WHAT MADE US FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?


Thursday, January 29, 2009

Great Cricket Teams, A Touching 'Thank You', And Robert's 'Dikota'

* The heroics of our national cricket team - the Proteas - Down Under. Even non-cricket followers like us were moved by the Proteas 2nd series win in Australia this week. They won the One Day International series 3 - 1 (out of 5 games). Late( in December) last year the Proteas had clinched a memorable Test series 2 - 0 (out of 3 games). With this week's win they completed a double over the Aussies in their own backyard. Apparently this was the Proteas first ever win in both the Test series and the One Day International series over the Aussies in Autralia.
The Proteas made history.
To further put these wins into perspective, Ali Bacher - the former cricket administrator and former captain - was quoted( THE TIMES, 27 /01/09 ) as having said:
"The Proteas double in Australia is the finest sporting achievement for South Africa in a long, long time."

Go Proteas! Go!


* An expression of 'thanks' by a customer that blew me away.
This gentleman walked into the branch just before we closed for business. He had come to get a new PIN. By the time we were done the doors we locked for customers. He was led out by our security guard .However, about 2 minutes after walking out - having tried the PIN at the ATM, he came back to the branch doors. He indicated that he wanted to speak to me. I thought that there was a problem with the PIN that I have just issued to him. I then told our security guy to allow him back in. But as 'my' customer approached my desk he was all smiles. When he got to me he extended his hand to give me a handshake, saying:"Thank you very much."
Needless to say, I was highly touched .And pleased at the same time.
For this customer to make the effort to come back inside just to say 'thank you' was a totally out there experience for me.

* Sampling a 'kota'(a 'bunny chow' of sorts) from Robert's spaza in my 'kasi'( Protea North) this past weekend. This 'kota' was its usual best. Without any shadow of doubt, Robert makes the best 'kotas' in world. I say so myself.
Firstly ,the ingredients he uses are of quality. Be it the bread, the viennas or even the burger, they are all good grade. Secondly, unlike most 'kotas', he always puts in some 'green' in the form of lettuce inside. The whole mix makes for a truly delicious 'bunny chow'. My personal favourite is the full-house one that sells for R12 .
And 'our' man behind the counter - Ruben(or Mr Illuminati) - makes the buying experience a pleasure too, with his friendliness.


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

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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Trust Our Proteas
______________

Trust our Proteas to do it.
Trust our Proteas to do it well.
Trust them to do a double over the Aussies.
Do a double in Aussieland, 'nogal'.
Trust this rainbow team to represent.Trust our captain( Smith) to die for the team.
And when he is dead,
Trust Johan Botha to ably run with it.
Trust our Proteas.
Trust them to do it.
Do a double over the No 1 cricket team in the world.
Trust them.


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


FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

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


Saturday, January 24, 2009

'First Blacks', Good South African Books, And Goodwill Payments

* Barack Obama's inauguration as the 'first black' president of the USA this week. Like everyone,  I was moved by the historical significance of this occasion. To be able to tell my kids,  one day, that I was there when it happened is quite something. Besides the history bit, I admire Obama's oratory skills. He is like a motivational speaker. Listening to him speak lifts one's spirits. With his "YES ,WE CAN" slogans, he was pure inspiration.
Whether we want to become presidents, or climb Mount Everest, or even fly to the moon, now we know "WE CAN". Barack Obama has shown us the way.


* My finally getting to read the book - DON'T PANIC - by Allan Knott-Craig( the MD of Iburst). I had heard so much about this book. Of how this one email sent by Allan to his staff, highlighting the good and positives about SA, had triggered an avalanche of more reasons why SA 'rocks' from the general public.
And indeed in this book South Africans of all shades do sing the praises of our country. They write about the beautiful weather, the thriving and stable economy, the wonderful landscapes etc,  etc. At the same time everyone admits that we do have our challenges. For example, things like crime. On this issue we all need to chip in as citizens to help our police force, most of the the contributors in the book seem to be saying.
I was particularly heartened by how most of my white countrymen love this country. They are staying, and some are coming back from foreign lands.
DON'T PANIC is a must read for all South Africans.


* A surprise cash injection in our salaries this month. Our company's management at my work place gave us a once off R1000 this month. This extra cash was something called a 'goodwill payment'. And frankly, we had not seen it coming. It surprised and pleased us. We welcomed it with open arms. It came during one of the traditionally tough months of the year financially. There is the Christmas spending hangover, school fees , you name it.
'TA' to group management for - for a lack of a better explanation - rewarding us for being good employees.



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

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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:


'First Blacks' United
________________

Congratulations Mr Obama.
'First Black' prez of the US.
And to all other recent trailblazers of colour.
To you Mr Nelson Mandela.
'First Black' president of SA.
To you Mr Patrice Motsepe.
'First Black' SA billionaire.
To you Mr Tiger Woods.
'First Black' world No 1 golfer.
And to you Mr Lewis Hamilton.
'First Black' F1 winner.
So many 'first blacks'.
An African century this?


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

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

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

Thursday, January 15, 2009

World Class Retailers, Local Success Stories, And Celebrity Visits

* Reading( The Times of 14 /01 /09) that the local supermarket chain - Pick'n Pay - has been voted the best retailer in the world by the National Retail Federation. The N R F is the largest retail trade association in the world. It felt good to hear this about Pick'n Pay. A South African company being recognized internationally is always good news.
And I could not agree with the N R F more. I go to a Pick'n Pay outlet at The Glen mall quite a lot. And I am always struck by how well it is run.

