wakesetter93

That's what I was thinking. During my MBA, we spent more time on campus doing group projects than we spent in class.

SKT-DK

When I did my masters I pretty much only showed up for group projects and exams, as I was working as well

wakesetter93

I worked as well, though it was only a 20h per week Graduate Assistantship

ffI

If you are not efficient, there is no way you can do this and I am sure the detailed posts you submit add to your workload too!


My brother came to the US from Germany in the 80s and and worked for a company in SLC. He found it dull and dry (no alcohol in those days) and moved to LA area and commuted daily from LA for 18 months
He really liked his beer!
I do not remember if it was LAX or one of the other airports, but he was certainly in the sunny LA weather every evening.
He told us stories of flying daily and we did not believe him at first. I think it was People Express or some other airline with 29-49$ fares then.
He had 1 car in LA and another in SLC parked semipermanently at the airport
It helped that he was one of the higher ups in the factory, but to this day it still sounds crazy

You are obviously bright to get to Grad school there and I hope you get enough out of your studies too
Fantastic but crazy - I do not think I ever had the tremendous energy you have in getting up so early every day!

985X

September 2022
9/1/2022 Thursday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS3459 LAX-SFO E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
AS3435 SFO-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 725am
Car Parked 848am
Reach Airport 910am
Flight Departs 956am
Flight Arrives 1111am
BART Departs 1125am
BART Arrives 1225pm
Arrive Class 105pm
Leave Class 416pm
BART Departs 435pm
BART Arrives 546pm
Flight Departs 638pm
Flight Arrives 805pm
Airport Landside 814pm
Reach Parking Lot 828pm
Arrive Home 908pm

Flying to campus even though I didn't have class that day, just for a group assignment which was due the following day. Oh I hate LAX traffic..



To make it worse, we boarded at gate 64, remote bus gate, located at the east end of the southside runway.



At least first class upgrade after last min SDC..





Udon and Tempura for lunch, very generous portion! Maybe the workers know we are broke college students so he gave everyone more protein..



BART is 50% off for the entire September, which is huge saving (is it?) for my commute.



I was supposed to be on the later flight, and I wasn't sure if I could make the earlier AS3435, so I called AS to put me on standby list for AS3435. Although agent could see my name on standby list, it's not showing on the "awaiting seats" list at the airport, and this has been a known issue for a while. So I rushed to the customer service desk inside SFO and the kind agent manually put me on the actual awaiting seats list. My last name is quite rare, but there was another pax with the same last name on my original later flight, and service desk put that person on the list instead of me! So when gate agent handed me the boarding pass before door closure, I noticed the boarding group on my boarding pass was Group C. As 100K I should always be Group A. So I checked the pax name and it's not me! Then I rushed to customer service desk and this time agent put my actual name on the awaiting seats list and I got the boarding pass with my actual name on it. Imagine the mess if I boarded the plane under that pax's name.. GA didn't even check my ID when giving me the boarding pass because what's the chance of having the same rare last name on a small E175!! Luckily I made it and can reach home sooner, losing my upgrade doesn't matter..


I think it's my first time flying E175 in Coach.. still acceptable for a quick hop.



9/2/2022 Friday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN1492 LAX-OAK B737 $32.22
WN2821 OAK-LAX B737 $41.22
Leave home 421am
Car Parked 447am
Reach Airport 501am
Flight Departs 558am
Flight Arrives 724am
BART Departs 738am
BART Arrives 823am
Arrive Class 932am
Leave Class 327pm
BART Departs 343pm
BART Arrives 432pm
Flight Departs 521pm
Flight Arrives 641pm
Airport Landside 651pm
Reach Parking Lot 751pm
Arrive Home 1204am

Made a SDC, and as "A61" I was lucky enough to get exit row aisle.


Enjoying my ride to OAK


Since I'm broke college student, I always take AC transit 73 to Coliseum BART then hop on BART from there to save the $6.70 OAK BART surcharge..



