variety and the spice of life shtick

Well yesterday I was everything but zen. I was in a rage about a professional I know who hired me for a job and from the start I could see that she was on games. But I didn't want to tar her with a full brush because I have worked with her in the past, she is an older person, and she has always usually been very reasonable and trustworthy in the past. This time around, she withheld information, got me to consider giving her a discount on the premise that...(a) they had no money, no real proper budget. (b) They (she) could only afford to do one of the two things requested. (c) Could I do it for a nominal cost because she had an extremely short deadline. Now as I write this, I know that a bit of tis is my fault. i got completely shistered because I thought she was an honest person, I wanted to do the job and I believed that she was really desperate to get it done and would be on the up and up. Damn! I am pissed because after I agreed to do the literally today for tomorrow work, I then found out indirectly that she palmed off another aspect of the project to someone else...meaning that there was a budget in place after all, and she was just trying to soft soap me. Such a nasty business. I railed at myself for a good hour and then I get my ass up and went for a vigorous walk. In so doing I was able to look at the whole thing anew. I saw something about myself that I have to work on. It was not easy to admit to myself. But I was largely at fault. I chose to be 'helpful.' Although I stood my ground and got the job at a figure I could work with, I did not get the job at the figure it was really worth. I think that this is a wake-up call to me. I used to say that I do not work for less than a certain amount an hour. I must now restructure my prices. I believe that what must justify a job is based on a few factors that I have not taken into account in the past. Rush jobs are NOT less expensive jobs. They MUST be more expensive because of the fact that I pull all nighters. With that job, I worked 24 hours straight. No kidding around, I think I just had a glass of water and a cup of coffee as I raced to complete the task. Also, when I do more than is required, everything must be worked out in a way where it is damn clear that the client can't weasel out of what it costs to put everything together. But most of all, when I make up my new costs, I must also go back to my old practice of half up front, particularly for rush jobs.No exceptions.