Camera issues! Calling all IT gurus, please help! (Jason!!)

Yes, I figured out how to turn the camera on and off. I even figured out how to change a few settings, zoom in and out and even charge that sucker at night. Life was good. I had over 300 pictures, even some close ups with and without the flash. I even managed to take a picture of the Taj Mahal in black and white. It was priceless. I was sure to submit a few shots to the National Geographic and make it big! On a previous trip I learned from a handsome tourguide by the name of Jhover (easy Cristyn) that if you submit a photo to the National Geographic and they publish it, bling bling- $500! That's a lot of money for the unemployed! Assuming even 5 of my photos got published, I could travel for another.......4 months! I was enjoying afternoon tea in some former royal palace watching an elephant procession (kind of like that scene in the Jungle Book) and decided it would be a good idea to figure out how to date stamp my photos. To make a long story short, I didn't buy the idiot proof camera and erased all of my National Geographic worthy shots :( I was so upset, panicked and in the mean time my tea got cold. I rushed to some "photo guru" who said it would take him at least 1 day to retrieve the photos. My train was going to leave in 2 hours, so I am lost. I did a few searches on line and I guess there is some software, but I am too dumb to figure it out! All I know is that I have a Canon camera with a SD card, but no photos! Jason-what do I do?? From what I read it sounds like there is hope. I went to a fortune teller earlier in the day and he warned me on no such disaster, only 2 husbands in my future, 4 children and heart (physical) problems in my older days. If I wasn't so traumatized, I would write more stories about the fortune teller. So for anyone who is bored at work and has time to kill....... feel free to do a quick search! If not, Andy you'll be stuck with all text for the next 4 months! I am reverting to good old fashioned polaroid cameras. You don't have to deal with any developing, uploading, downloading, etc. You can even write some notes on the bottom of the picture.