of Sir Jason. No one ever has….

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Aquiles Nunez

July 25, 2015

AquilesNunez

Aquiles Nunez, Drop Ship Supervisor

My hometown is…

Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.

I’m inspired by…

I am inspired by kind-heartedness, my wife, my kids, family, and the Almighty.

The word or phrase that best describes me…

Grateful.

The best luck I’ve had in my life so far was…

I’ve got a Golden Ticket!  In the 6th grade, I won a 1 week all expenses paid trip to Disney World by means of a raffle ticket.

If I could throw the perfect party…

Everyone’s invited!

Time: A quarter to space

Dress code: NASA spacesuit with slippers

Location: Andromeda Galaxy

The best gift I’ve ever received is…

A typewriter. My parents couldn’t afford a computer at the time and my teachers were requesting typed up essays.  My mother asked me to write a letter to Santa, which I did.  I felt reluctant asking Santa for a computer since they were so expensive so my alternative was a typewriter.  I explained to him that I really needed it for school. That Christmas, I opened my gift which was massive and weighty and there it was– my very own typewriter.  I cannot count the number of essays I typed up using that ol’ thing.  Years later it all added up and to this very moment it has been my most memorable gift.

In other galaxies, I believe there are…

Human / Na’vi hybrids, called Avatars.

An uncommon fact about me…

My new pastime is Astrophotography.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Kenneth Cooke

July 16, 2015

Kenneth Cooke, Drop Ship Lead

My hometown is…
Brooklyn, NY

I’m inspired by…
Traveling

An uncommon fact about me…
I love cheese on my pancakes, waffles and French toast.

The word or phrase that best describes me…
Always on the go.

My guilty pleasure is…
Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

My favorite place to travel is…
Everywhere. I’ve been to 8 different countries and that number continues to grow each year.

Something that always calms me is…
A nice 3-5 mile run is always best.

When I’m not working…
I’m probably at home reading or out an about in NYC trying the endless supply of restaurants.

Favorite place to eat in NYC…
It’s safe to say that this Thai restaurant called National is where I frequent the most. I’m currently making my way through the whole menu. It’s located right across from the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

If I could try something once…
I would have to say swimming with sharks. I usually freak out when small fish swim by me, but I’m sure I could toughen up just one time.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Brian Hashemi

July 8, 2015

Brian Hashemi, Director of Marketing

My hometown is…
In Virginia somewhere. I didn’t really grow up in a “town”, it was really just the middle of the forest. Well, like a house in the middle of the forest. A house in a forest that was technically in a suburb of DC. My backyard flowed into a state park, so I could walk for miles back there without running into another house. It was great as a kid to be able to explore – I once found an old bootlegger’s hideout back there, a dilapidated building full of old, rusty stills. It was pretty much exactly like the house they find at the end of The Blair Witch Project. The place I grew up looked a lot like The Blair Witch Project.

I’m inspired by…
The fact that existence exists, because it doesn’t have to. There is something weird and profoundly mysterious about the idea that we are here at all. It’s really much weirder than we allow ourselves to think about.

I chose to go into marketing because…
Marketing chose me. I’ve felt my way through a series of jobs that I’ve found progressively more fulfilling, until finally landing at a company and role and team that I love.

If my 3rd grade teacher could see me now, he or she would say…
That I’m much bigger now? That my math and verbal skills have progressed (but my handwriting hasn’t really)? I don’t know, I think my 3rd grade teacher is dead. So I don’t really think she’d say anything.

The most amazing thing I’ve ever seen is…
Let’s see – I once saw some dogs eat a baby horse, that was pretty amazing. Oh, and ghosts; I’ve seen two ghosts. Well, one was sort of a spirit that visited me in a dream. The other was like a real, physical ghost (that I saw in a graveyard in Scotland). So yeah, I guess I’d say ghosts. I don’t know, was I supposed to say something more profound, or more poetic? Like, “The most amazing thing I’ve ever seen is the sun rising over Everest.” I have seen the sun rising over Everest – but I still say ghosts.

If I could travel back in time, I’d…
Stand very still, trying not to create any paradoxes that would destroy the universe, make my image disappear from photographs, or cause humans to follow an alternate evolutionary path resulting in us now all being lizard-tongued beasts.

