Nathan’s grandmother gave him a Chinese-made Gameboy-type handheld computer game for Christmas 2006. A few months later, the screen went on the fritz and we assumed that was the death of his Gameboy. It was just as well; Cathy and I were starting to get a little concerned with how well he was playing the games. (For instance, he got further in Super Marios Brothers than I did.)

When the Gameboy broke, we decided to get it fixed but it just disappeared. Vanished into thin air. Our yaya – the one we fired less than two weeks ago – claimed she had no idea where it was, and Nathan went Gameboy-less for weeks. Then, yesterday, Cathy found it, after months of fruitless searching.

Nathan was beside himself with joy. I, meanwhile, still feel relatively good about the lack of relative violence in his Gameboy 35-in-1 video game cartridge. Let him jump and ‘kill the mushroom,’ or ‘kill the turtle,’ or run faster than ‘the fish! The fish! THE FISH!!”

I’d rather he enjoy his Gameboy now, than when he’s too old to appreciate its simple pleasures. (And when he’ll require more complex, expensive toys.)

Cathy and I did an Extreme Home Makeover-type thing yesterday in Nathan’s room, transforming it from the dusty, dingy yaya’s room it was to a bright, colorful room where Nathan could play in all day.

The intention: phase Nathan out from our room. LOL Actually, it was more of getting him to transition to sleeping in his own room so we could clear up some space for Nikki when she gets here in June.

It was actually so well-done that Nathan fell asleep comfortably in his room. His Mom, meanwhile, couldn’t get to bed without her son. Useless.

Happy Valentine’s Day from Ganns, Cathy, Nathan, and Baby Deen #2  (whose gender we will know on my birthday! Whee!).

From the looks of it, the Amanpulo West Villa trip I took in December isn’t the last one I’ll be going on. I’m going to Boracay in a bit, and Cathy will probably be flying to Malaysia in July.

Should be interesting to see which hotels we’re going to stay in this time around. I hope to try out the Paradise Garden; the reviews are pretty good.

If you’re looking for an affordable dentist in Makati, I’ll like to recommend my Makati dentist, Dr Joseph Jon Catipon, DMD.

Dr. Catipon - you can call him Jay - is extremely professional, with a light touch, a steady hand, and a good sense of humor. Little pain is to be felt in this Makati dentist’s chair because he is just soooo funny, and he’ll talk you through to distract you. Excellent, excellent dentist in Makati.

Like other dentists in Makati, he practices general dentistry, but Dr. Catipon specializes in orthodontics and TMJ.

You can visit the Catipon Dental Clinic in Makati at 202 NAF Building (in front of Makati Cinema Square), 2296 Chino Roces St., Makati City. You can call up this Makati dentist at 381-4867, text him at 0918-908-4934, or email him at mjaycat at yahoo dot com. This Makati dental clinic’s hours are from 10AM to 7PM, Monday to Saturday.

Trust me - Dr. Catipon is worth every centavo, and you’ll find yourself getting more value for your peso with him than at most other dental clinics in Makati. Oh, here’s a link to his Makati dentist website.

Ganns told me about BlogParteeh07. It’s not really my thing, but he seems so enthusiastic about it. I may just go to humor my husband. Email to gannsandcathy at yahoo.com. - Cathy

This event is sponsored by: Sheero Media Solutions, MyJournal Philippines, FeedText, Inc., Migs Paraz, A Bugged Life, The Blog Herald, b5media blog network, About My Recovery, Pinoy.Tech.Blog, Enthropia, Inc., Krispy Kreme Philippines, GMA New Media, Awesome Philippines, Codamon.com, Boracay.com.ph, Recipes.com.ph, WebMaster.com.ph, Bouncing Red Ball, Bo Sanchez, Microwarehouse Inc.

BlogParteeh07 Donors:

Marc Javellana, Bubba Gump, e-YellowPages, Adobe User Group - Philippines, Weddings @ Work, Google Philippines, Hinge Inquirer Publications, Andrew dela Serna

This is the guy Martina Hingis is marrying?! Come on, Martina!

Radek Stepanek may be a nice guy and good player, but Martina Hingis is a beautiful jewel of a woman and a hell of a great player.

Agassi-Graf. That’s a match that’ll create beautiful kids. This one… meh.

Yeah, I’m bitter. Sue me. I just think Martina can do so much better.

I posted an introspective entry on the repercussions of the Tammy Nyp sex tape on my personal blog.

Today, Cathy and I took a day off from work to process our application for our digitized Social Security System (SSS) cards; we also intended to secure registration for our Revo and get CTCs from the local barangay hall. Later in the day, if there was time, passport photo shots for us and Nathan. That was the plan.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the SSS now requires the card to claim maternity leave benefits and/or salary loans, among other “benefits.” We had no choice - we had to take time to get these cards, to claim something from the government that takes away a significant chunk of our income every month.

If you’re ready to hear the horror story that unfolded and ate up our day, read on.

Nathan is barely three years old and still unable to read, although he knows his alphabet like the back of his hand. I’m not too concerned - my son has shown himself to be quite the techie.

Nathan now knows how to turn on my desktop computer, log onto the Internet, and get onto his favorite website, www.Orisinal.com, which features over 40 easy Flash-based games for children his age. When Cathy tried to put her earphones in, she couldn’t figure the wiring and sockets out, and abandoned the set on the computer table; minutes later, she heard Nathan humming, and returned to the table to discover that he had plugged it in himself, and was now playing with abandon.

For Christmas, Nathan received an educational VTech Challenger laptop from us, and a GameBoy-type Chinese ripoff from his grandmother, my Mom. He enjoys the games that challenge his hand-eye coordination and encourage his phonic skills. Of course, we still read with him, and now that he’s really starting to hold his own in conversations, I’m thrilled that he’s shown himself to be adept at adapting to the computer age a lot faster than I did when the revolution only started to grow.

I can only imagine what technology will have for him when he and his sibling (Natalie or Nicholas, we don’t quite have the baby’s gender just yet) are ready to go to school.