Movie Shoot Experiences, World Class Goals, And A Heartening Gesture From Tebogo.

*    A spotlight being shone on our branch( The Glen mall) this past week. We experienced some 'lights,camera and action'. A company called MOTION PICTURES came to shoot a movie in our branch this past Wednesday and Thursday. This movie was actually a DVD meant for internal training purposes.
   We - as staff - had bit parts to play in it. And I must admit that  I loved being part of this movie shoot experience. The many 'takes', the 'clap its' and the occasional fluffing of 'lines', were an eye-opener for. Now I know what it takes to be an actor. The pressure to say your lines correctly when the camera is on you, is unbelievable. One simple line which you can easily say when not on camera gets you tongue-twisted when the cameras start rolling.
   I have a new respect for all the actors out there after walking in their shoes this
week. Having said that, I must say I admire how patient the director - Mr Kobus Swart - was with all of us. Through all those many re-takes he never lost his 'cool' even once. The main actress in our scene - Dierdre Van Rooy - did well with her part too. She had to do several different readings in the script. And she 'represented'.
  As for the branch staff in our scene, I must give my praise to Valentine. She was the Queen of all the '1-liners'. She must have said her line( "So, that was my day.") more than 10 times through the re-takes and yet she never fluffed it even once. 'Nice one' as well to the other '1-line' colleague - Laurinda( our branch manager).


* South Africa may have failed to make it to the final of the Confederations Cup
final, but Bafana Bafana can hold their heads high. They made Brazil - the 5 times World Champions - sweat for their 1-0 victory.
But what about this goal that sank Bafana. The Daniel Alves free kick was from the top, top drawer of free kicks. It was a marvel to watch. The technique was world class.
The ball curled around the man wall as if it was going outside, then it came back to sail past our goalkeeper's outstretched left arm and went into the right hand corner of the net. Awesome!
To lose to a goal like this is no shame.


* Being a receipient of an act of magnanimity from my street neighbour here in my
'kasi'(Protea North). Her name is Tebogo.
The other Monday(of the the wildcat taxi strike here in Soweto) I 'bumped' into her in our street in the morning as I made my way to the bus stop. She was going back home.She informed me that there were no taxis because of a taxi strike.She had been to the bus stop herself and they had waited for taxis for ages, in vain.
It was the first time I had heard of this taxi strike.And I was not too pleased.On the very first day that I was going back to work after an annual leave there was suddenly the possibility that I may not even report for duty due to lack of transport.
But Tebogo not only gave me an insight into a potential transport problem, she also provided me with a solution to it. She had decided to go and fetch her car at home and use it to get to work, and she offered me a lift to town( Johannesburg CBD) in it.
Along the way we were picking up some of her friends who were stranded too.
This generosity of spirit from Tebogo took my breath away.
"May you be blessed in all your endeavours, my sister."


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


==========================================

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


Now We Know
___________

We know now.
Acting is not as simple.
We know now that actors work hard.
We know now what performance anxiety is.
Now we know.
Why a 30-minute soapie takes a whole day to shoot.
Why a patient director is a blessing.
Now we know why this is called work.
We know now.
Hats off to you.
You the greats of acting.
The De Niros of the silver screen.
The Denzils of this world.
Hats off too.
To the new kids on the block.
The Dierdres.
The Valentines.
Now we know.


================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
=====================================

'Pharoahs' Making Africa Proud, Vodacom's Megs Gift, And Emails from bo-Makgauta

* The Egyptian soccer team - 'The Pharoahs' - giving us Africans something to shout about. Their performance so far in the Confederations Cup tournament, being held here in South Africa, has been a revelation. They first gave 5 times World Champions - Brazil - a big fright. 'The Pharoahs' came back from trailing 1-3 to score 2 goals in 15 minutes and level matters at 3-3.Unluckily, they conceded a late penalty and ended up losing 3-4. But an African country putting 3 goals past Brazil was wonderful to witness.
And 'The Pharoahs' were not done. In their next game they went on to beat the reigning World Champions-Italy - by 1-0.
'The Pharoahs' are the real deal, ladies and gentlemen.


