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Mastering Tools

I have seen a lot of amazing work done on Excel but these paintings are at a whole another level of Excel mastery. It reminds me of my boss P at my second job out of college. Changing jobs made me feel grown up and competent - I even managed to negotiate a better salary. All that newfound self-assurance went to the wayside once I started working for P. She made me realize that I had a lot of growing up left to do. P was one of those women who age remarkably well. 

Based on her resume she was in her mid 40s but she did not look much other than a college student. She was single and had no intention of changing that. The guys at work took her seriously - I learned from observing how her bullshit detector worked. Clients respected her opinion and her word was usually the the last one on any contentious topic. P was tough but fair and you got not extra credit for being female or a newb or both. You worked hard and delivered good results to earn points with P. The rules were simple and they worked.

And P was an artist. During lunch break she doodled on Paint as she ate at her desk. We knew better than to bother her or ask if she'd like to join us for lunch. About six months into the job, I emboldened myself enough to sneak up to her desk during the sacrosanct doodling hour. She ignored me - which was already a win. I pulled up a chair and observed her quietly. She was painting a scene from the Mahabharat only aided by imagination - an on Paint. Her level of mastery with what was clearly a vastly inadequate tool, blew me away. Over time, P showed me full set of paintings - a series themed on the Mahabharat that she dreamt of exhibiting one day. 

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