While waiting for a backup restore, I right-clicked the database in Object Explorer. . Changed it to 120 (SQL Server 2014). Then I right-clicked a particularly slow view – "Show Estimated Execution Plan".

I closed SSMS 2014. The splash screen flashed for a second – the classic blue SQL Server logo. I saved my session (Session > Save as .sql) into a folder called Phoenix_Fixes . No Git. No CI/CD. Just a network drive and a prayer.

I connected to the production instance: FIN-SRV-03\LEGACY . The Object Explorer slowly populated – Databases > System Databases > WideWorldImporters (a test restore, thankfully, not live). Tables, Views, Stored Procedures… thousands of them.