Bar Bri and such

Until today I was under the impression that my Bar review course in Anchorage would not start until June 1, 2009 or so. This would give me from May 7 to 23 to relax, maybe go on a trip or something. I'd also get to attend my graduation ceremony on May 23, see family and the like and have a full week after that to get to Anchorage and get settled before I start studying. It all sounded ideal for facilitating the best possible bar study session because I'd get to relax a little beforehand and attend my graduation.

This afternoon I received an email from the Alaska Bar Bri office saying that the class will most likely start in the "second half of May" and that a tentative start date would be posted next week. This is very frustrating for me. If class starts the week of May 25 I will have to haul ass to pack up my apartment in New York City, visit family for a few days and then fly to Anchorage. If it starts the week of May 17 the same situation will occur and I will definitely miss my own graduation, which means I might not get to spend any time with my family before moving very, very far away.

This is really throwing a wrench in my plans. In addition, I recently realized that I can fly one way to Anchorage for a mere $250 if I leave from Toronto- which is completely feasible considering that my graduation is in Buffalo (1.5 hours away). It would have worked out perfectly to attend graduation on May 23 and then fly to Anchorage sometime in the following week. Now I may have to make a decision between seeing family before I go and paying closer to $450 to fly out of Washington, DC (in addition to travel costs to visit family in Virginia) and having to drive about 5 hours to the airport.

Commence tension headache.

Internal Resolution: I guess I just have to remember that these are all very important events in my life. It will be unfortunate to miss graduation, but if I must it is for the more important purpose of passing the bar exam.

As for visiting family before I leave, I'm sure there is some middle ground that can be reached. Maybe I will fly to the southern states from NYC for a 4-7 day visit and then fly to Buffalo so I can still take advantage of the $250 airfare. It might end up being A LOT of traveling, but it's very important to visit family before making such a big move. I'll not likely see them again until Christmas of 2009 or possibly later than that.

Not getting to go on a brief vacation after classes end May 7 can be remedied by taking a proper post-bar exam trip in August or September prior to starting work (and if I happen to get a fellowship or short term position abroad the "trip" will be built into my work).

I suppose these inconveniences are the price one pays for following their heart and taking risks in life.