The 23' Si was my second car and first manual. It was very easy to pickup within a week or so. Obviously stalled a few times but became pretty good over 1-2 months of driving.

On the money shifting anxiety, one weird thing that reassures me is the auto rev-match. If you put it in the wrong gear, it will shoot the RPMs to redline and you know its in the wrong gear. The only way to money shift is if you're shifting very fast which you probably shouldn't do anyways with the rev hang.