Membership Spotlight: Cassie Dainar
Author: Nymala Ingasy
This month, I had the pleasure of interviewing our newest Shatayan, Cassie Dainar of the Brown Ajah. She has taken over the position from Ubah Sedai, and has stepped forward to take the all-important financial reins of TarValon.Net. I was curious to know more about her and my interview with her did not disappoint!
Firstly, I asked Cassie Sedai to tell us a little bit more about herself and some of her hobbies so we could get to know her a little better. Her answer involved being kidnapped by Vikings, and that doesn’t happen every day….at least to my knowledge! “I'm a 35 year old Electrical Engineer; I work in nuclear power keeping the power on in central Minnesota. I grew up in Arkansas, went to college at the University of Alabama, and have since been kidnapped by a Viking and moved to Minnesota. I'm going to be marrying my Warder Soronhen Gaidin (the Viking that kidnapped me to Minnesota) in September. We have two fur babies of the feline variety named Perrin and Aemon. My hobbies are most yarn or needle crafts. I crochet and am teaching myself to knit and I enjoy doing cross-stitch.” I then asked her about books she likes to read other than the Wheel of Time series, and the answer she gave me was a textbook “Brown” answer. “As for favorite books, I can't name any favorites because I love just about any book out there.”
Next, I asked our new Shatayan how she discovered the Wheel of Time series in the first place. I found out that we have to thank a librarian for her presence on our website. “I was introduced to Wheel of Time by the school librarian in High School. At that time only the first three books were out and she wanted me to read it to see if she wanted to put it on the shelves.”
After that, she shared with me her favorite book of Robert Jordan’s series as well as her favorite “Randland” character. Is it any surprise that her favorite character is a Brown? “My favorite character is Verin because she really represents what Browns are in my mind (both the good and the bad of curiosity). I have several favorites in the series. I think the first and the last two are my favorites, the first because it's so fresh and new and the last two because of the resolution of all the questions.”
Next, our conversation turned to the TarValon.Net in particular. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask her how she came to find us, but taking a page from Taelinn, I asked her how she came to choose her Tower name. “Cassie has been my nickname for many years, and I came up with Dainar by hitting random keys on the keyboard. ^^” And really, is there a better method than that?
One of my favorite things to find out is what a person likes about our site, because it means so many things to different people. Cassie Sedai’s answer is a typical one for many of us, but is still a deeply personal one for her. “My favorite thing about the TarValon.Net site is the real life relationships that it generates. It's not just hanging out with virtual friends, but meeting the people and making real friends. All of my bridesmaids are people I met on the site (my Rum Sisters), and as I mentioned my fiancé is my Warder.”
I then asked about why she decided to become Shatayan, and her answer was infinitely practical, sensible and seemed to be exactly right. “I decided to become Shatayan because I had been serving as the assistant for years. I've always had a fascination with money and a love of tracking finances. I had applied when Ubah Sedai got the job, so it seemed natural to apply this time as well.”
To wrap up our interview, I asked her if she had anything to add, or to tell us if there’s anything else she’d like us to know about her. “I can't think of anything else to add, though I would be glad to answer any other questions or clarify anything.” So there you have it, carte blanche to ask her anything! Thank you for your open door policy and for your time, Cassie Sedai! I think our bank book is in very good hands.
