Great thread, excellent work, heartbreak about the financial end of things. The system we work under is flawed. Every bid is a guess, no one can foresee the future in detail enough to cover every scenario - and if you could, someone would underbid you.

I hate it. Oh, and try calling your doctor with this scenario: "I have a sick kid. Come by my place, on your own time, check him out, and write a detailed proposal of how you would treat him, with a price. I'll be calling several other doctors, and I'll go with the cheapest price." How far do you think you'd get with that? Heck, even the car mechanic gets paid to tell you what your car needs. Why are we expected to do it for free, and they get pissed if we don't drop what we're doing and come that day?

Again, a job to be proud of, in spite of all the rest. If people only knew...