aisleorwindow

As I was reading, I was remarking on how lucky you've been with almost all your flights being on time!
Maybe it's just being in the Midwest, but I don't fly even a fraction of the amount as you, and I have WAY more delays/cancellations in the last few years.

diburning

Mileage runs? You mean that after all that flying for your commute, you still need to fly more to retain status? Ouch!

Silver Fox

I'm truly in awe! Also, the flight prices are crazy cheap!

wakesetter93

$59 flights and burning tons of points isn't really conducive to gaining/keeping status

nequine

Got to give you plaudits for sticking with this crazy schedule rather than moving to SF!!

Going back to December, is that normal for the US to schedule exams for an evening???

Hoyaheel

In my experience it varies by school and program- and those programs with more "non-traditional" students (commuting to campus, perhaps working as well) tend to have more extended hours for exams available.

985X

For my undergrad, it was quarter based, which last for 10 weeks. Most finals were 2hr long. Berkeley is semester based, which last for around 18 weeks, most finals are 3hr long to cover all the course material. To avoid scheduling conflict for different class times, it goes longer till the end of the day.

See below:
Sample final schedule for semester based schools:
https://registrar.berkeley.edu/sched...and-schedules/

Sample final schedule for quarter based schools:
https://www.reg.uci.edu/calendars/fi...le-202223.html

lamphs

The photos along with the written detail is amazing. Years ago, I could handle this type of schedule. Now I've gotten to the point that I'd rather fly the evening before rather than getting up at 0 dark 30 and having a full day ahead (and admittedly, I have the luxury to do so).

Curious as to the low parking costs at LAX. Economy parking at DCA and IAD is $15/day with shuttles few and far between.

mball

Wow! How did I not know of this before! I teach at Berkeley; you should absolutely feel free to find me and say hi sometime if you'd like.

Props to you. Berkeley students are a terrifying mix of committment and energy.
I don't think I'd have wanted to do this, but I see the logic. Growing up in SoCal and studying at Berkeley, those cheap WN flights made the difference. (And now that I'm nearly *G UA's CA schedule is frustrating, but at least ONT works well for me.)

I'm actually curious about your BART costs -- they seem remarkably low. 1 Berkeley-Airport RT would usually be $20 (excluding minor 6% discounts and tax benefits...)
Are you only using BART for SFO, and the bus for OAK? I guess that'd make sense w/your free bus pass.

...just makes me jealous! my SF-Berkeley transit costs are often $250-300/mo...

Best of luck on finals in a few weeks! and Go Bears! 🐻

mball

It's changed over the years too. Long ago, there used to be more exams scheduled at the same time, but it led to more conflicts and a lack of space, and with fewer exam slots students had more final exams in one day. (9 hours of exams in a day is definitely no fun!)

My experience is that Berkeley's 10pm is later than many schools, but it's not a complete anomaly. We also tend of have evening out of class midterms in some programs. All just due to practical reasons of booking rooms.

angetenar

I remember one of my Berkeley CS midterms ending at 2 am once

nequine

That is ridiculous scheduling an exam to finish at that time!!!!

offerendum

I imagine what my professors would have said.

985X

March 2023

3/1/2023 Wednesday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN2328 LAX-OAK B738 $5.60+1088 WN points
WN2158 OAK-LAX B38M $5.60+1088 WN points
Leave home 645am
Car Parked 727am
Reach Airport 801am
Flight Departs 814am
Flight Arrives 937am
BART Departs 955am
BART Arrives 1037am
Arrive Class 1125am
Leave Class 515pm
BART Departs 600pm
BART Arrives 644pm
Flight Departs 720pm
Flight Arrives 840pm
Airport Landside 849pm
Reach Parking Lot 916pm
Arrive Home 958pm

Starting March commute with crazy traffic...


Almost missed my flight, but they held the plane for me. Agent actually called my cell phone while I was passing thru TSA. I picked up and told him "2 minutes! 2 minutes!"
"Hurry up!!!"
Glad I made it!


Our campus is safer than ever! /s
I've never seen that many alerts within a single day..


OAK-LAX back home in exit row


Foothill Mountains



3/3/2023 Friday LAX-OAK/SFO-LAX-EWR-SFO-LAX
WN2328 LAX-OAK B38M $5.60+1858 WN points
AS1162 SFO-LAX B739 $9.30
Leave home 632am
Car Parked 709am
Reach Airport 727am
Flight Departs 817am
Flight Arrives 939am
BART Departs 942am
BART Arrives 1022am
Arrive Class 1035am
Leave Class 609pm
BART Departs 627pm
BART Arrives 734pm
Flight Departs 846pm
Flight Arrives 829pm+1
Airport Landside 839pm+1
Reach Parking Lot 908pm+1
Arrive Home 944pm+1



Bulkhead LAX-OAK


San Fernando Valley


Flying over grapevine. It was closed due to heavy snow.


