The sun is shining:

[action man]

update?

[redsimon]

update?

Been raining a lot?

[action man]

bump. any news on taxi

[Colchester Kev]

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

[taximan007]

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.

[tikay]

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.

[action man]

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

[Tonji]

All the best taxi, onward & upward

[Laxie]

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.

[technolog]

Good luck Taxi 

[sofa----king]

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...

[cia260895]

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 

[Ecosse]

Good to hear from you Taxi.

Best of luck with the hotel job.


Dougie.

[thetank]

Hope you get the hotel gig.

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

[taximan007]

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.