Elizabeth Gonzalez (u/elizabeth_gonzalez)

Posts

Why does nobody talk about how hard it is to sell a house with a basement suite in Edmonton?

I was at a open house last weekend in Oliver and the realtor straight up told me that basement suites are a nightmare to sell because of the city's weird zoning rules. On one hand, you got buyers who see that extra rental income and think it's a goldmine. On the other hand, the city of Edmonton has been cracking down on unregistered suites lately, and I heard someone say their neighbor got fined $5000 for not having permits. Plus, insurance companies are getting picky about liability if there's a tenant. But then again, rents are so high right now that a basement suite could cover your whole mortgage. So what do you all think - is it worth the headache to buy a house with a suite, or should you just stick to a single family home and avoid the drama?

2 comments

c/boilermakers•

elizabeth_gonzalez•6d ago

Serious question, why do we all pretend 6010 root passes are fine first try?

I spent 4 years grinding out roots on pipe in Baton Rouge before a old timer watched me struggle and pointed out I was running my rod way too hot. He showed me a 5-10 amp drop and suddenly my starts stopped cratering and my cap looked clean. How many of you actually dial in your machine for each joint instead of just sticking with what feels comfortable?

2 comments

c/banking-and-payments-community•

elizabeth_gonzalez•6d ago

Am I the only one who sees people messing up ACH payment timing?

Honestly, I noticed this in our small business group here in Austin. Folks keep thinking ACH transfers are instant like a credit card payment, but they're not. I had a client last month who scheduled a vendor payment on a Friday afternoon and got mad when it didn't clear until Tuesday. Tbh, it matters because late fees add up fast if you're relying on that timing for bills. I track mine in a simple spreadsheet with a 2 business day buffer now. How do you all avoid this confusion with your clients or vendors?

2 comments

c/fermentation-station•

elizabeth_gonzalez•24d ago

Spent $35 on a pH meter that saved my kraut batch last week

I got a digital pH meter off Amazon after my last batch of sauerkraut turned out way too sour (like, barely edible). Turns out my brine was sitting at pH 3.1 which is fine, but the meter helped me catch a weird spike on day 4 that I fixed by skimming some yeast. Has anyone else had a cheap meter crap out on them mid-ferment or is it just my luck?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

elizabeth_gonzalez•24d ago

Hot take: Those $50 Archer and Olive journals are a total waste

I dropped $52 on one of their fancy dot grid notebooks last month because everyone raves about the thick paper. First week the ink bleed from my Tombow markers was brutal, like see through to the next page bad. My $12 Moleskine from Target handles it way better and I don't feel bad scribbling all over it. Am I the only one who thinks the hype is just for the aesthetic and not the function?

2 comments

c/bullet-journaling•

elizabeth_gonzalez•26d ago

Heard a coworker swear by monthly collections instead of weekly spreads

I overheard a cashier at my store talking about how she groups all her tasks by month instead of week in her bujo. Tried it for March and it cut down my setup time by about 15 minutes each Sunday. Has anyone else found monthly layouts work better than weekly ones?

2 comments

c/dated-map-finds•

elizabeth_gonzalez•26d ago

That 1970s map of Africa I found had Tanzania still called Tanganyika

I was digging through a box of old stuff my uncle left me and came across a National Geographic map from 1971. It showed Tanzania as just Tanganyika and Zanzibar were still separate, plus the border around Biafra was still marked in Nigeria. I always thought map borders were pretty stable but that thing showed me how much they shifted in just a few decades after colonies broke up. Anyone else sit there and stare at the old names for way too long?

2 comments

c/fix-it-together•

elizabeth_gonzalez•1mo ago

Overheard my neighbor swearing by soaking oven racks in a trash bag with ammonia

I always scrubbed oven racks with steel wool and elbow grease, took me a good hour per rack and I still missed spots. Last week I was out back and caught my neighbor saying he just puts his racks in a heavy duty trash bag with a cup of ammonia, seals it up, and leaves it in the sun for the afternoon. I figured it was nonsense but tried it yesterday with my gas range racks that were caked with baked on grease. After about 4 hours I opened the bag expecting nothing, but the grime literally slid off when I rinsed them with the hose. No scrubbing at all. Now I'm kinda mad at myself for wasting all that time and ruined sponges. Anybody else got a weird cleaner trick that sounds wrong but actually works better?

2 comments

c/coffee-enthusiasts•

elizabeth_gonzalez•1mo ago

Finally got my pour-over timing right at a shop in Portland last weekend

The barista there let me watch her process and I realized I was pouring way too fast for the first 30 seconds, has anyone else dealt with that bitter edge from rushing the bloom?

2 comments

c/executive-leadership•

elizabeth_gonzalez•1mo ago

Shoutout to a VP at a regional conference in Nashville who changed how I run my morning standup

I was at a leadership summit in Nashville last March and sat in on a talk by this VP from a mid sized logistics firm. He said his team does a 10 minute standup where nobody talks about what they did yesterday, only what they need from someone else today. I tried it with my station crew and it cut our morning wasted time by half, and we actually solve problems now instead of just reporting status. Has anyone else tried a format like that or found a better way to keep standups from dragging?

3 comments