I'd say your on the right track, in fact your story sounds very similar to mine. I also would only shave once or twice a week, usually only when my neck would start to get irritated from the whisker growth. I bought the best quality from SRD for my first razor, but have since added quite a few others. The thing I really like about straights is that you can have anywhere from one days growth to a full zz top beard and you can lather up and dive in, no whiskers getting stuck in the cartridge and when your done your face is as smooth and as comfortable as ever. When I first switched, my whole attitude about shaving changed and I would shave 3 or 4 times a week, however I have to admit that I have slowly reverted to my old habits of once or twice a week, been at it about a year now. The difference is that now I look forward to shaving and enjoy every minute of it, in fact if things come up that make me put off shaving I get irritated only now that irritation has nothing to do with my whiskers. As long as you keep in mind that it takes a bit of time to master the skills needed, and that shaves will get worse before getting better, you will never catch yourself looking back with regrets, except for the regret of not starting to shave with a straight sooner.