This is day #4 with my straight razor. To sum up:
Day 1: Not bad
Day 2: Not bad
Day 3: Worst and most painful shave - nicks and a lot of burn on my neck

So, for day #4 I changed a few variables:
1) I shaved at night
2) I only shaved my cheek (with the grain)
3) I used a soap instead of a cream - for some reason, I feel that I get a slicker lather with a soap
4) I did not shave my neck at all. I'm going to wait until Day #5 to shave my neck. When I shave my neck, Ill use the DE for a while.

So, to all the newbies. I took a big step back and I really feel that I'm making some actual progress.