Okay before I start I'd just like to mention I'm a total newbie to all things Bitcoin.

I managed to buy some Bitcoins yesterday, only in the region of £30, I downloaded Bitcoin QT and transferred them there, however I did not realise how long it would take to import the blockchain (such a noob comment i can imagine).

After scouring the net I found the best way to speed up the process was to download the bootstrap torrent, which I did so, and it synced the blocks up until halfway point, and now it's going so slow, it looks as though it will take a further few days to complete fully, which is a problem as I was supposed to make a payment using my Bitcoins tonight.

Am I correct in thinking I can't transfer my BTC anywhere until the blockchain import is finished and my balance is visible on QT? Or is there some way around this? I read somewhere it could be possible to transfer my non-visible QT wallet to an online wallet, however instructions were for PC, and I didn't want to trial this incase I screwed it all up.

I'd also like to add I'm working on a 250GB Macbook Air with 4GB ram with a 1.8ghz processor (another reason it seems to be taking forever I'm guessing).

Any help would be much appreciated.