Emily im Maryländle

OK, I have been quiet for a while. The reason is simple: I had, yet again, a moving experience. My parents and I moved from Massachusetts to Maryland. The added benefit is that I don't have to use the spellchecker every single time I write my home state (and yes, that's why Wyoming and Mississippi lost out).
Anyways, October 14 was the big day, we drove from MA to DE where we stayed overnight. Papa was driving the ugly U-Haul with all my belongings and Mama our fashionable Corolla. At one of our pit stops, a huge SUV with a beautiful trailer parked right next to it. The trailer itself contained a 1959 Triumph. The driver was a sporty mid sixty man and his mid twenty, I assume girlfriend , went to her own little pit stop. So I started chatting and it turned out that he was Bavarian, from Garmisch. He was on his way from Vermont to Virginia (one state up in the alphabet) to drive in a rally. His residence however was not Vermont, no it was the Bahamas. I got the typical 'I love Europe and I am moving back soon. I go to Italy once a year to drive in a rally. Oh Germany is so small and everything is so narrow. I can't live there anymore -it would have to be Italy'. I thought: 'Yes and they do have cops in Germany, from all I say on my first trip in September, now how bad would that bad to your little pile of money in the Bahamas'.

Our house in Silver Spring is adorable, it's bright, in a lovely neighborhood, and most importantly, I have my own box-free room. The only quibble was my Papa and Mama's little fight with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hamp-shire. We needed to switch to the PPO plan since the HMO won't cover outside of New England. In order to get my six-month vaccination, Mama wanted to set up an appointment with a new pediatrician. Now the interesting part is that we need the insurance number to set up an appointment. So Papa called Anthem and asked if he can somehow get the new number since the application was just being submitted and processed:

MK: We just moved from MA to MD and I would like to set up an appointment with a new pediatrician for my daughter. I was told it will take up to four weeks to get the new number and then four weeks to get an appointment. That would out us into her 8th month - is there nothing you can do, like giving me that new number over the phone or an out of state referral?
Anthem Man: Well, why don't you just go to a doctor in Massachusetts?
MK: Ahem, we just moved to Maryland...
AM: And the point being?
MK: (Silence)
AM: It's not that far from Maryland to MA, is it?
MK: Well, it's twelve hours with an infant if you stop in between, seems a little far for three shots.
AM: Is it really that far?
MK: Yeeeeeees.
AM: Wow
MK: (Silence)
AM: I see [must have picked up a map]. It's south of New York, isn't it?
MK: Sort of
AM: Wow
MK: (Silence)
AM: Would Rhode Island be any better?
MK: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
MK: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
MK: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
MK: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
MK: [J, Mary and Joseph, what on earth is wrong with that bloke?] Well, it would chop off an hour or so, so we are down to nine to eleven hours, so not really
AM: Really?
MK: May I ask you something? Where are you located? [expecting anything between Hawaii and Alaska as an answer]
AM: New Hampshire

Maybe there is a reason why they have income taxes in some states....

In the meantime, I have met our good friends from Annapolis and Baltimore and Alexandria and I love the urban environment and the diversity. As a matter of fact, I love it so much that I started making my propeller sound with a melody and one day Mama and Papa will tape it and put it up on this website.

Hallo, ich bin wieder da - ich war ein bisserl ruhig weil ich mal wieder umgezogen bin. In der Zwischenzeit sind wir ganz nahe dran an der Macht, haben die Hand sozusagen schon dran: Silver Spring, Maryland ist unser Ziel gewesen. Nun wohnen wir etwa zwei Kilometer entfernt von Washington und haben gaaaaanz viel Platz für Besucher, die immer willkommen sind. Mit sich bringt diese Umzieherei latürnich auch dutzende Anrufe und sonstige Besuche bei Ämtern.

Tatbestand: Anruf bei Anthem Blue Cross, unserer Krankenversicherung
Grund: Emilys Impfungen
Zeitpunkt: Dienstag, 16. Oktober 2007
Dr. K: Guten Tag, ich wollte anfragen, was wir wegen der Impfungen meiner Tochter Emily machen können. Wir sind gerade von Massachussetts nach Maryland umgezogen und haben noch nicht unsere neue Krankenversicherungsnummer. Leider können wir nicht einmal einen Arzttermin vereinbaren ohne diese Nummer. Mir wurde gesagt, dass es zwei Wochen dauert, eine neue Nummer zu bekommen, dann dauert es nochmals vier Wochem bis ich einen Termin bekomme, so dass wir dann schon im 8. Monat wären. Kann man da nichts machen? Können Sie mir nicht eine Nummer per Telefon geben oder einen Out-of-State-Referal?
ABC: Ja Sie können doch in Massachusetts zum Arzt gehen.
Dr. K: Aber wir sind doch nach Maryland umgezogen...
ABC: Das ist doch nicht weit, oder?
Dr. K: ??????? Naja, es es sind mit einem Kleinkind und den Stopps so ungefähr 12 Stunden ABC: Really???
Dr. K: Yes
ABC: [Schweigen]
Dr. K: [Schweigen]
ABC: [Schweigen]
Dr. K: [Schweigen]
ABC: Ahhh, ich sehe [muss wohl mittlerweile eine Landkarte in der Hand haben]. Hmm, das ist ja ganz im Süden. Ahh, das ist ja sogar südlich von New York, oder?
Dr. K: Schon......
ABC: Wäre Rhode Island besser?
Dr. K: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dr. K: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dr. K: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dr. K: ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dr. K: Naja, das spart uns eine Stunde, also sind wir runter auf knapp 11 Stunden. Unwesentlich besser also...
ABC: Really?
Dr. K: Yes
ABC: [Schweigen]
Dr. K: [Schweigen]
ABC: [Schweigen]
Dr. K: [Schweigen]
ABC: [Schweigen]
Dr. K: Wo sitzen Sie denn eigentlich? [Mein Tipp war irgendwo zwischen Hawaii und Alaska, Bangalore war es sicherlich nicht]
ABC: Ich bin in New Hampshire.