Damn, that actually makes a lot of sense honestly. I used to be the same way, I'd argue with people about pointless stuff all the time, thinking I was in the right. But then I realized nobody's paying me for my opinions, they're paying me for a service and I just gotta get it done as long as it's safe lol. Like who am I to judge someone's "bad vibes" or whatever, that's their business not mine. The check clears either way and the tree isn't getting hurt so what's the harm. You definitely changed my mind on this one, I was fighting battles nobody asked me to fight.

Dug through half my bag before admitting defeat and just using my fingers instead.

@ivan_murphy80 Agree with @susansingh on habit, but my core temp stayed steady in drysuit so it just worked. No regrets.

Buddy of mine joined a book club once where the host just said "it's a classic" and everyone went along without asking which one. Turned out to be some dense Russian novel with like 40 characters and nobody finished it except the host. Whole group basically died after that first meeting because everyone felt tricked into homework.

First few passes I felt like I was fighting the machine" - that's the exact spot where most guys get stuck. You gotta let the trowel do the work, not muscle it. Keep your hands loose on the handles and let the blades find their own flatness, then just guide it. For the overlap issue, try making your passes so each one covers about half of the last one's width. That's what finally clicked for me after I spent a week redoing a parking lot. You got this, just give it time.