A rough start . . . but a good day

So last night I made sure to set my alarm for 9:00 so that I could be sure to get to church by 11.  I wanted to go to City Light Hamburg, which is a home fellowship that was started by a family from Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.  Their main pastor, Joey, is currently on a trip to Israel, but we've been in touch on Facebook and he gave me the contact info for Janos, whose family hosts the meeting each week.  I looked up all the directions and set my alarm for 9 am.

Or so I thought.

I woke up this morning and looked at the clock, and it said 11:48 am.  At first I thought I had read it wrong.  I practically leaped out of bed and opened the curtains.  I was not wrong.  It was almost NOON!  I was like, "No! Ohnononono . . ."

Just for the record, I can't remember a time I've EVER slept in any later than 11.

I realized once I looked at my clock that, in my delirium of staying up too late last night, I accidentally set my alarm for 9 pm.  So it never went off, and I never woke up.  Yeah.

Needless to say, I was really bummed out for a while.  It took me a few minutes to gather myself and get dressed.  Of course I was thinking, "I've wasted half my day!  What on earth do I do with myself when I wake up at noon?!?"

I sent Janos a text telling him I was super sorry I missed their meeting, but he texted me back and said they were all going to eat lunch and then hang out for a while afterwards, maybe go outside because the weather was so nice.  So I went after all.  And it was great.

The Stadtpark lawn was crowded today

Beautiful day on the Bellevue, where the Osterbekkanal
lets into Alster Lake

Right now the church is very small, maybe 5 or 6 families with kids plus a few more individuals.  Everybody was super friendly though, and we took a walk in the Stadtpark after everyone finished eating, so it ended up being really cool even though I missed the Bible study.  The Stadtpark was even more crowded today.  If yesterday was warm, today was absolutely California.  It had to have been between 70 and 75 degrees F, and completely sunny.  If it hadn't been for the bare trees and brick buildings, I could have sworn I was back in California.

We walked to the opposite end of the Stadtpark, which is the end near Georgi-Haus, so I went home and they got on the train to go back to Janos' house.  After I had a drink of water and shed my jacket and sweater, I went for another walk down the Osterbekkanal (the canal in front of Georgi-Haus) to Alster Lake.  In shirt sleeves.  It was an absolutely beautiful afternoon.  Lots of people out enjoying the day.

Later when I was in the kitchen making dinner, I was talking to Patrick, one of the other students in our apartment.  He studies at HAW but is moving out next week because he found a different apartment.  I was telling him about fixing up my room, and he said I could have his potted plant if I wanted it.  He has been cleaning all his stuff out and he was going to throw it away.  So I took it, and now I have a happy little green plant in my room!

Like I said, a rough start, but all things considered, it was an excellent day.  Better go to bed so I don't oversleep again.  School orientation starts tomorrow!

Osterbekkanal