Adobe Illustrator

I've decided it's about time I learnt how to use Illustrator properly and create vector images like the ones in this advert for the Guardian below. Even though I use Photoshop all the time and have used Illustrator before at uni it was some years ago and I really need to refresh my memory. Apart from the obvious size/quality benefits of working with vectors rather than bitmaps there are obviously far more drawing possibilites available in Illustrator though at the moment the thought of how long it will take me to even break the surface turns my stomach. For a hands-on, collagey, messy technophobe who is bad at maths this is a big deal for me. Like this person on this website here said 'Illustrator is a geometry calculator where Photoshop is a blank canvas'. Well I know which I pick up most often, however the time for change has come. Wish me luck.