stressin over the auto..

well i've had my 96 integra se auto for about a month now and i'm really getting frustrated that its an auto .. now people on other boards have suggested (quite rudely I might add) that I should just sell the car and buy a manual..
Here's the dilemma though ..firstly, I've driven auto's for 3 years and I have never driven a manual before. I'm a very busy college student and I just don't think i can make time to learn how to drive stick, sell the car, and go looking for a another car.. also I like the auto as a daily driver but I really hate the fact that I can't have much fun with it and it drives me crazy knowing that my slushbox is eating up power I ran with my friends 5speed 2001 civic ex w/ only CAI from 0-60 and he beat me by about a half carlength.. sooo dissapointed.. Another thing is that it was my first time purchasing a car and I had a bad experience buying the car from a really rude dealership. I'm sort of reluctant to get into all of that again.
I was planning to mod the car lightly with the basic i/h/e and some suspension mods, but I'm wondering if it may not be worth the effort or the money..
Anyone else in a similar situation? Need some good advice and/or encouragement ..
Thanks for listening.