Some random airport in the middle of nowhere.. military base??


mini hotpot with cohort


very intense mileage run to EWR..


Gyro in SFO lounge, new item!


SFO-LAX upgraded to first class


LAX-EWR upgraded to first class


EWR-SFO premium class/hobo first class due to last minute SDC at the gate..


coming back to the bay area.. on a Saturday




Spent the entire afternoon in SFO since I didn't clear the standby list for earlier flights and those were actually complete full.. finally cleared standby on the 7pm flight..



3/6/2023 Monday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN2328 LAX-OAK B738 $5.60+1858 WN points
WN2158 OAK-LAX B38M $5.60+1858 WN points
Leave home 630am
Car Parked 707am
Reach Airport 725am
Flight Departs 816am
Flight Arrives 941am
BART Departs 958am
BART Arrives 1039am
Arrive Class 1057am
Leave Class 605pm
BART Departs 616pm
BART Arrives 652pm
Flight Departs 717pm
Flight Arrives 851pm
Airport Landside 854pm
Reach Parking Lot 928pm
Arrive Home 955pm



LAX-OAK exit row




Unusual landing path


Flying over the bay bridge


Lunch special with cohort


Bulkhead row on the way back


3/7/2023 Tuesday LAX-SJC/SFO-LAX
CANCELLED
Leave home 604am
Car Parked 701am
Reach Airport 720am
Flight Departs CANCELLED
Flight Arrives CANCELLED
BART Departs CANCELLED
BART Arrives CANCELLED
Arrive Class CANCELLED
Leave Class CANCELLED
BART Departs CANCELLED
BART Arrives CANCELLED
Flight Departs CANCELLED
Flight Arrives CANCELLED
Airport Landside CANCELLED
Reach Parking Lot CANCELLED
Arrive Home CANCELLED

Well, that's quite a story. My phone was not working properly due to prior water damage, and my alarm didn't ring and I can't unlock my phone screen. I overslept and of course I can't call AS on the way driving to LAX. I missed my 7am LAX-SJC flight, then I asked agent to rebook me on 8am LAX-SFO flight. But since it's within 40min of departure she can't change it. So I asked her to rebook me on the 2pm (next available flight) LAX-SFO, print the boarding pass so I can pass TSA with my dead phone. I rushed to the 8am LAX-SFO gate, it was 740am, they won't close the door until 750am. I asked gate agent Karl to put me on that flight, he claimed it's not allowed and the flight is full. I called him out. The flight status showed there were plenty of seats on this Tuesday LAX-SFO mainline aircraft, then Karl claimed this flight was closed. I saw a stack of printed boarding passes for non-rev pax, and they haven't even boarded yet. After I pointed out his lie, Karl became aggressive and threatened to cancel my ticket. He claimed I was being uncooperative and asked me to leave. I said well, I can cancel the ticket myself, I don't need your "help". I went downstairs and talked to the supervisor and the ticket counter agent who helped me earlier. They were shocked and helped me confirm the identity of the gate agent. Ticket agent asked if I told gate agent I'm 100k. I said, no, because if I had to tell gate agent I'm 100k to receive proper service, that'd be pathetic, no customer should be treated like that. So I drove back home, cancelled my ticket, and got my phone fixed. After that, I called customer care and they took care of it.

Due to this drama, I was not able to attend the 11am presentation for my air transportation on campus, but I was still able to participate remotely through zoom. Kudos to my team member setting it up so we can do the presentation successfully.



3/8/2023 Wednesday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN2328 LAX-OAK B38M $5.60+1088 WN points
WN2158 OAK-LAX B38M $5.60+1088 WN points
Leave home 633am
Car Parked 714am
Reach Airport 731am
Flight Departs 817am
Flight Arrives 939am
BART Departs 943am
BART Arrives 1023am
Arrive Class 1042am
Leave Class 511pm
BART Departs 526pm
BART Arrives 616pm
Flight Departs 716pm
Flight Arrives 837pm
Airport Landside 839pm
Reach Parking Lot 901pm
Arrive Home 932pm

No drama when flying southwest


Bulkhead row to OAK




Lunch at northside of campus


Golden hour


As I was walking in the terminal watching sunset, I suddenly felt a little emotional that this epic commute would end in 2 months and I've made it that far..


I get used to flying Max8.. not sure if it's a bad thing or not..




Porto's on the days I don't go to campus..


