Some people don't like angle tweezers, but they're my preference. It's not often one needs to lift a single SMD pin, so I wouldn't fret too much over it!
An illuminated magnifier is always a great help with this stuff, my eyes just won't cut it these days without. I used to think it was just the parts getting smaller, now I know it's also me getting old!
Also,I recommend staying off the caffeine too.
Glad that the quick way appeared to work for you without lifting the pin. I guess we should wait and see what others' experiences are though, as I did notice a recent report that it didn't work for someone just shorting the pins without lifting pin 7.