* Vodacom - our local cellphone network provider-handing out free internet airtime to its subscribers. For all purchases of between 5 megs and 250 megs one gets an extra 25 megs for free. And from 500 megs upwards one gets an additional 10% of this purchase for free.
As a Vodacom subscriber who buys internet airtime from them, I had been unaware of this 'free internet'- as they call it .But I had been pleasantly surprised at how long my internet airtime-purchased weekly - was lasting these days. The penny dropped recently when Vodacom splashed this fact of 'free internet' all over the Sunday newspapers.
For small time purchasers of internet airtime the free extra 25 megs represent a
substantial saving. To buy 20 megs and get more than twice this amount extra for free is awesome, I think.
All I can say is: "Nice one Voda."


* Getting this laugh-till-you-drop email from 'khaitseli' Makgauta Khoetsa:

"
IGNORANCE KILLS
_________________

Training is very important no matter what job you do.

There was a case in the Johannesburg Hospital's ICU, where patients died in the
same bed, every Sunday morning at 11 am regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled doctors and some even thought that that particular bed was the work of the Devil. Why the deaths on Sunday morning at 11 am? A world-wide team of experts was constituted and these experts decided to go to the ward to investigate .So on the morning of the next Sunday, a few minutes before 11 am, all doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what this terrible phenomenon was all about.

Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off evil spirits. Just then the clock struck 11 and.............

Precious Tshabalala( part-time cleaner) walked in, unplugged the life support
machine and plugged in the vacuum cleaner. "


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


=====================================


Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

The Pharoahs, They Reign.
_____________________

They reign supreme.
The reigned over Africa.
Reigned 2 times in a row.
They reign, the Pharoahs.
Setting the Confed Cup alight.
Raising the African flag.
Shining a bright, bright light on our continent.
What 'dark' continent?
The Pharoahs.
They reign.
They rained on Brazil.
Giving Kaka & Co food for thought.
Put one over World Champs - Italy.
These Pharoahs, they reign.
Who is next?
The Spanish Armada?
The men from home to the Sphinx.
From home to the Pyramids.
From home to origins of Man's civilization.
They will reign.
The Pharoahs.
They shall reign forever, and ever.


==================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================

One Year To FIFA's World Cup, KAYA FM's Mesia Gumede, And 'Mandela Day'

* The past week marking exactly 1 year to go before the start of FIFA's 2010 World Cup here in South Africa. This '1 - year - to - go' is being marked by many countdowns and general excitement here in Mzansi. There was President Jacob Zuma kicking off a a soccer ball at the Green Point stadium in Cape Town to symbolically start the countdown. Then there were numerous radio stations that also did countdowns on air at 16.00hrs. The first game will start at this time next year on 11th June.
All of this buzz around next year's soccer event is wonderful of course. It means the people of Mzansi are ready to host the world.
More importantly though, this fanfare celebrating this '1 - year - to - go' moment means that there is no going back. The FIFA 2010 World Cup is coming to South
Africa. There is no plan B, as Danny Jordaan( CEO of the LOC) likes to put it.
All those skeptics who doubted our ability to host this event can eat their
words now.
We say:"Bring it on FIFA".


* The late night DJ on KAYA FM on week days. His name is Mesia Gumede, and he comes on between 10pm and 1am. I have grown to like Mr Gumede's taste in music. This brother has got soul. And it is not as if he is not playing what is on KAYA FM'S playlist. I guess it is the way he chooses what to play on his show from this playlist. It has to do with his selections and favourites, which are a little different. They are more soulful.
From my side I want to say 'big up' Mesia for making us love songs like Raphael Saadiq's "Never gonna give you up" - featuring the legendary Mr Stevie Wonder on the harmonica; Thembisile's "Buti ushadile"( a personal, personal favourite this one); Joe's "Take it off", and off late Avante's beautiful rendition of "Sailing"- a Christopher Cross classic this.

"Thank you Mr Gumede."


* The big honour bestowed on our own struggle icon - Nelson Mandela - by Presisent Jacob Zuma in his state of the nation address recently. He officially declared 18th July - which is Mandela's birthday - a Mandela Day. This day is going to be a working holiday like World Aids Day( 1st December) for example. On this day the citizens of this world are encouraged to take 67 minutes off their day and use this time to help a charity of their choice in their communities. The number 67 comes from the 67 years that Mandela spent active in politics.
This honour could not have been to a more deserving figure. Mr Mandela's
commitment - even to the extent of being prepared to die for his cause - to freeing our
country from racial oppression was exemplary indeed.
This  total commitment to a cause is inspirational too. We can all do with this kind of commitment in achieving our own personal goals, I strongly believe.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


==========================================

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

One Year To......
_____________

One year it is.
One year exactly to FIFA's big party.
A year to FIFA's fest here in Mzansi.
One year it is.
One year to us hosting the world.
A year to us becoming the centre of attention.
Us becoming a bride.
One year to Msanzi coming of age.
One year of anticipation.
We are trembling inside.
It is a tremble of happiness.
A shake of joy.
One year to a dream of a nation coming true.
A dream of a continent materialising.
One year it is.
We can't wait.
The clock ticks.
One year to...
One year until....
Let this party.
Let this FIFA fest.
Let it come.
Lets get this party started.