Coming back, due to labor day weekend, OAK was packed to oblivion..


Full flight. Exit row as "A61". Yes!



Some planespotting after arriving LAX. I wasn't a big fan of WN before I started this commute (only flew them once while in undergrad), but now I fall in love with it because they are so efficient.


After arriving LAX, I met with a friend arriving from DL and we had ayce shabu shabu!



"We have 3 flavors of ice-cream, which one would you like?"
"All of them".


Since it's memorial day weekend, I try to enjoy my weekend instead of doing hw catching up coursework at home all day long.


626 night market. It was decent a couple years back, but now it's getting pricey and literally overpriced.


Yakitori Chicken



Some other food I tried over the weekend, including Taiwanese dumplings



And Malaysian pork rib soup (Bak kut teh)


When you fly too often and FB recommends a new career for you.. no thanks!





9/7/2022 Wednesday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS997 LAX-SFO A320 $38.60
AS3308 SFO-LAX E175 $38.60
Leave home 422am
Car Parked 446am
Reach Airport 507am
Flight Departs 554am
Flight Arrives 724am
BART Departs 821am
BART Arrives 934am
Arrive Class 957am
Leave Class 406pm
BART Departs 410pm
BART Arrives 628pm
Flight Departs 649pm
Flight Arrives 845pm
Airport Landside 848pm
Reach Parking Lot 908pm
Arrive Home 956pm

Well labor day weekend was quick, now back to school again..



Now LAX AS lounge bartender recognizes me, before I even said anything, she would ask "pineapple juice for you"? Yes please!



For the entire September, Wednesday morning 6am flight was upgauged to A320, so more comfortable.


Got my UG after SDC.


On my BART ride to school, a women overdosed next to me. Not responsive at all. So I notified BART PD on the app and they saved her life. Although my train was delayed for 15 min I still made it to class on time.



I secured 100K status for 2023 after this flight!


AS3308 flying back home



Well that's 405 for you, welcome to LA!


Flying over downtown LA


9/8/2022 Thursday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS3342 LAX-SFO E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
AS3320 SFO-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 422am
Car Parked 447am
Reach Airport 506am
Flight Departs 548am
Flight Arrives 712am
BART Departs 732am
BART Arrives 840am
Arrive Class 845am
Leave Class 926am
BART Departs 934am
BART Arrives 1011am
Flight Departs 1044am
Flight Arrives 1233pm
Airport Landside 1240pm
Reach Parking Lot 1256pm
Arrive Home 322pm

Well today not necessarily going to school, instead I'm flying to India Consulate in SF for my transit visa appointment since I plan to visit Bangkok this winter break, and AS award ticket on QR to BLR plus a separate BLR-BKK on LCC seemed to be the cheapest option.


Quick breakfast as usual



Boarding from the ramp


Good morning..


Well, the consulate told me they only issue visa 7 days before scheduled departure date, and it's gonna be valid for only 10 days since visa issuance. Then I asked how many days would it take to process the visa application. Staff said 5 business days. Then I asked then how on earth would I get my visa in time? Staff then said yeah you can apply 2 weeks in advance then.. What the.... That's enough harassment and red flag for me. Later in the month I managed to get Zipair new SJC-NRT one-way for $288 (incl. checked bag), and another AS award flight on JL from NRT to BKK. Problem solved.

Since I left the consulate early, I SDC to an earlier flight. Although F cabin was full, I got premium class.


Broken tray table, that's fine..



Even more legroom than first class!


Some Porto's to celebrate my 4 years anniversary of carpool..






