March OverHall IT! Issue
MARCH, 2000
Vol. 1, Issue 3
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Table of Contents:
1. Welcome Message
2. OverHalling and Balance
3. Guest Article
4. D-BUST Your Computer-Part 2
5. Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes
6. Products, Books, and Web Site Reviews
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1. Welcome Message
Spring is in the air, (actually it felt like summer for a couple
of days here in Maryland) and our beautiful daffodils are
in bloom. I hope you are having wonderful weather where
you are! We were able to plant pea, spinach, and radish
seed a couple of days ago in our garden and it is my greatest
hope that this month's article in OverHalling and Balance will
help you to * plant the right seeds * at the correct time for
your health insurance coverage. This month concludes the
health area of your life and in April we will begin looking at
your financial area that might need some OverHalling and Balance.
Our guest article was submitted from Laurie Leah Levine of
Australia. I mentioned Laurie in the first issue of OverHall IT!
and we have become email associates and friends. Laurie has
a new book coming out soon, so please stop by her web site
and tell her Janet said hi!
Thanks again to all that forwarded this newsletter to someone
and to all that subscribed. Once again, we have doubled our
circulation because of people like you!
Okay, ready to start "OverHalling"?
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1. OverHalling and Balance
Puzzled by Your Insurance Coverage? Let's
OverHall the Pieces!
by: Janet L. Hall
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(A special note to those of you that live outside of the
United States. It would be impossible for me to try and
cover all types of health insurance and coverage that is
offered around the world. I do hope this article will help
guide you as to what you should be looking for in your
area of the world when it comes to health insurance.)
Health insurance, you either have it or you don't. But wait
a minute. Even if you have health insurance you might not
have it, meaning, you might not have the coverage you'll need
for your particular illness or injury.
If you work for a company, chances are they offer what
I like to call * boiler plate insurance *. Take it or leave it.
If you're self-employed, chances are you can get the coverage
you want but you also end up paying * big time * for it if you don't
understand the products and options available in the market place.
A friend told me about a female executive she had met who
knew nothing about her family's insurance coverage because
her husband handled all * that *. She woke him up one night
asking him if their insurance covered them if they should get Alzheimer's.
He tells her, "Yeah, we're covered, go back to sleep and stop
worrying."
But she wasn't so sure if he really knew and thought she had
better find out exactly what their insurance covered.
What exactly does your insurance cover? More importantly, what
DOESN'T IT COVER? You need to know and understand what
your plan covers BEFORE you need to use your insurance.
I don't claim to be an insurance person but I have done some
research and here is a sampling of what I have discovered.
You've got PPOs, POSs, HMOs, and COBRA. You've got
Indemnity or Fee-for-Service plans and Government run plans
such as Medicare, Medigap or Medicaid. Then there's Disability,
Hospital Indemnity, Long-Term Care, and Nursing Home Plans.
Let's not forget Dental and Vision!
You want and need to have health insurance to protect yourself
and loved ones from financial disaster if you or they should fall
into an illness or injury!
So I'm writing to urge you to get out your health insurance policies
and take a good look at them. See if your policies need an * OverHall *.
Call the provider if you don't understand something or you have a question.
Get the family together for an hour or so and talk about the coverage
you currently have and write down any questions that come up.
Listed below are several questions and answers I came up with:
1. Do you have a choice in the type of plan?
ASK
2. Should both spouses carry their company's plan or just one plan?
3. Which is the best plan for you?
Find out your family's health history to help you determine what type
of coverage you should be looking at.
4. Should you get or be concerned about Long-Term Health Care?
Depends on your family history and your finances. It is suggested
that you should start thinking about this type of insurance when you
are in your 40's. However, the premiums are lower the younger you
are. Also, check with your accountant about this type of insurance
as the premium cost * could be a possible * deduction on your Federal Tax
Form.
5. What about Disability Insurance?
This is also know as Income Replacement Insurance if you should
become disabled (NOT the same as Worker's Compensation if
you get injured on the job).
