Mead is like anything else, it can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Most newbs (myself included) tend to make the mistake of shooting for the stars on their first attempt, and end up frustrated because it didn't turn out like they wanted, or ended up being more work/equipment than they bargained for. If you just make a traditional mead with honey, yeast, water, and nutrient, control the temp, don't aim for ABV over 12%, it's really hard to screw it up and won't take too long to age.... perhaps 6 months or even sooner. Get a case of Grolsch from your local walmart to bottle it in. Read the stickies here and gotmead.com. Some of the posters around here and there have actually written the books and won the competitions and commercially make it for a living... many have been doing it for decades. Listen to what they say. Good luck!