Bummed.

[Owlie]

Thanks, everyone. DBF made up for it with a nice dinner and an attempt to be adorable that I accidentally foiled.
Quickie update:
The back--much better, but not quite rideable yet. The giant lump is exactly where the stuff that goes in my jersey pockets ends up. That's okay, I suppose, because it's been rainy and windy the last few days.

Computer--I called Dell yesterday to see what they had in terms of CD drives that were compatible so I could at least get the thing up and running again. They gave me three part numbers...none of which actually exist, by the sound of it. I wound up getting the same drive via an Amazon store for $40.
DBF remembered that a friend of ours has the same laptop, which is no longer his primary computer. I'm going to ask him if he can pop the CD drive out so I can borrow it for a day.

The good news is that between my iPod and external hard drive, I didn't lose much. Just some music (which means I'm out $6 from iTunes, but that's okay) and some knitting patterns, which I can download again. Back your stuff up!