6. Should I get a Medical IRA?
7. Are there any Federal Laws concerning Health Insurance?
Yes! Let me list but two:
a. Employers with 25 or more workers are required to offer
employees the chance to enroll in an HMO.
b. COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
of 1985) requires if the business you work for has 20 or more
employees and you leave your job or are laid off that you can
continue to get health coverage for at least 18 months.
http://www.ahcpr.gov
If you don't have insurance, find out if you qualify for any state
or government run plans or do some research to find out what
type of insurance you need and can purchase.
The best site on the internet I found while researching health
insurance is by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(formerly know as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research).
On their site you can find a 14 page article, * Checkup on Health
Care Insurance Choices * that includes a checklist and a worksheet
for you to use. Click on http://www.ahcpr.gov/consumer/insuranc.htm
They also have a very informative article, * Choosing and Using
a Health Plan * at http://www.ahcpr.gov/consumer/hlthpln1.htm
As you can see, there are a lot of pieces to the insurance puzzle.
Now it's up to you to take the time, make the time, to find all the
pieces you and your family need to complete this * crazy * puzzle!
Next month-We'll start looking at the financial area of your life.
You won't want to miss this one!
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* If Something Should Happen to ME, SHE/HE doesn't know
WHO to call, WHEN home maintenance is performed, of WHERE
important documents are stored. * Record all this important information
in * The little WHO, WHEN, and WHERE Booklet *
http://www.overhall.com/wwwh1.htm
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3. Spiritual Medicine Tips for a Happier and Healthier Life
by: Laurie Leah Levine
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You may be wondering just what is spiritual medicine. Quite simply,
spiritual medicine is love. It is the greatest healing agent that we have.
Without
love, people die, maybe not literally, but some part within us dies and
gives up hope. Love gives us hope and nourishes our soul as well as our body and
mind.
So many people spend so much time helping others and giving their love and
energy out to everyone but themselves. In turn they end up feeling quite
drained, unmotivated and depressed. It is as if their tank is out of
gasoline and they have not filled it up again. Cars can not run without gasoline
to
fuel them, neither can human beings.
How can you begin right now to fill yourself up with love? When I talk about
loving ourselves, I am speaking of self- acceptance and treating ourselves
as if we were our own best friend. You may want to take a moment to ask
yourself the following questions:
How do you treat your best friends and loved ones?
Do you treat yourself the same way?
If the answer is no, what can you do to start treating yourself better?
In what ways can you begin to forgive, love and accept yourself more?
The first step is to be more aware of what you say to yourself. I am
speaking of the negative thoughts and judgements that we unconsciously have and
project upon ourselves every day. These thoughts can be quite damaging to
our self-confidence as well as to our health and well-being. One of the best
ways I have found for stopping these thoughts and self-judgment is to forgive
ourselves for past actions and to release from your mind and body any
beliefs and emotional pain you are still carrying from the past and from other
people.
Here is a technique that will help you do this:
Get comfortable in a chair or lying down and close your eyes.
Imagine in your mind that you are in a beautiful place in nature, somewhere
you love to go or make it up.
Let your senses come alive. Smell the fresh air, feel the sun on your body,
hear the sounds of nature all around you and feel your feet connected to the
earth.
Imagine that in front of you is a beautiful contained fire. This is a fire
of transformation and purification.
Take a deep breath and begin now to place in the fire all the negative
thoughts, beliefs and emotional pain that you may be carrying inside of you
from the past. Put in the fire any fears, doubts, judgements against
yourself and others you are ready to let go of. As you do this imagine that it
is
releasing from the whole of you; your mind, body, emotions and spirit. Let
go of the burdens that you have been carrying. Start to feel lighter inside of
yourself now.
As you do this, you may want to say a prayer or declaration like, "I am now
letting these fears and burdens be released and set free. They no longer
support my life and I am now free to love my self, to forgive my self and to
live a happier and healthier life." Add in whatever words empower you. This
is a good visualization to do whenever you feel weighed down with negative
thoughts or having a hard time feeling good about yourself.
