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…

The flat - half year into...

Yesterday I deliberately (and without regret) missed the opportunity to celebrate half-anniversary of purchasing the flat. Having spent most of the Saturday running errands related to furnishing it, I did not even drop in on there (caught up today). After six months being continuously busy handling the endless restoration, the sound of the word remont makes me feel queasy.

In the purchase-related euphoria I have definitely underestimated the scope of works. Before stepping inside as an owner, I had planned something more than redecoration, with major refurbishments to be done in kitchen, hall, bathroom and toilet. As the day after the purchase I checked the technical condition of windows (and decided to order new ones), the list of things to be done once, but properly and for years began to grow longer and longer. The redecoration turned into a makeover, which actually was indispensable to a neglected 20-year-old dwelling. With hindsight, I believe a few works more could have been done as well.

The time frame for the venture has definitely been underestimated, I missed it by a long shot and my horizon of 3 months was extended to slightly more than 6 months. The major cause was the first crew of builders which had been postponing the onset of their works week by week, until I my father found new craftsmen (fortunately, they came in mere 3 weeks later). The remont has been a valuable lesson of patience.

Budget-wise, I have not summed up all expenses yet, however if I overshoot my target of 1,500 PLN per sqm, the overrun will not break the bank (annual bonus arrives in March).

Actually everyone who has had their dwelling refurbished experienced has learnt that:

- Murphy’s law works well on construction front (for the sake of caring about your mental health, worth distinguishing those mishaps you could have prevented, had you been more familiar with technical issues from those for which you should not blame yourself),

- nearly all builders and other professionals are a different breed (oblivious of concepts such as reliability, diligence, deadline, agreement).

While talking to people who have endured their remont a few years ago, most sympathise with me and recall their traumatic time. Mine actually has not been so ghastly thanks to involvement of my father who has spent hundreds of hours overseeing the process – otherwise I would have to seriously consider hiring somebody who would look after it.

Today, while at the scene, I forgot to take any snaps but:

- kitchen furniture have been partly installed (originally due to be completed by 8 February), besides a table and two chairs are the only missing elements,

- hall awaits wardrobes (due in the first week of March),

- bathroom is generally ready, but lacks a washing machine (a matter of a few days between an order and a delivery so I have been putting this purchase back for a few weeks now) and cabinet (due to arrive on Wednesday),

- toilet also awaits, but a cupboard,

- bedroom furniture to be delivered on Wednesday (hopefully) and the wardrobe to be put in along with the one in the hall,

- living room furniture have been ordered, but should arrive in late March.

Besides, several minor things still need to be done… I due course

Another set of remont musings after I move in. Sick and tired, but elated will I be then, by then just striving to carry it through.

10 years challenge

Today, 10 years ago (is this quaint form which I heard and read several times in use by native speakers correct – in Polish dziś, dziesięć lat temu sounds at best clumsily?) I posted on the blog for the first time. Few bloggers soldier on for so long, few bloggers do not run out of determination to write. As the Internet is full of #10yearschallenge comparisons, I will not spare the effort to come up with some salient ones, yet without any photo documentation.

In February 2009 I was a 21-year-old student of Warsaw School of Economics. I moved to a different role two years later; today I work at a bank controlled by one of bigger financial groups in Europe (fortunately not repolonised), striving to keep a low profile and remain anonymous.

Despite coming of age, I have not raised my own family yet. In the meantime the family I hail from has gone less populous after deceases of my paternal grandparents.

I set up the blog slightly more than a month after a break-up with a girlfriend. Today, my tenure of being single lasts 7 months (and despite keeping up appearances, it still feels traumatic).

In 2009 and for several years later I lived with my parents, then rented two flats, finally I purchased my own one and after overcoming all tribulations (cards stacked against me several times on the remont front) I should move in to my dwelling in March.

Politics-wise… Ten years ago Poland was under the rule of Platforma Obywatelska, the president was late Lech Kaczyński. Today his twin brother keeps a tight rein on Poland and will refuse to give in. The autumnal election will be the battle for the future of Poland.