Working at UncommonGoods, I’ve learned…
So much. I’ve been lucky enough to have been exposed to so many different sides of the business; it’s really been a thorough education. I’ve gotten the chance to take on many things that I don’t think I’d ever have gotten the opportunity to do at another company. I came in as an analyst, but have been given responsibility for everything from PR to project management at various times – I love learning the ins and outs of new things, and how to optimize different programs. I’ve also learned that I can have a viable, successful career without compromising something about myself.

An uncommon fact about me…
I am constantly replacing my bones with metal. I have metal rods in one arm and one leg, because of soccer injuries. I’m hoping that thousands of years from now, when alien archeologists unearth my skeleton, they’ll point to me as the missing link between organic humans and the cyborg overlords that subsequently took over the earth.

Would you rather… go without music for a year, or go without travel for a year?
I couldn’t go without music. I mean, how do people get anything done without Ke$ha blasting over their headphones on repeat? Music is an everyday thing, travel is a treat.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Rebecca Doyle

July 1, 2015

RebeccaDoyle

Rebecca Doyle, Operations Team Lead

My hometown…
I was born on an air force base in Illinois, but I spent most of my school age life in Somers, NY, “Cradle of the American Circus.”

I’m inspired by…
My maternal grandparents. They were powerful and consistent examples of right-sized living and honoring their friends and family. I try to emulate them in my own behaviors and interactions with others.

My spirit animal is…
Tiger.

In high school, were you a nerd, geek, jock, a popular kid, an academic achiever, a drama kid, arts kid, juvenile delinquent, mean girl, goth, student body president, or some other type?
I was a “Tusker.” Our HS mascot was a tusked elephant, in honor of the town’s history.

The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen is…
“Beauty” truly is in the eye of the beholder, is it not? And sometimes, quite personal. That said, I would not want to punk out on the question. One of the most brilliant visions of color saturation and intensity I have ever seen is Big Bird yellow. I have had the unexpected opportunity twice in my life, so far, to see the authentic Big Bird in person. Once, many years ago, at of all places a memorial service, and the second when I turned a corner in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and BB was in a photo shoot.

My favorite process in the UncommonGoods warehouse is…
The new one(s) that we are currently developing and rolling out… We’re always continuing to challenge ourselves to do our work better than we are, with the greatest benefit to all the stakeholders and especially our customer’s experience.

Something that always makes me laugh…
An episode of The Big Bang Theory.

An uncommon fact about me…
People are often surprised to learn that my wife and I have two grandchildren.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Claire Wyebright Feuer

June 23, 2015

Claire Wyebright Feuer, Junior Assistant Buyer – Tabletop

My hometown…
Boerum Hill, Brooklyn.

I’m passionate about…
Spending time with family and friends and exercising.

A piece of music I love so much that I played it until I was sick of it …
Probably everything on my iPhone. One example would be Halo by Beyonce.

If I could throw the perfect party…
It would be an evening beach party in Bali with lanterns, amazing food, and free back massages.

The best luck I’ve had in my life so far was…
Discovering Dora (my dog) at the pound. She’s my life!

If I could meet anyone, living or not, I would choose…
Frida Kahlo – she was so talented, edgy, and all around awesome.

An uncommon fact about me…
I’m great at raising goldfish. My goldfish are now 9 years old! I’m also an avid journal-er and have written 30 so far. My goal is to reach 100 journals.

Would you rather… get a one-time free shopping spree at Tiffany, or be able to shop at any discount store free for the rest of your life?
I normally shop at discount stores anyway, so being able to shop at any discount store free for the rest of my life would be a dream.

The Uncommon Life

Uncommon Personalities: Meet Claire Whitehead

June 11, 2015

Claire Whitehead, UncommonGoods User Experience Design Manager

My hometown is…
Asheville, North Carolina

I’m inspired by…
People with strong self-discipline, Vince Carter’s performance in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, and pajamas.

If I could become an expert on one thing that I’m not already, it would be…
Playing Led Zeppelin on the mountain dulcimer like this guy.

An uncommon fact about me…
I’m named after my great grandfather Clair, who invented a pregnancy test in 1928 that led to the development of those commonly used today.

The cheesiest thing I’ve ever loved is/was…
Kraft Singles.

My favorite place to go in New York City is…
The taco truck across the street from my apartment.

When I was little, I dreamed of…
Living in the woods. Preferably inside a giant tree like Sam in the book My Side of the Mountain.

I’m stubborn about…
Correct spelling.

Would you rather…be bored beyond belief for a month straight, or over-stimulated to the point of exhaustion for a month?
I’d rather be bored beyond belief. I love sleeping more than almost anything and am a recovering homebody with frequent relapses.