blonde poker forum

Tuesday 6th May and I land at Heathrow at 05.50 and it's a nice clear morning with the sun breaking through, must be a good omen me thinks.

Clear security grab a coffee £2, nice to be back lol. I have already decided to head for Readin tonight to play the £10 re-buy, wtf. you have no money and you decide to play poker? well I thought it would be cheaper to sit in a casino all night than book a hotel. Get the coach to Reading, leave my suitcase in left luggage and take a walk, buy now it is very warm, I find a nice park, and crash out. Evening, make my way to Maxims Casino and register for the comp, TD there, young man by the name of Jonathon, very good at what he does, there if needed but not in your face. 33 runners and a nice crowd to play poker with. Top 5 get paid. I don't need any re-buys, and make the FT but knocked out in 8th spot, so no money, but good fun and happy to make a FT on my 1st tourney back.

Wednesday 7th May: I have decided to go to Nottingham today, this gives me 3 days to try and get something sorted before BB6 at the weekend. Train to Notts and on leaving the station I book a room in a "hotel" hmmmm £17 you get what you pay for, and it will do me. Buy the local paper but not much in there, but do make an appointment to see bedsit next day. Wednesday Evening head for DTD to play the £25 Tourney, everything has been said about DTD and it really does take your breath away the first time you see inside. Tourney, I go fairly deep but thats it, decide to play 50/1 cash, get my £25 back so call it a night. Happy.

Thursday 8th May: First thing take a look at the bedsit, I take it, £45 per week inclusive of all bills, bargain, nothing special but what do I want for that sort of money. Make my way into the City, find Recruiting Agency, its now 11am, fill in a few forms, then the guy there asks can I start work 2pm THIS AFTERNOON!!!! Is there pope a catholic? bloody right I can. So there I am at 2pm on the production line at the Pizza Factory, never done this type of work before and its different to say the least, but hey I am getting £6 per hour to put mushrooms on a pizza, I ain't complaining. Have to say at the end of the shift my legs are killing me, having been sat on my arse for 2 years. I sleep well tonight.

Friday 9th May: Make my way to work for 2pm, all is well until 7pm when they knock us off as all work done (should finish 10pm) this is agency/temp work I guess and have to accept it. Now I have a quandary, I either go back to the bedsit and look at the walls, or I could go to DTD and play the £75!!!! this is money I have promised to send back to Roxanne the next day. OK now my weakness takes over and I am at DTD and registered for the tourney. I think there were 77 runners and top 9 get paid, one by one people are knocked out when suddenly we are down to 10!!!  and I am still there, albeit shortish in chips, but thats the norm for me, 9th place gets £120, I WANT it so badly, for what seems an eternity I feel physically sick as I KNOW I am going to bubble, then IT HAPPENS, a player on the other table gets knocked out and I am in the FINAL 9, on the button for the final table, goes 1 orbit, no hand, I even let my blinds go, so now I have about 8,000 chips, when the chip daddy puts in a preflop raise, I find AQ and push, he obviously calls which I want and turns over Ace 3, a 3 duly hits the river and I get the £120 I so badly wanted, I am so very very happy.



I have more to update, but at the moment I am on the Library Computer and time is up, so will have to wait till whenever I can find time. For now take care everyone

Great stuff Taxi.. Next time put it on a Word Document, and then copy and paste.. U can use less of your internet time writing then.. ;)

Taxi , it was a pleasure to meet you and share a table with you on Friday night.
May the sun continue to shine on you until your plans are carried through and you can return to your new home.

Colin

inspiring story. Just goes to show that anybody can get a job if they WANT one, instead of scrounging off the goverment. WP taxi.
 Are you staying in nottingham now, and are you still working for the agency? my mate is based down nottingham, and i'll ask him if there are any vacancies for customer service reps etc..

All the best m8 with you venture hope you can take down a big win soon gl. Great story

WD Taxi.  Also, huge props for the degen value of taking a shot with the £75 barrel you had left.


you hear that chiprich?

LOL :D

Good stuff Taxi, good to (briefly) meet you at the weekend and it was a pleasure to be on the table with you in the evening Sat comp :)

Delighted to hear things have sorted out for you Taxi!!!  Hope you're still in the UK for the next Blonde Bash because we barely got a chance to chat this time.

fyp

Smart arse!   ;nemesis;

nice going Taxi  :)up

nice post taximan

good to met you last weekend, it was a fun battle on the £20 SnG Saturday evening.

Be lucky

Chip still works for Hills :) or his Facebook profile says :P

Taxi probably wouldnt want me to mention this on here but I will anyway :-)

As you all know he has arrived with next to no money and has managed to find accomodation and a job to get himself back on his feet. Great acheivement in such a short space of time.

He did mention to me that going back to his bedsit is a bit depressing as he doesnt even have a telly. I wish he had said sooner as I could have brought a spare one down with me.

Does anyone living in Notts have an old TV going spare that they could offer him?

nice story so far taxi. looking forward to the rest.

good luck

When I was a student I worked at a pizza factory in Nottingham one summer holiday. Spreading stuff for 6 weeks. Mushrooms, pepperoni, you name it, I spread it :). Frozen, often, so it was a bugger to do. The big excitement was when they opened the filled croissant line and we got to cut croissants in half for a couple of hours. Still, paid for my first PC, which was nice.

Oh, and yes, I've got a spare 14" portable that's been sitting around doing nothing for about 5 years, if you want it. PM me if so. Also, one of my home game friends is a Nottingham temp agent for casual labour, and he's a really good bloke, if you want me to put you in touch.

And well done on the cash - I've done DTD once a month or so since it opened and still haven't cashed yet. But then again, that's probably cos I'm a bit crap :)

Was great to meet you taxi , hopefully see you again September  :)

Thank you for all your kind words and encouragement, It means a lot and is much appreciated.

Saturday 10th May

The BIG day arrives, BB6, IF i had to come back to England I honestly couldn't have picked a better time to do it, The whole weekend was absolutely fantatstic, everybody was very kind and in their greetings and also the interest shown in my time in the Philippines. I thank TK for the introduction at the start of the tournament, most unexpected but a really nice gesture.

I would also like at this point to thank Bainn and Harmony for their generosity, again very much appreciated.

Played the tourney, nothing to write home about, finished i believe somewhere in the 70s, Congratulations to Jen on winning the event, playing inspired poker at the FT  ;whistle;
Went on to play a £20 SnG and scraped 3rd for £40, so then entered DTD's £50 tourney and again not very inspiring finishing around 50th, but all in all a bloody good day.

Having worked in catering for many years when younger I have to say the buffet provided by DTD was IMO, 1st class, superb value for the money, well done Rob and his team.

Very interesting reading Taxi......glad to hear you've got yourself up and running. :)up

 ;goodluck;

It was great to meet you too, Taximan, after all this time. Having read your previous posts and hearing of the necessity to return to the UK it was brilliant timing that the Blonde Bash was on and we could all meet up. I am just really sorry that I have a real problem with my hearing at present, which did not make socialising very easy or relaxing.

This diary is also a good read and we are very glad things are slotting into place - congrats on getting yourself sorted - housed and employed.

We enjoyed too hearing of your experiences overseas and wish you well with all your future plans with Roxeanne - I am quite sure it won't be that long before you make them happen!

All the best,

B&H

;iagree; :hello:

I had no idea you were coming and by the time i had arrived i missed all the main mingling, shame to have missed you, gl with the settling back in!!

J+D

I was on the same final table. Was a pleasure to meet you and also the 2 other Blondes on the table from Scotland..!!  Great night..

Sunday 11th May

Back to DT (http://www.dusktilldawnpoker.com/index.php?affiliate=blonde)D (http://www.dusktilldawnpoker.com/index.php?affiliate=blonde), I have been invited to join "the ladies" for the heads up tournament as they are one short, how could I refuse such an offer. In my experience it's always been more fun playing with the ladies anyway   ;); I also join them for the quiz.

Having not been to a BB before I have nothing to compare it with, but I have to say Ironsides Quiz IMO was very good, not obscure but certainly not easy. Well done Ironside gg wp. We finished 5/11 which I think is admirable.

Heads up tournament: We start off well with 2 of the ladies winning the 1st 2 matches, then it becomes 2-2 and I am the last game, we have been playing quite a while, good steady game, blinds 300-600, I am down to 1,100 chips and get it all in with KJ o/s when I am called by the monster that is 3 4 o/s flop comes A 2 J and the 5 duly falls on the turn and we are out in the 1st round, never mind it was fun.

£30 PLO Omaha, now I think this is a good price to play my 1st Live Omaha Tournament and hopefully hang around long enough to learn something about the game, and what could be better than to find I have the Grand Old Master sat at my table, none other than TK himself. To listen to his speech play was worth the entry fee alone.

Now I feel I get lucky, as we seem to have a passive table with everyone just calling, and I get lucky on the flops etc and get paid, even the great TK doesn't last as his Pocket Aces, Nut flush draw after the flop are no match for my flopped trips turning into a full house on the turn. (I am sure he said there was a bounty on him  ;) ;whistle; ). Come the 1st break I have 17,000 in chips, way above the average. 2nd break I still have 17,000 chips and I am not sure if there was a 3rd break but I manage to make the FT with about 12,000 which is now shortish, so I move into my normal mode of trying to fold into the money, 7 get paid. I duly do this as 2 players get knocked out, then I have 66QQ flop comes 55J turn is a 6 my chips are now all in only to find I am behind to a higher flopped house, so I take 7th place for £66 and am more than happy. Well played to all involved it was really a great game to play. Congratulations to Paul whom I believe took it down, he was very short at one stage with 2 tables left.

So my foray back into the UK live poker scene is over for the time being, if I never get to play another game at least I can say I have attended a Blonde bash, without doubt a great get together of really nice people having a fun/social weekend with some good and some dodgy poker being played along the way.

I have also played at DT (http://www.dusktilldawnpoker.com/index.php?affiliate=blonde)D (http://www.dusktilldawnpoker.com/index.php?affiliate=blonde), certainly the best poker venue I have ever had the pleasure to visit and long may it continue it's popularity. Rob and his team have set the standards high, and its my belief they will do all they can to maintain them, Congratulations Rob you deserve every success.

To Tighty, Kev, Ginger, Ironside, Rod Paradise, RobertHM, ITB and anybody else that was involved in organising BB6 I say THANK YOU for such a fantastic event.

To ALL the people who attended I say THANK YOU for making me feel really welcome, your kind words and encouragement, you really did make me feel part of the "blonde family".


My week saw me play 7 tournaments, 1 Sit N Go, and 1 cash game with a total outlay of £300 + reg fees, I had a return of £291, I made THREE Final Tables so I have to be extremely happy with my results ( would have been nice to get a memento for the FT of the Omaha but I will survive ).

Mon 12th May:

Back to normal after the weekends frivolity. 9am and I am in the agency to find out about todays work, if any. Mateyboy there says he is waiting to hear from the Pizza Factory, I tell him I will wait, and ask if there is anything else available? He tells me there is a Gas cylinder factory taking on, and people needed on the 2pm-10pm shift, that will do for me, and at 1.45pm I duly report for the shift.

Things seem to be a bit more organised here, and the manager actually takes time to explain things, and I get told that providing I am not a complete plank, I will be working there until I hear any different, so thats good. The lads on the floor seem to be a good crowd, so fingers crossed.


Mon 19th May:

Well, I'm still at the Gas cylinder factory, 1st week was OK, monotonous but enough to keep me busy, also managed to get a 6 hour overtime shift on the Saturday, so my pay packet on Friday should be reasonable. This week I am on days 6am-2pm which is OK as the buses run early, only downside I can see is I still don't have any money to go and play poker now I have the evenings to myself.

Mon 26th May:

This week on the night shift, 10pm-6am, things still seem to be going OK, last weeks pay was good enough to allow myself 2 luxuries, I bought an alarm clock radio from Argos for £3.49 so now I have some music to listen to in my room, and on Sunday I went to a pub in the town and had a roast beef lunch and a pint for £4.99 bargain.

The bank holiday weekend was pretty boring, 3 days off!!!! I went into the market square as the had 3 days of free live bands which was OK, but it was so bloody cold, I forgot how bad that easterly wind could be, I had a shirt and 2 coats on and still couldn't stand it for more than an hour. How soft I have got in my time away!!!!!

Been back just over a month now, and it's like I have returned as a different person, finding myself doing things I would never have even thought of when I lived in England before. Using Public transport, Walking!!!! wtf is that? I've never walked in my adult life before!!! always used the car. I've joined the Library, it's a big building with lots of books, and computers, you can even read the daily newspapers for free, some people just come in to sit and sleep, why didn't I know such places existed before?.

I have always lived in villages and small towns, so deciding on giving a City a go is was a bit daunting to say the least. My 1st impression of Nottingham is that it appears to be very pleasant, the main city  centre is kept very clean and in some respects is picturesque, I live 15 minute walk into the city, and 5 minute walk to the riverside with loads of greenery, very peaceful indeed and you would never know you were in the middle of such a busy place.

Reading the local papers you would think Nottingham is the worst place in the world to live, for violent crime! but I guess every city suffers the same problem. I have to say I have not seen any trouble whatsoever, maybe I am just lucky.

Public transport: Absolutely fantastic, miss a bus another one within 10 minutes, ride around all day, on as many buses as you like for less than £1 per day!!! how good is that. I never thought I would say it, but I have no urge to buy a car whilst living here at all. I can ride on the tram to Asda to shop, takes 7 minutes each way and stops right outside.

The biggest downfall really is feeling the cold, but if that's as bad as it gets then I have nothing to worry about.

The saddest thing is not being with Roxanne, I really do miss her, and her family, but she is my goal, my inspiration to return, and I WILL succeed. We text each other every day, she has rung me on a few occasions for a chat, and we both end up intears, Roxanne, because she is missing me so much, Me, because she is calling from the bloody landline and its costing a fortune!!!! (joke).

Thank you all for bearing with me, whilst I write a few of my thoughts.

Good to hear from you taxi  :)

You are a true inspiration m8.

I wish you well.

Good luck m8...............nice to hear updates from you and it looks like you are settling in well and prepared to go as far as is needed to reach your ultimate goal. Hopefully one day soon you will be able to be back with your soul mate on a permanent basis.

update?

Been raining a lot?

bump. any news on taxi

Saw him at the Virgin weekend ... he was fine.

Tuesday 26th August 2008

Hi everybody just to let you all know I am still alive and well.