=====================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================

Two Years of THE TIMES, Earth TV Live Pictures, And the Mbeki-Zuma Peace Pipe

*   Reading ( in THE TIMES OF 5/6/9) that THE TIMES - our local daily newspaper - is 2 years old this month. This daily has become my favourite among all our dailies here in Mzansi. It has brought a certain freshness to the local 'dailies' scene. It has managed to combine real news with some quality writing in a tabloid format. This is unusual in a tabloid newspaper. Yes, once in a while THE TIMES will give you sensational headlines. But this sensationalism once a while in our lives can't be too harmful.
  I have come to love some of its columnists too. Peter Delmar's 'It's A Small Business World'( Wednesdays) - for inspiring small entrepreneurs; Professor Jonathan Jansen's 'An Educated Guess'(Thursdays) - for pricking the nation's conscience by telling us what we need to hear not what we want hear; Carlos Amato's 'Far Post'(Fridays) - for some really beautiful writing on soccer; and finally Jonathan Cainer's 'Your Stars' - for not only his accurate predictions  sometimes, but for his English writing lessons.
"Here is to another 98 years THE TIMES."


* The live pictures of the different cities of the world that are shown on SABC 2
sometimes. These live scenes come to us courtesy of EARTH TV. They are shown between programmes and on the hour. For a few minutes the camera will go across to New York, then Berlin, after which it maybe Paris, and show us an aerial view of these cities live( i. e. at the exact time that life is happening there). These live crossings give one a sense of being in those cities  even though you are in your lounge. It is time travelling at its best.
I got to know the time zones of those cities compared to our own city of Johannesburg through these crossings. For example, I have learned that Berlin is on exactly the same time zone as Johannesburg. If it is 11.58 here in Jozi, it is also 11.58 in Berlin.
I also like the fact that these live crossings highlight upcoming events like festivals in those cities for those viewers who may actually be planning to visit these cities.


* The reports in the newspapers of the improving relationship between President Jacob Zuma and former President Thabo Mbeki. The rift between these two struggle stalwarts had been discomforting to all of us here in Mzansi.
It was reported in THE TIMES( 4/6/9) that the two occasionally speak on the
phone. It made me smile to read/ hear this.
All I can say is keep it up 'JZ' and 'TBOS'. Our country certainly needs your
leadership qualities.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


===================================


Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


THE TIMES We Had
_________________

What TIMES.
What TIMES we had.
Our TIMES with a 'daily'.
A daily companion in many ways.
A daily source of news.
A daily source of entertainment.
A daily source of excellent writing.
Most of all, a daily source of 'feel good moments'.
What TIMES.
Tabloid territory admittedly.
Real news here though.
News you can use.
What TIMES we had.
Is it 2 years already?
Unbelievable.
It must be the fun we were having.
What TIMES.
What TIMES we had.
Ek se MR Editor.
Ek se Mr Hartley and your team.
Nice one.
Nice squared.
It has been THE TIMES indeed.
THE TIMES of our lives.


=============================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================

Raging Bulls, Tips on Saving the Planet, And Barcelona's Wednesday Night Magic

* The stupendous win by our local rugby team - the Bulls - of the Super 14 Rugby Tournament Final yesterday. Bulls demolished the Chiefs( of New Zealand) by 61-17 at the Loftus Versfield stadium yesterday afternoon.
I am not much of a rugby fan myself, therefore I am not going to tell you about this 'try' or that 'scrum', by this or that player. But one thing I know is that yesterday at the end of the game I felt incredibly good. I was proud to be South African. The Bulls with this win had truly 'represented'.
 "Much love to you coach( Frans Ludeke) and your charges."

