You can sync your Mac stuff without MobileMe by using iTunes.
Plug in your device to the computer, go to iTunes and select your iPad under devices. Go to the Info tab at the top of the page. Here you can turn on calendar, contact, and other types of syncing directly to iPad. The information should be merged, unless you go to the bottom of the page and choose to overwrite the iPad from the Advanced box.
Now that I've said that, I don't recommend it. You only get updates when you physically sync your iPad. It is not as flexible as cloud based syncing like MobileMe, or Google. Since MobileMe isn't free, and you haven't asked for any of the specific features available, I recommend using Google.
Go to Google and get a GMail account. Set up a calendar while you are at it.
On the iPad, set up a GMail account using these instructions.
Set Up Your Apple Device for Google Sync : Mail, Calendar, & Contacts - Google Mobile Help
At the end of the instructions is a link on how to set up multiple calendars to sync with your iPad. You don't have to do this now. Just bookmark, or make a note of the link for later so you know how to do it when/if you change your mind.
If you use the standard GMail setup you'll be limited to one calendar and won't be able to use Google's contacts later. If those don't matter to you, you can use the standard GMail setup. You can always change your mind later if you don't like them. Removing and adding the account again won't cause any problems.
Be sure to turn off the services you don't want when activating them, for now.
And when it asks if you want to delete or keep the content on your iPad, KEEP it.
On your Mac.
Open the iCal program, go to Preferences from the File menu. In Preferences choose the Account tab. At the bottom of the account list there is a plus minus button. Click on the plus button. Add the new account using your new GMail email address and password. You might as well let it add the Mail and Contacts account when it asks. You can delete them individually later if don't want them.
If it asks you about overwriting or removing any content, just say no.
The Google calendar will show up in iCal and the Calendar app as a separate calendar under your Gmail account. You can move old events over by editing them and choosing the new calendar. Make sure you add events to the Google Calendar when you want them to sync.
You'll also have (unless you chose to turn it off) a new account in Mail and Contacts. These will not interfere with the old accounts, and you might as well keep the GMail account, just so you can make sure it doesn't get full of junk and/or you see important announcements about the service.
The Address Book account on my Mac didn't work. I don't know if this is because i'm already syncing through MobileMe, or something else. So you may not get contact syncing on the Mac this way. You'll just have to try and see. If it doesn't and you want it too, come back and we'll try and figure out how to make it work too.
