Coming back to living in Vegas was a welcoming change. I spent a great deal of time with Lynda and our friends in Vegas.
After a couple of weeks, Adam called and informed me that our proposal at Environment Canada has been approved, and he will go ahead and initiate the project.
I confirmed the fact that I am always available to him either on phone or if necessary to come back to Ottawa for a short visit.
In Vegas, I went back to attending meetings at the Data Processing Association and was surprised to learn that most of the members remembered me. Earney Mayor was always a great friend who used to go with me wherever I went.
I also went back to teaching a couple of classes at Community College.
Some friends came from Ottawa and stayed with us for a couple of weeks which kept us busy taking them places and spending time with them.
Around late in April 2002, Adam called and said that he is in the process of writing a proposal to do Activity Based Costing (ABC) for Department of National Defence (DND) including some of their main functions performed and located in British Columbia.
I asked him how I can help to win the contract.
I remember asking if he wanted me to write the proposal. He said he got enough material that we included in other proposals which could be refined and used but what he really wanted to tell me was that the RFP (Request for Proposal) was designed for bigger companies with the offices in Victoria, British Columbia.
I said then that it will be very hard for us to win it, son.
He said he had an idea to write a proposal suggesting that a senior resource in Victoria will be assigned to the project, giving them the impression that we have the presence of our company in Victoria.
I thought that might work and told him to go ahead.
He also said that perhaps I should go to Victoria and look around.
I said your mother is not going to like the idea of me disappearing for a year or two, but I will see what I can.
Adam also said if I am not prepared to do that, writing a proposal would be worthless exercise, dad.
I said leave it with me; son and I will see what I can do. In the meanwhile, go ahead and write the proposal.
I also asked him if the Environment Canada project is going alright?
He said everything is going just fine, and he also got a couple of relatively small projects since I left Ottawa.
As soon as I got off the phone with Adam, I realized that it would not be easy for me to seek cooperation from Lynda unless I come up with some kind of angle to convince her that it’s worth our while to help Adam as much as we can.
I went in the living room where Lynda was reading a book and wanted to know how things were going in Canada.
I said everything is going just fine, but Adam wanted to talk to me about an opportunity in Victoria, BC, to do some business.
She said, tell me more about it.
I said why don’t we go out for lunch and I will fill you in.
Before we left for a restaurant, I asked her to give me five minutes as I had something to do on the computer.
She said fine and went into the bedroom to get ready while I went on my laptop to find out some information about the city of Victoria.
We went out to lunch for our favorite place and when we ordered our meal, Lynda said what’s up, old man?
I said nothing much except that there is an opportunity to do ABC project with DND including their offices in Victoria, BC, where they perform certain functions related to the project.
She said Adam wants you to write a proposal, does he?
I said not really. As we had done some work for DND in Ottawa, and they are familiar with our work but this time they wanted to do something bigger including some of their functions in Victoria and they are looking for a bigger company with the offices in Victoria to handle the business locally instead of sending consultants from Ottawa to do the job.
She said I don’t understand what difference it would make to them where the resources come from as long as they get their work done.
I said it doesn’t have to make any sense to us as consultants about what the clients want but the important thing we need to take into consideration is that we don’t want to give them any reason or excuse to reject our proposal.
I continued – Adam is very much tied up with the Environment Canada as that’s his first big project that he is managing and he also got a couple of other small projects. He needed help desperately to get any more work.
She said I understand but what does he need?
I said he was wondering if he should write a proposal to say that we as a company have a senior resource who is located right in Victoria to continue to provide the support, they may need during and after the project is done. Furthermore, I guess he also thinks that if he proposed my name as a senior resource, folks at DND may feel comfortable as they know my name and work that I had done for them in Ottawa.
She said, do you know the length of the project.
I said not really, but it cannot be less than a couple of years.
By this time the food was served, and we continued talking while eating our lunch.
Lynda said when you decided to be retired as soon as we got to Vegas in 1997, I had doubts that you couldn’t possibly stay away from the company that you had created in Ottawa. Initially, you were very good as you concentrated upon teaching and taking some small projects here in Vegas to spend more time with me. Then, things changed, and you disappeared for a while to help Adam out in Ottawa.
I interrupted her and asked her what her point was.
She said it appeared to me that now you are trying to disappear again.
I said I am not going anywhere, babe. We are just discussing what Adam was thinking. I continued – I thought you and I decided to help Adam while we can get him established in the business. He’s only 28 years old and manages a complex project in Ottawa. We mustn’t forget the fact that he wanted to be a doctor, and I had no doubts in my mind that he would have been a wonderful doctor, but he came to work with me, and he got hooked on me. Moreover, Adam is going to be a better businessman than I am partly because he is smarter than me and partly because he didn’t have to go through what I had gone through to make a living in this country. I am sure he would multiply the company and transfer it to his kids.
I remember saying – We are just discussing the possibilities of winning that contract and there is always a possibility that we wouldn’t win the contract. I continued – what all I am saying is that we should let him go ahead to write the proposal suggesting that I will be there to look after the support they may need.
She said alright I agree with all the things you said, and I am all for supporting Adam as much as we can get him going.
I suggest that writing a proposal doesn’t mean we will win the contract. If we won the contract, I could go and work there during the period of contract. The good thing is that Victoria is much closer to Vegas than Ottawa. It may only take a couple of hours to fly. Also, Victoria is supposed to be a nice city.
Lynda said – What else do you know about Victoria.
I said – If you remember when I was working with Mark Bowes, we had a project with the Forests Department and as a part of the project I had to visit Goldstream Provincial Park which was located 20 kilometers north of Victoria in Longford. I also know that Victoria is the capital of British Columbia, sits on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island. With abundant parkland, it’s known for outdoor activities.
Lynda asked if Victoria is located on the ocean.
I am glad that I had a couple of minutes to go online to enquire before we started driving for lunch. Accordingly, Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria, BC, is defined by its Pacific Ocean coastline, featuring a historic, busy inner harbour, numerous beaches like Willows and Gonzales Bay, and robust marine tourism, including whale watching for orcas and humpbacks. The city’s culture, economy, and recreation are deeply intertwined with the Salish Sea.
Lynda said it sounds great. Perhaps if you get the project, I will get to visit Victoria, too.
I said indeed.
Lynda said so what do you think we should do to help Adam.
I said as soon as I finished teaching my last class in May, we should plan to go to Victoria. Just to explore the possibilities without any guarantees.
She said it sounds like a good plan.
