I have moved in

Finally back in Ursynów and in my own, not rented dwelling. Still getting to grips with the accompanying mess (especially given first guests pay me a visit today in late afternoon), so just signalling I'm alive and doing well (despite tiredness).

Who’d resolve and let us know – should they stay or should they go

Brexit is definitely a worthwhile topic, yet to compile the note I had to fight the inner order to shy away from writing dissertations on it. The reason I am inclined to refrain from having my say is that I am not a sufficiently diligent observer of the process. Over the recent weeks and especially days I have kept abreast of the festival of dithering and powerlessness and my major impression was that if you believe fecklessness is the domain of Poland, take a glance at the bygone empire whose statesmen cannot handle the Brexit.

Seemingly, the matter is straightforward – the will of the nation expressed in the referendum in June 2016 has to be brought into life. What makes things complicated is that the quitting procedure is unprecedented. A 600-page-long agreement has been negotiated with the EU, just the British parliament has not made up its (collective mind) to back it; deputies keep arguing for weeks being stuck in a gridlock, leaving bystanders around the world confused.

The most mind-boggling part of the story is that as Brexit date was inexorably approaching (before it was deferred by two weeks mere eight days ahead of deadline) and the no-deal option was looming, few were outspokenly fearing dismay. Some regulations governing air traffic, transport of goods and people as well labour market have been enacted, yet, correct me if I am wrong, everyone potentially harmed by the Brexit has seemed to have been taking it for granted the no-deal, chaotic scheme would be averted. No-deal Brexit, if it was to come about as scheduled, i.e. on 29 March 2019, would strike as a bolt from the blue.

The fortnight given mercifully by the EU to the UK to get its act together only prolongs the period of wreckful uncertainty. In the meantime, the concession from the EU has ignited a glimmer of hope among Brexit opponents. A petition for another referendum has been signed online by nearly five millions, around a million of people were reported to march yesterday in London, calling for revoking Brexit. Personally I hope firstly that the UK would reserve on its way towards independence from the EU structures, secondly that the travesty called Brexit will teach other nations a lesson, what reckless decisions preceded by flawed cost-and-benefit analysis lead to.

The result of the Brexit referendum, just like the victory of Donald Trump several months later or victory of PiS in parliamentary election in Poland several months earlier prove… (here I deliberately shut up, however comments containing ending of the sentence are appreciated).

Not a CFA charterholder (still Level III passed and no one can take it away from me)

Asked by several people whether I recommend to spend at least 1,000 hours (and some money) to earn CFA designation, I advise them to weigh up their priorities in life and whether they are ready to sacrifice at least three years finding time nearly each day to sit diligently for the exam.

I am proud of passing all three levels at first attempts, although I reminisce the fortnight before Level III as a nightmare, of being statistically one in seven candidates to have been eligible for the charter. The three-stage self-study course does not only test your wits (undoubtedly one must to be smart to grasp intricate concepts and get familiar with 3,000 pages of curriculum before each exam), but mostly determination and consistency.

In 2015 after handling all formalities I was awarded a charter, which I used for subsequent two years. For mere 350 USD per year (of which 75 USD goes to CFA Society Poland) I was entitled to put “, CFA” after my surname and could brag about being a part of financial world’s elite. My company refused to refund my the annual dues, saying the CFA qualification was not essential to perform my job (slap on my face, but shame on the New Factory, not me). I forked out to CFA Institute seven hundred US dollars in exchange of which I received their bulletins and participated in a few conferences (entrance to most of which was free of charge for non-charterholders). In 2017 I made up my mind to notice benefits much surpass costs and resolved not to pay a single dollar to CFA Institute. I had to dump my business cards and have them replaced by new ones, stopped using the CFA title and until now consider that step to be right.

On Monday I received the message to the right. At first I thought it was spam and afraid of clicking on the link I ran it via my antivirus programme whose check confirmed it was safe (BTW a fancy way of communicating via send-this-file confirms the highest standards CFA Institute abides by).

It turned out to be the second letter from CFA Institute (I do not recall getting the first one, dated 13 November 2018, since I probably had considered it a spam, especially if the message had looked like this and ignored it) in which they sent a print-screen of my LinkedIn profile, where I was claiming to be holding the CFA designation and threatened to take disciplinary and other actions against me. I wonder whether their threats to publish my name are in line with EU’s directive General Data Protection Regulation (in Poland known as RODO)…

Truth be told, not erasing the CFA designation (I have mended my ways immediately) was my omission and mistake, so I wrote a remorseful response in which I contritely apologised for the non-compliance with CFA Institute standards, they replied they were fine with it.

Topic closed, yet even if one day my present or future employer offered to pay my annual dues, I would refuse to resume my membership. CFA Institute looks like a sectarian organisation founded on candidates’ desire to hold a prestigious certification. I do not want to have the CFA Institute in-crowd to live lavishly off my back and offering me little in return. Besides, for a few years they have been working on differentiating the annual dues depending on geography (350 USD in Wall Street or n Canary Wharf is not the same in terms of purchasing power as in Warsaw or let alone Kiev where such contribution is more than a daylight robbery) and they are too slugging to proceed with it. Shame on them!

