Could Someone PLeAsE Loosen the Vice???!?!?

...that's strangle-holding my wallet!  It has been a pretty tight summer and now fall has proven just as constricted.  With every little victory comes a setback and this dance of two forward and one back is exhausting and frustrating.  I am in school now and things are moving along.  I have to keep my eyes on the Alphabets I've come here for (MFA)---otherwise I'll quit before I get them.  I've been writing better pieces than I've ever written and I can feel my poetic muscles stretching.  Looking forward to this growth and to the end result of compensation for all this work...