Economy-wise… 10 years ago the world was in the doldrums of the economic crisis, with stock markets hitting many years’ low and Polish currency being the weakest in 21st century. Today several developed economies are facing threats of recession, while Poland again resists economic contraction, however for different reasons than a decade ago.

Society-wise… In early 2009 I did not know the word smartphone, which revolutionised not only technology (cell phone, computer, camera, video camera, clock, dictaphone, organiser, radio, mp3 player, calculator, torch, map crammed into a tiny device) but also marked a negative change in interhuman communication – made people stare at their smartphones instead of talking to one another. Sadly…

For the sake of statistics, most often viewed posts of the decade are:

1. Black swan theory, inadvertently published exactly two days before the theoretically unimaginable disaster.

2. Freaks of the dicts – linguistic puzzles were one of my passions around that time. I believe once the remont is over I will need to take the trouble to refresh my English, whose command has definitely seen better days (using it every day at work, yet reading far too little, which has negative impact on vocabulary resources – lose it or use it! Err… oddly enough, I observe the same has happened to my Polish)

3. Oscar and lady in pink – a review of a poignant book, reminds my remont-related quandaries appear miniscule when confronted with an innocent child passing away slowly.

4. Pushed around, ridiculed, degraded – an analysis of part of current ruling party’s electorate. Moherowe berety are no longer a hard-core voters of PiS, yet my to-do-list should contain a study into who the mindset of most avid believers of the first property developer in Poland.

5. The banker’s role from bank employee’s perspective – a response to a post written by a fellow long-distance blogger whose tenure will always be nearly two years longer than mine. Michael, thank you for inspiration and for being the only one from the Polish-English blogosphere, thriving in 2009-2011 and then waning, who has not dropped off.

There was a time when I was planning to give up on blogging on the 10th anniversary. Today, despite headwinds, I am determined to keep it up, however in a while I will need to abandon the predictable formula of one post each Sunday and bring in some element of irregularity.

Perfectionism

“To strive for perfection” is a phrase I have frequently used on this blog, in several contexts, however each time it has had a positive purport.

On Thursday morning on my way to work I was listening to a radio and learnt 7 February was a worldwide festival of perfectionism. A query to the most popular search engine has not confirmed that piece of information, but even if the światowy dzień perfekcjonizmu was just another figment of journalists’ imagination (or fake news, something I detest), it has prompted me to rethink whether endless striving for perfection is at all times positive.

Whatever you indulge in, do it with restraint. Endless pursuit of excellence is another example of obsession, a perilous one. If on every step you try your hardest to do things perfectly, your existence stands a chance to be turned into veritable hell. Perfectionism slowly kills not only the one afflicted with it, but also people around them. A perfectionist boss is a pest to their subordinates, a perfectionist spouse or parent incessantly infuriates their relatives.

Perfectionism in imperfect world, where most people display couldn’t-care-less approach makes one’s life a string of frustrations and disappointments, since the surrounding world constantly fails to fall into line with a perfectionist’s expectations.

Personally, I am also perfectionism-stricken, albeit I believe to a moderate extent. Over time life has taught me to ease up, just not to go crazy. I also control myself not to formulate exorbitant expectations towards other people. On the other hand, my current manager is much tougher perfectionist than me and we get along… perfectly.

I envy easy-going people, whose lives are free of quandaries I can create in my head. People not fond of neatness, tidiness, orderliness seem happier than me. On the other hand, I realise while I might fight my drawbacks, attempts to turn myself into a different man even if they did not go in vain, they would not make me happy. Only being oneself, living according to one’s values may assure happiness.

On the remont front, the builders have finished their job yesterday. More on the recent tribulations soon. The end is near, but the home straight is a sort of windy and bumpy...

