Holiday card season

For the last two people I have been working for I have handled their holiday cards. I have to say it was easier at the computer software company as we had under 60 international vendors. I would handwrite the addresses onto the envelopes. For my personal holiday list, it has grown over the years. When I think I can cut it back, it grows yet again. UGGGGH! I don't have a computer so I also hand write the names and addresses on the envelopes. But I find it something not hard to do if I start early.

For my current boss, I find that mail merge is an awesome capability. (I used it here and there at other jobs) BUT I dislike you cannot do mail merge from Microsoft Excel documents. It is absurd and does not make sense. Why not? You can organize and sort names or zip codes with ease with an Microsoft Excel document. If I want to make labels I have to retype all the names and addresses. For some weird reason after our computer situation last year, I lost the Microsoft Excel document for all 170 names for the holiday card list. I have the one for 2005 but there is only 30 names there. This year, the list has grown to 260. I finally am collating and correcting all the addresses. Now I have to put them into a database in order to have them for address labels. More time to do something that should not take forever. I could handwrite the envelopes, but that would take some time and hand cramping on my part.

I am figuring I will invest the time to retype the names into a database. Then update as required so I can be a bit more efficient for next year. Computers and technology are lovely, but they are not fun when they go awry.