Setting up a table is not that confusing. Trying to give you the steps to telnet and run mysql instead might be confusing. Downloading phpmyadmin is easy:
http://www.phpwizard.net/projects/phpMyAdmin/
Go there, download the zip, unzip, upload to a new phpmyadmin directory. Password this directory with .htaccess. There must be posts around here somewhere teaching you how to install phpmyadmin.
Once you have done this it will be your window into all of the database, you will wonder how you got along without it. Sorry my hacks do not install themselves, I believe you should be able to run phpmyadmin before hacking up vBulletin.
I was a designer first too, now I'm a hack programmer.. I'm sure you can learn it. Good luck.
ps. welcome, jojo