Honestly, that sounds like a great way to bond over shared misery.

Doubling it felt crazy high, but you're so right.

Oh man, @shane_morgan, that's a whole new level of bad... I keep picturing the paint thinner or whatever chemicals sinking into the water. Those fancy koi are super sensitive, right? One drop of the wrong thing could mess up the whole pond's balance. That painter probably just saw water and didn't think at all about the living things in it. The cleanup bill must have been insane.

Yeah that line is a lifesaver. I also add "no rush" at the end to take the pressure off.

My last bathroom floor had a corner just like that, a real nightmare. Honestly, I ended up mixing up a little batch of floor leveler in a cup and troweling it into that low spot before the final fit. Tbh, sometimes you just have to cheat and build the floor up a tiny bit. Let it dry completely overnight and that piece will sit like a rock.