At the end of this visualization, take the time to breathe back in and claim
back all the parts of yourself that you may feel separated from. I am
referring to your energy, personal power, joy, your ability to love
yourself, your confidence, trusting in yourself etc.
Spend a few minutes filling yourself up with love and inner peace before
getting up. To help you do this, place one hand on your heart and the other
on your belly and take in several deep breaths. This is an energy balance
that will help you to feel calmer and more centered inside.
Affirm to yourself on a daily basis that you are a special and worthwhile
person. It is so important to your health and well-being to continue to
love, accept and be kind to yourself. Remember to always be your own best
friend.
Spend the time to fill up your cup, so that you can more easily share this
love with others and in turn make this world a better place for all of us to
live in.
This material is excerpted from the book SPIRITUAL MEDICINE by Laurie Leah Levine, Simon & Schuster (1998) Australia (c) Laurie Leah Levine, 1998
Laurie Levine has over 20 years in the area of Holistic Health and is known
by many as a modern day medicine woman. Her best selling holistic book,
SPIRITUAL MEDICINE, offers a new path for growth and is a must for anyone who wants more love, better health, less pain and spiritual development.
Laurie is professional speaker who is based in Australia and the U.S. She
runs public and corporate healthy lifestyle and spiritual seminars, offers
private healing and pain release sessions and coaching in person and on the
net, and travels all over the world sharing her knowledge and gifts. Visit
her website http://www.spiritualmedicine.com.au
or use her e-mail mailto:laurie@chilli.net.au
to order a copy of her book, audio tapes and free newsletter.
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NEVER look for another phone number! Always Know WHEN
office maintenance is scheduled! Never waste TIME or MONEY
searching for your documents again! Office Managers and
Business Owners * The little WHO, WHEN, and WHERE
Office Manager's Booklet *, now a place to record ALL your information.
http://www.overhall.com/wwwo1.htm
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4. D-BUST Your Computer-Part 2
by: Janet L. Hall
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B stands for Backup.
Wouldn't it be nice if our computers would give us a warning before
our computers * crashed *?
* Warning, Warning, your computer will crash in three hours, stop
what you are doing and perform a backup now!*
I truly believe that never has once critical instruction on a piece of
equipment been so widely ignored then this, * make a backup
of your information! *
Is it ignored because people don't have the time, they forget, or they
don't know how to perform this easy task?
Whatever the reason, here are my 10 top reasons for performing a backup:
1. Your computer is giving you 'fatal' error warnings.
2. You've created and typed a lot of new documents.
3. You've changed a large file/report that contains a lot of graphic art.
4. You've been doing design work.
5. You've installed new software.
6. Your computer is noticeably slower.
7. You've completed a project.
8. It would be extremely time consuming to re-create your materials.
9. It would be a disaster if you * lost * your information.
10. Your livelihood depends on your computer and the information stored on
it.
When was the last time you performed a backup of your computer files,
folders, or (C:) Drive?
When was the last time you backed-up your software?
Things that can cause your hard drive to * CRASH *:
1. Viruses
2. Wear and Tear
3. Power Surges
4. Improper Ventilation
5. Dust
6. Heat
7. Human Error
According to Elisa Williams, in her article *Sooner or later, you're gonna
crash *:
...all hard drives eventually will fail because they are made up of
mechanical parts that at some point-though it may be years and
years-will wear out and malfunction. Most drives built for home
use have a lifespan of about 10,000 to 50,000 hours. If you never
turn your computer off-which many people don't-that time passes
quickly. One year equals 8,448 hours on your [hard] drive.
(http://www.newstimes.com/archive96/sep0496/cpe.htm)
This is all kind of scary isn't it?
Well, maybe performing a backup is scary too.
Now you can chase those fears away!
Microsoft users can do a backup using the backup function found under
* System Tools * on their computer. There is a wizard that will guide you
through the process. You can get FREE step-by-step instructions on how
to use this feature by clicking on mailto:howtobackups@sendfree.com
I use this function on my laptop and I use an Iomega Zip Drive on my main
computer to do my backups. I find the Iomega quick, efficient, and easy to
use. You can also customize your backups as in Microsoft.