I haven’t updated for a while as to be honest I don’t think I have had any real news to interest you. The past 3 months I have continued to work at the factory, the money loaned to me by the people of the Philippines has been repaid (that was my 1st goal), I have played 3 or 4 £30 tournaments at DTD and made a couple of final tables, cashing in one, so quite happy with that.

Anyway, last week 15th August, was my last at the factory, due to workload dropping off, looking back I cant say I’m sorry, to be fair the place served a purpose, the lads I worked with were a good bunch but if I am totally honest factory life is not for me, anybody that spends their working life in a factory commands my utmost respect and admiration.

So it was back to the agency and unfortunately at that time they had no work available. Back in my bed-sit it’s time to take stock of my situation and I come to the conclusion that I am still in “marking time” mode so I decide it’s time to move on. After a lot of thought I decide Southampton will be my next port of call. Understandably this decision was helped by the fact that the best football team in the world are there!!! Also Hampshire was the area in which I grew up as a child.

So last Thursday 23rd August I catch the train and arrive in Southampton at lunchtime, drop my suitcase in left luggage and make my way into the centre of town where I know there is a branch of the agency I worked for in Nottingham, on arrival I registered but no work at this time. Across the road is another agency which deals mainly in catering, this was my chosen trade many years ago on leaving school. I register here and explain my situation fully and honestly and whilst they have nothing to offer straight away, the young lad I deal with (I’m sure he was about 12 years of age) leaves me feeling quite hopeful. I spend the rest of the day mooching around and spend the night in a couple of 24 hour establishments in order to save the cost of a hotel.

Friday 9am and I get a phone call from Gary (the 12 year old) asking me to pop in, on arriving he tells me they have a weeks work next  Tues-Sat as a night porter in a 4 star hotel a few miles outside Winchester and that it is possible it may lead on to full time employment which is live-in which would of course be fantastic.

So that’s about it for now folks, 10.30pm tonight I will start and fingers crossed things will go well, I would like to thank those of you that have sent me pm’s and I apologise for not answering earlier but I haven’t spent much time online.

I cannot leave without mentioning Roxanne, I miss this young lady so much, we are still in daily contact and once I get settled properly in work I will make arrangements for her to come over even if it’s only for a holiday.

That's terrific news, & your industrry & drive to sort yourself out with work is a great credit to you.

Good Luck with the Hotel job - it sounds a lovely number, & would solve a lot of issues neatly.

Hope to see you again soon.

good luck in your new role, be perfect staying in a 4-star hotel and getting paid for it ;) id imagine they have wireless with a spare computer so you have no excuses for not keeping us updated!  very best of luck. rick

All the best taxi, onward & upward

That's brilliant news and I so hope the hotel job turns into a permanent gig for you.  Would be ideal from the sounds of it.  Keeping fingers crossed for you.

Good luck Taxi  ;goodluck;

you seem like a nice guy taximan and if i were in the uk i would have no qualms about employing you....
good luck to you and hope you get some work,,,,,personally im sure you would be better off back with roxanne,,,get a few quid together and get back to living the dream....good luck mate...

fair play to you taxi,well done for continually wanting to find work and actually getting on and doing it how refreshing it is to hear....wp that man  :)up

Good to hear from you Taxi.

Best of luck with the hotel job.


Dougie.

Hope you get the hotel gig.

I know a guy who does live-in night portering. He says it's a plum gig.

Saturday 30th August 2008

Just home having completed my 4th night at the Hotel, Nice Hotel, great bunch of people to work with, mainly English with a smattering of Polish, Dutch and South Africans and the job itself is superb.

On Thursday morning, after my 2nd night i receive a phone call from Gary at the Agency asking how I am getting on and am I enjoying it, so which I respond in the positive. With that he tells me he has just had a call from the Hotel and that they want to offer me the position on a permanent basis, so great news. Now if I were young and naive, having heard this news so quickly I might have let my ego think I was the best thing since sliced bread, but I have been round the block enough times to know that they were desperate for the position to be filled and it just happened that I was there, more a matter of timing really.

Still, I’m not complaining, the wage is around the £300 mark, live in is included, meals on duty provided and free use of the leisure complex, and as I like to swim as often as I can that is a real bonus.

As The Tank said it really is a “plum job” and the best part of it is I get to drive the staff home each night around 11.30 in the mini bus, usually takes about 1 hour, so just like taxi driving again, the rest of the night is mainly security walks around the hotel, occasional room service, a little bit of cleaning and sitting and watching sky sports on the huge tv in the bar.

Today I start work at 5pm as I have an extra shift working on the bar until 11pm then my normal portering duties. Then 3 days off which gives me time to settle in to the new accommodation.

Considering I had to return to England and had to find work I really feel at the moment as if I have landed on my feet, I couldn’t wish for more.

Once again I would like to thank you all for your kind words of encouragement, this mean a lot to me and hope to see some/all of you again in the not too distant future.

Congrats on getting the job fulltime...............all the best for the future.

da iawn :)up

Sounds like you've landed just right m8. Get that lady of yours over,to share all your dreams............w/ve off for BB7?

Result! Thoroughly deserved, too. Seek work & ye shall find.

Good to hear from you again Taxi and great news on the job etc.  All the best mate :)

Congratz

Absolutely delighted for you!!!   ;applause; ;hattip;  You had the right mind set from the get go, so it was plain things would work out for you.  Enjoy the new job.   :)

Very pleased to hear about this progression. Best update yet!!

well done mate glad you landed on your feet.....best of blonde imho....
a guy who aired his thoughts and carried them through.,.,., good luck and no shagging the punters.,,...,unle3ss their really pretty.,.,..,.,..,.,..,.,.,..and they pay.,.,.,,.

Just started reading this today! Congrats on the job and although i have never met you im sure the people on here say its well deserved!

Dont know the whole story of why you are back here from the phillipines and if you dont mind would u be able to fill in the blanks?

Anyhow congrats on the job and the digs and all the best on the future.

Ive just read this.

Im rooting for you mate, youve done well, keeeeeeep going!

Here's where you can fill in some of the blanks:

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=33154.0

good going sir!

Ive also just stumbled across this, excellent stuff, congrats on the new job

Fantastic to see someone making progress through life because of a positive attitude and decent endeavour. Fair play.

well done son

Great to see you active on the forum again Taxi.

Excellent news about the job. Well Done mate  :)up

Saturday 6th Sept 2008


Have settled into the accommodation and job very nicely. The room is actually in a house the hotel owns, 5 Min's walk, and its very nice. 5 bedrooms, kitchen/dining room, large lounge, shower/bath/toilet upstairs with separate toilet downstairs as well, utility room with washing machine and tumble dryer and a large secluded rear garden, so couldn't really want for anything else.

Seem to be doing more driving than portering at the moment so not complaing there. Tues just passed i had to drive myself and 4 of the young ladies from the restaurant to Ashford, Kent for a training/exam day in food hygiene and safety, so that was a pleasant break.

The hotel is very rural, as in the nearest towns in any direction are 13+ miles away, and being rural means public transport is pretty lame but hey I cant spend any money so added bonus, that said there is a well stocked village shop which is a 3 mile round trip, and it takes me 20 minutes each way to walk, cos i just done it and I'm knackered

Have managed to get hold of a second hand laptop (borrowing) and 1 of the lads in the house has one of those dongly things and says we can use it as much as we like for £2 a week each, so that seems a fair deal to me, so hopefully i will be online a bit more again now ( i can hear the groans already). Probably take me 3 months to catch up with all the posts i have missed (bloody boldie and kin got a lot to answer for  ;) )

Nice one Taxi, good to see you're ok :)

+1 m8

Great news Graham and glad to hear you are doing so well x

You've landed right on your feet there Taxi, congrats.

+1

Geo

+2...very good to hear...and sounds like a good job as well.

Glad to hear you have a good steady job and are enjoying it.  Great to hear the accomodation is good also.

Congrats, Taximan, and all the best to  Roxeanne.

B&H

Taxi your an inspiration

Thurs 25th Sept 2008


After my last little update I honestly thought that would be it for quite a while, but you never know the hand that you are going to be dealt and how things will transpire, good or bad. It really is a matter of TIMING

For those of you who have been following my ramblings (I thank you very much) you will know that the majority has been mainly in the plus and certainly since my arrival back here it has all been good news, so I am sure you are all wondering and waiting when I am going to hit my first hurdle!!! I am ever the optimist but even I am beginning to wonder when this particular bubble is going to burst!!! If I had this much luck playing in the wsop I would win at a canter without putting all my chips in at anytime (how 1 can dream).

Well I can tell you I am not going to disappoint you at this time (at least I hope you wont be disappointed), I have now been working as a Night Porter/driver at the hotel on a permanent basis for 25 days, and I have to say I love the job, it is probably as good as I could have wished for given my circumstances, then yesterday I am called into the office!!! (can’t think of anything I have done wrong, but still feel guilty!). They tell me they would like to offer me the position of Night Manager, the previous one having left at the weekend, well I have to say I am gobsmacked, I know I’m good but hey. The night team is a small team, the assistant night manager is a Slovakian guy, really nice, not completely fluent in English but gets by, 3 night porters including myself, as much as I am happy with this offer I am the type of person who likes a quiet life and doesn’t like to rock the boat, therefore it is not my wish to tread on anybody’s toes, I am assured that none of the other 3 guys will be offered the position if I turn it down, and this will be explained to them. I leave the office with a couple of days to think about it, probably silly to even think about turning it down, its an extra 4K a year, the only real downside is I would need to find accommodation as the I would be earning to much to remain in the staff house (company policy) but they do give me 3 months grace to find somewhere.

So there you have it the bubble is still well and truly inflated and taximan carries onwards and upwards, until next time guys……………

Good going man! If you're the sort of chap who stops to think about the 3 other guys first before you snap up the promotion then you're probably the sort of chap that the 3 other chaps are not going to begrudge working under.

Any idea why the last night manager left? Not wanting to rain on the parade with negativity, but worth making the enquiry as a formality more than anything else before you snap it up the post. (Unless you've done so already)

If he left because of a problem he was having, history may repeat itself. That might not be in itself a reason to not take the postion, but worth knowing about anyway, going into things with your eyes open etc etc.

I think this might just be my favourite thread on blonde.

GL with the new position, if i were you i would take it, its a step closer to the goal!

quality thread written openly and honestly by one of the worlds nice guys (and i dont think i've ever met you!)


do what you thinks best taxi and good luck

Wondered where you vanished to. Hadn't seen anything of you for months. It's nice to see everything has fallen into place.

N1 taxi gl to ya,

but remember promotion sometimes leads to resentment.

I know i wish i was back working on the tools its an easier life...

Absolutely delighted for you!!!  One thing I will say when considering the position.  After paying for digs and the expenses that come along with it (electric, etc.), have a serious think about what you'll have left out of the extra £4k and decide for yourself if it's worth it.  Either way, it's great to hear you're getting on so well in such a short time.   ;applause; ;hattip;

Just started reading this.

Legend.

Good luck with everything.

Thursday 23rd October 2008



Well after almost a month I am now officially Night Manager at the hotel.

I did accept the position but due to other peoples holidays, internal wrangling and politics (nothing to do with me) the contract only got signed last night, although it was dated 9th October, to which they will back pay me, also the 3 months grace to find accommodation has been extended to the end of April so I cant complain.

Having taken everything into consideration, although initially I will be better off financially long term there wont be a great deal in it, but knowing the type of person I am if I hadn’t accepted the position I would be kicking myself in 6 months time, added to that I never know what other doors it may open should I be unfortunate enough to be back here for the long term. I have also thought of touting my CV back to the hotels in Manila so it will look good on that.

I feel very fortunate to be in the position I am right now, given the fact of my age and having been out of the hotel trade for over 25 years I am certain had I applied for this job through the usual channels I wouldn’t have even got an interview, so I am very grateful to the ‘agency’ for placing me here in the 1st place, and secondly it goes to prove that experience still outweighs qualifications in some instances, as I said in a previous post it really is down to timing. I am so lucky!!!!!!

Till next time………………..

nice 1 taxi enjoy it m8 you deserve it  :)up

Well done... you old codger  :D

Good news Taximan and the best of British.

great new mate, gl

Glad things are working out so well for you, Graham.

TC

All the Best

B&H

Monday 10th November 2008

Jobwise life is much the same, I have settled in to my new position and the lads I work with are more than happy, the only real difference is the uniform, I still do the poertering duties with the others, as being a small team I believe we should all muck in.

The staff house is a 5 min walk from the hotel and the walk is along a country lane, on the right hand side there are 8 houses and on the left are fields housing horses grazing, true English Countryside, a little further down the lane is a stream with ducks and all other sorts of wildlife, so I really am spoilt here.

I allowed myself the luxury the other day of buying a reasonably priced camera and have taken a few pics which I hope you like.

Next Monday I have to go to Bournemouth for a days training/exam in order to obtain a 'personal license' for the sale of alcohol, all paid for including transport, so no problem with that.

Until next time my friends..............

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Well done you! It just goes to show that if people are prepared to work hard and take what they have to in the beginning great things will come.

taximan could just be the greatest

true dat.

+1

Wednesday 3rd December 2008

I'd forgot how cold it could get, 2 years of 80+ degrees has made me soft.

Not much to report, day to day life is pretty much the same. As I said in a previous post I attended a days course in Bournemouth and yesterday received confirmation that I passed said exam so am now the holder of a 'Personal Lisence Certificate', still have to apply for the 'actual liisence' from the Local Authority, CRB check and all that.

Still can't really get my head round the need for one of these, but times change and people get jobs for bringing these things into play, and it's valid for 10 years, so if things were to go tits up for any reason at the hotel it opens a few other doors for future employment hopefully, bars, clubs etc, and the hotel covered all the costs so nothing to complain about.

Thats all for now folks...........

As an aside, if anybody works or knows anybody that works within immigration to do with visas etc I would be most grateful for any assistance, thank you.

i could see you working up at dusk till dawn poker venue,,,,..as a meet and greet style guy .,.,.,.,im sure you would be up for a job like that.,.,.,just an idea.,.,.,.,

im scared to death about commig back to the cold.,.,lol.,.,.,i use to be up at 3am going to the fruit market and you just couldnt feel your fingers.,.even with gloves on and the van heating that always smelt of curry..,,..,

Go on, admit it, you can't wait.

I went for an early morning, pre dawn walk today. There was a hard frost that made your breath visible and the grass crunchy underfoot. Then the sun came up and chased it all away.

