I successfully hand soldered all the parts, including the SOIC ch554

After plugging the device in to a USB port, the chip caught some part of the metal chassis for the USB connector and ended up getting ripped out: pins bent and all.

I decided to switch to writing the software with the development boards that I had purchased earlier. I'll likely do a redesign of the hardware. 

Attached is a photo of the carnage. Unfortunately I have no "before" picture.

Maybe if I decide to stay with this design, I'll go with an even thinner PCB. The thickness of the PCB combined with the thickness of the chip was too tight a fit I guess, even though I did the math and the whole thing should have still made it in.