Yeah, "milder" is one way to put it. The bagged stuff probably has "apple flavor" dust added.

Remember my friend trying to change a cabin air filter in his car? He spent an hour swearing at this tiny space behind the glove box. Could not see a thing and almost broke the plastic clips. Then he grabbed his wife's compact mirror and a little magnetic flashlight. Suddenly he could see the clip positions clear as day and got it done in five minutes. Why do they design these things to be so buried?

Yeah that fake calm act takes so much energy. I like what sarahf99 said about the deep breaths, simple stuff can help a bit. The win is still totally real even if you were freaking out inside.

That bit about celebrating a working pen being progress? I get the feeling, but a pen working is just it doing its basic job. Real progress is more like moving from a basic pen to one that never skips, or in the work case, from a hand brush to a power sweeper. One is just a tool not broken, the other is a clear upgrade that changes the whole task. It's the difference between things finally working right and things actually getting better.

My cousin threw a surprise party for her husband. He just stood there frozen, everyone waiting.