I understand you completely!
I'm also bored of flashcards and listening over and over the same passages.

What I'm doing: Listening always fresh stuff and reading just for fun.

Recently I got this game called Demon's Soul. At first it was a pain because althought it is a Japanese game, it is dubbed in English, but the game is really interesting and really, really hard. So I got hooked on these strategy guides from the internet. Here is my favorite:

http://www.geocities.jp/kouryakubo/ds/index.html

The sad thing is that I beat the game today =/
Now I need something else.

mentat_kgs Wrote:Recently I got this game called Demon's Soul. At first it was a pain because althought it is a Japanese game, it is dubbed in English, but the game is really interesting and really, really hard.

How is Demon's Soul?　I actually don't even know what it's about but I heard it was a great game.　

And speaking of games, anyone play Bayonetta yet?　I played the JP demo a few weeks back and it was really fun, and I know the game has been well received by alot of different people.　I know the US version came out recently (I think), but if I got it, I'd import the JP version for my study purposes Too bad I'm broke after importing FF13 though ; ; Gonna have to wait...

As for burning out, I can sympathize with you. I just finished RtK 2 weeks ago, and have been skimming through Tae Kim's guide, and have been trying numerous different approaches on what to do next... It's so frustrating doing anything because since I'm a total beginner, even the simplest sentences have so much new information to grasp ;(
I've pretty much settled on doing the best I can with Core2000 for now, and just referencing Tae Kim's guide when I need some extra clarification, even though grammar is still kicking my ass... haha. Got my copy of KO2001 in the mail today, but probably gonna hold off for a couple weeks before I get started with it.

I realized one of my problems atm is that trying to pick out grammar usage + new vocab + kanji readings + writing from memory is just waaaay too much information. And that is what was burning me out. I decided to make an Anki deck to complement my Core2000 studies tonight, and kept it very simple. Nothing but Vocab recognition. I just put the the English definition on the front and the kanji/reading on the back. This is mainly for writing purposes because that's what I like to do, and that's what I lack. I've already noticed that I can look at a kanji or compound and (usually) very easily understand it's meaning and how to read it, but trying to remember how to write it mentally or on paper is killing me.

Of course, I burn out alot. I think everyone does. Right now, my cure is just to go play FF13, haha. Even though it's technically Japanese studying, it's so fun for me! I can't really study anything out of it anyway because it is soooooo far above my level. I have noticed that my kana reading speed has already improved quite a bit though...

Wow, sorry for the really long post. I really got off track