@MacChickGenius now would be a good time to learn #blender it will always be yours, so it's a better use of your time IMHO ..
If for any reason you need to learn #maya professionally, you will have already got a strong foundation in #3d
Here's a high quality getting started series on #cgcookie that you might find useful ... what do you have to lose;)
https://cgcookie.com/courses/blender-3-basics-intro-to-blender