9/9/2022 Friday SNA-SFO/SJC-SNA
AS3324 SNA-SFO E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
WN1435 SJC-SNA B38M $5.60+1361 WN points
Leave home 520am
Car Parked 609am
Reach Airport 612am
Flight Departs 651am
Flight Arrives 819am
BART Departs 838am
BART Arrives 938am
Arrive Class 952am
Leave Class 204pm
BART Departs 229pm
BART Arrives 735pm
Flight Departs 853pm
Flight Arrives 1036pm
Airport Landside 1043pm
Reach Parking Lot 1045pm
Arrive Home 1127pm

Since the 6am LAX-SFO was full, I had to SDC to SNA-SFO instead. At least I can still access Admirals Club at SNA.



Departure board



First class was almost empty. I was the only pax in the 2 seat section of first class until GA assigned 3 non-rev into first class.



It's Friday! What wrong with ice-cream at 5pm right?


Some Peruvian cuisine with friend in Burlingame.



Since I parked my car at SNA, I SDC my WN flight into SNA. Flying SJC-SNA last flight of the day. So I took Caltrain down to SJC. First time riding it and the seat layout was very.. interesting.



A lot of flights to/from was delayed due to weather in socal that day.



First time riding MAX8.. I legitimately started sweating a bit.



We landed SNA safely. I've been trying to avoid MAX8 for a while, but I had to take that flight so I had no other choice. Now I have tried it, it made me a bit more confident flying it again in the future.



9/12/2022 Monday LAX-SFO-LAX
B62704 LAX-SFO A320 $5.60+5000 AS miles (rebooked from delayed AS3342)
AS77 SFO-LAX A21N $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 425am
Car Parked 449am
Reach Airport 511am
Flight Departs 650am
Flight Arrives 805am
BART Departs 824am
BART Arrives 923am
Arrive Class 937am
Leave Class 451pm
BART Departs 513pm
BART Arrives 617pm
Flight Departs 816pm
Flight Arrives 951pm
Airport Landside 953pm
Reach Parking Lot 1010pm
Arrive Home 1040pm

Decorations for Hispanic Heritage Month at LAX checkin counter



I noticed the aircraft had maintenance issues the night before, but everything showed on-time until I reached LAX.


The flight started rolling delay, and flight status wasn't updated in real-time so res agent told me they couldn't rebook me since it's still showing on-time. So I talked to gate agent, initially they wanted to protect me as standby for the 825am LAX-SFO flight since it was sold out. I said no, I have class at Berkeley at 10am, I have to reach SFO by 9am the latest. One GA asked if I have status, then I said yeah I'm 100K! While this sounds like borderline DYKWIA, I was pushing GA to rebook me on the 7am B62704 politely but firmly.


Gate agent checked with supervisor to see if rebooking on OAL was allowed, moments later I got my printed paper ticket and rushed to T5 boarding gate to checkin with Jetblue agents. I was the only pax that got rebooked, I guess 100K status makes a difference.



Love IFE


Snacks and drinks offered on this 1hr flight

I was supposed to take a nap but IFE is so addictive.. Spent the entire flight playing games..

And my original AS3342 flight eventually took off..


Typical BART.. Everything is falling broken.



Some free food at SFO lounge

They even offer barbacoa



The raft on the safety card is lovely

Arriving LA

Never tired of this landing view


9/13/2022 Tuesday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS3417 LAX-SFO E175 $38.60
AS77 SFO-LAX B739 $38.60
Leave home 815am
Car Parked 945am
Reach Airport 1014am
Flight Departs 1145am
Flight Arrives 115pm
BART Departs 135pm
BART Arrives 239pm
Arrive Class 253pm
Leave Class 557pm
BART Departs 620pm
BART Arrives 720pm
Flight Departs 809pm
Flight Arrives 938pm
Airport Landside 944pm
Reach Parking Lot 956pm
Arrive Home 1024pm

I had to go to campus that day because we started our first capstone project meeting. Prof asked if we would like to meet every Tuesday night or Thursday night in-person and I almost had a heart attack when I saw the email. I planned all my classes to M/W/F only and now I have to fly to campus on Tuesday or Thursday as well? I explained my situation and prof sent me a zoom link. But I wanted to leave a good impression first meeting so I flew there for the first meeting. Another team member didn't have class Tu/Th either and he didn't want to pay for parking for an extra day on campus, so we all agreed to change the meeting to Wednesday night instead. Glad everything worked out in the end.

