What was going on when I was born?

The Phillips Petroleum Company, the nation's 10th-largest energy concern, has seen its oil reserves shrink steadily. Unable to stem this decline through domestic drilling, the company invested heavily in the 1970's in oil exploration in the North Sea, off the coast of West Africa and in other regions abroad. As a result, the domestic oil reserves of Phillips - nearly half its supply is outside this country - were widely regarded as insufficient to counter instability abroad or the increased energy demand that is expected in an economic recovery. Thus, the company struggled through 1982 with a complex set of problems. In addition to its heavy reliance on foreign sources of oil, its earnings were sharply reduced by the recession and lower energy consumption.

Federal and provincial authorities have taken control of more than $2 billion (Canadian) of assets in three trust companies and two mortgage companies in a surprise move to protect depositors' interests. Robert Elgie, minister of consumer and commercial relations in the Ontario Government, using emergency legislation passed Dec. 21, ordered the provincial registrar of loan and trust companies Friday to take control of Greymac Trust, Seaway Trust and Crown Trust. The companies are the subject of a Government inquiry into their role in financing a series of transactions involving the sale of 11,000 apartments formerly owned by Cadillac Fairview, an international property developer.

Tom Reardon, an independent insurance agent in Oyster Bay, L.I., communicates these days with the Travelers Corporation, one of the insurance companies he represents, by computer. ''With the computer,'' he said, ''we can issue auto policies the day after the person comes in, we can send messages to the company and we can give instantaneous quoting.'' Mr. Reardon's agency, Reardon-Raplee-Lindner & Mehlman, has spent about $45,000 for computer equipment, but he thinks that it has been money well spent. ''If we didn't have it, it would have probably necessitated hiring someone else,'' he said. ''We have saved thousands of hours worth of work and thousands of dollars. And it's impressive for your customers.''

In an effort to keep the international debt crisis from worsening, representatives of 35 major Western and Japanese banks will open two days of talks Monday in Washington to study the possibility of forming a new organization to better coordinate lending to developing countries. But bankers here say that European support for the project has been waning. Italy was reported to have been irked by the fact that it had not been invited to previous organizational meetings. And there has been some question whether bankers from France will attend.

The Jets, who had waited 14 years to win a postseason game, confused the Bengals defensively and overpowered them offensively today for a 44-17 victory in the first round of the Super Bowl XVII tournament. Underdogs against the defending American Conference champions, the Jets were sparked by Freeman McNeil, who rushed for 211 yards, a record for National Football League postseason play. McNeil not only scored a touchdown, but also threw a perfect spiral pass for a score. The Jet defense, which had been weakened on the line by injuries to the right side, suddenly appeared in formations that Ken Anderson, the Bengal quarterback and the league's leading passer, had never seen it use before. Sacked Four Times He was sacked four times, intercepted three times and pressured constantly. In the nine-game regular season, Anderson was intercepted only nine times. Today Johnny Lynn made two interceptions and Darrol Ray the other, following it with a spectacular 98-yard return for a touchdown, the longest in pro football's playoffs.

AT their best, the New York Islanders play an arrogant, authoritative brand of hockey, infused with so much positive energy that their National Hockey League opponents dread them. The clearest signs that the Islanders are playing their best can be read in their body language and their faces. There is John Tonelli plunging into the corners with that look on his face, the black eyebrows arched over wide-open, blazing eyes, eyes that seem to say, ''I'm going to get that puck and nobody can stop me.'' There is the forbidding look of Bryan Trottier standing his ground in front of the net, trying to score. He twists his upper body right and left, he slams his elbows into the opposing defenseman, but his face remains expressionless, blank with intensity.

Administration talks on decontrolling natural gas prices continue, despite recent price increases that may add 20 percent or more to consumer heating bills this winter. (Page A1.) Retailers are tightening inventory after the lackluster Christmas shopping season. They see a need for greater price flexibility because consumers have become more cost-conscious. (D1.)

The Reagan Administration is giving intensive scrutiny to proposals to ease price controls on natural gas, despite the prospect that, even with most gas prices still under controls, consumers' heating bills will again rise 20 percent or more this winter. Mr. Reagan's chief energy advisers, meeting Thursday, considered three main options on how to decontrol gas prices, according to an aide to one of the participants. A briefing paper prepared for the Cabinet Council on Natural Resources and Environment by Danny J. Boggs, the panel's executive secretary, outlined the options. No decisions about the options were made at the meeting, but one of the options could become the basis of legislation to be sent to Congress within the next month or so.

It has been a month since the rain-swollen Meramec River overflowed its banks and swept through this St. Louis suburb, leaving residents in fear that what little remained of their possessions might be contaminated with highly toxic dioxin. Most of the town's 2,000 residents were afraid to return or had nothing left to return to. About 200 families have come back, to clean up the debris and pick up the pieces of their lives in the only place they know or feel comfortable in. Some say they have lived with whatever dioxin may be there for the past 10 years and thus see no need for panic now. ''Why, Times Beach has been home for so long I can't really imagine living anywhere else,'' said Ernest Hance Jr., whose home was severely damaged by the flood and who was trying to make enough repairs to bring his wife and children home from the motel where they have lived for the last month.

Convicts holding 17 guards hostage carried an uprising over crowded conditions into a second day today at the state correctional facility here. Negotiations with state officials had raised hopes for a settlement last night, but the talks were reported to have broken down over the question of amnesty. For several hours in mid-evening, state officials said privately that an agreement on inmate demands to ease overcrowding, as well as the release of the hostages, appeared imminent. A television camera crew was brought into the prison at the inmates' request to record the settlement, and a state senator said at 9:45 P.M. that he expected ''the orderly release'' of the hostages ''momentarily.'' Guards Report Talks Off However, the hours passed without resolution or any formal explanation. At 1 A.M., the camera crew, from the ABC network, remained inside. State officials, who had not provided any news reports since early evening, did not comment on the apparent snag, though guards emerging from the prison said the talks had broken off. One guard said that no resolution was expected ''for a long time.''

International banks, while burdened by the inability of many developing nations to pay their debts on time, could earn more than $300 million in fees for rescheduling the loans of four Latin American countries. According to several bankers, Mexico will pay about $200 million as a fee for rescheduling some of its debt, Brazil will pay $60 million, Argentina, $55 million, and Costa Rica, $7.5 million. Most of the fee income is profit for the banks, said one banker who asked not to be identified. He said the administrative costs associated with renegotiating the loans were ''not near'' the amount of the fee. In addition, he said, there was ''no risk'' to the banks because the fees are paid at the time the renegotiated agreement is signed, or soon after.

New York City should maintain the size of its Police Department in coming years and make every effort to increase it, largely by diverting funds from the Fire Department, according to a study released yesterday by a private panel. The study, made by the Citizens Budget Commission, said the Fire Department could absorb ''major reductions'' because the number of fires had declined by 27 percent in the last five years, while the number of firefighters and officers has remained stable, at around 11,500. It said that between 500 and 1,500 positions could be eliminated at an annual saving of $20 million to $60 million, depending on the extent of the changes undertaken. Serious Problem for City At the same time, the study said, recent increases in the size of the police force had improved the quality of police work, but high crime rates reflected a continuing serious problem for the city. Thus, it said, any money saved from cutting the Fire Department should be made available to the Police Department to hire more officers.