Oof, been there. That numb hand feeling is the worst. I learned the hard way that a cheap sander just eats up your time and materials. For a solid mid-range option, I've had good luck with the basic Bosch random orbital. It doesn't cost a fortune and it runs smooth enough that you won't ruin your project.

Gibson.sean's zit thing is a bit much, right?

My cast iron gets washed with a good scrub and dish soap after every use. The seasoning is polymerized oil, it's basically plastic. Modern dish soap doesn't have lye, it can't strip that off. A darker pan might just mean you're building up a layer of carbonized food gunk instead of clean seasoning. I'd rather have a clean, properly seasoned pan than a dark one that's just dirty.

Honestly my friend Mark learned to keep a small roll of duct tape in his bag from a fisherman in Lisbon. The guy used it for everything, from fixing a torn raincoat to a broken sandal strap. Mark laughed at first but then his backpack strap snapped on a hike in Scotland last year. He said that stupid tape roll was the only thing that got him back to town.

My kid asks why the sky is blue. Still stuck.