There. I said it. I feel better now. I did some digging on how to remove it from my XP system and came up with a couple of links:
Microsoft's sanctioned approach
Unofficial removal

I used the second method since I recall using it before on my machine (before my latest rebuild).

So what do I use for an IM client? Right now, I use Trillian. I like the fact that it has multi-protocol support. Everyone always thinks their IM client is best. Who am I to argue? I'd rather be neutral and still be able to chat with people without having 4 different IMs installed.

Postscript: I also looked at GAIM a while back. It was OK. Maybe it's gotten better over the past year or so, but I still came back to Trillian.