At 07:51:29, Gary posted this on UA:
I am looking for an experienced FoxPro programmer, who can help with a project on a part time basis. I can pay through PayPal or by check. If interested, please email me (...) with your qualifications.
By that time, I was already awake - which is a miracle by itself. As I wrote to Berix
how's things looking for having Advanced import done today?
Pretty good, given the time I woke up this morning (6:30). I actually had to drive Lena to school, they have a field trip, but didn't get back to sleep. Imagine me starting the second coffee at 8:15... and you know the size of my cup.
I got most of the stuff working, the only major thing left for today is mapping the UDFs, and then testing of various combinations of fields to import, like what happens if there's no school-related fields, or no coach-related fields, or no UDFs at all etc.
So I responded to Gary immediately, and that's by email, as early as 9:54, with a little bragging, and he responded within five minutes. That's how it began.
There was one other offer on the table, by someone from, IIRC, Argentina (in Tennessee or something presently), but it arrived at 13:56, when I already exchanged twelve messages with the old man.
This turned out to be the crucial moment, when I reacted on time and did it the right way. Berix was already trying to find more work for me, as the eHosp project was running thin, and she was pretty much telling me she won't have the money to pay me next month. That didn't work, so getting this gig was crucial - not only money-wise (it saved our butts in the following months), but also long term: I learned how to do stuff one-on-one, for one guy who pays, as a solo player.