Boy, you are nothing if not persistent. I would have exited the course no later than stage four of the 14 or so steps you chronicle. I think only financial desperation, superego (thinking it one's duty to claim a financial reward), or the whiff of writing material could enable one to prevail in this battle against self (winning in this case meaning not actually getting the reward, but at least ostensibly applying for it).
Boy, you are nothing if not persistent. I would have exited the course no later than stage four of the 14 or so steps you chronicle. I think only financial desperation, superego (thinking it one's duty to claim a financial reward), or the whiff of writing material could enable one to prevail in this battle against self (winning in this case meaning not actually getting the reward, but at least ostensibly applying for it).