my v card

... I lost it last week, and it was glorious.  I couldn't stop grinning.  Really, it was magical.  I had heard that once you know, you "know," but I didn't really know... until I knew.  Ya know?

The analogies could go on...  and on... and on.

I did my first vlookup last week (sorry to those who thought this post might be about something a little different).  Vlookup, in Excel, is the coolest thing I have learned in a really, really long time.  I am, without a doubt, a right-brainer - abhorrent to numbers, calculations, budgets, math, directions, formulas... you get the picture.  In college, I studied my butt off for a D in Accounting.  Those who know me, know that "D's" aren't really my thing (in more ways than one... What is going ON with this blog post?!?!) 

Anyway, I had always figured that Excel was better suited to left-brain people and found irony in the fact that I the only time I used Excel was to manage my personal budget (translation: I didn't use Excel very often at all).  Miraculously, my colleague is an Excel guru, and in the short time we've worked together, I've learned a boatload about what Excel could do for me, my client management and (perhaps most importantly) my sanity.  After sitting on the Excel sidelines for a few weeks watching magic happen, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and give it a shot.

With some straightforward instruction, a little left-brain thinking and a few key strokes, I was able to isolate a small, detailed and specific group of people out of a file of hundreds.  It was incredible, and beat the heck out of ctrl-F for hours on end.  I was glowing for the rest of the afternoon.

I had no idea it could be so good.