I hate LA traffic..


Since I had a bit extra time before boarding, I walked to T5 admirals club for better food options.



UG to first class again.

Final approach into SFO



They still haven't fixed the gates yet..

Capstone project meeting ended at 6pm, so the 820pm flight worked best for me. Literally no line for security since it's getting late for day time flights and too early for redeyes.

I guess that's my dinner then..

Upgraded to first class.


This time we turned around USC and flew south along 110. Very rare.


9/14/2022 Wednesday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS997 LAX-SFO A320 $38.60
AS77 SFO-LAX B738 $38.60
Leave home 424am
Car Parked 448am
Reach Airport 507am
Flight Departs 609am
Flight Arrives 727am
BART Departs 826am
BART Arrives 930am
Arrive Class 940am
Leave Class 525pm
BART Departs 546pm
BART Arrives 647pm
Flight Departs 819pm
Flight Arrives 942pm
Airport Landside 944pm
Reach Parking Lot 1004pm
Arrive Home 1034pm

6am flight to SFO as usual



Upgraded to first class after SDC


Coming back flying AS77 since it's mainline aircraft


SFO departure board


Same offerings at SFO lounge

Why are UA signs here..


First class home

Flying over LAX

Seabass on a Thursday noon when I don't have class.


9/16/2022 Friday LAX-SFO-LAX
WN580 LAX-SFO B737 $5.60+2655 WN points
WN598 SFO-LAX B737 $5.60+1361 WN points
Leave home 448am
Car Parked 514am
Reach Airport 531am
Flight Departs 630am
Flight Arrives 742am
BART Departs 809am
BART Arrives 907am
Arrive Class 924am
Leave Class 417pm
BART Departs 510pm
BART Arrives 654pm
Flight Departs 928pm
Flight Arrives 1051pm
Airport Landside 1058pm
Reach Parking Lot 1124pm
Arrive Home 1157pm

Flying WN today



Made SDC since I was on the 535am LAX-OAK flight but my 8am Friday class wouldn't start until the following week. So the 635am SFO flight gave me an extra hour of sleep in bed.



Full flight, got exit row aisle.


Tempura and Udon for brunch


I was supposed to fly OAK-LAS-LAX that afternoon, but due to fatal accident on train tracks, all BART services north of Downtown Oakland was suspended.



It was a Friday, pm peak hours, so lots of confusion and severe service disruption.



As a result, I wouldn't be able to reach OAK on time to catch my flight home via Vegas.


So I called WN and rebooked to the 845pm direct flight out of SFO instead, grabbing the last seat.


The train was packed due to the accident.


I reached SFO early and my flight was also delayed.


Exit row aisle home!


A regular Friday night arrivals at LAX. Love to see travel is back!



I think chase knows I'm getting broke so they started sending me chase offers for junk food... no thanks.

985X

(September 2022 cont.)

9/19/2022 Monday LAX-SFO-LAS-LAX
AS3342 LAX-SFO E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
AS236 SFO-LAS A320
AS3338 LAS-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 427am
Car Parked 452am
Reach Airport 508am
Flight Departs 547am
Flight Arrives 718am
BART Departs 820am
BART Arrives 923am
Arrive Class 937am
Leave Class 333pm
BART Departs 347pm
BART Arrives 448pm
Flight Departs 606pm
Flight Arrives 1020pm
Airport Landside 1024pm
Reach Parking Lot 1040pm
Arrive Home 1108pm

Another week of commute..


Upgraded to first class as usual


Morning at SFO



Without me asking, bartender said, "ginger beer?" Yes please!


Fighting fare evasion on BART, I doubt if it works..



Flying back via Vegas just for fun. I guess I'm either psycho or enjoying my commute a bit too much..




