This certainly has not been a good week. My email account gets hacked. Yesterday the fence blocking my parking spot gets built. I had been silently hoping that our neighbor might have forgotten about the matter, and the fence would not come to pass. To my chagrin, and the greater chagrin of my car, the fence is up. As I’m on vacation in the west coast, I have yet to actually see this fence. I’ve only heard about it through my neighbor.

Over the last day and half, I’ve been battling myself and my worst inclinations. I’m upset over the matter. The removal of the parking space has effectively decreased the value of my condo by about $30,000. Poof! It’s gone. That’s depressing. However, I’m not about to take this lying down. I am seeking legal recourse.

On this second front, I find myself exposed to the some worst aspects of my personality (and everyone else’s for that matter). I’m angry and I want vengeance. The neighbor never bothered to contact me to let me know that the fence was going to be put up yesterday. I gave him my phone number when we first crossed paths. My hackles are raised. It’s amazing how a phone call would’ve made a world of difference.

I don’t like being angry. I don’t like feeling vengeful. While few would mistake me for the Buddha, I’m generally not angry or vengeful. I tend to empathize, and I’m trying very hard to empathize with our neighbor. I do understand his position, especially as a real estate professional. However, at the moment, my reptile brain is getting the better of me. I fantasize about a scorched earth legal campaign against this man and his company. I know this is not a good line of thinking. I will pursue the matter legally, but I need to do so pragmatically and boil it down to a financial number. If it’s going to cost me 40k to recoup 30k loss, it doesn’t make sense. Emotionally right now, I’m willing to spend what it takes to exact my pound of flesh. That’s not good.