A Decision Has Been Made EDIT: VISA GRANTED!

CONFIRMED: VISA GRANTED

I actually cried this morning when I got that email from my wife saying the visa had been granted!


It has been a very long journey since I first visited The Philippines in 2009, with many hurdles along the way. Of course, we still don't know if the visa has actually been granted but just a few days to wait now.

Old age brings with it, less heightened emotions but a realistic approach to failure. If it is a refusal, I will just grit my teeth and proceed with any appeal and seek the help of my MP to speed up the process.

My wife, always the god-fearing optimist, is getting quite excited. She keeps telling me not to have negative thoughts but I am just preparing myself for disappointment so that I will be in the right frame of mind if the answer is 'no'.

If the answer is 'yes' I will immediately buy a rice cooker, weed the garden, clean the house, car and shed. Then I will make room in the wardrobe for my wife's attire. But what about the cat? I love my cat but my wife refuses to sleep with the cat.

Forget about old age, I think I may be getting quite excited after all!!

"make room in my wardrobe"

ha ha....my friend you still have a lot to learn..about women.

A road block means you just have to go through a detour.
Your destination should still be the same.

I am younger than most of you here, but I have had so many setbacks. But it doesn't faze me, not even a bit.

Here I am, still waiting for my UK passport that is still undergoing security checks for 16 months already.

If something fails, you either try again or look for another way. When you give up, that's the only time it really ends.

Good luck.

I was really taken with your post knightstrike. I respect positive thinking.

Real failure is the failure to try. And the measure of success is how we cope with disappointment.

I used to give motivational 'talks' in a previous life.
Have you ever read the poem 'If' by Rudyard Kipling ?

Please look it up. I think you'll be inspired. There are many many famous quotes from that poem.
At the entrance to Wimbledon's tennis centre court is a quotation from that poem and it goes like this:-

"If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same."

Every Wimbledon tennis champion will have read that and understood it.

From your nature I know you have studied the requirements intensely so any failure wouldn't have been your own contribution.

All the very best of luck Howerd

Tennis is a sport for the rich here in the Philippines.

I'm not one. And I've only heard of Wimbledon in passing.

But I'll try to read that 'If' one of these days. My most favourite poem is Desiderata which most likely you have read.

I can see from your post that you're feeling exactly the way I did when I found myself at the decision has been made stage, preparing yourself for both disappointment and jubilation.

Fingers crossed young man

All best wishes to you both Howerd for a speedy and positive outcome.
I'm sure everything will be fine

Always willing to learn at the age of 64!

Thank you for those motivational words.

Attention to detail is always important when spending so much money from so little income!

We are almost there.

You will understand then it is a sign of old age

My sincere and very best wishes to you Howerd. Maybe one day I will be making a similar post.

Al.

I have to agree with bigmac here!!!

Maybe, Howerd, you should change those words to:- "buy three new wardrobes."

Al.

@TheTeach You have not see my bedroom - wardrobes floor to ceiling along two walls, full width cupboards at head height and two fitted bedside cabinets, filling the third wall! Made sure to have them fitted after the flood, just to make sure my wife had plenty of room! Second bedroom also has fitted wardrobe from floor to ceiling on one wall and the lounge has fitted cupboards, floor to ceiling along another wall.

At the moment, my wife is still sharing a house with numerous others, with at least six in each bedroom on bunk beds. When she gets here it will feel like a mansion, even though it is just a small two-bedroom bungalow.

Fingers crossed!

no no no no no my friend------now you will have to buy her all those new clothes--and shoes---to fill all that space. ££££££££ kerching.

you always need to think outside the box with women mate.