Freelance programming is a PAIN IN THE ASS

One day my friend called. Why? His friend wanted someone to write a customized software so he could manage some paperwork properly in a faster process.

I'll name him "MEGA BYTE" in this convo because he's "mashallah" HUGE!!
MB == MEGA BYTE
R4 == Rand_4 (Which is me)

MB: Hey Rand_4. How are ya?
R4: I'm alive. How's things in your side?
MB: I'm good el7emdellah. Listen, I have this friend who wants to have a software programmed for him. Can you do it?
R4: Depends, how complex it is?
MB: He only wants a software with little inputs; a serial number, company's name and if they paid their rent or not. With the ability to change states and stuff.
R4: No networking?
MB: No.
R4: Personal or the workplace computer?
*Personal computer means the .NET Framework is already installed while workplace computer would require installation for that .NET Framework*
MB: His laptop. He's paying from his pocket money just to get things done faster than paperwork.
R4: Alright. I'll work on it and keep you up to date.
MB: How much would you charge?
R4: Seriously dude, if you told me do it for free I would. So don't really worry about it. I'm flexible when it gets to pricing stuff
*MB is a friend of mine since I was around 14 years old. He saved my ass few times in critical situations. Writing such crappy software is totally nothing compared to what he's done to me so far*
MB: Alright. But you must know it's your right to ask for a proper price.
R4: Sure. Catch you later.
MB: Take care.

I kept wondering if I should write it in Visual Basic 6 or .NET. And since I'm getting into .NET I thought of writing it in that to avoid problems.

And I wouldn't have to worry about installing .NET Framework or upgrading it since it'll be installed on the guy's personal laptop since he upgrades an updates it every now'n'then.

I actually worked hard and finalized it in 2 days (14 hours in total; 10 hours programming and 4 hours debugging). Not a bad job for a newbie Visual Basic programmer who just started learning the language.

I didn't use any database crap (SQL or Access shit); the software stores the data in a file that's formatted in a way that can be easily read and understood (Even if you viewed the file with Notepad. It's all text-based).

Called MB as soon as I finished the program. Here's the dialog (Short Version):
R4: Hey man, I'm done.
MB: Cool. How much would you charge?
R4: Look, I've been working on it for 14 hours. So how much do you think it'll cost?
MB: I don't know! You're the one who wrote it!
R4: Listen, my friend charges 50KD per hour for his friends, 25KD for his close friends and could go as high as 150KD for corporates.
MB: That's an overkill!
R4: No. That's how good he is.. I'm not any good, but tell him I'll charge 5KD~15KD per hour. After all, I wrote it in 2 days.. Didn't want to make him wait.
MB: I'll tell him. Are you free today by 22:00?
R4: Yes, I think.
MB: Come to The F*** ******* ***E.. There's a coffee house that me and him will meet you up there.
R4: Alright, later.

So I met MB with his friend that I'll label him "Whatever" because I can't find a proper name for him. It was around 23:00 in some coffee place. C'mon, we're Kuwaities. :P

Here's the convo:
R4: Hello MB. Hello WE.
Both MB and WE: Hello R4.
R4: Sorry for being late. You know how traffic could be nasty on weekends.
*I'm sure everyone who've been in Kuwait would know*
MB: It's cool. Let's cut the chase; Show him the goods.
R4: Ofcourse.. Here's the software in my laptop.. Just run it and see if there's anything you want me to modify.
*Me and MB started to talk about alot of stuff while WE starts to poke around with the software.. After all, it's been almost a year since we last time talked*
WE: So far so good. I really like it.. So simple and light.. But seriously, whats with your screen?
R4: Well you know, my laptop is meant for field stuff.. Which mean I don't really care how clean it is.. I'm totally fine with it as long as it works.
MB: Thats just you.. You haven't changed abit!
R4: Check out the cracks on the monitor.. Check out the broken screen.. You think I'd really care anymore? I'll probably care more if I GOT A NEWER LAPTOP
*Me, MB and WE started to laugh*
WE: Alright, I like it. But there's few things I'd like you to fix.
*He pointed at few captions that I named wrong and similar stuff.. After all, he wanted his software in Arabic*
R4: Alright, I'll finalize it by tomorrow.
*A moment of silence*
MB: So, how much would you charge?
*I started to talk about the charge per hour method of charging.. And I decided to go 5KD per hour.. Which would be 70KD in total*
WE: Let's cut that child play, is 50KD good?
R4: Deal. I can't really say no.. You're MB's friend anyway.
*We started to talk. Then everyone left the crime scene*

I started my car and drove off.

I received a call from MB. Here's the talks (Short Version):
MB: Hey Rand_4, sorry for dragging you this late.
R4: No big deal.. I really wanted to see you anyway.. It's been centuries.
MB: Well I'll just spit it out; My friend don't want the software anymore. He was expecting something as low as 25KD AT MAX!
*I should've known... But seriously, I could've did something for my own good in these 14 hours*
R4: MB, I told you.. If you wanted me to do it for free I wouldn't say no.. If he want it for 25KD it's all his.
MB: No he doesn't want it at all.. He was really embarresed to actually tell you that so he asked me to do him this favor.
*The big baby!!*
R4: No worries dude it's cool.
MB: I'm really embarresed to tell you that. It's uncool to make a deal then break it off.
*I know how embarresing it could be.. I've been there before few times.. I really hold nothing against MB but I so want to snap WE's neck :P*
R4: Haha well no worries about it dude.. I really appreciate that you actually called me to offer this deal. Breaking it is his own peoblem.. Listen, I'll be free the next week, wanna meet up?
*I had to kick a laugh to break the shitty atmosphere*
MB: Sure!
*We started to talk normally like any other 2 friends would talk; lame jokes and how's work, life, studies an whatever*

We hung up.. I have no hard feelings for both of them.. MB was really thoughtful for taking this move and WE didn't want the software after all.. I respect both actions (Though he could've told me in the face I would've really understood with a wide, stupid smile on my face).

What I've learned from this whole madness:
1) MB is still a really good friend of mine.. He would've forged any lie to keep both sides clean but he just spat that in my face.
2) WE got shocked when I first told him 15KD per hour.. Think about it: 15 x 14 = 210KD for a less-than-1MB-software.. So 70KD for such software IS scary too.
3) When it gets to freelance jobs, ALWAYS TAKE THE FIRST HALF OF THE BREAD!!!
4) I figured out a way to store and load small text-based files without any husstle.. Which gives me more reasons to port to VB.NET