Boom! Pow! Fireworks!

 Hi internet friends! Neal here, the co-owner of the duplex (and loving husband??). Since it's my first post, I figured I deserved fireworks! Actually, the firworks are from the bi-weekly display at Dodger stadium. They're amazing. Wanna know the best part? We can see them from our backyard. They're the perfect thing to use as a center piece to a relaxing evening with some friends. So two weeks ago we had our first get together at our new place. We watched fireworks, ate smores and talked shit about other people while sitting around our new firepit (the firepit might deserve it's own post). The night was amazing and we swore an oath that we'd have people over for every fireworks display.

Last Friday was a fireworks night, so having sworn an oath, we did exactly what you'd expect  ...We went out to dinner with some friends. Boo! Luckily, the Dodger game went late and we arrived home halfway through the fireworks. We ran up to the terrace off of our bedroom to watch the rest... but while we were watching, we heard something weird. People talking. (So weird, right? No wait, stick with the story, you'll see!) The thing was, every which way we looked, all our neighbors were either out for the night or they were asleep-- yet still, there were voices. Where were they coming from? Jodi thought they were coming from above us. But come on, above us? When the grand finale finished, we brushed off the idea of people hovering high in the trees talking, went inside, and got ready for bed...

That's when we heard the distinct sound of feet on our roof. Right above our stairwell. And we realized... our tenants were on the roof watching the fireworks.

Now I don't like to ruin the fun for everybody (okay, yes I do), but in this instance, what with their safety and the health of our roof on the line, we had to take a stand.

We were freaked. We had to do something quick, but we couldn't appear angry. I mean, come on, they thought we were cool when we met them, and any anger would ruin all our hipster points. But they can't get away with this!! We also had no FOR SURE proof, so we couldn't accuse them directly. I can't decide if we were making it a big deal, or if it actually was a big deal. Anyway, we certainly weren't going to confront them in person. We sent an email no less than 2 minutes after they went inside.

Here's what we wrote:

Hello tenants,
We heard a lot of noise on our roof tonight. We just want to make clear that going on the roof is not allowed. Not only is it unsafe, but it's also above our bedroom.
Thanks,
Jodi and Neal

I'd like to think it struck the right balance between stern and caring. Regardless, it was pretty effective. The next morning we received a genuine apology, and so far we haven't heard any other noises from the roof. Lesson? On our next lease, we'll make sure to specify what is and what isn't allowed on the roof. (Answers: nothing and everything.)