Six Things: Carsen
One of the best things about working at Randall Branding is building relationships with great people. We love it when our clients share their world with us. And in the interest of returning the favor, we’ll be sharing parts of our weird and wonderful world with you here.
Six things you may not know about Carsen Young, our Front-End Web Developer.
1. I have a first-degree black belt in Japanese Jiu-jitsu. That’s the hand-to-hand martial art that was developed by the ancient samurai. I started studying it shortly after I graduated from college and earned my black belt nine long years later.
2. In two minutes or less, I can (usually) solve a Rubik’s Cube. My personal record is 57.8 seconds but it usually takes me between 90 and 120 seconds. When I’m stuck on a problem, I find a few good solves of the cube can be enough of a distraction to let me come back to the problem with fresh eyes.
3. I’m a backyard beekeeper! I had some friends who kept bees and I thought it was neat, and such an important thing for the environment. I do have a full bee suit but I only wear it if I’m doing something particularly invasive. Most of the time I’m out there with them in shorts and a t-shirt with just a veil to protect my face, just in case, and I’ve never been stung while inspecting a hive. There’s a lot of fear and lack of knowledge out there about honey bees, but they are not nearly as scary as people think, they serve an integral role in our food supply, and honey fresh from the hive is absolutely amazing.
4. For several years, I volunteered with Hollins Rescue Squad in Roanoke County. By the time I left, I was the First Lieutenant of the rescue squad. I also was a certified instructor in CPR as well as basic first aid, though I’ve let those certifications lapse. Although I don’t run on an ambulance these days, I’m still a certified EMT in the state of Virginia through the year 2020.
5. Jack-o-lanterns are kinda a big deal for me. I usually start working on drawing out my pattern sometime in September. In addition to the standard Halloween scene, I’ve carved the logos for several organizations I’ve been part of for their respective Halloween events and I even carved a memorial jack-o-lantern for one of my dogs who passed away.
6. Backyard cookouts are my favorite social activity. It’s a love only slightly tempered by the fact that I will attract every single mosquito within a ten-mile radius. I actually bought my house almost exclusively because of the back deck and large semi-private backyard. Outdoor entertaining space was priority number one when I was house hunting.
If you want to know more about us, you can jump over here. If you’d like to see what we do, you can always jump over there.