I tried to photograph it, but you really had to be there.



(http://i33.tinypic.com/332ml2e.jpg)

it would be nice for just a few days i think.,.,.,.,nice fresh crisp mornings.,.,

but seriously i was up at 5am today.,.pretty unusual  i normally get up around 6.30.,.,.,

anyway this morning it was strange to see it still very dark plenty of stars in the sky.,.,so i walked down to the beach.,.,
and saw the sunrise over the horizon..,.,.,and thought.,..,fuk my life.,.,and jumped off the cliff.,.,lol.,.,.,







naaaaaaaaa,.,.,i think the sunrising wherever you are in the world is fantastic.,.,whether it be tenby.,.,cyprus.,.,or even england.,.,
..,,.still dont wanna come back but i am coming around slowly.,..,

Look James. I can understand not wanting to return to Wales, but there's HQ (England) next door, God's Country.

Just come home, job done. You could go on the markets & flog dodgy shoes, do magic tricks (watch my cash disappear in this poker hand), you could be on telly, Strictly Come Dancing, you'd make JS look daft.

Weather ain't eveything you know.

Your friends are here, you miss them all. And me.

Just do it.

///////....,,,,?\\....?????....,,,,

I gather the family pet will need some injections too.

 ;scarymoment;

i can see you hidding behind my cousin blue----sofa.,.,.,cumout cumout wherever yall are.,.,.,

Thursday 8th January 2009.

During the recent cold spell I have been putting some scraps of food and some fresh water out for the birds that visit our garden. Toady I am awoken to find I have a visitor, none other then Mr Robin  :)

Nothing to report on the work front, life goes on each day, its good and I enjoy it.

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He must feel he can trust you. What a good judge of character he has..

Friday 23rd January 2009

Nothing to report workwise, life is good. Roxanne had to go into hospital today (yesterday there) for an operation to remove a cyst from her breast, she called me at 04.30 this morning, just back from the op and i spoke to the surgeon (same guy who removed my gallstone), he told me the operation went well, Xan is fine, and the cyst removed appeared to be benign, obviously tests have to be done, but I feel alot happier now I have spoken with him.

Till next time................

Glad she is ok mate.

Will be thinking of her.  xx

Taxi I'm no expert, but I deal with this sort of thing every week with my students. Also a friend of mine recently married a Filipino lady in the Philippines and they are now living back in the UK.
If you PM  me any questions I'll try and get you some answers.

fingers crossed it is benign

all the best...

you know what i always look forward to your posts/updates.,,.,.

POST MORE OFTEN.......
stories of catching people in bed with secret lovers etc,,,lol....





glad rox is fine mate,


POST MORE OFTENNNNNNNNN,,,,PLEASE..?????

Thinking of you and Roxeanne and wishing her a good recovery and benign results.

+1

Sunday 1st February 2009

Since starting work at the Hotel, I have been working 6-7 nights each week due to Staff holidays, sickness and shortages, no problem with that as I get paid for the extra shifts so my "Philippine fund" is growing steadily. This past week I have been off as I had to use up Lieu days and a couple of holiday days from 2008, done nothing other than just chill out and been into town for lunch a couple of days with some of the staff.

On Friday I am surfing the cardrooms on blonde and I see the Grosevenor at Southampton has a £20 freezeout at 2pm on Saturday's so I think 'that will do for me', so Saturday I get the train down and the casino is just around the corner from the station, I arrive in good time, duly fill in the registration card (thought I had done it online) and enter what is a nice casino.

On finding the cardroom I find out that it is in fact a £50 freezeout, but its a deepstack tourney with 10,000 starting chips, and I am there now so I register, sit down in the bar and watch the footie on the big screen.

Tourney gets underway at 2.10pm with 29 runners, about average from what I hear.

My style of poker is pretty boring and unimagintive, I play solid poker and do ok if I get 'big hands' I dont have the ability/balls to get flamboyant,so at the 1st break it doesn't suprise me to find I have just over starting chips.

At the second break my chip stack is up to 24K mainly winning pots preflop with oversize bets with good hands, which I show every time and this is cementing my image as a rock!!!

We are down to 18 players, I am in the BB and have around 28K, the button moves all in for 24K the SB insta calls for 23K, I look at my cards only to find  Ad Ac ffs!!! The button flips  Ahrt  Jc and the SB shows  Aspades Qs and duly makes his flush on the turn, leaving me 5K, a couple more hands and our table is broken.

1st hand new table and I double up with AK against AJ, couple hands later and I push with pocket 8s only to get called by the BB, thinking I must be in trouble he shows Pocket 3s and I double up again. I then manage to build my stack to a healthy 36K and I am pleased with this all things considered.

We are down to 12 players, 7 getting paid, and I limp under the gun with A 10 spades, bad play I know but thats me, SB and BB play with no raise, flop is 10 high with 2 spades, BB bets 8K half his stack, I push all in, SB folds and BB obviously calls showin 10 3 for 2 pairs, i miss and am back down to 20K, that hand was the ONLY hand in the tourney where I ended up in a chase position, after the flop.

Final table arrives and I am there with 23K, 3 players have smaller stacks, so my main goal is just to make the money, 1st hand I have the button and shove with A J only to find the SB with KK and straight away I am down to 5K, quickly double up again having found AA which holds up. After what seems like forever 2 players are knocked out and we are in the money, one more goes, and I am sitting with 22K in the BB when the button shoves for his 17K I find AA again!!! he turns over J 8 of clubs, a J on the flop and the inevitable 8 on the river and I am back to 5K with the blinds at 3K-6K I exit in 6th place a couple of hands later winning £70

Deduct the entry+reg fee, car park at the station and the train fare and I have made £4 profit BUT i have had 8 hours of poker, a really good crowd of players a well run tournament so I make my way to the station a 'very happy taximan'

Till next time guys..............

Unlucky mate, could have been a nice win if you AA holds!

Friday 13th February 2009

Life at work is ok, altohugh the current economic climate is beginning to take hold, and there is an air of 'impending doom' amongst the staff, but ever the optimist I shall continue to turn up until told any different.

Tonight I played the Daily FREEROLL satellite into the $80K Guranteed tourney on pokerstars.10,000 runners, Top 5 winning seats and 6th-27th winning $5.50. Aftrer nearly 3 and a half hours of minefield dodging I was fotunate enough to finish in the top 5, therefore winning my $11 seat  :) Friday the 13th was a GOOD day for me!!!

 

Monday 2nd March 2009


PokerStars Tournament #143785930, No Limit Hold'em
Freeroll Super Satellite
603 players
Target Tournament #140521168
27 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started 2009/03/02 8:00:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 2nd place.

You qualified to play in Tournament #140521168 and are automatically registered for it. If you decide to un-register, a tournament ticket will be issued in your name, valid for the tournament #140521168. See Tournament #140521168 Lobby for further details.

Well, no harm in dreaming of Monte Carlo, only 2 more tourneys to conquer!!!!

+1

Thursday 12th March 2009

PokerStars Tournament #146299960, Pot Limit Omaha
Freeroll Super Satellite
9000 players
Target Tournament #145821826
72 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started 2009/03/11 12:42:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 17th place.

This qualifies you for a seat in Tournament #145821826. A ticket to this tournament was issued in your name. You can use this ticket to register. See Tournament #145821826 Lobby for further details.

PokerStars Tournament #143785947, No Limit Hold'em
Freeroll Super Satellite
504 players
Target Tournament #140521339
27 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started 2009/03/12 8:00:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 23rd place.

You qualified to play in Tournament #140521339 and are automatically registered for it. If you decide to un-register, a tournament ticket will be issued in your name, valid for the tournament #140521339. See Tournament #140521339 Lobby for further details.



PokerStars Tournament #146299995, No Limit Hold'em
Freeroll Super Satellite
9000 players
Target Tournament #145821826
72 tickets to the target tournament

Tournament started 2009/03/12 14:02:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 51st place.

This qualifies you for a seat in Tournament #145821826. A ticket to this tournament was issued in your name. You can use this ticket to register. See Tournament #145821826 Lobby for further details.



On the PLUS side Roxanne got the all clear from the Dr today after her recent op  :)

Sunday 15th March 2009

Today I played the 'Weekly Final' for the Monte Carlo EPT seat having won my place previously in a freeroll.

413 Entrants: Top 100 win a seat in the 'Grand Final' on April 5th. Not the most difficult qualification but still has to be done, I was fortunate enough to qualify in 2nd place (still managed to put all my chips in and get outdrawn).

Now only the small matter of actually winning the Grand Final as only ONE seat up for grabs.

Also as part of the qualification today I won $5 wahey!!! most money I have had in my poker accounts for over 2 years, i have invested in a $2.50 $5K Guaranteed so off to win that one now.........

Keep the updates coming .............btw...have you thought about a staking thread.

Well done you and DELIGHTED to hear Roxanne got the all clear!

+1  keep it up taxi.......

Thank you for the good wishes:

Update:

I get NO cards, I have NO balls, I fold into the money lol, but its profit so another tourney beckons another day:

PokerStars Tournament #145826270, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $2.50/$0.25
6336 players
Total Prize Pool: $15840.00
Tournament started 2009/03/15 17:00:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 675th place. A $4.75 award has been credited to your Real Money account.


Whats a staking thread? I must have missed something

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?board=65.0

Thank you Robert:

I am aware people buy %s of others in tourneys, but i wouldnt feel comfortable knowing I was losing somebody elses money, just me I guess.

I've just read this whole thread from start to finish and what a brilliant thread it is. My new favourite on blonde.

If only more people had your attitude this country/world would be a much better place! You're an inspiration mate.

Please update more often!

+1

+2

Fair enough, but don't shut the door on the idea completely.

I mean, if you win a Monte Carlo seat, are you not going to sell a % of yourself? You'll be able to play better, especially near the bubble, if you know you have a decent profit locked in.

Very good point, I dont think i would have a problem with selling a % ONCE I had won into a tournament, My thoughts were more on the line that I couldn't see myself being bought into a tournament by others in return for a percentage, If I cant buy myself in then in my mind it is best I dont play at all, I hope that makes some sort of sense.

Just look at it at selling a % of yrself prior to buying in then returning some winnings to the stakers

• People will have confidence in YOU>>>>

FTW

Friday 20th March 2009

Yes believe it or not it's actually just over 6 months since i started in my new job, where has that time gone?

Starting work at 10pm and finishing at 7.30am it has been a case of going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark, it is only this last week when it has been getting light at around 6.30am that I have really had a chance to see the hotel and its surrounds in daylight!!!

The Hotel stands in grounds of 54 acres and part of the hotel is a seperate Manor House which is host to 13 DeLuxe Bedrooms and 5 private conference/dining rooms, it also has its own private garden/croquet lawn and lake which until this morning I had never seen. So at 6.30 with the sun rising and the mist hanging over the lake I took a couple of pics.

I am hoping to be able to post some 'really good news' at some point over the weekend, fingers crossed.

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  ;D

Sunday 22nd March 2009

Today I am a Very Happy taximan, Last night I booked my flight to return 'home' to the Philippines  :)up

The downside of that is it is only for a 3 week holiday this time! but it's better than nothing, so all being well I wll be taking off from Heathrow on May30th and arriving in Manila on May 31st, in time for Roxannes birthday on June 2nd.

On landing back in the UK in May of last year the last realistic thing on my mind was being able to return in such a quick time, given my circumstances I am over the moon at having acheived this.

The other plus side about returning at this time is it gives me the chance to deal with the local business people again and to get them to renew their promisary notes to donate  food and other supplies to the hostel on a monthly basis, these promises are pledged for 12 months at a time so it is the RIGHT time to rerurn.

So, get my suitcase out and start to pack, dont need much as i left a lot of clothes out there when I returned, as it is very hot just need some shorts and a couple of T Shirts (now i wonder where I may get a FREE T shirt to promote say a famous forum across the ocean in Asia  ;whistle; ;) )

Great news, enjoy the trip :)

The sun is shining in yr life enjoy it to the full

  ;D

Sunday March 22nd 2009


PokerStars Tournament #147644025, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $1.00/$0.10
1531 players
Total Prize Pool: $1531.00
Tournament started 2009/03/22 7:00:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 110th place. A $2.15 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

 ;sexybanana;

wiiiiiiiiiiiii Ship it.

congratz mate

i heard the phillapines is a nice place to go always wanted to visit when i am over in hong kong

have agood time

nice one taximan, an inspiration to us all.

enjoy your break and the precious time with your lady

Tuesday 24th March 2009


PokerStars Tournament #149732917, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $0.50
2690 players
Total Prize Pool: $1345.00
Tournament started 2009/03/23 20:00:00 ET


Dear taximanph,

You finished the tournament in 403rd place. A $0.80 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

Well thats your spending money sorted.

lol com trace

Friday 3rd April 2009


Having been employed now at the hotel for just over 7 months, I decided a few weeks ago to do a CV and float it on the catering websites, to see what if any, response it got.

I have to stress at this point, I am happy in my job and not necessarily looking to move, it was more an exercise to see how I stand up in the current market.

I have gone through my complete working life without the need for a CV so doing one was definitely a novelty! And I am well aware that an awful lot of people put a load of old bollox on them, but I did mine honestly and as accurately as I possibly could. Having uploaded it to the websites I received a couple of calls in the first day or two from Agencies with a few more questions and that was it.

Then last Monday 23rd I get a call from a hotel, 4 star, 141 beds (Hilton group) not far from where I am now, and would I like to go along for an interview for a Night Manager there? Again, like my CV I haven’t actually attended a proper interview since 1985!!!! So I accept the invite as I think it will be a good experience and give me a chance to assess myself to how I do. Tuesday evening I arrive at the hotel in good time for my 6pm appointment, meet the duty manager, very pleasant Indian guy and we go to a room for the interview where we are joined by a trainee manager (very pleasant also and about 12 years old !!!!). At 9pm the interview finishes!! THREE HOURS ffs is that normal? I think not, anyway I leave actually thinking I held myself more than adequately so even if I don’t get offered the position I am happy. The duty manager promised to let me know one way or the other in a few days.

Monday 30th and I receive a call as promised and they would like me back for a 2nd interview, this time with the General Manager, so this is arranged for Tuesday 31st at 5.30pm, and I have to admit I am very happy to have made enough of an impression to be asked back.

