The Technology Graveyard

I lost a good friend last week; one that has been with me for the last five years. We met the summer before I started college and were never far from each other's side in the years since. Together we wrote thousands of pages of essays covering a broad range of topics and languages. He never chastised me for working at the last minute but rather stayed up late and helped me until I was finished. He was more than just a school chum - he was my partner (and opponent) for cards, a movie buddy, my own personal DJ and the one I could tell my secrets to, knowing that with just a click of a button they would not be shared.
When it came time to pack for my adventures abroad I had to make a decision - take my friend or not. After much deliberation I decided to bring my computer with me. It served me well for the first six months before giving up the ghost last week, taking to the grave all of the secrets I had shared as well as the projects I was working on (hence the recent dearth of entries) and all the things I deemed worthy of holding on to. While attempting a connection to the Internet, the computer froze up. I shut it down and tried to restart but it was dead as a doornail. Subsequent attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful. A phone call to Apple computers revealed that my friend is on a "vintage list" and is therefore irreparable both here and back in the States.
All hope is not lost, however. A phone call from my dad revealed a group of computer whizzes that are confident that if they can't repair it, they can at least recover the data from the hard drive for me. It's now a question of finances - is it worth the cost to repair or would I be better off just getting a new computer? Should I pay to send it home or wait until I return and just take it with me? With only six weeks remaining I'm not sure it's worth the cost of shipping home and so I am now the proud owner of an oversized coaster.