Sit down with blender for 30 and make things, follow all the video tutorials you find. Then get the trial for milkshape and make things for 30 days, again following all the tutorials you find.
You need to pick the program that works best for you, not the one that works best for Wedge. There isn't anything wrong in asking for suggestions, but if you're going to use it as an excuse to use one program and not the other, the only person losing out is you. You save yourself a few weeks and gain the possibility of missing out on a program you might like more.
Once you've learned one program you've basically learned them all anyway. It's just a matter of becoming familiar with each program's quirks and different interfaces.
This summer I plan to pick up modeling and this is what I plan on doing.