3/10/2023 Friday LAX-OAK/OAK-PDX-SEA-EWR
WN2765 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+2632 WN points
Leave home 516am
Car Parked 546am
Reach Airport 603am
Flight Departs 804am
Flight Arrives 926am
BART Departs 958am
BART Arrives 1044am
Arrive Class 1110am
Leave Class 304pm
BART Departs 317pm
BART Arrives 410pm
Flight Departs 519pm
Flight Arrives 526am+1
Airport Landside 534am+1
Reach Newark Penn Station 624am+1
Arrive Hotel 825am+1



Some planespotting at LAX


Bulkhead row!


Power outage at OAK.. LOL!




I didn't clear OAK-PDX due to last minute SDC, but at least I got the only empty row on this Max 9.




N lounge..


SEA-EWR redeye, upgraded to first class


Ginger Beef Wrap


This headway is way too much!!


It's snowing in NYC


Booked a hotel in Flushing, luckily they gave me early check-in.


Trying some duck vermicelli soup in Flushing.


It's been a while since I visited NYC


Too many potholes! Free massage or what...




I waited half an hour for the only new A train






It's just MTA being MTA..




Flying back JFK-SEA-LAX






JFK lounge. Friend said it looks like a nice setup for living room..








20+ pax on upgrade list, I'm the only one that cleared..


First time trying jerk chicken on the menu


FA was giving out ice-cream. I said, that's the best part of the flight!


Two other pax didn't want the ice-cream, including my seat neighbor. Later FA asked if I would like extra ice-cream, I said sure, and she brought me two!! I was smiling like a kid


Descending into SEA


DL/AS flights to LAX all delayed..


Pancake machine is still out of order




Then AS flights were further delayed, and DL flight was cancelled, oops.


Upgraded to first class



3/13/2023 Monday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN2765 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+2632 WN points
WN2759 OAK-LAX B737 $5.60+2323 WN points
Leave home 624am
Car Parked 705am
Reach Airport 726am
Flight Departs 802am
Flight Arrives 927am
BART Departs 945am
BART Arrives 1028am
Arrive Class 1043am
Leave Class 647pm
BART Departs 702pm
BART Arrives 756pm
Flight Departs 844pm
Flight Arrives 1000pm
Airport Landside 1005pm
Reach Parking Lot 1043pm
Arrive Home 1114pm







Can you find our campus?


Quick lunch at school


Dining hall with cohort on campus, made me feel young again.. it's been a while since I visited dining hall..


Flying back from OAK


Bulkhead row




3/15/2023 Wednesday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN2765 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+1088 WN points
WN2759 OAK-LAX B737 $5.60+1088 WN points
Leave home 619am
Car Parked 700am
Reach Airport 717am
Flight Departs 758am
Flight Arrives 908am
BART Departs 935am
BART Arrives 1022am
Arrive Class 1040am
Leave Class 704pm
BART Departs 715pm
BART Arrives 800pm
Flight Departs 844pm
Flight Arrives 957pm
Airport Landside 959pm
Reach Parking Lot 1020pm
Arrive Home 1106pm





A very empty flight since it's a Wednesday..


Secured my exit row seat


Our library looks like a lounge now! Very impressed.


I wish I got selected for Bay Pass.. oh well..


Crazy beef bone noodle


Flying back from OAK

985X

(March 2023 cont.)

3/17/2023 Friday LAX-OAK/SFO-LAX
WN2765 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+2632 WN points
AS3499 SFO-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 623am
Car Parked 657am
Reach Airport 726am
Flight Departs 800am
Flight Arrives 921am
BART Departs 938am
BART Arrives 1023am
Arrive Class 1038am
Leave Class 106pm
BART Departs 116pm
BART Arrives 217pm
Flight Departs 259pm
Flight Arrives 426pm
Airport Landside 430pm
Reach Parking Lot 443pm
Arrive Home 646pm

I saw this large group of travelers and immediately walked to the checkpoint on the other side of the terminal. That's my greatest fear when traveling..




Exit row!




After class, I rushed to SFO so I can make it to my dinner date in LA. Crazy lifestyle isn't it?




Rare spotting Antonov at LAX


Empty expresslane at 6pm! Unbelievable!


Celebrating St. Patrick's Day!



3/20/2023 Monday LAX-SFO-LAX
WN539 LAX-SFO B737 $5.60+2323 WN points
AS3412 SFO-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 427am
Car Parked 453am
Reach Airport 518am
Flight Departs 558am
Flight Arrives 724am
BART Departs 744am
BART Arrives 1027am
Arrive Class 1033am
Leave Class 444pm
BART Departs 457pm
BART Arrives 634pm
Flight Departs 846pm
Flight Arrives 1019pm
Airport Landside 1021pm
Reach Parking Lot 1056pm
Arrive Home 1125pm



Flying to SFO since it's cheaper..






