[TacticalCoder]

Ah thanks to all of you for the nice comments. I didn't really realize this: I may not despair yet and still give it some more tries. I'll probably keep a few tiny PCBs (say from broken computer mouses) around and cut cables (so that they're not oxidized) and give it a go again and see if I can get a bit better at it.

[projektfu]

They make practice projects with lots of joints for a few bucks that you can use to develop technique. Then you can know it's not just technique.