* My 'bumping' into some good tips on how the man in the street can do his bit to save our planet.
 We have heard much about how the icebergs in the northern hemisphere are melting because of global warming. We have also heard much about how we - as the inhabitants of the Earth - have much to do with this global warming through the lifestyle that we live. Increasing global warming will in the end lead to extremely high temperatures across the world, which will one day make our planet unable to not only support us as the human species but also unable to support all forms of life.
We can reduce global warming by reducing our carbon emissions, and this means we must reduce the use of anything that produces energy by emitting carbons.
In an article that appeared in the Sunday Times(of 17/05/09) supplement( It's My Business) the writer - Hendri Pelser - gave us a few tips on how we can do this:

"1.Travel less - ( use)Skype instead of meeting face to face.
 2.Open windows and switch off the air conditioning.
 3.Fit energy - saving bulbs and switch off lights when not needed.
4.Switch off appliances that are not in use at the plug point.
5.Drive slowly to emit less pollution."


* A night of magic this past Wednesday .Barcelona F C gave us fans of the
'beautiful game' a night to remember when they won the European Champions
League Final. They defeated - with their trademark 'fantasy football' - Manchester United by 2-0. And this scoreline does not even begin to describe how comprehensive this defeat of Man U was. Man U were totally outplayed. At one stage the match commentator was saying that the Man U players can't seem to get to the ball. Because it was 'glued' to Barca's players feet.
In the the final analysis Barcelona were the deserved winners. They entertained and thrilled us all on the night.
The Spanish Armada had indeed taken over Rome that Wednesday night.
And what about the historical Spanish treble( the King's Cup, the La Liga and the
Euro Champs Cup) by coach Pep Guardiola in only his first season in top flight
soccer. How cool is this?


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


=================================


Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


Here Come The Bulls
________________

It's the Bulls of Pretoria.
The Bulls of Tshwane.
Here they come.
Storming Loftus.
Running over the Chiefs.
Here they come.
The Bulls of 'Mahlanyeng'
Making history.
Winning the final by the unheard of 61-17.
Ably led by captain Matfield on the field.
And capably led by coach Ludeke in the dugout.
Here come the Bulls tsa 'bo-die maan.'
Here they come.
Here comes the pride of Mzansi.
All you pretenders.
Pretenders to the Super 14 throne.
Make way.
The Bulls have arrived.
Arrived in a big way.
And they are here to stay.


=========================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================

Barcelona's La Liga Triumph, Football Fridays, And Emails from bo-Sarah 'Bibs'

* The Barcelona Football Club winning the Spanish league( La Liga) this past week.
 Barcelona winning the La Liga was highly pleasing for us. Barca - as they popularly known - are playing some really attractive football right now. Their type of soccer comes very close to the way most soccer fans love the game to be played. They play possession football( holding on to the ball as much as possible), coupled with lots of attacking. The result is not only beautiful to watch, but they score lots of goals too.
Their recent two semi-finals games against Chelsea in the Champions League may not have yielded that many goals, but any neutral fan would have loved the way Barca dominated. Chelsea were on the back foot most of the time, defending as if their lives depended on it. Barca were all over them. Barcelona's league win is a triumph of style with substance.
Well done to the new coach 
Pep Guardiola and his boys.


* Still on matters football. You will have to excuse me here, because  Mzansi( South Africa) is hosting FIFA's biggest showpiece( the 2010 World Cup) next year after all. I cannot help it.
I read in THE TIMES(18/05/09) this week that the Southern Sun group of hotels
has introduced what it calls Football Fridays in its workplace. Every Friday its employees are encouraged to dress in their favourite team's soccer jersey. The MD of Southern Sun - Mr Graham Wood - said this practice was meant to create excitement around FIFA'S World Cup that is coming to S A next year.
This move by Southern Sun was pretty cool, I thought. FIFA - the other day - was
complaining that there is not enough buzz here in Mzansi around the 2010 World Cup.
This campaign by Southern Sun should be a good start.
In fact, the CEO of the Local Organizing Committee( LOC) - Mr Danny Jordaan - was quoted in this article as saying more South African companies should join this Football Fridays campaign.
May I also take this opportunity to make a plea to our own CEO - Mr Michael Jordaan - to allow us join this worthy campaign. Being the national sponsors of this event makes FNB the perfect candidates for Football Fridays.


* An email we received from Mrs Sarah Bibi Sheik-Imam. A colleague of hers
seems to be leading from the front. She writes:

"Hi Duncan,

I just wanted to say thank you for all your help with treasury. And congratulations on doing a great job as Teller 1. I know it is hard work, but you
have proven to a lot of people that you can handle it.
Be strong."

Way to go Duncan my man.

While still on the subject of giving big 'ups' to fellow workers, I would like to
to say something too:

To Victor( our Financial Planner) - "Ta ntate for your tolerance of my frequent
requests to use your terminal to print stuff.
I really appreciate your generous spirit."