* Getting to learn how a neighbour - Mr Paul Moya - turned his life around.
I had gone over to his house for some help. While I was there we started talking about this and that. I - like most neighbours - had marveled at his transformation and had wondered how it came about.
From a struggling car mechanic working from home in the hot sun - as he put it himself - he now owns several cars which include an imported Merc E class.
His big break came - after years of trying - when he got a contract( tender) to organize food supplies for the army( SANDF). He does this through his company called Moyhlu Food Distributors.
Mr Moya's secret of success was really simple.He said:
"Don't give up on your dreams. Keep working on
them patiently until God answers your prayers."
* The local celebrities that pop into our branch ( The Glen mall) once in a while. These guys add a touch of glamour to our work enviroment.
Chico(of "We miss you Manelo" fame) popped in this week. Jub Jub(of "Ndikhokhele" fame) also likes to visit. Thembi Nyandeni and Tod Twala (both of "Umoja" fame) do also visit.
The other day the 'people's poet' himself - Mwakhe Mbuli - made an appearance. And when a colleague asked him for some advise on how to become a good poet, he gave her this poetic and timeless advice:

"You must read. And read widely too.
You cannot lead without reading."

Sure, Mr Mbuli.



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


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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Pick'n Pay - The Glen
________________

Love the variety of salads,
at your salad bar.
Love the wide fruit range.
Love your wide ailes.
Enough room to roam,
Enough room to push a trolley.
Love how you always have,
our favourite Sasko seed bread.
Love your friendly employees also.
Nico and Inno, sisonke bafowethu.
Love the whole experience,
Of shopping here.
Love it to bits.


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

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

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

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Nice Guys bo-Lucas Radebe, Matric Exam Success Stories, And Handy Colleagues

* Getting a confirmation that former Bafana Bafana( our national soccer team) captain - Lucas Radebe - is indeed a very nice guy.
Mr Sesoai - a customer of ours that I helped recently - related how he once met Lucas in Leeds, in the UK. This was when Lucas was still playing for Leeds United. On discovering that Mr Sesoai is also from South Africa, Lucas enthusiastically made some small talk and seemed genuinely pleased to see a fellow South African.
Mr Sesoai was struck by how down to earth Lucas was for someone that well known.

This was just one of a number of instances where I got to hear about Radebe's lack of airs.


* The Sunday Times newspaper of this past weekend - 04/01/09 - carrying some truly inspiring matric exams success stories. The students featured here succeeded under very trying conditions.
There was Joseph Dimpe from Garankuwa. He "..had to walk more than 20km to school and back, cook for his paralylised mother and study by candle light". After all this he still managed to obtain six distinctions.
While Miseni Dladla, from Kwazulu Natal, got five As from a daily routine that included herding cattle after school, studying by candle light until midnight, then waking up at 3am to study some more.

Common to all these stories were the elements of hard work and self-sacrifice .These are attributes we can all do with as we start a brand new year.

* We are told that a model '1 and Done' branch worker is not only a jack of all trades ,but he uses these skills willingly to help in other departments outside his own.
In my fellow worker - Derrick Gayiya - we have someone very close to this model. He does not wait to be asked for help. When the queue in our department( front line service) gets too long, and he is not too busy in his, Derrick wades in. He does the same for other departments like Forex, for example.

"We truly appreciate it, 'tata'."


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


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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

In Your Heyday
_____________

Rhooooooooooooooo.
In your heyday,
A defender of defenders at Kaizer Chiefs.
Read the game brilliantly too.
In your heyday,
A fine captain for Bafana Bafana.
A similarly fine one at Leeds.
In your heyday,
You 'rocked' Chief.
And you still 'rock'.
Rhooooooooooooooo.


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

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

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


Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Beginnings, A Surprise Edition, And Grateful Expatriates

* The fact that this week we are starting a new year-2009 . This is a chance to start afresh. It is another opportunity to make our dreams come true in the new year. And this thought of making our dreams come true is not too far fetched. All we have to do is to start FEELING GOOD now. Start by noting all the good things(or happenings) in your life right now. Every day write down stuff that made you FEEL GOOD. As you do this every day,  your happiness barometer will go up and with this,  your self-confidence. As you begin to feel happy more often, the Universe will speak to you. With your dreams in mind,  you will get hints to try this here, or that there. If you follow these hints you will find your true calling in life.
Here is to a HAPPY AND WONDERFUL 2009.

* Getting the Sunday Times newspaper this past Sunday(28/12/08 ). I had thought that after the year-ending tabloid edition the previous weekend(21/12/08 ) we will next see it in the new year. If this had been the case, my Sunday would not have been the same .It would have lacked it's main ingredient. The good stories and good writing in the Sunday Times make for really enjoyable Sundays for yours truly. So 'big up' to the Sunday Times team for working throughout the festive season.


* In the same Sunday Times edition(28/12/08 ) above there was an email in the Reader's Views section that made my heart sing. This email made me re-appreciate what we have here in South Africa. We have something beautiful.
The email was was from Colin Bremner. He is an expatriate who went and tried his luck living overseas in the UK. But had come back home. There he was a pilot to rock stars. I loved hearing his reasons for coming back. As he put it:
"This( coming back) was the best thing that ever happened
to me. I remembered my mansion in Johannesburg(paid for),
 my swimming pool, my sports cars, and, mostly, my wonderful
friends. Not to mention the beautiful people who cared for my
every need with regards to cleaning, cooking, ironing and security.
In SA, I too was a rock star and very lucky indeed."

Nice one Mr Bremner.  And not forgetting our beautiful, beautiful weather of course.

Viva SA!Viva!


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

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Our FEEL GOOD poem of the week:

Nothing Like
__________

There is nothing like.
Nothing like a NEW YEAR.
A new year to make us wish again.
To make us young again.
A new year to give us a clean slate.
To make us let go of the painful past.
A new year to inspire us,
And make us feel good.
There is nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Like a NEW YEAR.


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

FEEL GOOD THIS WEEK?

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