Kobo blank screen green light flashing

After a clumsy incident with my old Aura HD I decided to get a new one. It just arrived and, after activating/syncing/updating it with Kobo’s desktop app (for Mac), performing the software update, and adding a bunch of books via ADE and unplugged it. Realizing I’d forgotten to put a book on it, I decided to plug it back in again and…

1. It doesn’t show up in finder, Kobo desktop, or ADE—it isn’t a USB cable problem since I’ve tried it with two cables (one from my new Aura HD, one from my old) and both had the same result; my old Aura HD worked with both too. Nor is it a computer problem—I tried hooking it up to an identical laptop and likewise got no response.

2. The screen is totally blank, as in nothing. If I do the paperclip reset it does turn black briefly, as if starting to boot, but quickly reverts to blank. (I haven’t been able to do a factory reset since my screen is completely blank, i. e. no menu, settings, &c.).

3. The small indicator light next to the power button is blinking. I’m not sure what this means—I assume it means charging, but the device gives no other indication of charging. Furthermore, I’ve had it plugged in for over four hours now with no change in status. Furthermore, when unplugged it blinks in the same way. I can turn it off, but the only discernible difference is that there’s no blinking—this is the case if the device is or isn’t connected to the computer. When I connect an off Aura HD to the computer, though, it starts blinking; if I connect one that’s on there’s no change in the blinking when I connect it to the computer after being turned on.

Given that I have a twelve-hour flight tomorrow afternoon, should I just give up on this device and quickly grab whatever reader/tablet I can get in the morning? Or am I missing something/being too impatient about it charging up? I guess I should have taken “Porsche of ereaders” as a warning after all.