Kinda a shit week, this one, truth be told. For starters, my back hurts. I was stupid and sat in the driver's seat of our car uninterrupted for way too long -- like four straight hours -- driving Lil' S1 to camp, and my back was so stiff when I got out. Just dumb -- sitting for too long, especially in the same position, kills my back, and I know this. All I had to do was pullover and walk around for a few minutes once during the trip, or just have S drive, so that I could shift around and recline if need be. The kicker is that we were stuck in line at Lil' S1's camp for like an hour (I guess we came at a popular time), and even then I didn't get out of the car. Then the next day I went to a strength and conditioning class, because exercise usually helps my back, but it just so happened to be a super back intensive day, and I doubt that dead lifts and kettle bell swings made things better. I probably should've stayed home and did my yoga DVD.
Then, we've just had a bunch of headaches all hit us at the same time. We have a tree in our yard that one of our neighbors sent us a letter about (by certified mail). Apparently, big branches fell on their roof and caused some damage. This doesn't surprise me because big branches fall in our yard too, not from the same tree, but from another one like it, and they're super dangerous. Last big storm, we had a limb fall in our backyard that was so massive it literally would've killed somebody if it hit them squarely. So, I understand our neighbors' concern.
However, doing some Google research into DC law, as best I can tell, it's not technically our problem. They are responsible for branches that grow over the property line, not us. But there is a catch: If the tree is dying or diseased, and we are given warning by our neighbors that it's potentially hazardous, but do nothing about it, then I think we could be held liable for property damage. Probably that's why they sent the letter, as there is a line at the end that says something that effect.
So, we applied for a permit with the city to potentially have the tree removed -- DC is pretty strict about removing big trees -- but the arborist who inspected it told us he's going to reject our permit because the tree isn't dying or diseased or hazardous (at least not enough to be removed). I'm mostly happy about this, as I didn't really want to remove it in the first place -- I just wanted somebody official to inspect it to cover our ass. We also made an appointment to have the tree serviced -- have it pruned, remove loose and dangerous branches and other debris, etc., which seems to be the best we can do.
I wrote everything in a response letter, which I guess I will also send via certified mail. (Waiting in line at the post office might be the worst part of the entire ordeal.) I think I will also call them or knock on their door, though. Tone doesn't always come across properly in the written word, and I really don't want this thing to escalate -- lawyers are not in our budget right now. I want to be friendly and convey to them that we've taken their concerns to heart and done pretty much all we can. Also, I want to make sure they know that they can further service or trim any parts of the tree that hang over into their yard. We don't mind, and I don't think we could legally do anything about it, even if we did.
Moving down the list of headaches...
S and I got into a spat -- a tiff, actually; it wasn't even big enough to be a spat -- about our broken ice makers. We have two fridges and somehow the ice maker doesn't work on either of them. (One broke; one's never worked.) It's something that's just kind of annoying, especially since we frequently pack a cooler to take to the pool with us, so I had a technician come out to give us a quote. It's something like $800 to get them both fixed, so I just said yes, and S got annoyed because she doesn't want to spend that much right now. We have other, more pressing expenses (like tree service), and she hates going over budget and cutting into our savings, even if we can make up for it later. Why didn't you say something about this when I said I wanted to book a technician, or when you saw him in our house assessing our refrigerators? was my argument, and I think it's a decent argument. But S does all the work managing the finances in our house, so I think I just have to concede this one.
As if all this wasn't enough, we noticed today that the glass on the roof of our Tesla is cracked. We have to get it fixed pronto or else water might start getting in or it might start splintering. Lil' S2 and his two friends were climbing on it the other day, and that almost certainly is how it cracked. But the weird thing is that the glass seems to be cracking from the inside, not the outside, as I would expect if it was caused by an outside force. It's possible it's just coincidence -- I know people who've had their sunroofs pop on them out of nowhere -- but Occam's Razor says otherwise. I saw kids climbing on the roof of the car, now it's broken. You do the math.
We had a talk with Lil' S2, but we're going to have to bring his friends into it too. The three of them fuck shit up every time they're together at our house -- rip open a pack of canned seltzer so that a bunch of them roll off the counter and bust open on the floor; spray water all over the floor with the sprayer in the sink; open up a box of my personal stuff and spread it all over the place; etc. They don't listen very well either when we tell them not to do things.
They're all really sweet kids actually, but they just don't behave well when they're together. I might have to talk to their parents, but I have to play it tactfully. Lil' S2 spends way more time at their house than they do at our house, and I value that, both for his sake and mine. So, I don't want them to think that we're sloughing our kid off on them but don't want their kids here. I want them here. I just don't want them cracking the roof our Tesla.
So, I guess it's a weekend of awkward conversations with neighbors for me -- sweet.
Until next time...
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