Meet with the General Manager, have a good chat about things and he gives me a show round, discuss things like staff benefits, contracts all the usual and then we get to salary, now I know they are offering the same as I am on at the moment, as the job was/is advertised online and in my 1st interview the duty manager confirmed this, but they don’t know what I am earning, and bearing in mind I am still not certain as if I want to move or not, so I tell the General Manager I would need 2K more than they are offering to even consider a move. The meeting ends with him telling me he will contact me by Friday to let me know whether I will be offered the position or not.

Wednesday 01 April and I awake at 7pm to find I have a message from ANOTHER hotel, this time a 4 star 161 Bed in East Anglia part of the De Vere group, looking for a night manager and would I contact them to arrange an interview. I look up the hotel on the website and have to admit it looks impressive, also has its own 18 hole golf course, so I call them back but the guy who left the message is now off and will call me in the morning.

So I spoke to the Hotel In East Anglia and thats is on hold pending the outcome of the decision from the Hilton Group.

My problem is this: I have this gut feeling I am going to be offered the job, and if thats the case should I take it? If they agree to the extra 2K obviously that is a bonus, but money is not and never has been my driving force, although it would make life a little easier in getting the funds together to return permantly to the Philippines.

As I said at the start when I uploaded my CV I had no real thoughts about leaving my present position, but now I am thinking a new challenge might be good for me, keep me fresh etc.

Just wanted to share this with you all and appreciate any input you may have. Having said all that I probably won't get offered the job now so nothing to worry about!!!

Off to bed now, till next time...........

Excellent post sir. My advice is to apply for positions with significantly higher salaries at bigger hotels. I mean, you want a challenge which will also hopefully benefit the ultimate goal of padding the Phillipines fund. You've put yourself into the job market and in just 5 mins you've attracted a lot of interest. Your very first interview has been successful....showing your marketability in the industry. If you are happy in your current role then taking a sidestep and starting again in a similar role for a similar salary is marginal imo. If you're in no rush then I'd try and aim for a bigger step up and try and put another 10k on your salary. That would give you the new challenge you desire and get you back to where you want to be quicker. Good luck either way though.

i would have you work for me in a heartbeat.,.,.,.,.,

as mantis said higher the bar £10k more whats the worst that can happen...,you stay in the job you like????

i know sometimes its nice to get more money.,.,but if you like where you are...,.stay,,, and maybe get a little part time job in the late afternoons etc,,,you will soon save the extra £2k....looks a nice hotel your at now...id stay,,,but.,.,.,each to thier own mate.,..
mind you reading back at what ive just wrote are you trying to further yorself in the hotel game to work in the phillipines???(is the isle of pines near the phillipines?)

update sir?

Tuesday 6th May 2009

Yes it is really 12 Months ago today that I landed on English soil again after my 2 year Philippine venture.

You are all aware that back then I needed to hit the ground running with regards to employment and accommodation and to that end I have been very fortunate.

My first weekend back saw me attend the Blonde Bash at DTD and I will always remember the overwhelming support and good wishes received from all of you that I was lucky enough to meet, that also includes Tikays nice words of introduction before the main tournament.

This thread started as nothing more than a couple of posts to let you know of my progress, but with all the lovely feedback I have received I now find myself still posting here 1 year on and again I thank you all for your support.

There obviously has been a slight downside since returning and that of course is being away from Roxanne, but we are in contact daily via the internet and phone so things could be a lot worse, and I have the added bonus of 'going home' at the end of this month, albeit only for 3 weeks

To sum up; I am well aware that the last year could have gone alot differently for me, but I do believe that sometimes we have to MAKE luck work for us. Everybody I have met this year whether it be through work or poker has been very friendly and I have made some good friends.

So there you have it folks it is now May 6th 2009 and still:

Thank you so much for this.
I did get offered the job, and I weighed everything up very carefully including your words of advice and decided to stay put for the meantime. Thank you again for your time in replying, it really was appreciated.

I love this thread

You're not the only one. 

I am so happy for you.  Despite the difficulties in being apart, you've had such a positive outlook and I really do believe it'll work out for the pair of you.  xx

 :)up :)up :)up :)up :)up :)up

Great stuff Taximan, enjoy your trip.


Dougie.

Hi Taximan.
You don't have to answer if you don't want but i have read your story from when you had to return to the UK. I just wondered what your ultimate goal is now? I see your are going out for 3 weeks, are you still hoping to save and move back their permanently and would you be looking for similar work as you are doing now?

Good luck with everything.

Have a great time. x

My ultimate goal is to scrape to gether around 25K, with this I can buy a plot of land and build 4 small apartments, 1 for Roxanne and I and 3 to rent out. Rental is around £50 per MONTH per apartment, but this will give us a 'comfortable' living, and that is ALL I want.

taximan - LEGEND.

No moaning, no groaning, no nipping, no borrowing, self-supporting.

Respect.

Wednesday 13th May 2009

You know the sort of thing, Employee of the Month/Year etc; I have to say I have never worked anywhere until now where these sort of things take place, I always felt you go to work, do your job, get paid, and IF someone occassionally comes along and says thank you then thats it.....

The Company I work with have an Employee of the Quarter and an Employee of the Year Award, and each quarter they have 4 smaller awards for things like kissing the bosses arse, or something like that (i dont take much notice), I guess these things are good confidence boosters for the newer, younger members of staff, and the qualifying criteria to achieve one of these awards is you need to have been with the company 6 months.

So I arrive at work last night and there is an envelope awaiting me from HR and on opening this out falls a certificate for Employee Awards 2009 - Quarter One "Always Plays Their Best for the Team" awarded to taximan (well they didnt actually put taximan!!!).

With this is a letter congratulating me and also explaining that it is the 1st time ANY member of a Nights team within the WHOLE group (21 hotels) has ever received any such award, so I guess thats something to be proud of! Also with the award comes a monetary prize of £50, I realise I can only receive such awards if the members of my team are doing their jobs well and there are only 4 of us in total, so as much as £50 is important to me, I have split this money equally between the 4 of us £12.50 each, they have earned it as much as me.

All this on a day when Roxanne and I celebrate 2 years 'together' in soul if not in body.

Still the sun is shining..................

well done Taxi!

Well done mate, keep it up!

Congratulations!!!   ;applause;   Well deserved, no doubt.  ;hattip;

+1

Fantastic Taximan...xx

Wd mate, your an inspiration.

In a non Flushy looking forward to meeting another guy sort of way I'm really looking forward to meeting you at the next blonde bash - I wish I had half your spirit!

Well done on the award, absolute inspiration.

Nice one Graham,congratulations.

+ the Sun is actually shining now rather than just being a metaphorical thing. Roll on the Summah.

Nice gesture with the dishing out the £12.50s and that. Thumbs up.

Update: Went into work last night (wednesday) and Jame one my night porters also had a letter from HR and like me he had been awarded a sub category award " Always demonstrates a positive attitude in is work and behaviour". Jame (from Afghanistan) has worked for the company for 6 years and this is his 1st award, this gives me MORE pleasure than receiving mine..........

Sunday 24th May 2009

The local sports and social club in the next village held a poker tournament today, so with nothing else to do I thought I would have a game. 32 players entered paying £7.50 each, top 6 got paid. Started with 10K so plenty of time to play and after 6 hours I finished in THIRD place winning £25, not life changing but a pleasant afternoon/evening all the same.

Its only SIX days and I take off for the Philippines, how lucky am I?

Till next time peeps...........

Saturday June 6th 2009

Been here almost a week now, so happy, life is great, rainy season but still hot, I am SO happy:

will update more on my return.

Thank you.

Mr Taximan, you are a legend.

Keep this Thread going, please.

it's raining over here today but after just catching up on here it just seems brighter,top man on spliting the bullseye, and well done on winning it as tk says:

Wednesday 10th June 2009

I am now able to CONFIRM that Saturday 13th June 2009 is a VERY IMPORTANT day for Roxanne and taximan!!

Updates and pics on my return..........

Wednesday 10th June 2009

I am now able to CONFIRM that Saturday 13th June 2009 is a VERY IMPORTANT day for Roxanne and taximan!!

Updates and pics on my return..........

Are congratulations in order and does this also mean you may not be returning?.  I am so glad you are enjoying your trip so much. xxxxx

he has to return he is a member of the shreddies HU team for bb8

Monday 15th June 2009

Saturday was a GREAT day, but as was always planned I will be returning next Tuesday, but for now........

may i be the first on blonde to congratulate you both..........well done and have a great life forever,,,,

Congratulations to you both

 ;topman; ;topman; ;topman; ;charmaine; ;sexybanana; ;sexybanana; ;letsparty;

                   ;applause; ;applause; ;applause; ;cheerleader; ;cheerleader; ;cheerleader; :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: ;charmaine; ;charmaine; ;charmaine; ;charmaine; ;charmaine; ;charmaine; ;letsparty;

                                                     



                                                                                                   CONGRATULATIONS















Heres to the start of a lifetime of health and happiness together. xxxxx

PS I am not too good at this enlarging things.

congrats, all the best for the future.

Made up for you Graham,congratulations to you both.

Congratulations to you both

Llongyfarchiadau

Mr T = My hero.

Congratulation Graham, have a happy life together.

Absolutely delighted for you both!!!  All the best for your future.  xx

Congratulations Graham!

;charmaine;

Congratulations to you both

only just seen this - congratulations!!

con gratz mate

.

.

.

I have only just read this thread for the first time - you are an inspiration Taximan - what a lovely read, congratulations and good luck.

great stuff Taxi :)up

Sunday 31st May 2009

Arrive lunchtime, flight was long but good, am met at the airport by Roxanne and an entourage of her family who have travelled with her (hired a car), we spend the afternoon having lunch and doing some shopping at the mall, Roxanne and I book into a hotel in the Makati district and the family go to spend the night with adopted other family members in Alabang.

Monday 01st June 2009:

Up early and take a taxi to the British Embassy, this is to get the correct paperwork needed in order to be able to get married, hence not saying anything beforehand as was not completely sure things would run to plan, but to be fair once at the embassy everything was done and dusted within 45 minutes. Returned to Makati and the shopping mall and found and purchased Roxanne a wedding ring, 17,000 Php (pesos)  £227.00!!! It’s what she wanted.

Met up with the rest of the family and started our journey back to San Fernando which is 270 Km from Manila (168 miles) but whichever way you look at it it’s a 7 hour journey ffs, we break the journey by stopping for dinner at a very nice restaurant where the food is very good and the wood carvings are awesome,and arrive back home about 10pm.

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Taxi, I've only just found this thread. I fondly remember those battles we had across the felt at Ladbrokes all those years ago.

Your strength of spirit is humbling. I wish you and Roxanne all the health, wealth and happiness you both so richly deserve.

Tuesday 02nd June 2009

Today was Roxanne’s 27th birthday and this is the MAIN reason I returned at this time not knowing whether we would be able to marry or not as birthdays are very special to the Philippine people and are celebrated without exception so it is important to me I am here to be with such a special girl. 1st thing we go to the City hall and file our application for a marriage license this will have a 10 day waiting period so we set the date for the 13th, all a bit rushed but because of the paperwork involved we had no choice. Go into town to buy the food for the birthday party, cake is most important (£4.60 each) followed by pancit-boiled noodles with meat and vegetables and fruit salad (tinned fruit cocktail mixed with cream and condensed milk, this is a MUST for a proper birthday in the Philippines!!).

The evening is spent with family, friends and the WHOLE bloody village, plenty of beer wine food and Videoke all in all a really good night and Roxanne is so happy.

Loving it Taxi. xx

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Everyone looks so relaxed and happy, great pictures.

They have very little in their lives but they are the happiest most contented people I know, and they know how to party without the fighting, it really is just all fun!!

Happy times, thank you for your kind words

I sneaky little picture of a Saints top in there!!

mabuhay !

gl for the future.

Friday 05 June 2009

June is the start of the rainy season, the temperature is still around the mid 80's but does drop a couple of degrees when it rains, it can rain anything from 5 minutes to all day and when it comes its bloody heavy!!

It seems it is also an excuse for the locals to drink beer at 10.30 in the morning and go out and shower in it!! it is also a good time to sleep as it is a little cooler, so when it rains many things workwise come to a stop.

 

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Wednesday 5th August 2009

Due to a disagrrement between myself and HR(due HR people come from a different world!) at work today I decided to move out of my staff accommodation, fotunately a few months ago I bought a cheap runaround and it's an Estate, so not for the first time in my life I find myself living in a car again. I could quite easily get a private rent but I look at this as an opportunity to save a bit extra money a bit more quickly.

I may not be online for a while but I hope to see many of you at the blonde bash next month.

Thats all for now.......................

living in a car is hardcore!  wtf happend with HR to make it a better prospect to live from a car?

Why not just sack it here and live over there or can that not be allowed. You seem so much happier over there.

Taxi if your ever up london way and need somewhere to crash give us a shout as it looks like i might have a bedroom or 4 to spare soon..

Really sorry to hear you've had another set back Graham, but if anyone can get through it...you can!  Fingers crossed it gets sorted sooner rather than later because you sure do deserve some good luck.  xx

Taxi, you are a proper bloke. You solve your own probs, no moaning, & just get on with it.

Good Luck in whatever you do - you are a true survivor.

Just caught up with this thread. Firstly congrats on the wedding it looked a superb day. Good luck with the accomodation problem. You really do get on with life in your own selfless way. Pity some of the dole scrounging skiving slobs we have in this country don't take a leaf from your book.

 ;reallyamsorry; The Weather is sweet, yeah. ;reallyamsorry;

make you wanna move your dancing feet

Really do hope he's ok.  Ye don't know it, but he did a HUGE favour for me 2 weeks ago.  Out of the blue, he made the offer months ago.  He was meant to collect myself and a woman in her 60's at Heathrow, then deliver us to Southampton.  Things went a bit pear shaped here and I wasn't able to make the trip.  After a few panic pm's and phone calls, photos were sent to each of them so they'd know who to look out for. 

As it turns out, her flight to the UK was changed in the middle of the night.  Think he had to go to Gatwick instead, but they sorted the new info. between them.  He found her no hassle and they phoned to let me know all was ok.  That man collected an ageing woman he's never met (despite my not being there) and delivered her safe and sound to Southampton.  He didn't want any money either.  All done just because he just wanted to help another person out of a jam. 

No better man to get through a difficult situation.  That said, I wish I could return the good deed in some way that would actually help his current situation, but unless he moves to Ireland and bunks in with us (more than welcome!) my hands feel tied...and it's gutting.   

Thinking of you Graham.  xx

The man is a legend, no question...

