Meet the BOSS.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME? That depends on who’s asking. I go by Alison, Ali, Sally, and Boss. Oh, and Miss Andrea likes to call me Alejandro.

How long have you been a barista? I’m counting. I think eight years.

How long have you been a kc&t barista, as in, one of the best baristas ever? Well! A combined total of about five years.

Where were you born? Not Oregon, like I should have been. Appleton Medical Centerrrr. Bored.

Where did you graduate high school? Kaukauna High

Where did you graduate college? What is college?

Where did you graduate medical school? Oh, that’s easy. Nana’s College of Nursing. I can fix a bee sting.

What is your favorite coffee shop? HAHA trick question.

What is your favorite kc&t coffee beverage? Can one decide on such a thing?! I love a cup of Black Earth Blend, but if I’m feeling fancy, I go with a seasonal latte, currently, Pumpkin Pie or Maple Spice, aka PANCAKES!!!

What is your favorite kc&t non-coffee beverage? Since I drink it every day, I must like iced tea. Any variety, really, but lately Lemon & Minty Green mixed togezzer.

What is your favorite kc&t sandwich? GoudAsparagus, all the way. But naturally, I’m going to say THEY’RE ALL GOOD.

What is your favorite kc&t bakery item? Cream cheese frosted cinnamon roll from my infamous baker, BFF Bakery! UPDATE: Fresh delivery of Pumpkin Loaf has me changing my answer. There is NOTHING BETTER.

What is your favorite food in general? Do you know, now that I’ve finally parted with my picky eaterness, this is much harder of a question. I love food, and not just good food…Janel and I are currently competing for the title of Sweet Tooth Queen. Better have that carrot cake for breakfast…

Tell us something else about food: If you ever want to feel super guilty about eating processed, pre-packaged, non-organic, non-free-range, non-grass fed food, watch Food Inc. To this day I won’t eat an egg that isn’t cage-free. I <3 my chickens and I want them to be happeee!

What is your favorite kc&t decorative feature? Once upon a time it was Alice Cooper, watching over me as I made shock rock lattes all day. Now, I definitely have to say it’s our big Little Free Library made from upcycled doors and stocked to the brim with books free for the taking. I love
free stuff. I also love awesome customers who think of crazy ideas like that one. Thanks, Jon!

Please inform us of any other kc&t favorites we failed to mention: Abbey was spot on .. our customers (you!) make everyday a wonderful day! We wouldn't be here without you, but you know that. Can't wait to see your smiling facessss.

Tell us a favorite story from baristaville: DISCLAIMER: The following is not to be tried at home. Nor will the coffee shop serve ten shots of espresso at one time to any given person ever. Again.  And that brings me to Espresso Power Hour. Fun for the first half an hour and five shots, near the end our pupils were probably the size of Pluto, which is still a planet in my book, and heart rates and breathing patterns were just short of spastic. That’s why neither Andrea nor I chose that photo for our barista profiles.

What is your favorite color? I don’t have one. I have a favorite color scheme, and I think that is well expressed in the décor. Red and baby blue .. I CAN’T GET OVER IT.

Do you have pets? A favorite? We as a family have pets. A couple few kitties. Technically two of them are mine, and technically Duncan is my favorite, but we don’t talk about that.

What is your favorite sport? Perhaps a favorite team? Player? While I am not sporty in the LEAST, I do enjoy a good football game. And by that I mean Packer game, and when I say enjoy, I don’t mean that I follow and necessarily know what’s going on, but I will oggle Clay Matthews and his beautiful hair as often as the cameramen will let me.

Who is your Biggest Celebrity Crush? Jeff Bridges ;D

What music do you play when you start your shift? I’m so boring, and usually in a hurry, so every day for the past month or so I’ve played the same mix of The Civil Wars, Of Monsters and Men, David Gray, Kyle Megna and the Monsoons, Feist, Fleet Foxes .. typical coffee house melodies.

What is your favorite book? I don’t have one anymore. The last book I read was Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins, and it was good enough to send me on a Tom Robbins kick, so I guess that’s good enough.

What is your favorite movie? Probably Garden State, or some other quirky independent film I can’t think of off the top of my head. You know.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? I’m a big supporter of the darkest, richest, chocolatiest custard with any type of nut. If you’re going to do it, do it goooood.

Are you sarcastic? That depends entirely on the company I’m in. So yes, at times.

Do you believe the above was unnecessary to put on this questionnaire? In Andrea’s case, for sure.

Were you named after anyone? Yes, my middle name, Louise. But that’s a rather long and confusing story. I do know that I was supposed to be named Raegan (Ragan?) and I think that would have been baller.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Kerri Strug. Before that, a teacher.

And now, what do you want to be when you grow up? A potter.

If you were reborn, what would you want to be? A tree, most likely a willow, in the middle of one of Canada’s national forests right by the water. Are there willows in Canada? Is that a stupid question?

What do you wish you had more time for? I think this is a fancy way of asking ‘What is your favorite pastime?:' I don’t think it’s a matter of needing or wanting more time, it’s how I can use my time more wisely and utilize more minutes in my day. If I could figure that one out, I would clean and set up my basement to be the potter I want to be when I grow up!

Have you ever been out of the country? Where is the farthest you have been from home? Yes! London is the farthest I’ve been. And I’m going back. Tomorrow.

