Seat, Shorts, Handlebars?

[earthgirl]

So I just finished my first ride on the bike -and it would have been amazing! and much longer than the 2.7mi if I wasn't in so much discomfort. I wasn't tired, I just was in pain. (but it was STILL SO MUCH FUN!)

I felt like the seat was digging into my bones. Anyway, my questions are:

1. I've seen wider seats, and seats with gel, and seats with memory foam at the big box stores like Target, Academy, Sports Authority, etc. Are they any good?
   
   
2. A few of you mentioned shorts w/ padding in my last post. I did a search on TE but there's no mention of padding in the description. Is it just something you assume it has because it's a bike short?
   
   
3. Can I add drop bars to my bike? I feel like dropped bars will allow me to ride longer because it takes pressure off my wrists. My hands/wrists are getting numb in the second mile. I felt like this would be a problem, because I'm an avid writer and all the typing has made me have this pre-carpel-tunnels-syndrome. But I'm sort of surprised it's happening in the second mile!

I would have posted this in my last thread because it definitely falls in the overwhelmed category. But you ladies are SO AMAZING and answered so well and often -that I was getting dizzy sorting through the posts :-P