Hi! I'm Phoebe and I'm going to be 12 years old next week, February 14, 2002, Valentine's Day! First let me introduce you to my family.

There's me, my dad, Max and my mum Anna; Mum and Dad split up a few years ago, which made me incredibly sad but it's fine now. I live in with mum but I stay with Max every other weekend and that way I get to keep an eye on both of them. They're a bit loopy. Mum talks to her computer and dad buys terrible clothes which he thinks are trendy, but you probably have similar problems with your parents.

I hope you'll e-mail me at: phoebe@sunday-times.co.uk and tell me about your life. The biggest thing to happen around here lately, or rather the smallest, depending on which way you look at it, is the arrival of my baby brother Tacitus. Mum asked me if I'd like a little brother or sister. I said: "Absolutely not". And so we get one anyway!

Apparently, he's special because he's got designer genes (that's genes, not jeans!) In other words, specially selected genes to ensure that he is gentle yet brave, strong yet compassionate and also hyper-intelligent. We'll have to wait and see about that one. Personally, I'd have rather had the new G10 micro processor, which practically does your homework for you, but as you can see, my feelings count for zilch round here. Ooops run out of space!

Catch me in the Chronicle of The Future or look for me in The Funday Times next week and I'll tell you about my school and my friends. Watch this space!