How many states have you visited? How many have you driven through and technically been to?
Visited: California, Oregon, Ohio, Mississippi (only to pose in front of Brett Favre’s Hometown sign, lame), Louisiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Washington DC (?), and driven through a whole mess of states on the way to all those listed. Look at a map, you can figure it out.

Do you have a favorite national monument? Though I’ve never been there, and it’s not a monument but a landmark, I’m fascinated by the Grand Canyon. Roaddd Tripppp!

Do you think people usually have a favorite national monument, or is that odd? If it’s the Washington Monument …then it’s odd.

What is your favorite of the Seven Wonders of the World? Go ahead, we’ll give you time to Google: Having just closed the book on Still Life with Woodpecker, my interest in pyramids has been renewed. So that’s my current but not final answer.

What is your favorite winter activity? Ice skating! It’s been a few years, and I did ski for the first time two years ago and that was pretty exhilarating. Maybe it’s a toss up.

What is your favorite summer activity? Water skiing if I get the opportunity, but I enjoy anything that can be done outdoors.

Which season is your favorite? It’s always been a battle between Spring and Autumn, but this year I think I’ve officially decided on Autumn. The latte flavors tipped the scales.

If you were an Olympian, what would your sport be? Luge

If you could be any vehicle, what would you be and why? the Scion IQ because I’d be little and cute and smart.

What does your horoscope say today? Aries (March 21-April 19): You have an uncommon talent. That’s
precisely why you can’t expect the common man to recognize, utilize or praise it. But there is work you can do to make our gifts accessible to everyone.

What do you think about that? Better than yesterday’s, and I’m out to find my uncommon man.

What is your pet peeve? Solicitors. Drivers. When there is no take-a-penny-leave-a-penny dish and I get 4 pennies back in change.

If you could talk with any kind of accent for the rest of your life, what accent would you choose? like a BRIT.

Do you think you’ll be a cute grandma? I’ll have white hair! So yes, yes I do.

Do you play a musical instrument? I can, but you didn’t ask if I can play it well! hahaha joke’s on you.

Do you speak any other language? I can! Again, not well, but I know a word or two.

What is your favorite coffee cup and why?!  (Include a picture if you can!)

This one, because my sister gave it to me for my birthday, Mickey Mouse is my favorite, and no one else has ever given me a coffee mug! What in the world!

Does your car have a name? The Chariot. No, it really doesn’t, it feels unnecessary to name a minivan. Even Beetle didn’t have a name. I only named my first car, Frank, and I’m still sad about his demise and stand by my theory that he would still be truckin’ today if it weren’t for his unfortunate winter mishap with a bus. I know this because one time I forgot to get my oil changed and I ran him completely out of oil and drove that way for about a month and a half, mostly ignoring the noise that was increasing by the day, until finally I decided Jerry needed to give him a check up and I learned what I had done. I only say this because when Maddy did the same thing to her Saturn, it died instantaneously, and Joe’s Garage had that engine in pieces to make it better again. Frank for the win!

If you were any mythological creature, what would you be? Medusa, because I like her hair and she’s always who I think of when I think of mythological creatures.

Did you know Mr. Rogers was a sniper in Vietnam? Those quiet ones always have the darkest secrets…

Are you a convicted felon? The sky is very blue today...(No, or course not!)

How is your driving record? Once, as you’ve learned, I hit a bus. And once my registration was sent to my old address so I never put renewal stickers on my car, but I’m quite upset about how this all went down. Let me tell you. We went to Milwaukee that day for Summerfest and I discovered that morning about the sticker, but I’m young so I take chances and I went anyway. On the way home at 2 am, there was absolutely no traffic on the highway and I’m going the speed limit and suddenly there is a patrol car in front of me going FIFTY-FIVE miles an hour. So, I have no choice but to pass him or he’ll wonder what the crap I’m doing, so I had to knowingly set myself up for being pulled over. Lame. He let me go. The end.

Comments

[Vicki]

Reagan. Like the President at the time, which is why it was nixed, but now no one would care and you'd have a baller name. I'm on record as still loving Alison, and even more since I know it's a variation of Louise, and LuLu is a cute nickname, too.
Love, Your Mum
XO

[Tukesh]

I, of course, love #37. I also think all the breids look so beautiful and the babies look so cute. You do such a great job. Your pictures make me want to get married again and have a bab I had to stop myself on that one. I can't make up my mind on the wedding pictures, but I do really love the #17 baby picture.

[Lammes]

Huh...I've never heard of whipped cream being rerrefed to as "wupe." A quick Google search turned up nothing on wupe, wither (except that there's a radio station whose call letters are WUPE). Is this a regional slang thing? :)

[Frankly]

ChessMan:Forget the powder. Use real cchoolate. 7parts full cream milk to 1part dark cchoolate. No machine required. Place grated cchoolate(or diced into small pieces no more than 1cm squared) in a mug. Bring the milk to the boil, remove from heat. Pour scalding hot milk over cchoolate. Stir to combine. Add sugar if you have a sweet tooth. Dust with drinking cchoolate, and add a few marshmallows if you wish. Enjoy

[Fernanda]

ARG. That makes me so angry in so many different ways that I have tblorue formulating my feelings about it.I'm not sure what their "mission" is that aligns with paying their marketing/baking staff $2 less an hour than I made ten years ago as a college intern.I also enjoy the idea of writing a 9000 word essay about why I want to work for a company that has not identified itself in the ad.