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// dland | | Alethea
Aka frootjoos and tv-dinners. Other nicknames include Al, Alth, Altoid, Algorithm, Orange (a family moniker having to do with jaundice), Mama Sarah (from a high school production of Quilters), Sally, Ally, The Kid, and Chica. A twenty-something girl in LA, trying her best to work and study and play without going too crazy. Likes geeky things like Buffy, old-school video games (Zork!), British comedy, weird dollar-bin rock bands, new fiction, cooking, math, thrift store shopping, and occasionally slacking off. Hates doing laundry. But then again, who doesn't?
The People She Lives With
Alethea lives with her widowed aunt and her two kids (the aunt's, not Alethea's). Ate (/ah-teh/, Tagalog for big sister), as she is known to them, pretty much toes the line, so they get along fine. Carlo is about 17, a career slacker. Alethea tried to take him under her wing, teach him to be geeky, but she was in another country during some of his formative teen years. When she got back it was too late. Marianne is about her age; they went to high school together and have been roommates since 1993. She loves N'SYNC and flips burgers for a living; school is an ambition but not a burning priority. Despite their obvious, glaring differences, they are pretty tight and have survived almost a decade without killing each other.
The People She Came From
Alethea's immediate family lives in Manila. Her mom and dad are architects; her brother Bruce is in his second year of college at Ateneo. Little sis Cherry has some sort of brain disorder; she lives by her own rules and speaks her own language. It's a little sad, but as long as she's happy, then so are we. Alethea has a huge extended family as well: aunts, uncles, cousins, of various degrees and removals, all over the world.
The People She Hangs With
Alethea's friends come from four primary sources: School, Work, Family, and Online. Friends mentioned specifically will be labeled thus. Furthermore, gayness will be implied by the mention of musicals or a shared affinity for cute men.
Dennis
Dennis DMs, listens to a lot of indie musicians, plays hockey, and thinks Sweet Tarts are the perfect candy. He is the Alpha-Geek. When she really thinks about it, Alethea can't fathom why Dennis is friends with her.
Jason
Jason lives in the next town over, shares Alethea's affinity for cool tunes, anime, and a hot cup of joe.
Sean
Sean plays Xarvaj the human monk in the Noobie D&D campaign. He is notoriously bad at sneaking around (we joke that his pajamas are made of taffeta) but man, can he handle a sling. He has saved Mabel's petite little keister almost as many times as she's saved his hairy butt. :-D In relation to others on this list, he's Gael's adopted bro and Dennis's boss. Alethea spends many a day off chatting with Sean about D&D, Sims, and other everyday geek shite.
Brad
Brad and Alethea used to go to lots of movies. They hold many common interests that start with B, such as books, Buffy, Belle & Sebastian, British comedy, and when in Burbank, the occasional skewer of beef kebab. (This is all a coincidence, however, and nothing to do with the Kabbalah.) Their IM conversations frequently end in scathing references to each other's moms, but that's pretty much Brad's fault. Brad's monitor is busted, so apart from Wednesday night D&D, Alethea hasn't seen him lately. He is sorely missed.
The Fools
You may see references to The Fools now and then. They are a bunch of geeks, a group to whom Dennis and Brad belong. Dennis's brother Daniel (and his girl Lindsay aka Bits), James (his wife Kellie and newbieFool Baby Kyla), Ian, Shane, Tom, and Jeric are fOOls. They speak their own language and take a bit of getting used to. Alethea is not technically a core fOol, more like a fOol on-call, time-permitting, a break-in-case-of-emergency fOol. Foolish girl.
Rob
Rob found one of Alethea's sites one day while doing an online search for The Royal Tenenbaums. Alethea has never met Rob in person, but right now he probably knows more about her than her own mother. He lives and works and plays volleyball in and around Washington, D.C.
Scott
Alethea met Scooter at work. They share a great love for good food, pop music, kids' books, campy movies, and cute men. They often go used-record shopping in LA and its environs.
Becci
Alethea misses the late-night 7-11 Slurpee runs after closing the store with Becci. But they chat online a lot, and occasionally they still go out for sushi. (Sushi! Wasabi! Edamame! Want to eat the fishies, not sleep with the fishies. Tofu pillows that taste like air... Erm, ahem.)
Genevieve
Gennie is Alethea's closest cousin on her father's side. Gen introduced Alethea to American teenage culture during the two years that their families lived together in New Jersey. An artist and all-around crazy person, she is dearly beloved. She is now married and lives in Upstate New York.
Summer
Summer is Alethea's best friend from high school. They are physically opposite: blond/brunette, tall/short, light/dark; but they are alike in all the ways that matter. Under observation they seem to communicate telepathically. When appropriate, they also use hand signals and written missives. Together they possess a huge vocabulary, a vast amount of knowledge ranging from asparagus to zydeco, and a killer sense of humor often used for good, but also sometimes for evil.
Colleen
Colleen chief-edited the high school paper which Alethea and Summer copy-edited during their junior year of high school. Free-spirited and intelligent, Colleen loves literature, the outdoors, various creative endeavors, and all things organic. Her comical cuteness and quirky demeanor remind Alethea, endearingly, of a Muppet.
Alison
It's always the quiet ones. Alicat, also from the high school news staff, is often mistaken for a meek, retiring kitty; but she's a wild party tiger under those business casual stripes. Rrawr. Often referred to in conjunction with Aleen.
John
John met Alethea and Marianne during a high school production of The King and I. He was 13 at the time. The three stayed friends throughout high school and beyond; he is pretty much considered part of the furniture. (Name that musical!)
Susan
Susan subbed for Alethea's AP English Lit teacher when he had a heart attack in the spring of 1997. Her favorite movie is Harold and Maude. She's a cool mom and a great mentor. She and Alethea hit it off quite well in just those few short weeks of subbing and have stayed in touch over the years. Susan now teaches 7th grade. Occasionally they have a cup of coffee and chat about education, family, and life in general.
Jane
Jane is probably the single greatest influence on Alethea's writing, ever. It was her guidance and encouragement in high school that led Alethea to consider English as her major. Jane plays piano and claims to be 104 years old. Alethea completely believes it.
Clark
Quark sang bass in jazz choir with Alethea in high school. He loves Corvairs, grammar, math, and show tunes. Get it, sweetie-darling?
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