Pls make this thread Best of Blonde.

That's such a cracking thing to do - what a man!

I almost feel bad for taking the piss now.

Friday 11th September 2009

So its now been 6 weeks since I moved out of my accommodation, and I am still living in my car, this is my choice and now I am looking at it as a cost saving exercise, each months rent saved will pay for something or other, as in the money saved so far is paying for this weekend in Leeds, and the money saved from Sept and Oct is going to pay for a ticket back to the Philippines in November albeit only for a 2 week holiday to see my maganda asawa (beautiful wife) Roxanne and the family, but that’s better than having to wait until next June.

Work still continues, I can’t believe I have been at the Hotel just over 1 year now (Sept 1st), and again I have to be thankful for my luck in landing the job.

So here I am on the train from Kings Cross to Leeds to attend the Blonde bash, its 10.15am and due to arrive around 12.30, grab a couple hours sleep having left straight from work before heading out and hopefully meeting up with some of the peeps for a drink or two later this evening, and then looking forward very much to meeting everyone at the tournament tomorrow.

Till next time………

Its now 12.50 and I am in the hotel, couldn’t post on the train, bloody battery died!!!

So glad to see you are still attending. See you laters..x

Glad you got there safe and sound and look forward to catching up!

Crap, not going to the bb and now find out Taxi is coming...would have liked to have met you...there's always next time though...

Taximan - what a top man.

He laughs in the face of adversity, blames nobody for life's bumps & bruises, sorts himself out, never moans or seeks sympathy, & just gets on with his life, wholly self-sufficient.

My utter respect to you, Sir.

I cannot believe you are still sleeping in your car after 6 weeks. Mind you when you're crazy in love a man's logic seems to fly out the window. I bet we've all done insane stuff in the name of love. But why don't you ditch the car and get a cheapy camper van instead taxi? Alternatively you could consider applying to pimp my ride uk. Pimp taxi's ride would be a great episode imo.

There aint no such animal. (Check Ebay if you don't believe me)



This.




And this.

I did and there's one for £50. Granted it's painted to look like The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo but it looked pretty spacious inside.

Link please....

Ok ok The Mystery Machine has already been sold to some pesky kids but check out this bad boy. Introducing the Renault Master Sunsleeper a snip at just £300. The interior is way better than a car coz it's got stuff like microwave and wine cooler and you could still paint the outside to be like The Mystery Machine if you wanted.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/campervan-renault-master-sunsleeper-l-reg_W0QQitemZ150372000170QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes?hash=item2302dea1aa&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Weee, at least that is one definite for the Shreddies HU team!

OK.No tax, no MOT, knackered exahust, (and God knows what else) and, £300 is only the current bid. NOT the price you can buy it for.

Trust me, at the end of the day, there are no cheap campers. This one looks like a lump of corruption and would prob stand to £2k+ on the road.

Monday 14th September 2009

On the train now returning south having had a very pleasant 3 days in Leeds in the company of a great crowd of blonde members. It was really nice to be able to renew old acquaintances and meet lots of new people and to be able to put faces to names.
It never ceases to amaze me the warmth and generosity and genuine interest shown to me by people and just by having short conversations with people I am returning with offers of help and assistance for my future both in the short term and the long, I feel very humble and I thank you all.

Friday night was superb; I believe everything will be covered in others posts just to add that it was a great crowd to be out with.

Saturdays ME was very enjoyable, and I felt I played steady, solid, even though uneventful poker and managed to take my stack to 20K when with 31 players left I just wasn’t good enough to lay down my pocket Kings preflop and found myself having run into Bongos AA, at least I passed them to someone who cared for them, WP Bongo.

Sunday’s morning cricket was awesome, just a pity that the afternoon/evening session was thwarted by a jobsworth security guard!

The quiz was well received by all and congratulations to the winning team, although I did hear they may be some late objections!

So to the Heads up comp, I am in a team with Rex, Stallyon, Hold or Fold and The Nun, I could not have wished to be in a better team. My 1st round match was against Laxie!!! This WAS an experience and we are still playing when the score is 2-2, I am not certain whether I played better poker or Laxie just felt sorry for me, but I scraped a win and we moved on to the 2nd round. Here I play Outrageous and by the time he takes all my chips we are 4-0 up but he deserved the win, so we are in the final.

Here I am drawn to play Salfi and I am TOTALLY owned by him, a lesson in heads up, wp young man, but fortunately I am in the presence of far more adequate players and they carry me through to the winners rostrum, and whilst the £100 is very nice, it is the TROPHY that will remain with me forever and always, I am a very proud taximan, thank you teamates I hope we can renew this winning formula in the future.

After a very nice meal at the Indian with a few of the players we go back to the holiday inn where a fun game of cards ensues at a sensible price which allows me to join in, my abiding memory of this is Bongo running so bad and turning a 4 card flush for a loss of £72, his face was a picture. (oh and a dog called Derek!)

So just to finish I would like again  to say THANK YOU to everyone who attended and made my weekend a special one, I now look forward to BB9 and a chance to meet up with you all again and some more as well.              

12.20pm: Announcement from the train " we have been made aware of disruption on the line between Stevenge and Peterborough, this is due to a person being hit by a train, hopefully the person is not too bad and the delay will be kept to a minimum, thank you"!!!

you are a breath of fresh air.,.,.,.,i am on the verge of just signing a very big contract.,.if it comes off.,.,come work for me .,.,please,...,.,.,.,.,.,.,...please.,.,.,

 :)up

I'm listening sir

 ;tightend;

Indeed - mantlepiece are over-rated :-))


Twas a pleasure to meet you Sir   :)

pm sent mate.,.,.,.,

recieved, checked and still listening.

Thank you

Taxi, these floods in Manila, hope they aren't in your family's area. You said you travelled 7 hours from Manila, so hopefully not.

I have been thinking of Taxi's family too - hope all is ok - those floods are bad.

As per the above 2 Posts, it's a bit worrying to hear of the dreadful situation in Manila.

I do hope everything is fine with you & yours.

Thank you for your concerns.

Roxanne and the family are all fine, we are 165 miles north of Manila (between 5 and 7 hours drive due to shite roads)

The Philippine Government make me cross when I hear reports of them asking for international aid, better if they spent some of their own money in the first place on their own people's welfare!! dont get me started

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jSvmEJ57ktsFxVCZq7aG_8T9rXpAD9B0M56O0

Good to hear all are safe and well  :)up

SUPER TYPHOON is predicted for the weekend, but fingers crossed wont be as bad as forecast.

President orders forced evacuation of people in path of Typhoon ‘Pepeng’

PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo on Friday placed the entire country under a state of calamity, a day before Typhoon Pepeng (international codename: Parma) was expected to make landfall in Luzon, as local governments began forcibly evacuating people from areas directly in the storm’s path or prone to flooding and landslides.

from the Manila Times.

fingers crossed m8

keep us informed

Chatting to Roxanne daily and the 'super typhoon' never materialised though they are experiencing heavy winds and rain for the past few days.

Not bad enough though to stop the daily game of mah jong  :)

Taxi,

I have to ask you a question - I'll explain why after you've replied..

Does the Alias "PILLOWMAN" mean anything to you?

Can't say it rings any bells whatsoever.

No worries Taxi. I know a player on another site who uses that Alias, he lives in the UK, & his g/f lives in......the Philippines.

ill take the over on 2 uk residents with thai birds tony

they're more likely to be from thailand though

Roxanne called yesterday to tell me she wasn’t able to get to work due to the heavy rain and strong winds, no company transport operating and localised flooding on the roads.

At just gone midnight I get a text from her to tell me that the house is now beginning to flood, I phone her as soon as I can and she explains the compound is waist high in water and that the mango tree has been blown down, they have no electric and the water is now in the house, ankle deep and rising as the rain continues unabated. The family have packed bags and are preparing to move to a friends house on higher ground. Not life of death situation but still not very pleasant, times like this I feel so bloody useless!!

Ugh!  I'm sorry they've had to move to higher ground, but DO NOT say ^this^!!!  You're doing your part by working towards a better future together and wouldn't be able to achieve the same goals from over there.  I know it probably won't make you feel any better this minute, but you're not useless! 

From what I've gathered, they have a great community who all work together and help out when needed.  Between them, they'll get the job done.  Chin up and I hope things improve for them soon.  xx 

Friday 13th November 2009

Yes it is 100 days living in my car (well 97, I had 3 days in an Hotel for the blonde bash).

I very nearly ended up with a 'free' camper van!! well I think i did, but thats another story.

Life is still good and about to get so much better, as tomorrow morning I catch my flight home to see my good lady wife and her family, unfortunately having to return on December 3rd to earn more funds.

See you on my return...................

bon voyage

Have a nice time Taxi

Safe travels Graham and say hi to Roxanne for us!

enjoy

you deserve it m8

Tuesday 17th November 2009

Sunday

Left Heathrow Sat 09.30 arrived Manila 10.10 (Philippine time) via Bahrain, all went to plan, I was met at the airport by Roxanne and Cean (her son) who had been driven there by one of her work colleagues and her husband at a cost of 48.00 pounds, very fair price, fuel included.

Left the airport and drove about 20 minutes to arrive at Manila's biggest open air market, stalls selling mainly clothes, toys and christmas stuff, hard pushed to find anything over a fiver!!! Travelled 6,000 miles to spend 2 hours in 80 degrees bloody shopping!! but Roxanne loves it. Got some lunch then made our way back to home, arriving just after 7pm.

Apart from wanting to see Roxanne the main reason for coming back now is that on Tuesday it is her mums 50th birthday and when I told Roxanne I was coming home I swore her to secrecy so it would be a suprise for all, so you can imagine the bedlam when I climbed out the car on arriving home, it was like the return of the prodigal son lol, and an impromptu party began, a good excuse for drinking 2 cases of local beer and some red wine.

Monday

Spent the day in town, doing mundane stuff, banking, shopping etc, at 8pm sat down to play 'tong its' a 3 handed card game very much like rummy where each game ends up paying off the winner, played until 4am and lost 150 pesos, appox a quid ffs I run so bad.

nice one, enjoy your trip.

Tuesday

Having finished playing at 4am Roxanne and I head off to market to buy meat and veg for Roxanne's mums birthday celebrations, we spend 20 quid on pork, 90% of it being offal, they really do it some strange shit here.

7am the videoke machine arrives, this is a must for any birthday (or any party) at a cost of 4 pounds for 24 hours.

When we got married n June we bought 2 live pigs and these were slaughtered by a local butcher at the house, today Roxanne's Dad and brother decide as part of the celebrations we will slaughter a DOG!!!! To put it mildly this was not the most pleasant thing to watch but I have to accept it is part of the culture. The dog was purchased from a breeder for 7 pounds, bought home and trussed, and whilst 3 of the boys held it, dad slits it's throat and it was left to bleed out.

Once cooked i did taste it, just to say i have, and it is not something i would eat again.

The party went well with around 100 friends and neighbours attending.

Whereabouts are you in the Phils mate? I can see myself doing 2-3 trips around SEA this year, the Phils is high on my list after a possible trip to India/Bangladesh as England are playing cricket there. I've been reading up and am seriously considering it..........

wow Taxi, brave man!  How do update from over there?  Internet Cafe?

sounds like kevs cooking

word

We are in San Fernando City, La union, 6 hours drive North of Manila, although we have the beach 5 minutes away we are not in a tourist area, Boracay and Cebu which are South of Manila are where the holidaymakers head for, not been there myself but they do say Boracay has some of the best beaches in the world.

That said if you are in the Philippines you are more than welcome to stay with us, regardless of whether I am here or not, Roxanne's family are one of the most hospitable families you could wish to meet. It's pretty basic, no hot water, outside toilet and shower, but there is always food and we do have a roof on the house.

We have a computer in the house, it allows Roxanne and I to chat online for free (well it did until i made myself homeless lol)

Friday

Today we visited the cemetery to pay our respects to 'auntie Sonia' (Roxanne's dads sister) who passed away on August 20th this year aged 40, she had been suffering from cancer for 12 months or more and had spent all the time at home and in a lot of pain as the family could only afford basic medication and not hospital treatment.

It was one of her last wishes to see Roxanne married and to dance at her wedding, whilst she wasn't strong enough to be able to dance she was able to watch the festivities from her bedroom window.

I am not a religious person but the time spent at the cemetery was an emotional one for both Roxanne and myself. 

prob someone have already said about this but i got a new iphone a few weeks ago and still learning how to use it..,,.its un--real the things yo can do.,.,if your homless when you get back to the uk you can get an iphone and download the skype application and rox can go on skype from her house all for free.,.,im on my iphone skyping cyprus eeryday all for free..,.,just a thought mate.,.,

whats the cheapest monthy rental to be able to do that?

Ah Right that's a big surfing area right?

Not sure I'll have time to make it there, after a couple of days in Manila I'll probably head for the Cordillera, Banaue, Sagada, Baguio etc, that all appeals to me. Not sure about the rest at this point, I understand Cebu is a sex tourist destination so I'll probably skip that, will keep reading and suss out what is what elsewhere when I get serious about making a booking.

im on £45 a month 1200 min 500 text AND FREE INTERNET
im not sure what other contracts but im sure if taxi gets anytype of contract with a wifi phone he can get unlimited internet.,.,.,the iphone is .,.,.,well stuck for words.,..amazing springs to mind

Only if I get to do the cooking - I'm not a fan of Fido on toast!

Fascinating insight though - love it.

Tuesday

Today we visited Baguio City, a 2 hour bus ride from us up in to the mountains/hills, very popular with tourists, though as far as i have seen it is just another shopping mall!! Myself, Roxanne, her brother and his friend (someone has to carry her bags!) arrived at the mall around midday therefore the main priority for them was to eat lunch, I can eat but the Filipinos never stop, had a nice meal in a Japanese restaurant spent an hour looking around the shops and then caught a taxi to what was to be an overnight stop for us at the River View resort.An hour after leaving Baguio and most of it spent on what seemed to be off road driving and driving deep into the forest we found ourselves at the resort, I can only describe this as being the most peaceful, idyllic beautiful place I have ever set my eyes on. It is best described as a motel i guess, rooms for rent, 10 pools to swim in, a restaurant a shop, BBQ facilities, and that's about it. The rooms cost us 20 pound per night bed and breakfast, air con included. We spent a very pleasant evening swimming drinking and eating, breakfast the next day, then returning to Baguio to do some more shopping before catching the bus home and arriving back at 8pm Weds, a very nice couple of days......

