Rotten Apple

I am a nerd. I admit it. I am not a geek, since geeks actually know what they're doing with computers. I enjoy computers-- ask anyone who ventures to the CambridgeSide Galleria AppleStore with me and must stand over my shoulder as I play with the computers, pimped out with every program I wish I could afford, then move to the iPods/speaker setups, grabbing everything, avoiding the glances from the employees for fear they'll ask me if I want anything and I'll scream "Yes! A Powerbook and 20GB iPod to go!" before I can help myself.
However, I've been having some problems with technology lately. My beloved iPod is near death. I have one of the old-school 5GB models whose batteries are notorious for a painful, drawn-out "I just charged this fucking thing so why isn't it playing the BEP for me" deaths. The headphone cord is fraying where it plugs in to the device. It is scratched from all the use it's had. If someone told me I could either save my iPod or a small child from demise, I'd have to give it some serious thought. The iPod gives me some auditory personal space on the T, it allows me to indulge my wildly moody musical whims ("I am sad. Tori Amos. I want something masculine and mean. Tom Waits") and, quite honestly, the iPod is the greatest man-made device since the flush toilet.
Last night, in an effort to extend the life of my iPod, I decided to wipe the files off the disk, then update the software on the iPod. I don't know why, and as soon as I clicked "wipe" I knew I had made myself some trouble. At first, it all went as it was supposed to. The iPod asked me to unplug it from the computer, then plug it back in. The songs started reloading. About 58 songs in, the iPod stopped loading the songs. It got stuck on "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and wouldn't continue. No biggie, I thought. Just reboot the computer.
I don't know what it is with Macs. I love them, but whenever I fuck them up, I fuck them up good. When I had my iMac back in 1999, I deleted the system folder. Then it took three people, all of whom were well-versed in computers, to figure out how to connect it to URI's ethernet (turns out we had the wrong cord). Now my iBook is loading the system software, but when it comes time for the desktop to appear I get a blue screen with a lonely black arrow, floating in a sea of nothing.
Since I just paid off the fucking computer about a year and a half ago, I was devastated that it appeared to be dead. I rebooted again. Blue screen. I swore at it. Blue screen. I pressed letters on the keyboard, hoping to appeal to it through some sort of telepathy. Blue screen. I went to my roommate's computer to IM the Whatever, the closest thing to a Mac geek I know. Annette's computer wasn't working either. Shrieking. Rebooted Annette's computer. That fucking worked. No Whatever. Swearing. Went back to the Mac. Blue screen. Dropped laptop from six inches off the surface of the desk. Blue screen flickers, but remains blue. Collapsed into heap on the bed, mortified I'll have to part with MORE money to get a new computer. Realize that iPod will not be operational for morning commute, the warranty on my iBook expired, and that I am woefully alone in the world. Cried and swore.
Thankfully, our tech guy at work is my hero, so he gave me some pointers and agreed to take a look at my home computer if it continues to be recalcitrant. Hopefully I can get everything working again or else I'm going to be reaquainting myself with the art of the mix tape. This was going to be a grievance with Apple for not releasing iPods in sizes I can use (it's like Goldilocks; the 6GB is too small, but the 20GB is too big, and there is NOTHING just right, especially in price) but morphed into my computer woes. As you were...