AS236 SFO-LAS


LAS E gates


AS3338 LAS-LAX, upgraded to first class


Departing LAS, no strip view tonight..


The terminal was empty when we arrived at LAX. That's when you know it's getting super late.


Some ramen in little tokyo when I don't have class.


I collected enough stamps for a free ramen, and Japan is opening soon! Can't wait to visit this winter.


Still not interested.. no thanks. (Actually someone on social media asked if I was air marshal since I flew so much, I laughed so hard!)



9/21/2022 Wednesday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS997 LAX-SFO A320 $38.60
AS77 SFO-LAX A320 $38.60
Leave home 426am
Car Parked 451am
Reach Airport 511am
Flight Departs 601am
Flight Arrives 727am
BART Departs 821am
BART Arrives 929am
Arrive Class 942am
Leave Class 624pm
BART Departs 635pm
BART Arrives 746pm
Flight Departs 811pm
Flight Arrives 935pm
Airport Landside 939pm
Reach Parking Lot 956pm
Arrive Home 1124pm

Didn't clear UG after SDC but happy enough to be in Premium Class


Sunrise


Some Thai food near campus


FB is getting really aggressive with customized ads..


AS77 back to LAX as usual


LAX at night


BCD Tofu for late dinner/supper


Not everyone can accept tripes right..



9/23/2022 Friday LAX-OAK-LAS-LAX
WN783 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+2655 WN points
WN1661 OAK-LAS B737
WN1762 LAS-LAX B737 $5.60+1361 WN points
Leave home 351am
Car Parked 415am
Reach Airport 429am
Flight Departs 527am
Flight Arrives 639am
BART Departs 656am
BART Arrives 756am
Arrive Class 810am
Leave Class 329pm
BART Departs 423pm
BART Arrives 510pm
Flight Departs 631pm
Flight Arrives 934pm
Airport Landside 942pm
Reach Parking Lot 1012pm
Arrive Home 1044pm

My Friday 8am class starts this week, for the next 8 weeks. So now I'm taking the 535am LAX-OAK flight for my 8am class. Yeah imagine that.


This commute schedule is brutal..


Bulkhead so I can get off the plane sooner.



Then BART broke down again, what's new. Barely made it to class on-time. Not a good start.


Supporting small businesses near campus


It's Friday night! And I wanted to have some fun, so I SDC to OAK-LAS-LAX and joined standby list for earlier flights.


Cleared standby, although only middle seats left..


The OAK-LAS flight departed late, as we reached LAS, the earlier LAS-LAX flight already started boarding. If you know me well, you should know I don't give up easily. So I rushed from C gates to B gates, which is like a mini marathon. They were about to close the gate and the super helpful GA managed to get me a confirmed seat after calling his helpdesk for 10min. They even held the plane for a few extra minutes just so I can get on the plane. I was running like a suspect in a police chase in the jetbridge after I got the boarding pass because I thought they would close the door any moment. FA heard my loud steps and told me to relax, "You are already here! Take a deep breath!" Very light load since it's going back to LA on a Friday night.


Strip view after taking off


Entire rear cabin was empty


Hobo first class!



9/26/2022 Monday LAX-SFO-LAS-LAX
AS3342 LAX-SFO E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
AS236 SFO-LAS A320
AS3338 LAS-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 423am
Car Parked 448am
Reach Airport 506am
Flight Departs 559am
Flight Arrives 722am
BART Departs 817am
BART Arrives 923am
Arrive Class 940am
Leave Class 344pm
BART Departs 357pm
BART Arrives 501pm
Flight Departs 550pm
Flight Arrives 1016pm
Airport Landside 1036pm
Reach Parking Lot 1106pm
Arrive Home 1133pm

That Monday morning we had a group project due 10am, and we had been wrapping it up since Sunday night 8pm. All 3 team members pulled an all-nighter and even my alarm rang while I was awake! We submitted project at 410am and I rushed to brush my teeth and get changed. 10min later I left and drove to LAX. What an experience. At least we got the highest in the class..


