A foreman in Bakersfield in July telling you to quit soaking is basically telling you to watch your mortar turn to dust before you can get a brick set. Soaking does more than just cool the brick down, it keeps the brick from sucking the water right out of your mortar so you actually get a bond instead of a dry crumbly joint. Maybe in your case the bricks were already wet from the stack or you were mixing hotter than usual, but writing off soaking as a summer rule sounds like a good way to buy back a bunch of callbacks.

Wait, a dual-deck at a church rummage sale? That thing must have weighed a ton, how did they even get it through the doors in the first place. I've seen some weird stuff at those sales but a full double cassette deck is a new one for me.

20 minutes is enough time to take a shower, shave, and actually style your hair if you know what you're doing. Most guys just never learned and assume it takes some secret product or a barber visit. Bet the guy just knew how to use a comb and some paste.