def _get_value(f, i, values=False):
    """ return the value for the location i """

    # check agains values
    if values:
        return f.values[i]

    # this is equiv of f[col][row].....
    # v = f
    # for a in reversed(i):
    #    v = v.__getitem__(a)
    # return v
    return f.ix[i]