Bitcoind (linux) CPU usage through the roof
From the description you are giving it sounds like you haven't yet synchronized with the network. Before you can start doing anything useful, e.g., see your current balance, the bitcoind client downloads the entire blockchain and verifies it. This may take quite some time and will likely keep your CPU busy until its done. You can check the progress of the synchronization by issuing a bitcoind getinfo and checking the blockchain height with blockchain.info or similar site.