Nothing beats messing around with all the menus and button options, surfing the market, and surfing these forums.
A lot of us, if not all of us, are not running a "stock" Mesmerize. The main advantage Android offers is setting up the phone to your particular usage needs and tastes.
That being said, if you are new new new to Android, this might be a useful article for you:
How to setup your first Android Phone
Other than that, welcome to Phandroid and the Mez forum. Don't hestitate to ask for help if you don't see your question asked in one of the other threads.