I didn't know how I managed it, but it was crazy for sure.



Pineapple juice as usual


Upgraded to first class so a good nap was expected


Sunrise, it's another week


Our gate had some decorations for the delight flight, I was jealous..


Looked like it was AS1352 to BOS


Security line was insane, even it's a Monday morning..





Also there was a strike and demonstrations outside terminal 2 and 3..




Well I admit I'm flying back home via Vegas just for personal achievement, trying to reach 250 segments by the end of the year, as it would probably the most I've flown within a calendar year.


Lucky to get UG again!


Did you see Jupiter?





same BA flight departing from two different gates, one on-time, the other delayed.. sounds alright..


Ginger beer courtesy of SFO lounge


This reminds me of time-space diagram taught in a class..


AS3338 back to LAX


Over the strip


Empty terminal as expected upon arrival


Beef tongue!



9/28/2022 Wednesday LAX-SFO-LAX
AS997 LAX-SFO A320 $38.60
AS77 SFO-LAX B738 $38.60
Leave home 420am
Car Parked 446am
Reach Airport 514am
Flight Departs 558am
Flight Arrives 728am
BART Departs 846am
BART Arrives 958am
Arrive Class 1009am
Leave Class 559pm
BART Departs 622pm
BART Arrives 731pm
Flight Departs 818pm
Flight Arrives 941pm
Airport Landside 946pm
Reach Parking Lot 1002pm
Arrive Home 1036pm



I boarded the plane, lifted window shade with a bit extra force, and window frame came off. I turned around, told FA sorry I think I broke the window frame.. (facepalm). FA was surprised (of course). Maintenance got onboard and filed paperwork to defer repaid order, so we pushed back on time. A week later I took the same flight with the same aircraft, and I will update how they fixed it in my October trip report.


To make it worse I was wearing a 787 shirt on A320, so hopefully they don't think it's intentional..


Need some ginger beer to recharge


Still on-strike outside T2


Empty check-in counter on a typical Wednesday night


They call it chicken al pastor.. Okay I'm not judging it.



Last minute equipment swap, 739 to 738, row 4 pax bumped into main cabin, feel bad for them..


Thursday night I checked in for my UA flight, of course I was the first to checkin given the strange connection..



9/30/2022 Friday LAX-OAK/SFO-RDD-LAX
WN783 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+2655 WN points
UA4791 SFO-RDD CRJ7
UA5493 RDD-LAX CRJ2 $15.60+6500 AV miles
Leave home 357am
Car Parked 422am
Reach Airport 434am
Flight Departs 528am
Flight Arrives 651am
BART Departs 654am
BART Arrives 733am
Arrive Class 755am
Leave Class 351pm
BART Departs 412pm
BART Arrives 514pm
Flight Departs 628pm
Flight Arrives 951pm
Airport Landside 959pm
Reach Parking Lot 1013pm
Arrive Home 1042pm

Another 535am flight..


Bulkhead window, ideal for nap


Landed OAK


Flying back from SFO, I booked SFO-RDD-LAX using AV miles since it was the only saver level award available that day, and connection was reasonable.
I always weigh myself when I see those machines just to check if I gained/lost weight since I started this commute. Luckily it remained the same!


Long security lines at T3





So I walked to T2 for security, barely anyone in line.


Plus I can access AS lounge even when flying other airlines.


Bike cop




CRJ700 to Redding, CA.


UA 772 to LHR




Arrived Redding, the parking lot was right next to tarmac.


Our ride from SFO.


Small terminal, with only 1 gate. I had to flag down a UA employee so I could enter the waiting area directly without exiting and going thru TSA again.


As we started boarding for the LAX flight, the gate agent tapped my shoulder: "Thanks for connecting thru Redding, a small city with an airport! Come back and see us okay?"
I laughed "Sure!"






