Lagers are pretty tough to get right unless you have a fridge to ferment in. It's especially hard to keep the temp in the low 50's during the summer.

Stick with ales until you really get the process down. Then you can progress to a partial mash, and finally a whole grain setup.

Porters are great beers to brew because it's hard to tell when you screw up. The flavor profile is so wide that unless there's a really serious flaw, all that delicious roasty chocolatey-ness will hide any mistakes.