Young and healthy - for how long?

My problems with lumbar spine roughly date back to mid-2016. Around that time I had an episode of serious aches which I managed to overcome within a few weeks with a solid dose of exercising. After that I could boast of being in very good physical health (except for one knee injury in 2017) until late 2018…

The time when I overstrained my lumbar spine were the first weeks of the remont during which I did a lot to get rid of all stuff left in the flat by the previous owner with my bare hands (why paying somebody for a work I could do myself?). In the post-purchase euphoria I carried heavy loads and actually experienced little pain in my spine (though feeling I was risking an ache, but on the next day, not one which would keep me company incessantly).

The remont has actually accelerated the inevitable, since I had been ignoring temporary incidences of pain since more than five years. While doing several things which cricked my spine (carrying watering can, vacuum cleaning, bending while cleaning up, sweeping, doing gardening) I experienced the pain which would go away quickly after finishing a pernicious task. On top, factors to blame are sedentary lifestyle (I cannot avoid sitting in the office) and bad habits I am fighting.

While struggling the pains for recent two months, I have learnt I am not an outlier among healthy population. Horrifyingly, the percentage of people in their 30s or 40s having serious problems with their spines is enormous. Several of my workmates have advised me who (doctors, physiotherapists) to consult, taught exercises to strengthen and stretch several muscles, shared their methods of coping with pain and how to function (without giving up on essential activities) not to overreach the spine.

A decade ago I poked fun at my grandma, in her 80s then, who used to sat around with her neighbours on a bench outside their block of flats and went on about their illnesses for hours. These days I do the same while being 50 year younger!!!

I believe soon the life expectancy in developed countries begins to decline. Despite progress in medicine and technology, societies have to fight the battle against bad nutrition habits and lack of exercise. My generation was the last to spend their childhood playing about in the open air, not taking leaves off sport classes on mass scale and not spending hours staring at their computers and smartphones. My parents are frailer than my grandparents and I must claim to be less resilient to civilisation diseases than them. And so my peers do. Three of my four grandparents passed away at the age of 87, 89 and 92 and except for the very few months before the decease, all enjoyed good health. My parents, both 69 now, can gripe much more about their health than my grandparents who at such age were as fit as a fiddle. After the remont is over and the nagging pains are relieved, a pursuit of a recovery plan for my health is due/. I have already booked a fortnight stay at a sanatory where spine afflictions are cured, which is just a part of the plan, yet its crucial element.

Oddly enough, the my overall fitness has generally improved in recent months, meaning my body can tolerate more intensive effort before I get tired or lose my breath. Sadly, my bones, joints and muscles do not catch up.

Thrown out

Tuesday

Head of my departments books a flight to Wrocław for Friday (he travels there in business).

Wednesday evening. A fake meeting with fake agenda, yet real participants is called for Thursday morning (8 a.m.).

Thursday morning. The head of my department turns up to attend the meeting and is given a sack with immediate effect (his job contract formally will be terminated in 3 months with regular notice period at the end of which he will get a severance package due under an ongoing layoff programme). He manages to return to his desk and write a farewell e-mail to his subordinates before his access to computer is cut off. I pass him by while walking to the office. I am astonished to see him carrying a cardboard box. He thanks me for good service and seeing me speechless for a while he admits he is equally surprised.

Being made redundant in a corporation is similar to sudden decease. The pace of both processes is horrifying and so is the shock afterwards. Recent goings on in the New Factory bring to mind several waves of layoffs I endured while at the Employer’s.

On Thursday afternoon a short meeting is called to comment on the situation. The explanation what the reason behind the move has been does not hold water. The (former) head of department’s boss tells us the intention was to reduce number of directors in the division, therefore… the vacancy after him will be filled shortly. Then, as always in such situations, the team is instructed to carry on business as usual (adore the phrase which lacks a Polish equivalent).

With hindsight I realise the dismissed director had not lived up to a new chief officer’s expectations and a seasoned observed could have noticed that. Nevertheless, during several talks (face to face and during exchanged of plenty of phone calls, e-mails and messages) with my workmates I was asked the question “why”. The official version remains that it was a bolt of the blue (I would not tell anybody he failed to deliver).

The earthquake is over, now time to pick up the pieces and wait for the new nomination which is to be announced with days rather than weeks. Despite having worked in the ruthless industry for nearly a decade, I still feel disgusted by the style in which wicked corporation reduce headcount and how FTEs disappear suddenly nearly like in Stalin’s Soviet Union in 1930s.

The payment for the return airplane ticket to Wrocław has not been recovered by the New Factory.

Good to have the comfort of running the blog anonymously and feeling free to post such defamatory stories…