An hour with the folks the contract was with and I realized it was not for me.  The contracting firm either misrepresented the tasks and technologies or the client did.  Either way, it was not something I was interested in.

The advertisement was for Ajax, PHP and Javascript.  The actual project had no Ajax or PHP requirement and minimal Javascript.  Instead, the project had to do with me figuring out how to use a very unintuitive Java-based CMS—with no training being supplied—and using it to create empty, shell templates for the two designers to implement the actual website.

Perhaps if the fee was triple what they were willing to pay, I might have endured the pain.

Conclusion: My first experience with contract work is not favorable.  I imagine others have had similar experiences, so I’ll hold out hope that my next experience will be better.