K-towers tapes – questions left unanswered

Much uproar in the public discourse after the unveiling of recordings on which nadczłowiek* Kaczyński was talking about eventually aborted office development plans. Interpretations of what can be heard on the tapes (takes a while if you want to listen to the entire bundle of recordings, since the basic file shared by Gazeta Wyborcza has a duration of one hours and eight minutes) vary drastically. My thoughts to share are on the sidelines of the debate, since I am trying to look at the entire scheme from a banker’s perspective and discern intricacies an ordinary commentator would overlook.

1. No one has bothered to comment on how an office rental could fetch a return of 30%. I infer Kaczynski and his relatives meant ROE (return on equity = own funds invested) generated by a leveraged (financed with a third-party loan) investment. In reality rental of office space in Warsaw generates yield around 7% yearly.

2. The mythical one billion three hundred million. I have not worked out so far whether this was the amount of loan to be disbursed by Pekao S.A. or the entire construction budget. The question is valid since the Polish Finance Services watchdog a few years ago has brought into force Recommendation S, a set of strict guidelines pertaining to commercial property lending (observance of which has been strictly controlled by the regulator since then), in line with which a bank can finance up to 75% of (net-of-VAT) investment costs. Here I see only two possible outcomes:

A/ Srebrna venture has 25% equity, i.e. at least 300 million PLN, which according to my best knowledge goes well above the market value of plot of land. This gives rise to another question, namely how Srebrna had come into possession of so much money.

B/ State-controlled bank Pekao S.A. would finance 100% of the project budget and be in breach of Recommendation S, however the regulator (with Marek Chrzanowski in charge of it) would connive at it.

3. The terms of conditions of the deal were described by the press as very loose. I have not read the source article in Wyborcza (or skimped to pay for subscription), only its summary in Onet, which sadly was compiled by a journalist not up to the task. I can tell you if I recommended a loan for a start-up, for preparatory works with bullet repayment and interest capitalised rather than paid in regular intervals, I would be handed a cardboard box and fired. Since the inception of my adventure with banking industry, I have always avowed, unless pressed by unemployment, I would never, ever consider taking up a job with a state-controlled bank. And I proudly hold with it!

In recent weeks one scandal afflicting ruling party prominent politicians chases another. Seemingly PiS is teflon-coated and support in polls has not dwindled markedly. The situation resembles the course of events which kicked in the previous government out of power in 2014-2015. It all had begun with tapes whose importance had been shrugged off and then president Komorowski who had been told to have to run over a nun while inebriated behind the wheel to lose the election, actually lost it. The history may repeat, while the European parliament election in May will serve as a gauge.

* nadczłowiek = literally more than a human, the word I have coined to describe the stance of himself Jarosław Kaczyński had demonstrated over recent months.

Remont – home straight

A first report from the battlefield in 2019 after weeks of keeping curious readers in suspense. A lot has been done since then (glass half-full), but still a plenty of finishing works ahead (glass half-empty).

The kitchen is ready for assembly of ordered furniture. The initial assembly date was 23 January, but getting behind schedule is inevitable on the front. The dishwasher awaits installation along with kitchen furniture. A fridge and gas oven are due to be delivered the day after tomorrow. This is the only room thoroughly cleaned up.

Walls in the bedroom have been painted and floor panels will be laid next week. Pieces of furniture have been ordered (with lead time of 3-4 weeks they are due to arrive in mid-February). After the flooring panels get into place, wardrobe measurements might be taken.

Condition of the living room is akin to the bedroom, however I have not chosen furniture so far, though the concept has been in my head for a while. Furnishing this room is least urgent to inhabit the flat.

The toilet needs some fittings, including the most crucial ones, i.e. a washbasin and water flushing buttons. Still some work to be put in before the toilet can be used comfortably ;-)

In the bathroom, compared to how it looked out in mid-December, tiles have been laid, however much is to be done – shower booth, washbasin and several minor stuff need to be installed. But everything in due course.

The hall has thus become a clutter room, although the mass of stuff kept in the flat is targeted to be decreased if new pieces of equipment are to be brought in. Measurements of the wardrobe will mobilise to tidy up the place.

With so many tribulations along the way (recently unexpected goings on have been frequent), I don’t feel like envisaging the date of moving in…