Pretty excited I've been using lightwave at work a little big (new to the 3D CG world) but I use AE alot and I hear AE and Cinema 4D have a strong relationship! Plus I hear Cinema 4D is pretty has a pretty intutive interface. XL bundle.
you will love it, I have never used lightwave, but I took a Maya class in college, and still have no idea how to use it, I have used C4D for a month and a half and have made some pretty awesome stuff. I recommend the lynda.com training videos, the dudes voice is annoying, but he knows his stuff.
Congrats and welcome to the club.
Don't forget to check out the samples in Menu->Window->Content Browser.
There are extra materials, models and other samples in there.
Cinema 4D is a great program. It kind of takes the best features of a lot of different programs and puts them together. For example, when you're in the editor window and hit the "v" key, it acts (kind of) like when you hit the spacebar in Maya and have the menu pop-up...