Will I ever feel fully prepared to bring my baby home?

I still have about 15 weeks left of pregnancy (if she decides she wants to bake for a full 40 weeks)...but I am already trying to prepare myself for the first few days after she is born.

More specifically, I am trying to mentally prepare myself for actually giving birth.  I am pretty sure that until it is experienced, it cannot be described.  Regardless, I still am innundating myself with information from blogs, resource sites and books. 

So - my first question:  is a child birthing class necessary, optional, or pointless?  I've posed this to my Facebook friends and am looking forward to getting feedback.  I can't decide.  Surprisingly, the class itself is fairly inexpensive - $60-$75 seems reasonable for a weekend full of information. 

The description of a local childbirth class:
"Enjoy a fun, relaxing, yet educational weekend learning about childbirth. This program includes most of the same information as the 4-week series. A tour is included. Content includes methods of relaxation, breathing and pushing techniques, available pain medication and preparing for the unexpected cesarean birth."

Really? Do the words fun and relaxing go together with a class about the undeniably painful process of childbirth?!?  I think not, but apparently the hospital wants it to sound as appealing as possible!

Due to my and the hubby's schedule, we will have to take a class on the weekend.  Which means we'll spend 6 1/2 hours on a Saturday and 4 1/2 on a Sunday for the class.  I spend every other weekend in class for my MBA program, so the weekends that I do not have class are precious time to spend preparing for the baby (or relaxing!).  I am really trying to decide if the childbirth class will be worthwhile for our situation. 

In the meantime, one of my best friends is a Labor & Delivery nurse...so she'll be giving us advice and information along the way regardless if we take the class. 

What are your thoughts?  I know most people take the class the first time around - but was it really helpful?  I mean, ultimately the baby is going to be born one way or another, right?!? 

Before I get some much needed rest - I found a checklist that I found helpful.  It is a list of essentials that parents should prepare for bringing their baby home (courtesy of whattoexpect.com).