Please Explain

It seems like Japan never ceases to want to screw me over.

Today I went to a small guitar shop near where I live, and asked how much it'd cost to install that new pickup in my guitar. The guy told me 3,000 yen, a little bit more than Rock Inn. Later I went into Shinjuku and checked with Shimamura Music and they told me about 8,000 yen!

I basically know what to do. Are a few screws and some soldering really worth that? I don't think so. There are a mess of wires in a tiny space though.

I was actually going to go to Akihabara where I'm sure I'd find a soldering iron at a reasonable price to do the job, but I also wanted to find out why the pittance of that 12,000 yen "economy bonus refund" hasn't been given to me yet. So that meant I had to make a trip to Shinjuku instead.

I figured I'd be able to get one from Yodobashi or Bic but neither of them had it. Luckily I managed to get one from Rock Inn for 1,575 yen, which had solder and a handy stand as well.

Before we went home we had okonomiyaki to prepare me for the task ahead. I looked up as much information online regarding soldering, but I'm definitely not a natural at this. I only had two or three points to solder, but it was tricky to get the hang of it.

All screwed together and actually making a sound, I think I actually did it! I guess you can safely go by the ethos that if Jimmy can do it, anyone can. I'm glad that I saved a few bucks.

How does it sound? It sounds pretty good, although I was happy with the stock pickup anyway. Idle hands needed something to do. To my poor ears it doesn't sound all that different, but it sure looks nice with that chrome top doesn't it?

So what about that bonus refund? I should get it in my account next week. After I admired my handywork I opened up my health insurance payments. For some reason they're making me paying 18,700 yen each installment. WTF?? I guess I have to help all those old people stay healthy. Keep smoking f****ers!

Every year I'm making less. How depressing.