SFO-LAX, upgraded to first class



3/21/2023 Tuesday LAX-SJC/SFO-LAX
AS3335 LAX-SJC E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
AS3433 SFO-LAX E175 $5.60+5000 AS miles
Leave home 534am
Car Parked 609am
Reach Airport 632am
Flight Departs 653am
Flight Arrives 825am
BART Departs 836am
BART Arrives 1018am
Arrive Class 1033am
Leave Class 407pm
BART Departs 423pm
BART Arrives 536pm
Flight Departs 739pm
Flight Arrives 938pm
Airport Landside 943pm
Reach Parking Lot 1000pm
Arrive Home 1032pm

It's a very bad day flying into the bay area due to weather


LAX-SJC upgraded to first class


long BART ride to campus




On the way back, I was concerned about the SFO-LAX flight due to bad weather conditions. SFO operation was a total mess.

310pm SFO-LAX was delayed then ultimately cancelled.


855pm SFO-LAX was also cancelled


5pm SFO-LAX flight was first delayed then cancelled


Weather was still quite bad..


Thank god my inbound made it to SFO after extended ground hold at LAX



1025pm SFO-LAX first delayed then cancelled


And my flight was actually the only one that made it that night.. sigh..


Departure board before most of those flights got cancelled


Why so empty? Because most flights were cancelled..




Very bad weather


And I was praying my flight could make it, otherwise I would be stranded at SFO overnight again!


Boarded AS3433, the only flight out of the 5 afternoon SFO-LAX flights that wasn't cancelled.


Such a relief when I saw LAX..




Bad weather in LA too, but at least I can rest on my bed rather than in the SFO terminal.



3/22/2023 Wednesday LAX-OAK-LAX
WN2765 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+1088 WN points
WN2607 OAK-LAX B737 $5.60+1088 WN points
Leave home 625am
Car Parked 726am
Reach Airport 739am
Flight Departs 751am
Flight Arrives 909am
BART Departs 930am
BART Arrives 1014am
Arrive Class 1032am
Leave Class 514pm
BART Departs 529pm
BART Arrives 627pm
Flight Departs 710pm
Flight Arrives 824pm
Airport Landside 833pm
Reach Parking Lot 857pm
Arrive Home 938pm

Woke up early the following day to go back to campus..






hobo first class!


pork katsu curry for lunch


Exit row on the way back


Dinner with undergrad friends in K town


3/24/2023 Friday LAX-OAK/SFO-ORD-LHR
WN2765 LAX-OAK B737 $5.60+2632 WN points
Leave home 526am
Reach LAX Park&Ride 641am
Reach Airport 658am
Flight Departs 801am
Flight Arrives 935am
BART Departs 1025am
BART Arrives 1143am
Arrive Class 1157am
Leave Class 220pm
BART Departs 227pm
BART Arrives 504pm
Flight Departs 1120pm
Flight Arrives 951pm+1
Airport Landside 1006pm+1
Reach Heathrow Central 1015pm+1
Arrive Hotel 1025pm+1

That's a very violent crash on the way to LAX..






Hate crime on MUNI, so everyone had to get off the bus and wait for next one. just another normal day for SF craziness..


I reached SFO a bit too early for my redeye flight to ORD




SFO-ORD Upgraded to first class


Flagship lounge at ORD, visiting for the first time!


nice buffet






Last spring break as a student, a trip to Europe to treat myself!


Bulkhead in main cabin




the following day, I flew Eurowings to DUS then took 6 trains to reach Amsterdam.. doing whatever I can to try some new airlines..


AMS is probably one of my favorite cities in Europe






Visiting Keukenhof






Taking ICE train to Munich




That's too much food for me..






Very interesting bus in Munich. I've never seen it elsewhere before..


Pork knuckle


Spaghetti ice with friend


Trying schnitzel in Frankfurt




I always do some grocery/souvenir shopping before heading back to LA..


Damn it! 3rd time this year!


First time flying condor, two meal options: yes or no




yeah that's my IFE screen, so I can't even watch anything for the entire 11hrs. Never again!


I was starving, so I drove to Little Tokyo for some ramen.


I'm a happy man again!



Summary:
March 2023
12 trips to school, 22 flights (17 WN, 5 AS), used SDC 14 times.
BART: $32.24
Airport Parking: $33.00
Gas: $221.41
AS: $25.36 (after 20% off from gift cards) PLUS 20000 miles
WN: $95.20 PLUS 29452 points

Excluding mileage value, cash total: $407.21

March was not as intense as I expected, although I was quite concerned with the weather. I had my last spring break as a student in Europe, and due to SNCB (Belgium national rail company) extended delay, I missed my flight to Vienna, so I had to change my itinerary. Luckily the EU rail pass saved me and I didn't lose too much money. That's how life is right? You can't expect everything to go as planned, just like this commute. Spring break travel was not as crazy as I expected, but that's mostly due to I was out of the country during the peak week of spring break travel. Thanks for reading and I will try to update my April trip report soon!