Lisa is Julie’s favorite sister. Through vicious fights and side-splitting laughs, Lisa has always been a trusted confidante and valued friend. Julie will treasure their most recent winter trip together to Seoul and Taipei, and not just because of overly-helpful Korean airport agents, Lotte World and snake soup. The road of sisterhood isn’t always a smooth one, but Julie can’t imagine life without her little sis.

  Robert is Tom's little brother, though he's not so little anymore. In fact, he's actually taller than Tom now, but don't mention that when the two are around. Tom has watched Robert grow and change from afar, though still close enough to meddle in his affairs. By this time Robert should legally be a menace on the streets, shades away from being a black belt in the United Studios of Self Defense, a life-saver as a Junior Lifeguard, and all-around terror on the soccer fields. However, Robert will always be Tom's younger brother, someone Tom can lean on, and who can lean on Tom.

  More than a t.v. buddy (Desperate Housewives, anyone?), Robyn is one of the most creative and open people Julie knows. They’ve seen each other through good times and bad, with others and with each other. Robyn is a trusted source of relationship advice, both practical and sympathetic, but always knowing when to inject much-needed humor and perspective. Julie only wishes that her story-telling abilities were half as good as Robyn’s. They share a love of New York City, good shopping and an alma mater for grad school. One of their favorite activities to do together is indulge in rich foods that undoubtedly make them feel bad later.

  Vinh promised to one day deliver Tom's baby and through the miracles of science, Tom still believes this can happen. Old highschool friends who are still trying to forget how nerdy they really were, Tom and Vinh go way back (as I said, to highschool). Vinh, now broke and almost a doctor, is striving every day to make the lives of the people around him better. Tom makes them video games. As you can see, they still share a lot in common. One thing that still remains the same is the strange bond of friendship between them.

  Bonding over self-made theories developed as a result of boy troubles in high school was the start of Jen and Julie’s long-lasting friendship. The two have survived cheese sticks in the dorms, sharing a room in “the House,” two weeks of backpacking through Europe, Jen’s first trip to the Big Apple and countless surprise birthday parties. Jen is also one of the most tech savvy people who shoots breath-taking photos and has a knack for beautiful jewelry that Julie knows.
“Does this mean we’re not going to the Olive Garden?”

  An old college drinking partner, Bowen has managed to wiggle his way into Tom's everyday life. Whether it be hanging out, watching movies, playing video games, eating, drinking, etc., he's been a staple since they both graduated from UC Berkeley those many years ago. Together they've shared a love of pussy cats (Bowen has a cat named "DaiDai" that Tom sometimes looks after), long walks around Lake Merritt, and long bows 19-24 dmg +3 fire resistance.

  Wendy and Julie met in the seventh grade, as two angst-filled pre-teens who liked to walk around the school track while they chatted. Since those walks, they’ve remained great friends with a shared penchant for brand-name shopping, fancy food, and smart men. Wen has seen more sides of Julie than most people, especially the silly, goofy side. She has the rare gift of making Julie laugh so hard that she starts to cry. Seriously, though, Wen is one of the funniest people Julie knows. Recently, their friendship has gone international as Wen moved to Japan, resulting in steady exchanges of cute Hello Kitty towels and brilliant chick lit.

  Shin and Tom built their relationship through pummeling each other with their fists and kicking each other as hard as possible. On the epic journey to becoming Wado Ryu karate black belts, these warriors were like Ken and Ryu, both brothers in blood and sweat. They also took a computer programming class together. Through these impossibly difficult tasks, they forged an unspoken alliance to destroy evil, uphold good, and eat lots of good sushi and steak. Currently undercover in Japan as a lethal assassin, Shin by day makes tiny hard drives, and by night he <censored>. Otherwise, he enjoys spending time listening to jazz, playing video games, and going out on covert missions.

  What would Julie do without Francis to pull her into adventures and encourage her spontaneous side? Her life definitely wouldn’t be as rich as it is, that’s for sure. From sneaking into a Cure-signing to scheming up entrepreneurial ventures, Francis has always been there to support the insanity. Some of Julie’s fondest college memories entail hanging out at Francis’ place: studying for the MCAT, catching up on Carrie & Co.’s lives, participating in the first-ever East Bay Iron Chef cook-off, an Asian-pop-star birthday party. It truly has been through thick and thin for these two friends – we’ll drink to that!

  Johnny goes by many names, but Tom calls him "dude" most of the time. Another college buddy, JJ and Tom bond over sports (though they seem to root for the opposite teams a lot), online games, food, and Tivo. Also, being an old roommate, Johnny has put up with Tom's annoying little habits, which makes the fact that they are still friends even more remarkable. Johnny can be seen these days beating down opponents on the tennis and basketball courts, crunching numbers at UCSF, or coming up with crazy-ass strats in Guild Wars.

  Brittany, Tom's lil' sister, is an incredibly creative and empathetic girl. Always full of stories, she loves to regale her guests with tales of intrigue, mystery, and scandal. Over the years, she has grown from being a little princess to a bubbly pre-teen who wears her heart on her sleeve. Brittany loves pop music, singing, drawing, reading, swimming, playing The Sims 2 (which Tom helped program!) and bugging Bobby, Tom's brother. Like many other girls her age, she practices piano, but doesn't seem to like it very much.

  Chris, Tom's childhood sweetheart, has been a friend since before Tom was cool. Life-long friends, Chris and Tom saw each other through the hardships of being grounded, mowing the lawn, washing cars, cleaning the pool, sleeping on couches, etc. It was a tough life, but the adversity brought them to the realization that living in Fountain Valley was tolerable if you had friends to help see you through. Now a teacher, Chris inspires younglings to be as good at everything as he is. With a loving wife and dog, Chris spends his free time doing chores at his house. He enjoys basketball, fishing, gambling, money, fast cars, and clandestine trips to Las Vegas.

  Chelsea, Tom's eldest niece, is a precocious, intelligent little lady with a weakness for things pink and Japanese (e.g. Hello Kitty and sushi). She is involved in a myriad of activities, including ballet, church events, playing with puppies, doing chores, dressing up, etc. Chelsea never ceases to amaze those around her with her level of maturity, intellect, and knack for melo-drama. She loves dogs, Sea World, her parents, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and her presents from her uncle Tom and Julie.

  Alison, Brandon, and Lauryn, the two flower girls and ring bearer. Aren't they cute?