Becomming a freelance programmer

Question

Hi All,
I have been (trying) to learn C# for around 2 years now.  But I found it very difficult.  The OO programming side of it was very hard to get my head around, so I signed up with the Open University and did a years course in OO Programming (in Java).  through that I have a god understanding of the principles of OO programming and have now moved onto learning C#.
I have heard a lot though that the majority of work for freelancers would be in ASP.NET so I have bought a few books on that too.
I was wondering if you all could give me any advice on which path to follow.  There is soooo much to learn and I often become overwhelmed with it all and want to give up.  I have also just bought the book "Microsoft.NET framework Application Development Foundation MCTS 70-536" with the thought of one day doing this exam.
Am I going about it all the right way?  should I even be attempting to learn ASP.NET alongside learning C#?? 
Also what kind of timeframe am I looking at before I am a reasonable programmer??  I know everyone is different but how long did it take you all to learn C# & ASP.NET?
I look forward to hearing from any of you about this, any advice, stories, encouragement etc would be great.  Sometimes I feel alone here as nobody I know is even interested in becoming a computer geek :)
many thanks
 
Paul