.

definitely cant argue with that looks stunning taxi,
 keep enjoying it all m8

Beautiful.

Friday 25th December 2009

Merry Christmas to you all, thank you for all the support and good wishes throughout the year.

taximan(UK) and roxanne(Philippines)

Update!!

Got a message this morning just before my sleep Roxanne got taken into hospital with what sounds like an asthma attack, as far as i know she is ok now. Work tonight, just another day!!!!

seasons greetings Graham and family.

Xxx

Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Since i returned to the UK and the plan then was to return to see Roxanne again in June. Having been back at work for only one week I find myself missing my uncomplicated life in Asia so much that once again I am searching the net for cheap flights and bingo, i find one I am happy with, so i find myself today sat on a flight with Kuwait Airways returning to the Philippines once more, via Kuwait AND Bangkok, longer trip this time but the price dictated.

Wednesday 3rd February 2010
Land in Manila at 3.30pm, met by Roxanne and a couple of her work colleagues, with a van and we head off home back to North Luzon, reaching home at 11.30pm total trip time 35 hours.

Thursday 4th February 2010
Today is one of the reasons i wished to return as it Roxanne’s son Cean’s 9th birthday and also her Dad’s birthday so a day of ‘partytime’.
We go into town and buy 2 birthday cakes, all the food for the party, 9 litres red wine, 24 bottles GSM and 24 Litres Red Horse beer all for less than £75
The children have their party food and games at around 5pm and this rolls on into the evening when the drinking, eating and videoke begins, we roll into bed around 2am and it has been once again an amazing evening spent with family and friends.
You may remember from an earlier post that i tried for the first and last time ‘dog’!!! well tonight’s delicacy was ‘local viagra’ which turned out to be boiled bulls testicles!!!! I have to  admit to drawing the line at trying this dish.

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Hi Taxi,

I'm now about 90% certain I'm going to hit North Luzon this August, don't know if your likely to be there then, but I might be willing to go a bit out of my way to catch up for a beer for a night if you are..........

Good thread keep posting please. Palarin ka sana.........

LOL at the last pic Graham. Teenagers really are the same wherever you go in the world :).

Unless my fortunes take a turn for the better I wont be there in August (i will be here may/june), but if you are this way and in need of some free albeit very basic accommodation, the hospitality offered is 5 star + just let me know and I will contact Roxanne and let her know.

They will love you Rex, these are some of Roxanne's colleagues all mid/late twenties!!!

OK will play it by ear nearer the time. Might struggle for time but we'll see, I'm a back packer at heart anyway so I will kip anywhere........

So standard for SEA people, my rule of thumb is add 5-8 years on to whatever age you think they are.

:). The two at the front look 18, tops. Obviously need new contact lenses, me :).

Mr Taximan where are you?

I am still here alive and well thank you Dewi, just not had anything significant happenning worthy of an update really, I did go home again in June for 3 weeks, Roxanne's bday and our 1st wedding anniversary, we spent 4 days in Hong Kong which was very nice (roxannes 1st trip abroad). Other than that life ticks over day to day (or night to night in my case).

Spent the last couple of days reading all the going ons here and I have made my feelings clear in the past about the community here and I believe the latest saga/s are really pushing the boundries.

How did Rox enjoy her first trip?

She LOVED it, took her to Disneyland there and she had her 1st roller coaster ride, had no idea what to expect and shit herself lol (not literally thank goodness). At home she is used to travelling everywhere by tricycle so I dont think she has forgiven me yet for making her walk around the markets of Hong Kong for 7 hours  ;)

good to hear from ya Graham  :)up

Nice to hear from you - happy belated anniversary

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Lovely. She looks well. Well you both do. Hope to see you soon.

had never seen this thread before, but just read thru every page of it now, awesome thread and filled in an hour!!

gooo taxi man!!!

Sigh..........couldn't get a flight for less than a grand for my dates. Will try and get there next year...............

Nit,you just won the lot

Yeah, after I booked my holiday obv, that money is now out of reach from itchy fingers, well for a year anyway............

Too shrewd

Thank you

Your good self and anyone else is always more than welcome

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Great Pic's ..x

^ This!

Blimey, can't believe the year has come and gone.  Belated Congratulations! 

When are you intending to go back and how have you managed to cope with being away from each other for such long stretches? 

From June 2009 to June 2010 I managed to make 3 trips back to it wasn't to bad in between times. Unfortunatley this year I now have no holiday left so it is going to be at least 6 months before I get back but thats life so just get on with it. We do manage to chat online on average 5 times a week so that makes things a little easier.

+1

taximan hates traffic jam

BOOM

reall good thread, and some nice posts, great read!!

Thank you for your kind words.

Whats the long term plan Taxi?  & will you be getting to any Saints games this season?!

Lol, probably go and watch a couple of games, as for the long term plan nothing has changed, it is still to get myself in a position to return there permantly as soon as possible. We are hoping by Christmas to be in a position to buy a plot of land then build as and when finances allow. I was tempted to send Flushy a begging letter or better still offer to be Blondes Asian correspondent for a one off fee of 50K  ;)

just caught up on this - many congrats on your first wedding anniversary - great pics too :)up

Thank you

me too.Congrats .

Cheers Dave

+1  ;applause;

Ages since I've been back to this thread, it reminds me of all the best things about blonde.

WP Taximan.

Very True

Thank you Gentleman

August 5th 2010

So a year ago I moved into my new abode, the back of my Volvo Estate, and a year on I am STILL HERE.

It got a bit cold during the winter spell but a new sleeping bag soon sorted that out, in fact it’s a lot better sleeping during the winter months than it is at the moment, as when we get the hot spells the car is like a bloody oven which makes sleep a bit of a nightmare.

I have thought a couple of times about moving into private rent but I am a stubborn old git and begrudge giving my money to someone else especially when I can put it to better use elsewhere.

Nothing much else to write about so once again thank you for all your nice messages and posting on here periodically has certainly helped me cope with being back in England. Till next time…………

Hi taxi,

Out of interest what does your normal week look like? I'm intregued about the details as well as problems you face of living in the car. I don't think I could do it. What do you do with spare time and where do you wash and shave etc?!

If I am being too personal feel free to ignore this post!

There's a good thread on 2+2 called living in a van in the travel section. He blogs about how he lived etc and played poker and lived in it. Think he only lasted 6 months, so taxi has already out lasted him :-)

Hi. No problem with your questions. My life is simple (boring or mundane many would say) but it suits me. I work 5 days out of 7 and they follow pretty much the same pattern every day and every week. My shift starts at 10pm whilst on duty I eat, only salad or sandwiches, no hot food available. At the end of the shift 7.30am I go to the hotel leisure club - staff perk, and use the gym for an hour or so then depending on how many people are in I will use the pool also, once done i then take a shower here. I usually return to my car around 9.30-10am at which point it generally means I can chat online to Roxanne for an hour or so before sleeping around midday.

My alarm is set for 7pm at which point I will visit the staff house I use to reside in this is allowed as staff house rules state guests are allowed until 10pm, here i have coffee and watch tv then around 9pm I will use the shower (this is NOT pemissable under house rules) but the staff living there are very good and are sympathetic to my situation. My days off are much the same use the leisure facilities sit around the staff house, chat to Roxanne, and sleep, sorry it wasnt more interesting or exciting but thats my routine.

My Laundry is done once a week in the hotel laundry room - against the rules but one needs to be resourceful  ;)

Where do you park your car to sleep? Do you not get any hassle from police etc? Permanent address?

The hotel is set in the countryside and I park in and around the surrounding area, plenty of country lanes and lay-bys and pull ins, I have been approached 3 times in the 12 months by the Police and again they have been sympathetic to my situation and been no hassle. The ONLY person I get any grief from about a permanent address is my 'friendly' HR officer but since I asked her to point out to me where it says in company rules and regulations i need a permanent address I have heard no more, and they have my Philippine address so should they need to write to me they can send it there. As for my bank and other important stuff I still use the staff house address and a couple of staff have said I can use their address should i need it for any reason, people can be very kind sometimes.

Thank you for sharing!

Wednesday September 15th 2010

From what I can remember these seemed to become evident in the early eighties when I was working in catering the 1st time round replacing the city and guilds qualifications, and I never placed much worth on them as at that time it appeared that what was once a 2 year qualification could now be achieved in 13 weeks, that said I didn’t require them myself so it was no real great deal.

Last year the hotel had a spokeswomen come to give us a talk on NVQ qualifications and the criteria needed to be placed on one of the these and it transpired that due to the fact that I have gone through my life without any qualifications I was entitled to go on of these courses at the expense of the government. So 3 weeks later I meet with an assessor and sign up for NVQ Business Management Level 3.

The first meeting was nice and easy signing papers etc and getting modules sorted but very soon after that I realised why I never went to school!! Give me a job to do and I will do it to the best of my ability but ask me to put it on paper and my mind goes blank, but in all fairness to my assessor with our monthly meetings, her motivational skills, her nagging, cajoling call it what you will I am sat here now having ACHIEVED my qualification.

This will probably make no difference to my life whatsoever but at least I can now say I have completed something academically and I guess it will look good on my CV and it does fill me with a sense of pride.............

I do have another update to come; work related which I will post over the next couple days.

Very well done!!!  Look forward to the next update.  Been thinking about you a lot lately for some reason.  Hope all is well.

well done!!

Thursday 16th September 2010

Sept 1st 2008 I started my full time employment in the hotel and Oct 1st I took over my present position as Night manager, so 2 years have passed by and I have seen many staff come and go, nothing unusual in the hotel industry, but now its MY time to move on. I gave my notice last Friday and my last shift will be on Sept 29th and start my new job on Oct 10th.

I will be working as a Night Manager in a hotel almost identical in many ways to the one i am in now, 180 bedrooms set in 70 acres of ground in a remote location actually not to far from where i am now, still in the south, more money although not a lot and that will obviously be swallowed up by the fact that i will need to get some accommodation sorted, so i guess my time in the car is coming to an end.

Reasons for leaving; we have a front office manager for the past 6 months who came from another of the groups hotels and was supposedly the dogs bollox but i fear this hotel is to big for him and he is way out of his depth, I have offered my assistance to him on several occasions only to be told that he does not need any as he is more than capable of doing his job!! I cannot work with people I don’t respect and I will not lower my own standards and this i made quite clear when handing in my notice. I believe that higher management are aware of the problem and I do believe his days are numbered but I am not prepared to wait and see so I just felt it best if I moved on.

Have to say I am a little nervous as when I started my job back in 2008 I had nothing to lose, now I am giving up a comfortable job (and to be fair an easy job) in favour of a completely new challenge, that said I know I shall relish the new role and I know I will give it 100% so there shouldn’t be any real problems............

The sun continues to shine...........

gl i hope you will love your new job

Gl taxi!!

GL mate :)up

Best of luck. Sure you'll be fine

best thread on blonde still the best...

I really hope the new job goes well for you.  You're one man who deserves nothing less than the best.  xx

How long did you live in your car?

If i am still in it 0n Oct 5th it will be 14 months

I guess you saved money for the trips back to see your wife. But I don't know how you managed it. All the best taxi.

There's definitely a song lyric, a book title, or a quote there somewhere.

Behind the darkest cloud, the sun continues to shine....

All the very best of luck in your new position Taxi.

Just read the full thread and it's an inspiration. Good luck Taximan!

Thursday September 23rd 2010

So FINALLY I get to write the update I have been waiting since BB8 Sept 2009 to write.

It’s the Friday night in Leeds and I am enjoying the night out with all the other members when I decide to go for a smoke outside one of the pubs, just as I light up another member joins me and we get chatting with the conversation turning to this thread and how much they had enjoyed reading my ramblings and others also had commented in the positive about the thread in general.

I thanked them for this and went on to explain my plans at that time bearing in mind it was at this time I had just moved into my car and that from the money I was saving from not having to pay rent I was planning on going back home for an extra holiday, and that I would use one month’s rent saved to play in the £300 Deepstack at DTD as I could justify this by telling myself it was money technically I would never have had.

It was at this point the person I was in conversation with told me they had a seat for the £300 tourney which they won online and would like me to have it!!!!! Just like that, totally out of the blue a genuine act of kindness. I told them there was no way I could accept this (my head is telling me to shut up!!!) and a friendly debate continued for a couple of minutes with me agreeing to accept this most genuine offer with the proviso that should I cash I would return 20% to the member, this was agreed on and still stunned I continued my enjoyment of the night and the rest of the weekend.

So now 12 months later I am actually in a position due to work commitments where I can actually play in this tourney and am looking forward so much to taking my seat in next weekend’s Oct tournament, so if I happen to be sat on your table next Saturday please don’t feel bad about passing your chips to me as you know any monies won will be put to a good cause

I would like to publicly thank the said person for their act of generosity just proving to me what I have known since my early times at blonde, that it really is a COMMUNITY at blonde and nice people do nice things. THANK YOU.

So whatever the weather the sun WILL be shining over Nottingham next week.

Good luck taxi, TID!!

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii - Lovely gesture by mystery blonde!

I hope ye win the absolute LOT Graham!!!

 ;yippee; ;cheerleader; ;yippee; ;cheerleader; ;yippee;

hope u come 2nd

Wednesday 06th October 2010

OK  so I have my new job but I am struggling to find a room close to the Hotel, I guess this is due to the location as the village appears to be reasonably wealthy and probably don’t have the need to rent rooms to reprobates like myself, so beginning to get a little concerned.......

THEN out of the blue last week I get a call from an agency reference a job I had forgotten I’d even applied for (sent out quite a lot of applications), anyway this job is in Guernsey and they wish to do a telephone interview, so on Tues i duly get a call from HR there and spend about 30 minutes in discussion feeling pretty good about things, the call ends with her telling me the front office manager will call me the next day for a chat, this takes place ad I feel I have sold myself quite well.

Couple of courtesy calls from the agency then on Friday she calls again to say she is still waiting to hear anything at which point I tell her I have the offer of another job and need to make a decision quickly this seems to jolt her into moving things along as on Monday she called to say the General Manager wanted to speak to me and would call me 10am on Tuesday.

Had a 30 minute chat with the GM and I got the feeling I was bluffing well as he was giving off positive vibes we ended the call with him telling me he would chat with HR and front office manager and then get back to the agency by 3pm.

By 11am – less than 30 minutes!!! The agency are calling saying they wish to offer me the position, I snap called this as this is the job that EXCITES ME.

