is uncloging a commode a job i can do myself?

yes. Get a flange plunger, the one with the extra rubber lip, not the flat sink kind. Seal it over the hole, push gently first to get the air out, then firm pumps. If that doesn't shift it a toilet auger is cheap and won't scratch the bowl like a coat hanger. Don't keep flushing to test it, that's how the floor gets flooded.