Get Ready for a RANT!!!

Grrrrrrrrrr!  Lord knows I've got enough going on right now.  That's why I've been avoiding fighting with my neighbor and the Township.  My mom says, "Let it go."  I'd love to, except every time it freaking rains it's like a tidal wave hits my yard.  I've spent the past 4 years improving my yard.  And it is SO damn discouraging to watch my hard work be washed away.  Literally.  

Think I'm exagerating.  I'm not. 

This is my shed, not my house

Water never did this prior to the alternations made by my neighbor this year

We are no longer able to keep gravel on this walkway.
 This was not an issue the 3 years prior to my neighbor's alterations.

Water pours through the fence and floods the area between our raised beds

Water getting dangerously close to our house

Clearly the water is coming off the street and entering my neighbor's driveway at a ridiculous rate

Sorry these pics suck.  I was using my iPhone and it was raining (obviously) and I was trying to hurry so I didn't get struck by lightning. 

You're just going to have to watch the video(s) to get the real idea:

I need to write a letter to the township zoning officer:
              Hey Buddy, remember when you took me to court last year (yeah we were there 5 times!) and I got fined $1000 because I removed half of a road you told me I was required to remove.  And by removing half the road, it became obvious that rain water (YOUR WATER) was pouring off the public street onto my neighbor's half of the road (his private driveway) because it was now pooling.  Oh and instead of making him remove his half of the road, as he was equally required to do, thus alleviating the pooling problem OR taking care of your water yourself, you blamed me.  And I am still paying that fine off in $50/month installments.  You always told me my neighbor was grandfathered in.  Ok.  Well he went and changed his property, now allowing EVEN GREATER QUANTITIES OF WATER to enter his property.  But lucky for him, the water only sits on ASPHALT, causing no damage to his property, but FLOODS THE CRAP OUT OF MY PROPERTY.  I didn't think I had the mental and physical energy to hire a lawyer and fight you and my neighbor, but so help me, I will find the energy!!!!  Grrrrrrrrr! 
      I know you did not allow all the work my neighbor did to his property this year.  In particular, he was told he was not allowed to pave asphalt within 5 feet of the property line and he did so anyway.  What are you doing about making him remove this?  Clearly the work he did is making the flooding problem worse, both on his property and mine.  Can I get my $1000 back?  And how about you make him tear up all that asphalt and build a new driveway that meets all the township ordinances.  Yeah, just like you made me do!

People have been telling me for years that I should call one of those news channels to do a story on this, and I always thought, na, it's just my own damn bad luck.  At this point of ridiculousness I think there is definitely a story. 

Or a letter to the home owner's association. 
          I cannot believe that you USED HOMEOWNER'S MONEY to pay for improvements to my neighbor's property.  You had contractors bid on the work.  YOU PAID.  And that scum bag NEVER GOT ANY PERMITS.  And now the work he had done is causing EXTENSIVE FLOODING to my property.  Who thought it would be a good idea to double the width of his driveway opening, without, duh, making sure water would not flow down his driveway.  And look how close the entrance is to the freaking storm drain.  Not good.  
     I want to know exactly how much money you have given my neighbor, or paid directly to contractors, permit office, etc. on my neighbor's behalf.  Then I demand you pay me AT LEAST that much money.  There is no way you can justify paying for his improvements without paying for mine! Furthermore, you should be ashamed of yourselves for being a part of this man's asinine behavior.  It is a disgrace to the community.

It just sucks because I can write as many letters as I want, but in the end I know I need to hire a lawyer.  I'm assuming a lawyer would have got me out of that bogus $1000 fine.  But who knows what he/she would've charged me. Go ahead and tell me you have an solution to my problems!  Please.

- Annoyed Girl