Our CRJ200 to LAX


First time riding CRJ200, I heard enough bad reviews about it so I came prepared.


Well, it's not as bad as I thought, except sitting at window exit row, my legs felt like frozen meat in Costco warehouse after landing in LAX.




Ayce japanese BBQ, because I need to treat myself after another month of epic commute!








Summary:
September 2022
15 trips to school, 34 flights (22 AS, 9 WN, 2 UA, 1 B6), used SDC 25 times.
BART: $123.90
Airport Parking: $89.00
Gas: $217.79
AS: $358.08 (after 20% off from gift cards) PLUS 55000 miles
WN: $107.04 PLUS 12048 points
AV: $15.60 PLUS 6500 miles

Excluding mileage value and AS voucher I got for exchanging to earlier/later flight, cash total: $911.41

This is higher than expected due to increasing gas price, parking at LAX economy lot ($30) and SNA ($20) 1X each, and traveling to campus 4X weekly instead of 3X weekly for some of the weeks. Although BART had 50% off in September, that didn't offset the commute cost significantly. With skyrocketing gas price in socal and BART back to full price, my October commute cost may be even higher than September.

2 months done. 8 more to go. I have to admit I get used to this crazy schedule quite well. In October trip report there will be some crazier itineraries such as OAK-SEA-LAX. Well I chose this commute and I'm doing quite well IMHO. I will have my first midterm next week, although someone (cough cough) is a bit skeptical about my course performance so far, the midterm would be a great opportunity to show how much I understand the course material. Thanks for reading this long update for my September commute and I will see you next month! Oh Happy Halloween btw, maybe you will see me wearing a special costume made from boxed water wandering in Sea-Tac on Oct 31st!

theshaun

I love this so much. Waiting a month for the next installment sucks!!

wish I could try this for a week. No chance I could make it more than that.

SFO777

And I thought that I was crazy.
Congratulations on an insane but wonderful idea and execution.

hugolover

Seems to be the biggest drag is the poor state of public transport there.
You seem to be using miles from different programmes, even Avianca. Is that all credit card accrual? Do I understand your miles tickets on AS accrue status as well-segments?
The SDC is really useful. I presume it allows you to turn a miles/cheap seat into a better trip on a peak flight when the system allows you a seat change than reval/reticket. When you SDC to multi-stop are there no additional taxes?

diburning

If you were somehow able to do this all on one airline, you'd probably be a million miler in no time!

GoBob

Outstanding. Have you had media inquiries about your commute yet? There has to be a "Bay Area housing costs are so bad that..." story here for an enterprising journalist. They could even do a ride along.

I'm also curious about what your prof said when you told him about your commute (regarding the Thursday night group meetings)? FT people are conditioned to accept this as normal behavior but I'm always interested to see what actual "normal" people think. Ha ha.

Keep it up. I cringe when I read you get home at midnight some nights to turn around for a 4 am departure the next day, but I guess you can sleep on the weekend. Good luck.

goback

This has to be one of the more original FT Trip Reports. One for the hall of fame.

FallenPlat

The idea and execution here are indeed, in equal measure, crazy and amazing. Each individual page might be nothing too special, but the overall effect is unquestionably off the charts. In fact, the connection through Redding was so far off the charts that I thought, for a moment, that I must have misread something.

Velocipediste

That's an older (1980's) bi-level car. They were designed so that the conductor could walk through checking tickets for both levels at once. Notice the little metal clips above/below each seat? Those were for holding validated tickets. The newer Bombardier cars have two distinct levels in the middle, and a landing level at each end (over the trucks). I actually prefer the older bi-levels!

diburning

Yep! It's also called a gallery car. They were originally built for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad for it's Chicago area commuter operations (now Metra) from the 1950s to 1970, with other transit agencies either ordering the later generation cars, and/or buying older ones second hand. Vickers in Canada built them under license too! Virginia Railway Express (VRE) got updated versions of them in 2006 (built by Nippon-Sharyo)