Can’t believe the Holiday Season is already upon us. My kids can – Oldest Boy has already posted his draft Christmas List, with weekly revisions promised. Hah!

Little does he know that they’re ALL getting lumps of coal in their stocking, for plugging my 110V Xbox 360 S Power Supply into a 220v outlet! So yeah, I upgraded.

What’s a guy to do, after your trusty Halo 3 Xbox takes a much-deserved vacation?

Only this time, it’s gonna take surgery - I’ve got the dreaded E74 error code. The warranty for this particular error code has been extended to FOUR YEARS, meaning I’ve got ‘til the second week of December to place my system in Microsoft hands, for a warranted, FREE repair.

There’s the rub, folks – Microsoft does not have an RSC (Regional Service Center) in the Philippines. In the past, my luck has been middling at best with Xbox service.

Seems the first time I set up an Xbox, got the same experience – as soon as you leave the house, the kids set up the Xbox on their own, and my adorable twin daughters don’t KNOW the difference between 220v and 110v power. Turns out, the know-it-all twelve year-old Boy doesn’t, either. Power Supply goes pop. Luckily, we travelled to Singapore about a week later, with mixed results on the Xbox front. I’ll start with the bad news that masqueraded as good news.

Found 220v power supply for sale, and other choice bits like Wii Sports Resort, in a kiosk at a shopping arcade. What’s the bad news? Microsoft was able to swap my power supply within about four hours of my call to them the next day. They’d already closed for the day before I could contact them earlier, so I chose to go with the kiosk, vice returning home empty-handed. Turns out, I only owed Microsoft about fifty bones’ US for a power supply, vice the approximate one hundred fifty I paid the kiosk. One interesting interview with Singapore police, when the kiosk wouldn’t refund the power supply, and I leave with other interesting items, like Sports Resort, in place of the a power supply.

Fast-forward a year, and the kids cook ANOTHER 110v power supply. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now, huh?

Only this time, the product, the Xbox 360 Slim, is so new in the Philippines that no one has suitable replacement power supplies. Kiosks in Green Hills aren’t as interested, as the systems are more difficult to mod than previous generation Xbox 360 consoles.

Even Data Blitz has yet to come through for me, as the Power supplies have a new architecture, due to the new power conservation and shutdown features of the 360 slim. What’s a Gamer to do?

This Gamer is looking for a shopping trip, maybe Singapore, or Hong Kong? Hey, Christmas IS getting pretty close, right? Just gotta be in place before 10 December, so my warranty doesn’t expire on Ol’ Reliable!

What? You’re wondering what I REALLY want for Christmas? Obviously, I want my Xbox working again! Only Data Blitz can solve this one, and we’re at ten days and counting on parts and service. If they only get it fixed, am looking for Dance Central for Xbox 360, with a Kinect sensor. Comes from Rock Band creators, with actual choreography for budding young Cebu Pacific Stewardesses and Flight Attendants. Heh.