To Linda( our Co-ordinator) - "Welcome back my sister. You were terribly
missed. It's really good, I mean really good
to have you back."


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.


==================================


Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


Show Us Barca
_____________

Show us Barcelona.
Show us your style.
Show us possession football at its finest.
Remind us of Johan Cruyff's 'dream team'.
4 successive La Ligas.
Plus 1 Champions League Cup then.
Who can argue with that.
Show us Barca.
Bring back some of that class Pep.
'09 La Liga in the bag.
Man U to follow this Wed.
Messi and Eto'o.
Henry and Iniesta.
Bang in those goals.
Shake and rattle Man U's net.
Show us you are champions Barca.
Not only of Spain.
Or even of Europe.
But of the whole world.
Show us Barcelona.
Show us your style.


====================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================

The Genius of DJ Cleo, President Zuma's New Cabinet, And 9 A M Openings

* DJ Cleo winning yet another award, at the recent SAMAs, bringing into sharp focus his brilliance. He won a SAMA for the 'Most Downloaded Ringtone' on the MTN network for his song "Hands Up".
This man - Cleo - has been giving us beats to groove to every year. As he likes to put it himself: "I have had a hit song every year for the past
4 years." And this is the truth. From "When I first saw your face", "Masingita",
"Sisi ngihamba nawe" to last year's "Hands Up", DJ Cleo has been delivering the
goods. These were not just hits but they were well-crafted songs.
He was also responsible for producing the early Mzekezeke stuff. For example, he produced the mega hit "Sguqa nga madolo". Then, we knew him as an excellent
producer, but of late we have seen some awesome stage performances from him. Who can forget his performance of "Sisi ngihambe nawe" at last year's Mzansi Awards.
He is a very good 'kwaito' rapper too. And what about those tongue-in-cheek lyrics of his?
Considering all of this, nna I say, he is the real 'KING OF KWAITO'.
Sure, Cleo my man.


* A few of my favourite things about President Jacob Zuma's new cabinet:

- His choice of Mr Pravin Gordhan as Finance Minister. We all know what a
splendid job Mr Gordhan did as head of SARS. If anyone needed any proof that
our economic fundamentals will still be under a good watch, this is it.

- Ms Naledi Pandor surviving the chop. She is still in the cabinet, now heading
the Ministry of Science and Technology. Ms Pandor made it despite that little
skirmish last year with the ANC Youth League president - Julius Malema. After this incident I had feared the worst for her.
We are grateful for small mercies.

- Our extremely capable former Finance Minister - Mr Trevor Manuel - still being
in the mix. He is now National Planning Minister and he will be based in the
Presidency. This new ministry will - apparently - be responsible for formulating policy for the new government.

-Don't you simply love the new name for the old Ministry of Housing. It now
goes something like Ministry of Human Settlements. When I first heard this name
I could not stop laughing. It instantly brought to mind squatter camps.
Could we not have thought of a better name?


* The practice of opening the bank late on Wednesdays in '1 and done' branches.
On this day the branch opens for customers only at 9.00 am, as opposed to the normal 8.00 am on other week days. We - as staff - are still required to report for duty at 8.00 am however. But on this day management normally turns a blind eye to us sometimes rocking up after 8. So on Wednesdays there is really no rush to get to work for us.
Also, this 1 hour before the 9.00 o'clock opening gives us a bit of time to have a leisurely cup of coffee at work, or to catch up on the latest gossip with colleagues.
More importantly, though ,this hour gives us a chance to hold our staff meetings.
This idea of  opening latish on Wednesdays was an inspired idea, me thinks.


THANK YOU UNIVERSE. THANK YOU FOR OUR 'FEEL GOOD MOMENTS'.

=====================================

Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

uDJ Cleo Bafowethu
________________

What can we say Cleo?
You have kept 'kwaito' alive.
Have kept it real.
Have kept it township.
What can we say?
Never mind bo-Kelly.
Or bo-Bricks.
Their jibes pale in comparison.
In comparison to your talent.
What can we say boss?
Continue to gives us the good stuff.
Continue to make us dance like crazy.
Continue to make us feel good Cleo.
What can we say?
Keep taking 'kwaito' to another level.
You are the KING of it.
Will always be.
Long Live the KING.

==============================================


SO, SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD OUT THERE, WHAT MADE YOU

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

Let us know at - feelgoodmovement@gmail.com
====================================