The bike is not fine. O.p. needs no more encouragement, as is apparent. I support the reality check GG provided. Sadly, as usual, he couldn't resist letting his own prejudice against the time tested derailleur get in the way. There is a maxim of life which says that 'the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts thereof'. That certainly isn't true in commodities such as bicycles, computers, etc. For most things you can buy, the sum of the parts far exceeds what you actually get, and you will thus pay more, far more, trying to build a bicycle (or PC) from disparate parts purchased (or scrounged) piecemeal.

When I moved cross-country in 2008 I did so without a commuter bike. For $129 at a local bike co-op I got an undecaled Schwinn of late 90's/early ought's vintage. Touring geometry. Exage 400 components, Biopace rings. Ready to ride. That's a cheap commuter made with high value components. LIGHT. Ready to ride. I have built bikes in my time. The goal is usually to maximize performance and/or bling. There simply is no redeeming quality in the o.p. bike. It wasn't especially cheap (because so much labor had to be invested) no matter what it actually cost. It is not light. Steel side-pull brakes in 2020 anything is an affront. BTW 28 x 28 equals 1:1 ratio which means the effort in the lowest gear possible is 28ish 'gear inches'. 2.1" tires are a bit big for commuting. That bike doesn't need bigger than 32mm. My commuter (a tandem) has a 44/32/22 x 11-32 8sp 26 x 50mm tires. Lowest gear 17ish gear inches!! That's how you save your meniscus. Top gear is around 109". Plenty enough for commuting.

I'm setting up a road racer commuter with 50/34 x 12-36 8sp. (700C x 25mm). With any of my 'builds' I work with as much of the OEM bike as possible. That is how you save money. All I'm changing is the cassette, from OEM 11-27 to 12-36. You can't buy something as good or better than OEM without wasting money, and you can't scrounge anything as good as OEM unless you have unlimited time in which to do it.