Rails has a hell of a learning curve. Ruby itself is mostly straightforward, but you're learning a new language and a new software stack at the same time - it's

Rails has a hell of a learning curve. Ruby itself is mostly straightforward, but you're learning a new language and a new software stack at the same time - it's a lot more to take in than getting up to speed with PHP. It is opinionated software, and prefers convention over configuration, so until you start learning the conventions, it can be kind of confusing. That said, stick with it - once you get over the initial hump, it's very smooth sailing. You're on the right track, you just may need a helping hand here and there. Try the #rubyonrails IRC channel on Freenode; it's very active, and tends to slant towards the newbie crowd. It may be just what you need.