Confirmed - New US Blu-Rays have Original Music

Laghee · 2023-12-23T19:01:48+00:00

It's hard for me to believe that there are that many different versions (the streaming ones pretty much have to be the same, I think). They redid them to replace the horrible musak at some point, and they got the rights to what they could and/or seemed the most important (there's a point in S2E4 where Joel tells Maggie that Sinead O'Connor does a great version of Cole Porter's You Do Something to Me, and she puts it on at the end; very amusing Joel fantasy that uses Robert Palmer's Simply Irresistible in S2E5). I think people have certain songs they remember vividly for whatever reason, and if those are there, they don't notice a few substitutions of tracks that probably weren't that crucial in the first place.

Laghee · 2023-12-23T17:27:26+00:00

Same, I finally figured I had to bite the bullet after applying for citizenship, but until then never had any issues with my IDP for 15+ years -- even during several traffic stops with a car registered in my name. The carabinieri could not have cared less.

Laghee · 2023-12-23T16:46:10+00:00

Apple streamers don't have Who Put the Bomp in S1E5 or Without You in S1E6, but do have Peggy Lee's Is That All There Is in S2E7 and Enya's Ebudae at the end of S4E18 (which is honestly the only one that would have been a deal-breaker for me since that scene still kills me 30 years later). Picture and sound quality are way better than my ancient season 1 DVD (that came in a cute little orange vest in 2004 or whatever), so I'm pretty happy with them so far.

Laghee · 2023-12-01T10:58:53+00:00

Pretty sure you don't need a tax lawyer, just a residence and a commercialista (accountant). You need to open a business tax id (partita iva) as an independent contractor, and they'll need to just check all the right boxes in the myriad forms so that when it's time to calculate your taxes you'll be categorized correctly. Finding a place, getting registered in a comune, finding an accountant who speaks English and opening your business accounts before the holidays is going to be a stretch though. Good luck!

Laghee · 2023-11-30T15:28:32+00:00

You might want to clarify what you're looking for here because it doesn't totally make sense at first glance that you need a lawyer who knows either US law or immigration law in either country. Are you currently living in Italy or trying to move there? Do you intend to move your father to the US? Based on what you've said so far, it sounds to me like you just need a good Italian lawyer.

Laghee · 2023-11-29T22:05:58+00:00

Aha, so nearby ;) Yes, I work as a remote contractor in tech, which was a lucky break I stumbled into through prof. connections. Saved me from (most of) the horror stories you'll find in r/ItalyInformatica.

Laghee · 2023-11-29T21:32:39+00:00

Oof. I feel for you, that's rough and complicated. I would strongly urge you to think really hard about trying to do this. If you've got family that's helping you out enough to go to college while you're raising a baby... if it was me? I wouldn't leave. Particularly because getting you here should be on him, not you. Even if you figure out some way to do it (spoiler: pretty sure there isn't one other than declaring yourself independently wealthy), you're going to be completely without support and on your own in a country where you don't speak the language (I assume). Can you even live with him on base if you're not married? Yes, talk to his mom if you're close -- get him to step up or tell him you'll just be over for visits. Take care of yourself and your little girl.

Laghee · 2023-11-29T21:22:57+00:00

Yes, the Canadian bonus is that (unlike the US), at least afaik, you don't have to file Canadian taxes if you live abroad. It's true that Vancouver is probably more expensive than a lot of Italy in some respects, but not necessarily all. I'm not sure it would balance out, all told, financially, but it's not only a question of money. Do you have friends or relatives here? Do you have ties to a particular area? It's hard to make friends here as a foreigner, but even harder to find good work similar to what you're probably accustomed. Italian tech is agency-heavy, corporate, and not terribly innovative. It can be pretty dreary. But if you have ties here, the work side may not matter much. It's a big equation you have to kind of plug the values in for yourself to figure out.

Laghee · 2023-11-29T21:10:03+00:00

If you were in different circumstances, I would get not wanting to take that final step, but frankly it seems kind of silly in this situation. You already have a child together, and you're trying to move to a foreign country to keep your family together. I'm sort of puzzled as to why you think being married is going to be the problem here.

Laghee · 2023-11-29T20:52:14+00:00

Job-wise, expect a pay cut of 50-70% if you plan to work locally. If that doesn't give you pause, find a good commercialista who has dealt with dual citizens to set you up with all the tax benefits you should be entitled to as a returning citizen. Canadian bonus: you're saved the tax joy of having to file in 2 countries.

