I don't know about any actual sites but I've helped someone through skype one time (unpaid). I think any offers you receive for help on this forum are pretty reputable. Definitely don't pay anyone until your hour (or whatever) is up.
I think you'll get farther than you'd believe by doing some of the tutorials:
Also, ordering the Processing handbook isn't a terrible idea. That's what I used. The way I did used it was by going through each little example and then at some point I just "got it" and used the rest of the book as needed. There's also Dan Shiffman's Learning Processing:
http://www.learningprocessing.com/ if you're looking for something a bit more pedagogically structured.
People on the forums can be the most helpful when you have specific issues and code to accompany those issues. Even if the code is very simple, do not fear, post and ye shall receive (advice). You can also post a short bit and ask "Can someone tell me what this means?".
Looking forward to answering your questions!
