Im liking c++ lately myself as it is cross platform and its not as 'scary' as it looks.
No. It's much, much worse. From the perspective of a small game developer and if you don't need it for your work or do it out of fun, i see it as a waste of time.
I like to second that. More importantly there's no such thing as "learning DirectX". There is learning DirectX <version number> and a large part of the knowledge you gain will be obsolete, or flat out wrong, buy the time DirectX <version number+1> comes around. The real question is can you learn DirectX, and realize your vision, faster than Microsoft can change it, and you have to start all over again?Since you seem to be having trouble with it, I'm guessing not.
aww...java??
Yes. C++ is not as "vital" as you think, unless you happen to be one of the 100 or so people on this planet who are smarter than Bjarne Stroustrup, and actually understand all the intricacies of the language.