Highwood resident Kym Teslik recently took a few minutes out of her stint as a barista at Alchemy Coffee and Bake House to talk about Mark Twain, her dream vacation, the ideal person to star in the Hollywood version of her life and more.
Q: Since we’re in a coffee house, let’s talk about coffee. When was the first time you drank it?
A: It was in a cafeteria at the University of Kansas and somebody said, ‘If you put eight sugars in it, you’ll like it.’ I said, ‘Dude, no,’ and put five sugars in it. I ended up putting three more sugars in it before I could drink it, so he was right. Now I like it with just a little cream.
Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie you can tell us about?
A: I really like Mark Twain. I’m reading ‘Life on the Mississippi’ right now. I love his sense of humor.
Q: Someone’s going to make a Hollywood biopic all about your life. Who do you sign to star as yourself?
A: Janeane Garofalo. She’s kind of sarcastic, but she’s awesome, and we look a little alike, maybe. But she’d have to tone down her awesomeness, because I’m not as awesome as she is!
Q: Do you have a favorite cause or charity that you like people to know about?
A: There are a lot, but locally, I give to (College of DuPage radio station) WDCB. I love them; they have jazz and such a variety of other things to listen to.
Q: Do you have a pet?
A: I don’t have a pet, but I do have a stuffed animal that I like, a big turtle – and his name is ‘Fat Turtle.’
Q: What’s your idea of a dream vacation?
A: I would like to take a steamboat down the Mississippi River, since we’ve been talking about Mark Twain. Or I’d like to go to Holland and eat a stroopwafel. (A stroopwafel is a sandwich-like Dutch sweet made of two thin waffles held together by a syrup filling.)
Q: And finally, what do you do to keep warm in a cold, damp winter?
A: I’d wrap up in a blanket, with some tea and Fat Turtle to keep me company.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.
– Kathy Routliffe, Pioneer Press
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Twitter: @pioneer_kathy