Can you imagine walking 2,190 miles in 107 days? Hard to imagine but that is what our nephew, Troy Galyon, did as he completed the Appalachian Trail (AT), which runs from Georgia to Maine. We had the pleasure of meeting him and some of his fellow hikers in Maine, at the end of his journey.
What an interesting experience to observe these hikers. They have their own sub-culture, with their own lingo. Here are some of the cool new slang we learned:
- Trail Angels – Good Samaritans who provide food or assistance to the hikers.
- Trail Magic – unexpected food or help.
- Thru-hikers – People who are going from the beginning to the end.
- Zero Days – Days when they are totally at rest. Zero miles logged.
- Slack-packing – Days when you do not carry your back-pack.
But what was most intriguing is that no one uses their real names. Everyone has a Trail Name. And you don’t make up your trail name. It has to be bestowed upon you from your fellow hikers. Our nephew was Pretty Boy. His fellow hikers said “You are too much of a pretty boy to be out on the trail”. Then there was Blitz because he walked so fast. We met Yoda – Not very tall, 66 years old and he walked with a stick. There were others: Old Soul, Summer camp, Skillz, Cash, Yogi Bear, Chipotle, Seadog, Phantom and One Night Stand. This is not what you might think. He was another fast guy. They’d see him one night and he’d be gone the next.
This got me thinking about our Visual ERP community. In many ways, we are a special group like the AT hikers. We have our own Visual ERP lingo: IBR’s, IVR’s, LTE, IBT’s, even Accounting Window and Manufacturing Window.
Wouldn’t it be fun to have “Trail Names”? I started thinking about some Visual users and have come up with some “Trail Names” for them.
- Breeze – This is the user who always has lots of windows open. Maybe it makes their job a breeze.
- Mr. Fixit – You know this one. It is your go-to person when something needs to be fixed in Visual. Whether you shipped the wrong part, billed the wrong customer, or who knows. They can always figure it out.
- Professor – The user who studies the situation down to every detail before they make a move.
- Grasshopper – This is a student from my Inventory Reconciliation Course who has grasped all the concepts. The reference is from the Kung Fu TV show – “You are a good student Grasshopper”.
- Steady-Eddy (or Eddy for Short) – You know the user. The one you rely on to get the job done. They are consistent, thorough and dependable.
- Sherpa – They have the “maps” of Visual. They know where to find things. They can make your journey easier. These are some of the best trainers and their documentation is awesome.
I know you are supposed to be given your Trail Name but I would like to be called “Numbers” because I LOVE numbers. From reconciling to analyzing to looking for trends. I can get lost in numbers for hours.
Now, I have one more set of numbers for you. First, I must let you know one more thing about my nephew. This walk was more than just a mental and physical challenge. It was a fundraiser for cancer as our nephew’s father has cancer. So here is my challenge to you. What would your “Trail Name” be?
