Some smelly code isn't the worst legacy to leave behind. Generally people won't fix it so it becomes technical debt which is why people probably left you alone on it.
You're right though, I think. You're fighting your past self, but mostly I just go "what the hell was I thinking" and if I have time, work in refactor time through actual banked off refactor time in support of a feature or something so it works better (improvement) or actual just devoted refactor as a means of maintenance so it has proper testing, if possible, but it depends on your fires, your resources and whatever else is going on.
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Some smelly code isn't the worst legacy to leave behind. Generally people won't fix it so it becomes technical debt which is why people probably left you alone on it.
You're right though, I think. You're fighting your past self, but mostly I just go "what the hell was I thinking" and if I have time, work in refactor time through actual banked off refactor time in support of a feature or something so it works better (improvement) or actual just devoted refactor as a means of maintenance so it has proper testing, if possible, but it depends on your fires, your resources and whatever else is going on.