You can also have your backups performed for you by a service and stored
off-site for you. Having someone else do backups for you takes away the
headaches of having to do them yourself and it is reassuring that they ARE
getting done and are stored off-site. This is something you need to think
about because you never know when a disaster might strike your building or
where you store your backups. I located one of several services at
http://www.datalock.com that has various
protection plans for reasonable
fees. They even provide an on line Risk Evaluation Test.
So, what are you waiting for? Schedule a date and time and please do at
least one back up before next month when I'll be writing Part 3, U is for
Uninstall!
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PRIVATE TELECLASSES ARE NOW BEING OFFERED!
NOT YET RELEASED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC!
FRIDAY EVENINGS I CAN CONDUCT A PRIVATE,
ONE-ON-ONE TELECLASS WITHIN THE United States.
For a list of teleclasses click http://www.overhall.com/teleclasses.htm
EMAIL ME At mailto:janet@overhall.com
FOR MORE DETAILS!
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5. Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes
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~~Be careful when reading health books; you may die of a misprint.
--Mark Twain
~~Happiness is good health and a bad memory.
--Ingrid Bergman
~~He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.
--Arabian Proverb
~~Health food may be good for the conscience but Oreos taste a hell of a lot
better.
--Robert Redford
~~Imagination is not a talent of some men [women] but is the health of every
man [woman].
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
~~In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is
impossible.
--Marcus Tullius Cicero
~~It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health,
wealth, and wisdom.
--Aristotle
~~One of the healthiest ways to gamble is with a spade and a package of
garden seeds.
--Dan Bennett
~~Pay mind to your own life, your own health, and wholeness. A bleeding
heart is of
no help to anyone if it bleeds to death.
--Frederick Buechner
~~The concept of total wellness recognizes that our every thought, word, and
behavior
affects our greater health and well-being. And we, in turn, are affected
not only
emotionally but also physically and spiritually.
--Greg Anderson
~~ The health of any organization is directly proportional to its ability to
laugh at itself.
--Bob Ross
~~If you have a joke, quote, or anecdote that would fit
well into OverHall IT!, please feel free to email it to me.
mailto:janet@overhall.com
SUBJECT=Newsletter Jokes
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6. Products, Books, and Web Site Reviews
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Websites of Interest:
~~ Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former US Surgeon General, has an
amazing website! One such page is where he provides a State Locator
Map where you can learn about insurance options in you state.
http://www.drkoop.com/hcr/insurance/states/
~~ For readers outside the United States-to learn more about insurance
options in your area try doing a search at http://www.dogpile.com
Books of Interest:
~~ Enthusiasm Makes the Difference, by Norman Vincent Peale
I saw this on a friend's bookcase and just had to borrow it!
Mr. Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking (another must read)
is a wonderful storyteller. In this book he relates to you many
experiences
of how enthusiasm changed not just other peoples lives but how it can change
yours too!
To order this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0449911950/overhallconsulti
~~ Home Design With Feng Shui; A-Z, by Terah Kathryn Collins
Another book on Feng Shui that I just couldn't pass up and one that can
be read in an evening. Nicely indexed with the use of tabs so you can find
answers to your Feng Shui questions quickly and easily. Terah also
includes * Inner Work * that will help you explore your feelings and
thoughts to help you enhance your Feng Shui experiences.
To order this book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561705721/overhallconsulti
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That's it for this month! Next month we will begin
*OverHalling* your finances.
Here's hoping that you continue to gain control of your life and clutter.
Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall
Professional Organizer, Author, and Speaker
http://www.overhall.com
"If your current systems aren't working for you...get an
"OverHall"!"
Janet L. Hall is the owner of OverHall Consulting which is based out of
Southern Maryland. To book Janet to speak at your next event, contact her at 410-586-9440, 800-687-3040, or e-mail her at
mailto:janet@overhall.com
Copyright (c) 2000 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to
reproduce, copy, or distribute OverHall IT! or any articles
by Janet L. Hall so long as article(s) is kept intact, this
copyright notice, and full information about the author is
attached.
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