Yeah, hot spots are the worst. We had an old flat top that would warp if you looked at it wrong, made cooking eggs a total nightmare. The middle was a nuclear reactor and the edges were basically just keeping the plate warm. You'd put down six orders and two would cook in half the time, threw our whole timing off. Ended up having to map it out with little flour tortillas to see where we could actually put stuff.

My buddy was painting his kitchen cabinets and he was going nuts with the streaks. He called me over, ready to sand the whole thing down again. I handed him one of my old natural bristle brushes and told him to try one more coat. The difference was insane, like night and day. He said the brush just pulled the paint on so even and filled in all those thin spots. He bought a whole set the next day.

Right? I worked with a guy who had fancy electronic muffs, and they died halfway through a shift near the dish pit. Couldn't hear a word anyone said over the steam and clatter, it was a mess. My basic ones from the hardware store have never let me down, and I don't have to remember to charge another thing.

But the real question is if he meant what he said. A practiced speech can still be honest, but watch if his actions later match the words. That's the only way to know for sure.

Patricia's over there guarding that slab like it's the last cookie in the jar. A year with no problems sounds like a win to me.