The Hotel is only 62 bedrooms but 4 star deluxe with award winning restaurant and from what I see and read I believe the emphasis really is on customer service which I know is something I enjoy and excel at so I am looking forward very much to starting there, plus of course it has the added attraction of accommodation.

There we are then, I will go out next Thursday 14th and start work on Monday 18th

Back soon with my 1st live update from the Channel Islands...................................

Congrats on the job,have fun in Guernsey.

fantastic news - well done!!

Ahhhh Graham - that is absolutely brilliant news!!!  A huge relief to have it sorted and perfect timing too.  Delighted for you.  xx

Congrats Dr Bone, nice playing with you at the weekend.

crush it taximan!!!

Excellent news!
Good night Managers/porters are a rare breed .
A couple of years in Guernsey and the world is your oyster. Enjoy.

nice one. top place to work for a while

Lovely place Guernsey, good move. All the best.

this

Nice One Graham

WP Graham good luck..

Great news Graham Hope you enjoy Guernsey.

Just caught up...very much this.

Good to meet you at the weekend Graham.

Congratulations and well done  ;applause;





PS: MY THOUSANDTH POST!

Monday 11th October 2010

4 years ago I closed down all my cash poker accounts and since then have been playing freeroll's and the odd low limit tournament due to the generosity of unknown benefactors transferring money into my stars account.
Having finished my present employment and finding myself with a few days twiddling my thumbs awaiting my next adventure I found myself unable to resist the urge to want to play ‘proper poker’ again, so a few days ago I downloaded DTD online poker, why DTD? Simply because of their support of Blonde and the fact that I have always had a really nice time when visiting, playing at the club.

I deposited the grand total of £10 (Rob won’t be retiring just yet ) and promptly registered for a 3 euro FO with 39 runners, top 4 paid, finished in 8th place but happy to make the FT, over the weekend played a couple of freeroll’s to no avail.

Sunday I decided to UP the stakes and registered for a 5 euro FO which kicked off with 41 runners paying top 5, I find myself 10/10 going to the final table but with enough chips to still be patient, couple players go out and I am 8/8 when I double up with KK this puts me 5/8 and not long after I am 5/5 and in the money, one more player goes and I push from the button with A2 sooted to be called by the SB chip leader with 10 4 os the obligatory 4 comes on the river and i depart in 4th place for 24.60 euro’s

Welcome back to online poker............

Friday 15th October 2010

So yesterday I caught the ferry from Weymouth and arrived at the Hotel around midday,met the HR lady who arranged for one of the staff to show me to the staff house and helped me unload my stuff. At the last count there were 21 staff living here.

Spent the rest of the day unpacking and having a look around the main shopping area,met with 5 of the housemates all foreign, how I love living in staff accommodation such a learning experience, then last night after 430 days/nights in the car I spent the 1st night in my new abode, a lovely double size room, en suite with a tv, I feel at this moment like I have won the lottery  :)

Slept well and this morning at 09:30 I will go to the hotel for a showround.

great stuff! Hope the new job goes well - please keep us updated.

Can't believe i've not seen this thread before.

Great read Mr Taximan, you are a true inspiration and deserve every good thing that comes your way.

Best of luck sir  :)

Friday 15th October 2010

Had my showround today and attended the 10am daily meeting, the hotel is the former Govenors residence and as I expected it really is quite grand inside, chandaliers everywhere and the rooms are individually decorated to a high standard, also saw the owners private quarters within the hotel and just had to say wow!! they also have their own private yacht in the harbour and apparently come to stay 3 or 4 times a year.

As like most new places it appears to me a maze of corridors especially back of house and I have no idea where i went today but in time it will all fall into place.

Following this I got the directions for the 'main' supermarket on the Island which ended up feeling like a 10 mile route march each way, more realistically about 1 mile each way but as I had envisaged it is very much like Cornwall, nice and flat along the seafront but to get out of the town whichever way you go its bloody uphill.

Took a couple of random pics: the 1st one to the left is Herm and the small one in the middle is Brecqhou which is leased to the Barclay brothers, the 2nd pic is just a view looking back towards St Peters Port.

Start work on Monday at 2pm cant wait......................

Well done Graham! Looks like you've fallen squarely and deservedly on your feet. Long may it continue  :)up

Glad things are finally going your way Best of luck graham.

Monday 18th October

11am (6pm Philippine time), Just recevied a call from Roxanne to say that the typhoon has hit our home area as forecast although I believe its very strong winds and rain rather than the full on typhoon, she has called work and been told to report as normal for her shift so they obviously believe it's safe to travel.The electric has gone but then thats nothing unusual, the people living near the beaches have been evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The typhoon is forecast to pass through the Island by tomorrow morning.

Fingers crossed.

11:20am Update: Roxanne called to say she is not going to work as she feels it is unsafe to walk to town to catch the shuttle bus, and the family are preparing to maybe evacuate to higher ground.

+1

And fingers crossed too.

Friday 22nd October 2010

First things first all is well in the Philippines, typhoon Juan passed by without any major problems, just wait for the next on now........

So my first week in my new job is over, worked days to get use to the system and the hotel and I have to say I am more impressed than I could have imagined, it does exactly what it says on the tin PLUS more,the staff are lovely and have made me feel very welcome.

The emphasis is without doubt on customer satisfaction and the from what I have seen the Hotel is staffed in such a way that the job can be done properly without anyone ever seeming over stretched, something sadly lacking these days in many bigger hotels, and I can honestly say in my week so far I have only heard ONE guest having any sort of a moan and that was because he had been sat in the lounge waiting five minutes for his cream tea!!!!

The 62 bedrooms/suites are all individual in decor and design so it’s not like walking into a standard hotel bedroom, and the ones with the sea views are very nice indeed but I guess at £230 per night minimum guests are expecting something a little bit special.

As a live in member of staff I am entitled to 3 meals a day including my OFF days something unheard of before and I even have to admit the standard of staff food is actually very good, my uniform is dry cleaned including my shirts again not normal practice in other hotels.

It is early days but to say I have found the work equivalent of PARADISE wouldn’t be far from the truth, this place really does have the WOW factor on so many levels.

I now have 4 days off and start my night position on Wednesday.

As an added bonus it's 6:30pm and I am sat in shorts and T shirt in the GARDEN posting this, the sun REALLY is shining in Guernsey today, it’s like a summer’s day!!!

Till next time..................................................

 ;tightend;

 ............and suites at £350 a night!

              looks fantastic, enjoy!

Well done mate, read this from the start and its so good to see somebddy that is so hard working get his just rewards.

Thursday 04th November 2010

Having worked a week on days, and then last week working nights being trained by my counterpart an Australian by the name of Campbell, a guy in his 30's who it appears has the knack of pissing off his work colleagues!!! To be fair he has been very good in the time I have been working with him but I can see why he falls out with people, the following weeks will be interesting I think  ;popcorn;

Anyway last night was my 1st night working alone and all went well and was very quiet (every night is VERY quiet) IF ever there was a job where you should feel guilty about picking up wages i believe I have just found it  ;D

So I took the opportunity of taking a few pics of the hotel:

Bedrooms:

.

Lounge

.

Reception:

.

Thursday December 2nd 2010

For the past six weeks or so the hotel/casino where Roxanne works have been holding inter departmental competitions, basketball for the boys and volleyball for the girls.

Roxanne is chosen as player/coach for the gaming team, she tell me she played volleyball at school but I think she has been chosen as coach for her vocal ability  ;)

The format is all teams play each other on a league basis and the top 4 progress to the semi finals. Roxanne’s team go through the league games UNBEATEN and then win their semi final to progress to today’s final.

Here they face the housekeeping department the only team in the league stages to take them to 3 games.
 
Roxanne acts as referee in the 1st game and then plays in the second and the scores are 25 -21 and 25 – 17 so the ‘gaming girls’ are Thunderbird Resorts 2010 CHAMPIONS.

The manager of the casino gives them 2,000 pesos (£30) to buy pizza to celebrate.

Well done girls, and well done Roxanne, how lucky a man am I to have such a wonderful wife!!

Very well done Roxanne & Co.!!!   ;cheerleader; ;applause; ;cheerleader;

Congrats on the gr8 news m8

Wednesday 15th December 2010

Its almost 2 months now since I started my new job and so far so good, I have settled in well and the feedback I am receiveing is all positve.

Today the Hotel put on a Christmas buffet lunch for all their suppliers as a thank you an informal do just to say thank you for their services and support throughout the year.

As part of this lunch each of the guests received a small christmas present from the hotel and who distributes presents at this time of the year? None other than......................

.

wow. did you get to meet him?

wheee - so he is real then!!!

Wait til Gramps finds out.  He'll be thrilled to hear that! 

 rotflmfao  excellent Graham

I can't help thinking he looks familiar  ;carlocitrone;

brilliant just brilliant

i was just thinking the other day this thread needed a bump!!

Wednesday 05th January 2011

Although I don’t have an artistic bone in my body I have always admired and respected those who produce it whether by painting or by photography. That said I know what I like and have spent many an hour whiling away times browsing shops and gallery’s becoming lost in the fantastic landscapes and views I am seeing.

Over the Christmas period Roxanne and some of her colleagues visited Baguio a City about an hour’s ride by bus from our home high into the mountains, here they spent time shopping and visiting friends they made it into an overnight staying at a luxury hotel kindly paid for by one of the casinos wealthy players.

It was here that the following photo was taken by one of Roxanne’s friends and in her own words entitled “waiting for my husband”

I know I am bias regards to the subject matter but this is probably the BEST photo I have ever seen, it hit me instantly it has everything for me, its evocative full of emotion and knowing Xan as I do i can feel exactly what she is thinking.

The original picture was in colour but in my limited knowledge I have turned it into black and white as i feel it expresses even more magic.

I just love this picture so much I felt I wanted to share it with those of you kind enough to follow my ramblings.

I love this lady so much.

Happy New Year...........

great pic - one to be framed!

Lovely picture. x

Abso lovely and you were dead right to change it to B/W for catching the proper mood.

Nice capture, happy new year.
Not sure how we can compare when we have not seen the original, post it up Taxi :)

Thank you: Here is the original

B&W definitely more atmospheric.

Nice photo Mr T.

I'm torn really.  I like the lighting in the colour picture, but like the, err, lack of colour in the black and white pic.  both beautiful anyway :)

Bump!

This is probably the greatest of all blonde diaries. please post more Graham

We're missing you round the place.  How's it going with yerself and Roxanne these days?

We are both fine thank you, I haven't updated recently as I don't feel that anything of interest has really been going on, work is much the same, Guernsey life is nice and of course having a bed to sleep in again is a bonus.

I DO have HALF a story but I don't wish to put the mockers on things so I will update fully hopefully within the next few weeks when I know the full outcome, fingers crossed it will be GOOD NEWS.

Until then.........................

Thursday June 2nd 2011

Happy birthday to my fantastic wife, it pains me so much that I am not there today to celebrate her special day with her, but there is a reason for this which will become clear soon.............hopefully

Have a great Birthday Mrs T.

 :birthday:  ;letsparty; :birthday: ;letsparty; :birthday:

Have a great birthday Mrs. T!!! 

 ;mexicanwave; ;mexicanwave;

Roxanne says Thank you for the wishes and a good time was had by all:

Thursday 21st July 2011

So it’s been a while since I have had anything of interest to post, but today is the day I have been waiting for it just feels it has been so long coming.

When I first mentioned I was coming back to the UK in 2007/8 somebody asked how long would it be before I returned to the Philippines permantly and I somewhat optimistically said within 3 years was my goal so to that end I guess I failed, that said I have been back 5 times and I believe in living for today as we never know what hand we will be dealt so memories of times spent together are important.

After my last trip home in June 2010 we both decided the best course of action would be to apply for Roxanne’s visa to come here, the first thing she needed to obtain was an English competency certificate, this was done at an agency where she sat an exam and passed with distinction (never in doubt) and regardless of all the horror stories I had heard of agencies charging extortionate fees the exam cost 10T peso (£143) and for another 10T peso they made sure she had all the necessary paperwork and arranged her appointment in Manila at the UK Border Agency.

On May 19th Roxanne duly attended the Border Agency and handed in her application with the fee and returned home having been told it would take approx 3 months to process IF all was in order.

At 02:30 today I received a call from a very emotional young lady to say her papers had been returned to her
and the man from Manila he say YES

The plan now is I will go home at the end of August in time for my 50th birthday and return to Guernsey around September 12th with my exceptional wife by my side.....................................

That's excellent news Graham!!!   ;yippee;  Well done Roxanne too!  ;applause; Delighted for the pair of you.

Very much this, massive congratulations.

Happy Days


 ;karabiner;

Fantastic news Graham, chuffed to bits for you both.


Geo

This!

Great news!

 :)up

Good Stuff Taximan, happy for you.

Only just noticed this now, been a while m8. I'm glad all is going well and congrats on your news!!

Fantastic, chuffed for you both.

It's been a while.

Friday December 2nd 2011

So I went home in September for my 50th birthday and as usual had a really good time with the family, then on the 16th it was tme to leave again, only this time Roxanne was coming with me, this was a very emotonal time for all the family but we said our goodbyes at the house and travelled to the airport on our own. the journey was good with only an hours delay at Gatwick waiting for the Guernsey flight, total travel time from door to door = 44 hours.

We arrived at the hotel on the Thursday and then had a few days to settle before I started work on the Monday, Roxanne met with the GM and HR and she started work in housekeeping on the Wednesday.

She has settled in really well, loves the hotel and the staff and has made good friends with one of the other housekeepng  girls, the hotel have asked her if she would like to work in the restaurant but for now she is happy to stay in housekeeping.

We have bought tickets to return home in January/February (her sons/fathers bdays) for a 5 week holiday and at that point she can make the decision whether to stay home or return to Guernsey, knowing that this will be the only visit home in 2012.

We have been lucky enough to have at least one day off together each week and we have made a point of going out even if only for an hour to look around Guernsey and to get some fresh air, Roxanne obviously finds it very cold so she is more than happy to just drive round in the car!!

My life feels more complete now she is here with me, its been a hard 3 years but I am eternally grateful for the cards I have been dealt, and I am sure with Roxanne here we will reach our goal regardless of the time it takes.

Until next time.......................

Good to hear it's all going well.

.

 :)up

Great to hear from you - proper bloke, you.

Some people dream about taking control of their lives and living it on their own terms. You are one of the few people I know that actually did it.