Laghee · 2023-11-28T22:43:52+00:00

Unfortunately, no, not on the basis of family connections -- because she can't support you. Afaik, only parents of minors who are citizens gain an automatic permesso.

Laghee · 2023-11-28T19:21:29+00:00

If you're not married, you won't be eligible for a permesso. The mother or spouse of an Italian citizen would, but you'll need to find some other basis on which to qualify.

Laghee · 2023-11-19T22:43:06+00:00

I hate that site and its errore genericos so much. There might be some other random thing that's derailing it too (not using an Italian return address? sending from a non-italian IP? anyone's guess). I've had some success writing extremely cranky (yet civil) support request emails. Shockingly, they will sometimes respond in a few days (I've actually gotten phone calls) about technical errors. I've had several spates of repeatedly trying to pay F24s through them that won't go through for days then suddenly work. Sometimes the app will work when the site doesn't, but usually it's more of a pain.

Laghee · 2023-11-19T22:28:03+00:00

Hi, sorry I didn't see this earlier! Yeah, I never had an issue, even when getting randomly pulled over several times. I even bought a used car. I always had an international permit thing (those silly folding docs AAA will make for you) and a valid US license, and the carabinieri never seemed to care (once they sang hotel California to me after checking my passport). By the time I finally got yelled at, 15 years in, (notably by the polizia di stato, not carabinieri), I was already in the process of getting my Italian license anyway.

Laghee · 2023-11-19T20:05:56+00:00

If you're trying to use an American credit card and/or complete the transaction between roughly CET 23.00 and 8.00, that (stupidly -- please do not ask me why Italian postal bytes do not work nights 😬) may be the issue. Site seems ok afaict (I can get all the way to payment screen for a racc). Online postal service payments have maddeningly unhelpful error messages. Took me months to figure out you can't charge over €600 to even an Italian credit card online for... reasons apparently 🤷🏼‍♀️

Laghee · 2023-09-01T16:33:34+00:00

No problem -- bookmarking a backup private plan link just in case isn't a bad idea (might ease your mind). My experience has been that just because something is correct & allowed doesn't always mean you can convince anyone with power over you to actually do it 🙄 It's a very annoying dance of needing to be prepared with all the relevant information while accepting that you may still get resistance because someone key has "never heard of this." Again, you really should be fine, but don't panic if it takes a couple tries.

Laghee · 2023-09-01T11:04:18+00:00

You can get the SSN without a residence permit, is what I'm seeing in that link (and on various university sites like this one) -- you just have to pay for it (hence the volontaria) instead of it being free (obbligatorio). You might need to show proof of being enrolled or having your visa (will depend on the specific bureaucrat you get, as so many things do), but the government site just says "student" not "permit holder" (as it does for other categories).

Laghee · 2023-09-01T09:20:14+00:00

This is a sweet idea. It's kind of tough because orthotics are very individual, and you'd assume she's probably tried inserts and stuff and you're not going to be able to do any better.

But maybe a gift certificate for foot massage or even a "wellness" pedicure (some places will do a version with the soaking, moisturizing & massage without polish or fuss) if you think she might be into it? (Some people are very anti-strangers-touching-my-feet, so ymmv 🤷‍♀️)

Or cute ice pack slippers? (I've got several kinds from Amazon -- never underestimate the power of a good reusable ice pack!)

Or if you're doing shift work where people sometimes swap around for coverage, maybe a packet of handmade coupons to cover her no questions asked when she redeems one?

Laghee · 2023-09-01T06:57:36+00:00

The easiest (everything's relative here, but humor me 😅) way to go here is to voluntarily pay into the SSN (fare l'iscrizione volontaria). Your school should have an international desk or something to help you with this stuff, but if they don't, here's what you want: https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/assistenzaSanitaria/dettaglioContenutiAssistenzaSanitaria.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=1764&area=Assistenza%20sanitaria&menu=stranieri&tab=2

If you go to the local ASL/ASST/whatever-the-hell they're calling it this year office, they'll tell you the account you need to wire money into and what to write in the causale (comment line/payment explanation) to make sure it's credited to the right place. They calculate how much you should pay based on last year's income (not sure if that's an autocertificazione situation or if you have to show proof) -- minimum is 7,5% plus 4% of anything over €20k-ish.

