Relearning Software

I work for a software company. Every day, I work with products that our company designs and sells. I can get my hands on these products and learn how to use them pretty quickly - if given the proper tools to do so. I'm finding it's becoming harder and harder to learn things that aren't work-related. Maybe it's because of a time issue - I don't have 8 hours a day to sit down and learn how to use this new software I just bought for my computer. It might also be a training issue. I don't like manuals, I need to talk it out with someone to learn how to do it. Even with these things standing in my way, I finally broke down and purchased Photoshop. I know there are wonderful things you can do with it and want to get started with that again.

Let's backtrack about 11 years. (insert Wayne's World dream sequence here) When I was in College, I worked at a TV station that used Photoshop Pro. I had to use it for my job, but it wasn't the prime focus of that job. I used it here and there, learning the skills I needed, as well as some fun tricks. Fun tricks = taking an anchor's face and making it look funny. We were in our teens and early 20's, it WAS funny at the time. Since I left that station, I told myself I would buy Photoshop and continue learning more about it. Yeah, 11 years later, I finally went about purchasing a version of it for home. I really regret not buying it earlier. I have apparently forgotten every single thing I ever knew about that application.

I have had some time this week to play with it. Apparently, I am the worst teach-yourself student ever. I am figuring out how to navigate the different windows but can't, for the life of me, figure out how to edit a picture. Isn't the whole point of this product to learn how to edit a picture??? Big sigh.

Now I'm stuck with two dilemma's:

1. I have a new, expensive camera that I love and am quickly learning how to use, thanks to some online tutorials from non-geeks. I like taking pictures. I also would really, really like to take a class on the basics to get it sealed into this brick of a brain I appear to have these days. Classes = $$.
2. I have this new software that I have no clue how to use and am not sure I'll figure it out without a class on that, as well. Again, Classes = $$.

I don't have an unlimited pile of funds here!!(See Monday's Post) Anyone interested in some pro bono course work? Anyone? :)  

I know I learn a whole lot better and quicker when I have someone to sit down with me and explain it to me out loud. Doing it online won't cut it - I'm an Auditory Learner. I learn best by listening. I'm then a Kinesthetic Learner and have to follow up that learning with doing. It was interesting completing the learning tests again. I knew what type of learner I was because when I actually paid attention in class, wrote the notes down or got my hands on what we were learning about, I was a great student. If someone gave me a book and told me to learn the class from that, though I didn't do so well.

I guess I really don't have an answer right now. My next step will be to look into classes at our local Community and Technical Colleges to see if they offer courses that will help me learn this. I'll still suffer through picking around the app, though and hopefully I'll at least learn how to crop. That's got to be easy to learn by just poking around....right?

If you're interested in figuring out what type of learner you are, I found this test to work pretty well.