 :respect:

Congrats Taxi.

How old are Roxanne's sons?

Lol, flipper girls always have one of those jumping in the air pics on a beach  :D

Glad it's worked out for you.

Cean (only 1 son) will be 11 on February 4th the same day as Roxannes Fathers birthday so a double celebration day.

( the date on the camera wasn't set correctly!!!! )

gratz mate, delighted everything's going well

how do you pronounce Cean?

Thank you

C ann

Think of you now and then wondering how you're doing.  Delighted to hear it's all going so well.  x

Thursday 15th December 2011

Yes Christmas is upon us once again and earlier last week I was reminded why the Hotel still employed me  ;), I received an email from the GM asking if I would be kind enough to be Santa again, worded in such a way that "i can't say no" !!!!

Last year I did 1 gig + xmas day, this year I am asked to do FOUR + xmas day.

So on Sunday I donned my outfit and appeared at one of the local schools xmas lunch held at the Hotel, this was a fun time as the kids were 5/6 year olds and to see the looks on their faces really made my day, and the added bonus was one of the teachers came up and gave me £30 for my troubles  :)

Today I was at the 'bookers event' a freebie for the companies that put business our way, having finished and on my way back to reception I was stopped by a gentleman holding a meeting in one of the rooms and asked if I would mind making an appearance as the guests were Americans, so I went in walked round the table wishing all a Merry Xmas and giving out sweets took all of 5 minutes and on the way out was given £10 - beginning to enjoy this Christmas lark..........

Hahaha, nice one, made my day :-)

just read this entire thread from start to finish. almost certainly the best 60 or so minutes I've ever spent on Blonde.

Congratulations on living life to the absolute fullest in the best possible way. I thought I was looking hard for a new job, but I'm not in your league for 'making good stuff happen to you'. I have now decided that you will be my inspiration for seeking a new opportunity, and if it turns out to give me even the quarter of the experience it's given you, I'll be a very happy man.

All the very best, and, in the spirit of many other posters in this thread:

POST MOARRRRRRR!

Thank you so much and good luck

Just lovely. Xx

For so many reasons.  x

Taxi is the Tops. Except when in that red cossie.

Merry Christmas Taxi

Love the pic. Merry Christmas Graham and family.

Gotta gets me one of those suits. any idea where they sell em?

made me lol

Monday 19th December 2011

Yesterday was the staff kids xmas party, obviously didnt get paid but still had fun  :)

.

.

.

Great pics again. I bet you are looking forward to Christmas with having Roxan with you this year.

Thank you Mo, and very much YES, 1st christmas together since 2007 so it WILL be special xx

Wednesday 21st December 2011

Merry Christmas to one and all

.

I remember reading your first post on this diary on the day you started it. Actually called the mrs over and told her about this incred guy starting from scratch and how impressive his attitude to life was. Really thrilled to see the progress you've made from that point to this. Happy Xmas to you and your family buddy, an inspiration to many.

Great stuff Taximan. Hope you both have a great christmas.

I can't believe I've only just read this for the first time today. WOW.

your perseverance, determination and incredible spirit are truly amazing and it's fantastic that everything has turned around, but thoroughly, thoroughly deserved.

I hope in the near future you and your beautiful wife are living the life together you both want I'm rooting for you both so hard.

One for the good guys this. Merry Christmas

David  (would like to PM you about something as well, reply at your leisure)

^^^^^^^ of what Lil Dave says

I've just read this start to finish - I'm not quite as eloquent as the previous poster, but just what an incredible read and a great story of the past three years. You're a pretty inspirational guy Mr Taxi, determined, focused and completely selfless in so many ways, and as Tikay said a few times, a phrase I love "proper bloke"

Wish I'd read it earlier, in my time with Compass I could have helped and would have given you a job in a heartbeat based on this diary alone - although I was one of those "dozy HR people" - after 15 years in that area I get what your saying - proper tea and tampax people. And regardless, you're the sort of guy that doesn't need job offers....they will just come - Law of Attraction and all that.

Have a fantastic first Christmas in the UK with your wife, and post more as I a, now hooked.


Shaun

Wow, what a brilliant journey. It is one of the most uplifting things I have ever read.

It was like a film with the ending you yearn for.

Have a great Christmas sir.

Saturday 24th December 2011

So I made it into the blonde advent calendar and as I said in that thread I feel very honoured and humble to be included.

To anyone that is new to my thread I will give a brief history as to how it all came about.

In Sept 2006 I sold my business in the UK and went to the Philippines to pursue a personal interest/project I wished to undertake, if you have read through the thread you will know I am the type of person who acts on impulse not always thinking things through but tend to come through as I am not the type to give up and will generally find ways around obstacles.

At the time I had no intention of getting myself involved in any form of relationship but it quickly becomes evident that this is very difficult not to do as even someone like myself the Filipina girls find attractive ( yes generally because they think you have money and see a better life for themselves and their families).

I met Roxanne at the casino where she worked and like all the other dealers male & female she was very friendly, not just with me but the other players at the table also, but right from that very 1st time when I knew nothing about her I felt she was different in a nice way.

After having chatted with her a few times and she had shown a genuine interest in my project I asked her to have breakfast with me after her shift, she agreed so long as she could bring her friend (normal procedure), it was here we chatted some more and I explained fully my intentions and that at some point I would be returning to the UK with little/no money and this is where she showed her true self and in the following months that it wasn’t money that interested her it was ME.

The rest as they say is history and has been documented previously but honestly this thread wouldn’t have continued this far if it weren’t for Roxanne, I can honestly say hand on heart I love this girl to bits, and it’s my one remaining ambition to make her and her family’s lives safe and secure for the future and of course she is playing her part also.

We were chatting about Christmas the other day and being away from her family for the first time and she said “it’s just my dream to spend Christmas with you my special husband”…. A tear rolled down my cheek, she really is SO SPECIAL.

Bless your heart. Happy Christmas Mr & Mrs Taxi.

Just read all of this.  Great journey, happy holidays and Good Luck with the future :)

+1merry Xmas

By a mile the best thread ever on any poker forum IMO

Just finished reading the thread, absolutely compelling read and wishing both of you continued success and happiness for 2012 and beyond :D

Thank you all for your kind words and wishes it means a lot to both of us.

Thank you

Tuesday 27th December 2011

Roxanne finished work at 3pm this gave her the chance to chat with the family at home as they are 8 hours ahead and celebrate their Christmas at midnight, there were a few tears but she was happy.

We were invited to the flat of 2 of our colleagues at 7pm for an informal get together, buffet and drinks, there were 12 of us there a nice mix of nationality’s so it was good to hear how they celebrate in their own countries, I left at 9pm as I was working the night shift, Roxanne stayed and then at 11pm attended Mass and Carols at the Catholic church with our hosts, she returned home at 1am having had a lovely evening, nice and simple but it got her out the room for a few hours and she felt it was really special.

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I finished work at 7.30am on Christmas morning, we had agreed that there would be no presents from one another as we have already booked our flights for January and the money is better spent at home, but those of you who know me will know I am a big softy really and I had a plan...........

I asked the breakfast chef to do me a portion of Poached Eggs Benedict so I could give Xan breakfast in bed this was accompanied by a glass of bucks fizz, I had also arranged a simple stocking for her, box chocolates, 4 cans lager, and a bottle of Elle Saab perfume (she loves collecting perfumes) and a card, this was enough to make her cry, she had also received a gift from secret Santa (her dept colleagues) and a stocking from the Hotel, so was a good start to the day.

11am – 2pm I was back in the Hotel doing my final stint as Santa, Xan stayed in the room and watched TV and cleaned!!!

We have bought a mini oven for the room and I bought some party foods from M&S did some salads and at 4pm we sat down to a very simple xmas buffet lunch/tea, Xan LOVED it.

Spent the evening watching TV and at 11pm I could fight the tiredness no more and slept.

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We awoke at 9am watched a bit of TV, it was a beautiful day here in Guernsey so I made her get up and dressed and we walked into town to get some fresh air, fortunately most of the shops were closed, but we did get to spend an hour in New Look!!! Xan bought a scarf £5

We returned to our room and once again had a buffet tea and spent the evening watching TV.

All in all we had a very simple Christmas (some may call it boring) but we were TOGETHER and that’s what made it SPECIAL.

Sounds perfect.

Indeed, Merry Christmas to you both.

say what you like, you guys know how to make a feast!

every picture of food makes me hungry!

Friday 6th January 2012

I was working on New Years Eve so Roxanne came and saw the New Year in with me, the Hotel kindly open up one of the meeting rooms and provide champagne for the staff so no one needs to be alone unless they choose to.

We are now counting the days to our holiday starting on the 21st  :)

Happy New Year to you ALL xxx

Just read every post itt. Incredible read. Congrats on everything!

Taxi you are an absolute legend, I have just spent the best hour I have ever spent on blonde reading your story.
I sincerely wish yourself and Mrs T the very very best for the future!!

Another lovely pick. Have a great time both.

this

Graham = Legend

Absolutely heart warming thread. X

Tuesday February 14th 2012

So we left Guernsey on Sat 21st January to begin a one month holiday at home with the family, they were unaware that we were coming as Roxanne wanted it to be a surprise.

We stayed overnight at a hotel in Heathrow and flew on Sunday with Saudi Arabian Airlines, this meant a 7hr stopover at Riyadh but the price of the ticket dictates which airline I fly with. Riyadh is not an airport you want to spend anymore time than is necessary, there are 3 cafes and 1 shop, that said if the price were right another time I would have no problem flying with Saudi again, I'm not sure Roxanne would agree!!!

We arrived home the early hours of Tuesday morning (Philippine time) and as expected the family were most surprised to see us, after the initial shock they were more interested as to what was in our bags for them.

The main reason for coming home at this time was that on Feb 4th it was both Cean's 11th birthday and Roxanne's dad's birthday, compared to previous years this was low key, family and a few friends but still a nice day.

Most of our days's are spent pretty much the same, get up around 7am, breakfast, most days I will then go to the Gym for an hour or so, this costs 40pesos (55pence) and to be fair it is a very good Gym with all the equipment you need.Lunch is usually around 11.30am, Roxanne's Mum has 500 pesos ( £7 ) per day for food this will feed a minimum of TEN of us 3 meals each day.

Each meal will generally consist of Rice, a fish soup (whole fish cut up cooked with veg and leaves and seasoning) and some other cooked veg and meat/fish, to be honest we always seem to have plenty of food and it's all FRESH bought at the market early morning or from vendor's who call at the house.A sack of Mussels approx 5kilos cost 20pesos (14pence) and 2 dozen Oysters cost the same.

The afternoon will either be spent playing cards for pisos (pennies) or taking an afternoon nap as it gets very hot.Food will appear again around 4pm in the form of some type of snack, and dinner can be anytime between 6pm - 10pm.

We have another week left, our journey back to Guernsey will begin next Tuesday..............

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Tuesday February 14th 2012

By Philippine standards Roxanne's family home is very nice, it actually feels like a home and has a proper roof (tin) and glass in the windows, Roxanne's parents are not wealthy people but they are hard working and genuine. The one thing the house has never had is an indoor bathroom, this has never been a problem but it is something Roxanne has always wanted for her parents, so this trip home we have provided this for them.

When the job was finished you would think her parents had one the lottery, to see them so emotional over something we take for granted was a very moving moment. The 1st day after completion the house was like a bloody showhouse with all the neighbors coming round to see, we even had the local priest come to bless the room.

The cost of this project from start to finish including labour was 20,000 pesos (£285.00), some of the best money I have ever spent!!

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Hi Graham,

Nice pics and story again.  :)

Looks like you've used those flippin' slippy tiles for the bathroom, those things are the scurge of my life in Asia, nearly broken my neck a few times on those  :D

Are the best pesos rates on the ground when you get there?

What's your experience of driving there? Are they nutters? Not gonna drive in Manila obviously, but getting around up north and into the mountains seems like a more effective/flexible way of getting around than on buses.

Great effort on the bathroom  :)up

this is the most amazing diary.

This.

Truly inspirational.

Maybe I should ship a bird and start a diary next month  ;)

You are right, though.

make sure she's got a sister ;)

Fantastic.

Hope the Birthdays boys had a great day.

Hi and thank you for your comments.

As for exchange rates it's pretty cack at the moment, around 65 peso to the pound, we have a bank account here so just transfer direct from the UK. The banks here don't like sterling and will direct you to the black market which on the few occasions I have used you will generally get a fair deal.

Driving!!! In ALL my time here I have driven ONCE for less than 1 mile and that was enough, there really aren't any rules and night time the majority seem unable to turn on their lights. From what I have heard although not tested it you are better off hiring a car AND a driver this is what most rental companies will advise for insurance purposes (this is what I have been told).

DRIVING in Manila

This was on the news on Monday

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pilE6O5Lrus


2 seriously injured, 37 with minor injuries.

Cheers Mate, have no intention of driving in Manila. Was thinking of renting in AC and driving up north from there, I understand the roads are mostly sparse north of there anyway.

Probs not gonna get a driver its puts costs up and I just cba having a random hanging with me the whole time anyway. I'm just gonna suss it when I'm there anyway, I know I can rent a car fully comp for about £30 a day. I've driven around other parts of Asia and its not been a problem away from the big cities.

Nothing is set in stone anyway apart from a week with my mates in Manila and Puerto Galera, think they are doing some diving and stuff while I chill.

I like this guys circuit of North Luzon  :)

http://www.dutchpickle.com/philippines/luzon/loop-through-northern-luzon.html

http://www.dutchpickle.com/philippines/luzon/luzon-loop-sagada-onward.html

Nice links, thank you, will read properly later, to be honest in all my time here I have been to very few places, I guess not having a car and being content at home are the reasons for this, we do have a motorbike (125cc) and I do ride this as far as the gym each day, about 2 miles each way and pretty straight roads!!!(and i DO wear a helmet).

Wednesday 15th February 2012

Last week we took the bus to Baguio City a 2 hour trip, usually takes an hour but traffic was busy.

The city is at an altitude of approximately 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion conducive to the growth of mossy plants and orchids.

The reason we visit Baguio is so Roxanne can go to the Mall there and shop!!! as if we don't have shops in our own city! on this visit though after shopping we went to Strawberry Fields, La Trinidad on the outskirts of the city to do some strawberry picking. I soon find out Roxanne's idea of picking strawberries is to pick for 10 minutes pose for a few pics then spend an hour looking around the gift stalls, we did have a nice time though.