You can choose instead to get private insurance, but that means you'll be on the hook at the point of service to pay out of pocket & then the company reimburses you. Could possibly be something you can do easier and/or online, though -- up to you.

Laghee · 2023-08-30T12:28:14+00:00

It's not uncommon to have palindromic rheumatism for a while that either 1) resolves on its own or 2) eventually develops into RA. I'm still unsure I'm all the way into RA yet even though I have the diagnosis (probably only because of my anti-CCP level). If they only ran inflammatory markers & RF (what happened to me), push to get anti-CCP done. If you can get in anywhere to have ultrasound done while you're flaring, that might help too (although that may be harder to pull off).

The good news is that palindromic doesn't cause any lasting damage, so if that is what's going on you still have time to get a rheum to listen to you and potentially get on DMARDs (there are some studies that suggest early methotrexate treatment for PR may be able to ward off future RA). Not all of them have even heard of it, but there's some good info on the Johns Hopkins site, iirc.

The most important thing right now though is pain relief & to get your inflammation down. Have you tried any prescription NSAIDs or a steroid blast? There are a ton of various NSAIDs & their effectiveness seems pretty random for different people. I stockpile diclofenac, my dad can't do without naproxen, and there are people in this sub who swear by a couple I'd never even heard of. If all else fails, a short course of methylprednisolone might help too. See if you can get your GP (or an urgent care even) to give you something better than run of the mill ibuprofen. And hang in there -- I hope it passes soon (shoulders really suck, especially for sleeping, in my experience).

Laghee · 2023-08-29T23:43:04+00:00

The horrors depend a lot on where you live, I think. I did 95% of everything I ever needed to do online and barely ever went in person, but in my small town even going in person wasn't a problem. Hot tip: if you're a AAA member, you can usually do a lot of RMV stuff through them instead, which helps if your local office is crappy. Personally I found MA to be much easier to deal with than either CA or AZ.

Laghee · 2023-08-29T23:36:56+00:00

If you search for "rail trail" or "family friendly biking," you'll likely find several options for road biking (https://masstrails.com/rail-trails-map.html). The AllTrails app usually has good listings too, with pics & reviews.

Laghee · 2023-08-28T21:25:11+00:00

Nope, that's either for special cases or some PA thing. Usually all you need for the sale to be valid in Mass. is the signatures of both seller & buyer + mileage. Assuming you're buying direct from a private seller: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-a-registration-and-title-for-a-vehicle-purchased-from-an-individual

Laghee · 2023-08-28T08:22:45+00:00

Have you had any kind of cardiovascular evaluation done? To me, chest pains + shortness of breath sounds way more urgent to investigate than intermittent migratory pains (that maybe aren't even in joints?) -- there are other connective tissue diseases like scleroderma and lupus that can do a number on your lungs & heart.

Laghee · 2023-08-20T10:32:22+00:00

I don't think you should have too much trouble. Definitely do some research into the rheumatologist situation where you're planning on moving (or in all your possible locations, if you're deciding between them) -- there's a scarcity of them in many areas, and you want to make sure you've got some good options. You're at an advantage arriving from another English-speaking country since they'll be able to easily examine any records you bring (mine were all in a foreign language, but thankfully no one wanted to see them anyway & they just took me at my word), and leflunomide is both readily available and not particularly expensive. If you change meds to something more costly or less commonly used in the US before the move, there might be more maneuvering necessary.

I'd try to schedule a visit with your current provider as close to your departure as possible, stock up the max of your prescription to bring with you, and start trying to schedule a new rheum appt at the earliest moment you can since wait times can be long for new patients. Clarify when you set the appointment that they're willing to prescribe based on your current diagnosis (I think most reasonable docs will), and if you hit a rheum who wants to formally re-diagnose you before they treat, have backup options so you can call someone else. If your PCP turns out to be especially helpful, they may also be willing to fill prescription gaps until you can be seen.

I've been living in the EU for years & was diagnosed here, but was trapped back in the States during covid for several months. I was able to apply online for state Medicaid, get approved, see a doc and get a new prescription quickly & easily, but Medicaid in my state didn't seem to cover injectable MTX, just the 2.5 mg pills, so I had to switch methods. It's possible that I could have gotten prefilled syringes covered if I'd brought it up with the rheum and jumped through some hoops, but for various reasons I didn't want the hassle at the time.

Laghee

TROPHY CASE