I feel your pain! 
The damn things always go at the most inconvenient moments.   I got sufficiently annoyed that these days I keep a stock of spare Bs and top Es.   That said, I've had a wound third go on the Ric, so there's no accounting for sods law...

Funnily enough, I'm looking to put a new pick-guard on an Epiphone SG I bought a while back (I've converted it from humbuckers to P90s so I want to stick a full size "batwing" type guard on to hide my less than neat, uh "modification" of the pickup cavities...) but it's not something I've done before.   I think there's a fair range of replacement pickguards for Strats that will just screw straight on in place of the old one, so it's a matter of taking the strings off, removing the pickups from the existing guard (Strat pickups are mounted on the guard if I remember correctly) and you'll also have to unbolt the pots and unscrew the switch from the old guard.   Then it's just a case of attaching everything to the new one, you'll need a suitable screwdriver and a spanner that fits the mounting nut on the pots.   I'm sure the shop would do it but then again messing around with guitars is fun!   If yours is a standard strat trem bridge then stringing is pretty straightforward, just don't get too many winds on the machine heads.

D'oh.... seems like I am left out, all this tlk of instruments I must learn something one day.... think i can rule out the sax as my chest feels like its caving in. Mr dad dd have a bass guitar once and I had a few strums on it, sadly he sold it. Cannot remember what make though, mebbe if i heard the name I would remember. Shame I cannot ask him... that is somethink I miss about him being gone, asking him stuff like this :'(

Anyway back to instruments. I can play the fool! Does that count  

Wow, this has been dead for a while...sorry to drag it up but I didn't think a new thread was appropriate.
*deep breath*

Ugh...my mind is alight at the moment. A burning desire.
Damn you Nicotine!
Yes, indeed I am a smoker. A filthy habit, I'll conceed. But at least I'm not doing it to improve my dancing technique! x_X'
Not really sure why I bring this up, but I've decided to quit.
...
No...being perfectly honest here, I'm being forced to quit because it's too expensive. Stupid economic recession...

CalculatedChaos
I'll bring myself out of seclusion just to say... I respect you for making this decision. My mind is in a lock since last night, so forgive me if I'm not as articulate as I can be... but... I do respect you for going through with quitting. Giving up something you've made a part of your life, even if it's something bad, is difficult. Most of my family smokes, and it's a dirty habit I know... once you get hooked some people never get off. But just remember these words: Temptations may come, that ain't no sin... You get stronger every time you don't give in.

You have my support...

G.H.
It's appreciated. I like that phrase and have written it down on the palm of my left hand, the one that I'd have to use to light up. Thank you for sharing that!

The cost is a problem, but the healt is a far worse risk. CC, i wish you strenght to win this fight, as i know how hard it is: not by experience, but i've had people close to me. And my uncle's last years of life were miserable too because of his bad smoking habit (he was a chain smoker, he managed two packs a day, i reckon he exagerated even by a smokers standards).

All i can say is, i respect your decision and i wish you luck. And don't worry if you don't manage it at first, sometimes it takes many tries. Just never give up completely

CalculatedChaos
I also wish you the best luck... just remember, if you give up, you'll just doom yourself to repeat the same torture in next few days. Better pass it once and never repeat. I know this sounds stupid, but maybe it would help... you are a person who care about your health (which is good), so you will be never able to smoke again without thinking about cancer anyway. So quitting it is the only possible choice.

No! I disagree here, completely.