Yeah, being on hold with the city is the worst. Last time I tried to get a simple fence permit, I had to call three different offices just to find out who to talk to. What's the longest you've been stuck on hold?

That bit about training people to expect everything for nothing is too real. My cousin once helped a neighbor set up their new TV, and now the guy texts him for every tech issue, like he's a free IT hotline. Last week it was about a printer from 2008.

That "printed template" you had is key. A physical copy you can lay over the drawing is WAY harder to ignore than just opening another file on your screen.

Are those ancient rocks really crumbling already?

Yeah but have you checked what kind of cabbage you used? The sugar content in different varieties can be wild. A head of early season cabbage vs a late storage one will ferment at totally different speeds. Your salt type might be doing it too, fine table salt vs coarse kosher can change how fast the water gets pulled out.