Got a similar compliment on my focaccia once and it made my whole month, lol.

You made the right call going with the chicken for three meals. That's stretching your budget the way it needs to be stretched. Fresh herbs are a luxury when money's tight, and salt and pepper on a roasted chicken is still a solid meal. I'd have done the same thing and maybe grabbed a cheap onion or potato with the leftover two bucks.

Heard a barber say his backup clippers have saved his marriage more than once. That walk of shame is real.

Check your lease first (seriously).

That whole "cold sear" thing sounds like kitchen superstition that just gets passed down. Reminds me of guys who swear you have to mix concrete on a perfectly dry day, no exceptions. Then you see crews working in light rain with no issues because they adjusted the mix. Sometimes the old guard just latches onto one method and treats it like gospel, even when a simpler way works better.