Chased a ghost squeak for days once, was just a dry derailleur pulley.

Swapped my whole mindset after sitting through a similar mediation last spring. I walked in thinking the other side was just being difficult, like they were playing games with numbers to wear me down. Then the mediator pulled out the actual cost breakdown and I went quiet real fast. Seeing the total hourly rate for everyone in the room, plus the filing fees and the time I was taking off work, it hit me that my "standing my ground" was basically just me paying extra to be mad. I used to think asking for the full list was a sign of weakness, like I didn't trust the process. Now I ask for every single line item before we even book the room, and honestly it's saved me more than a few sleepless nights.

Four degrees seems like a lot of work for a guess that could've gone either way.