To Winnipeg and Back

The first thing that really hit me when I got off the plane in Winnipeg two Sundays ago, was the humidity. Waiting outside for the first bus going downtown reminded me in an odd way of my last trip to southern California. The morning had started out with a nice surprise.



On the bus, the driver notified me when we reached the intersection with Maryland street, and from there I headed about six blocks south to get to the hostel. Along the way, I passed by a number of houses with front yards that could have easily fit in my Edmonton neighborhood, however, the main difference that set them apart was that every 10th house or so had a painting on it. This was something I would end up finding out wasn’t unique to this street at all. It was a nice touch to the city’s streetscape.

After taking a bit of time to settle my stuff into the hostel and share a few laughs with the owner who I had made my reservation with (as a quick note, this quick welcome-to-the-hostel experience was one of a few very important moments of trust-building realizations that I had during this trip), I was on my way to the hotel where the conference would be, taking my own tour of the city as I went along.

Because it was Sunday, and because I passed by three or four churches on the street to the hostel, I couldn’t help but stop by. As an ethnically mixed boy who grew up in mainstream Canadian culture, schooled in a Catholic education program while attending a Sikh temple on weekends, I don’t really hold any strong feelings for or against any place of worship, but I do take special interest in churches for the poor (and also cathedrals, but I didn’t think I’d find any here). So I entered the New Life Ministry hoping to hear a really good story of survival or something like that. And in a way, I did.

I don’t remember the pastor’s name, but he was about my age, and had just come back from a white water rafting trip with some fellow Christians down south. On his trip, he realized that he had many different opinions of bible interpretation than one of his southern brothers of faith. They debated and at the end of it he realized something else. In almost his words, “Sometimes the right thing to do is with others, but not to be done by you yourself”. An interesting point, but his story lead to another point that he would stress again and again. “Speak the truth in love, or shut up”.

Once again, simple and straight to the point. A good lesson. I thanked him at the end of the service and went on my way.

The heart of Winnipeg’s downtown is actually quite nice. An array of contrasting turn of the century-esque and International Style/bauhaus (read: boxy) buildings. The area where the conference would be is called the Forks: Winnipeg’s rendition of Granville Island in Vancouver. I’m not actually sure which came first, but the layout and choice of colored exposed beam structures is hard to believe as coincidental. The skatepark and restaurant on a bridge however, are definitely unique.

When I got to the hotel, I was early enough to attend the pre-conference tour of downtown. And am I ever glad I did. It was only a few other people and myself, but they turned out to be some of the more influential people within the community of entrepreneurs that I would end up getting to know. Our tour guides never showed up, so we kind of winged it ourselves, and had a great time doing so.

The conference itself opened with a sort of meet and greet cocktail. Thanks to the aforementioned group of individuals, I was well on my way to getting to know the rest.

And yes, it just so happened that the Winnipeg Jazz Festival was going on at the same time as the conference. And, yes, that night was the salsa night. And, yes, I danced the night away. I even got to dance with probably the best girl there. And man, after dancing with her and getting a hair caught on my head, I took the hair off with my hand and all I could think about was The Lord of the Rings: All I asked her for was one dance, and she gave me… a hair with it.

I walked the 45 minute walk back to the hostel, and got to my bunk bed around 1am. The bed was really creaky, and it didn’t help that I hadn’t brought toothpaste, so I ended up tossing and turning the whole night in fear of my teeth rotting. In the morning, the Jamaican guy under me seemed really upset when he told me he couldn’t sleep that night.

I took the bus to the hotel that morning. The bulk of the conference was to begin. There’s too much information that I got out of that day to put in this posting, but here’s a few highlights:

“There is no one standard for the commercialization of new technologies” – Derek Gratz, President of Westlink Innovation Network Ltd.

“Entrepreneurship [like baseball] is about fear and arrogance” – Dawson Reimer, President of HCPAM

“People who invent publish more than those who don’t” – Wayne Embree, Managing Partner of Cascadia Partners (I think this is his quote)

“There are six questions that need to be addressed when approaching Angel Investors” (read: super rich people. I have yet to find out what the questions are.) – Randy Thompson, General Partner of Argon Venture Partners

Many researchers don’t want to become entrepreneurs, but those that do should be provided the support to pursue their endeavours (summarized point) – Janis Machala, Founder and Managing Partner of Paladin Partners

By the end of the day, I had met a lot of people and exchanged many ideas and business cards. It was pretty exhausting, but the jazz festival was still on, so after dinner at the Manitoba Museum, four of us ventured to see Winnipeg’s own Swing Cats. We were kind of mislead on the way, ironically by the only person in the group who lived in Winnipeg, and ended up touring “the other side” of downtown. Nevertheless, we made it to the show, albeit only in time to hear the last three songs (and get in for free).

I had one swing dance with the girl from our group and then walked back to the hostel with a Chilean-Canadian who was also attending the conference and staying in the same hostel. After some down time with the hostel owner, I managed to get a room to myself. It was a nice way to end the night.

Tuesday morning, it was back on the bus, but this time with my Chilean-born friend. Here are some highlights from that day:

A realization: I’m not really passionate about the way things work (the science or engineering), rather I’m passionate about what they can be (their potential).

“What are we doing? [Pursuing] the successful development of the application of knowledge… that creates wealth through increased quality of life… bringing innovation to life (not an exact quote).” – John Clarkson, a Deputy Minister for the Province of Manitoba

Provincial competition for iniatives involving technological innovation are Mickey Mouse in comparison to places like Shanghai (summarized point, but I loved the reference) – Jim Murray, Senior Advisor of Westlink Innovation Network Ltd.

“You find that as you go on, you never hit a brick wall, rather it just keeps moving back.” – a statement directed at me by Rick Tofani, a director of Red Deer College

“Don’t invent the wheel, but also don’t be generic. (Find one part that could be better, and then make that your competitive edge)” – Robert Foster, Executive Chairman of Isotechnika Inc.

… and too many good points to go through here by Dr. Roslyn Kunin, part of the order of Canada.

The conference ended, and I felt enlightened once again.

I took a different route back to the hostel for the last time. I passed the Manitoba Provincial Legislature (oddly similar to the Capitol in Washington D.C.), and more houses with paintings. I caught my flight not long after that, and made it back home around midnight.

The next day it was back to work, and then a long phone conversation with my dance partner from Shanghai. I had a lot to update her on. I really miss her.

Thursday was dinner at a good friend’s restaurant after dance practice. Friday was a short workday, due to a company barbeque and the Canada Day long weekend. Goofy and another guy who wants to follow his dream to be an actor had their last day at work.

Saturday, two high school friends got married, and the day was like a mini-reunion of a lot of old classmates. It was nice to catch up, and dance.

Sunday was Canada Day. I missed my dance practice, but more importantly I got to spend more time with my family here, and attend to gardening matters. Yes, I garden. It’s manly, like dance.

And as of today, I am now reading three books at the same time. Not to mention reading, writing and researching online. In fact, today I spent most of the day skyping with the president of a design firm in Argentina. It’s a crazy world we live in, ain’t it?