Educational--that's always a good thing. Definitely go to some of these things, talk to the M&D folks -- they are almost always willing to share what they know -- sift through it ('cause you'll get some of the bad mixed in with all the good) and then you should have a firm basis upon which to make a decision when the time is right for you.

You can also check out some of the list groups on Yahoo; there are a bunch of mule & donkey folks. I'm on a group called Sunshine Longears and some of the people there are extremely helpful and knowledgeable.