Things we only appreciate in hindsight

While we are in the midst of things, we don't always appreciate how they will benefit us long term. I have been thinking quite a bit recently about two scenarios like that in my life.

At my first job in HR I worked for a company that was ISO certified. One of the things that meant is we had a robust document management process. There was a database where all company documents were logged, you had to track every place where a document was distributed so that you could update it when revisions were made, and our document management process was subject to audit by our certifying body. I remember thinking what a pain this all was. However, many years later, I understand its value. 

At my company we have no centralized records database that I know of or any training on document control. And it shows. I have looked at our company's intranet and found multiple versions of a form. In HR, we receive and accept outdated versions of certain forms. In my ISO life, it was drilled in our heads to never save a local copy of a file for future use. If you turned in an obsolete version of the form, it was promptly rejected, and you were instructed to submit the current version. I also see this in my department's ongoing efforts to write SOPs. There is just a lack of knowledge about how to track revisions to documents. People don't know what they aren't taught.

The second example is my company's applicant tracking system (ATS). When I started, our entire recruiting process was tracked manually. Yes, it was a nightmare. I was one of the people who helped implement the ATS 7 years ago. I immediately saw the benefit as we were able to automate so much of our previously manual work. However, something I didn't understand at the time is how much the experience would help me with understanding how the system works, and consequently, being able to troubleshoot glitches. Just today, one of my newer coworkers said "Task A won't work right. Can you look at it?". Since I know how the parts of the system work together, I was quickly able to locate the issue (that was caused by someone outside of our team) and tell her how to work around it. Once she did that, she then said "I can't figure out how to do Task B" that was part of the workaround. I was able to email her instructions on how to do that. Was implementing the ATS tedious and time consuming? Definitely. Has it benefitted me in ways other than recruitment automation? Also a yes.

We never know where life will take us in the future. Who knows what task that we find annoying today may greatly benefit us tomorrow?

Resignation via cake

 We had a first at work this week- someone resigned via cake. On Monday she brought in a cake that said "My last day is Jun 14. It'z (sic) also my bday. Happy birthday to me".  I loved it. 

Reflections on 5 years as a homeowner

Five years ago today I got the keys to my house. I'll share some thoughts I had as I reflected on that and my five years of homeownership.

When I think of 5 years ago today, a few things come to mind:

- Being so antsy to get the call that I could pick up the keys. We had closed on 12/28, but possession was 15 days after closing (the seller was moving out of state, and I assume that's why they wanted the extra time.)

- My disgust that I had to clean the refrigerator before I felt comfortable putting food in it. It was gross, and there was even cat hair in it! I was highly irritated as cleaning refrigerators is not fun, and I had just cleaned the one in the apartment I was vacating (it did not have cat hair in it).

- The satisfaction of ripping out carpet. The main floor had carpet in 3 of the bedrooms. I am not a big carpet fan, and this carpet looked disgusting. I knew there were hardwood floors underneath, so I put on a mask (they had cats, which you probably already guessed, and I am allergic to cats) and got to work. It was gross as you realize how much "stuff" lingers in carpet, but it felt so good to get it out. The floors all had some damage, but it was way better than the carpet. I lived with the wood as is for over a year as I did other projects that were more important to me. Here are before and after pictures of each room.

- Sleeping that first night on an air mattress on one of the bedroom floors. I got the keys on a Saturday, and the movers were scheduled for Monday. I remember hearing new sounds as I lied there (every house makes different sounds). I never again slept in my apartment.

Reflections on the past 5 years of homeownership:

• I am so happy I bought this house. It is great home, in a fantastic location, in a wonderful neighborhood
• I am so thankful I bought when I did. I had looked at houses off and on for 10 years. This was the 3rd house on which I had an accepted offer. The other 2 fell through after inspection. It was definitely worth the wait. Since I bought, prices and interest rates have went up significantly. My house is now worth about $100K more than what I paid for it. I didn't get a screaming deal when I bought. I paid what I think was a fair price. The fact that my house has basically earned me $20k/year is like having a well paying part time job without working. Also, I was thankful many times during the pandemic to be living in my house and having yard and not stuck in my apartment.

How is the house different from when I bought it?

The house was move-in ready when I bought it, for which I was and am very thankful. I have made several changes, most cosmetic. Some of the most impactful ones:

• Painted 3 of the bedrooms
• Painted one bathroom, including the ceiling
• I had never painted before. I am pretty proud of how it all turned out.
• Patched what felt like a million nail and screw holes
• I have become quite excellent at patching small holes in plaster
• Almost every door on the main floor and the surrounding trim had been painted. I stripped them and applied polyurethane. This took several months, but it was worth it.
• I changed the door hinges on the interior doors of the main floor from brass to oiled bronze  
• I stripped, painted, and/or stained the baseboards in every room of the main floor except the kitchen and dining room
• I had the hardwood floors refinished in the 3 rooms where I removed the carpet. They look amazing. The pictures below are the rooms in the same order that they appeared above.

• I had an electrician make several small changes: Adding GFCIs to the bathrooms and outdoor outlets, adding some switches, changing outlet covers, and swapping light fixtures.
• By far the most expensive thing was replacing the HVAC 2 years ago. I knew this was coming at some point as it was over 15 years old when I bought the house and the a/c was slightly low on freon (which was fixed by the home warranty company). When the a/c ran for an hour one day and the temperature didn't move, I knew the time had likely come. The HVAC tech (who is great) said I could possibly limp it through the rest of the summer. I bit the bullet and had it replaced after getting multiple quotes. I am so glad I did. In 2021, we were not yet in the "shortage of everything" and "massive inflation" phases. I got a unit quickly, and supposedly it was an upgraded unit at no additional charge (this was borne out based on the quotes.)

Overall, wow, how five years have flown. I have been very happy with my ownership of this home.