Just now when I was making tea, I glanced at the mempool and felt like waiting in line at the subway during rush hour… Clicking send doesn’t mean it’s immediately on the chain, it’s just like getting a number first; miners/validators will prioritize those who give bigger tips. It’s even more obvious when congested: the same transaction might get stuck, be jumped in line by others, or even you accidentally change the parameters, causing two transaction IDs to wait in the queue, which is pretty frustrating.

Recently, there’s been a mainstream chain upgrading/maintaining, and everyone in the group is guessing whether the project will migrate. I think, whether it migrates or not, the period before and after the upgrade is the easiest time to get overwhelmed. Don’t even talk about migrating; even transferring tokens feels like being pushed around in the subway crowd. Anyway, I just remember the word “queue”: if you want it faster, pay more; if you want to save, wait a bit longer. Don’t panic and keep canceling and resubmitting, or you’ll end up with cold tea and still not get your turn.