Ambiguous Ambition - The Lagrange Point Vol. I, Iss. 17

Welcome to issue #17 of The Lagrange Point! Big welcome to the latest subscribers. Thank you for signing on, and please, continue to spread the word to others!

Hilariously, the B.C. Election is TECHNICALLY still not resolved, but I think we're comfortably settled enough that I can at least mention it and not look completely wrong. BUT I'm still saving my analysis for the sake of avoiding an act of hubris (which feels very on point for the results).

I do want to say, though of course I cannot prove this as I hadn't written it down anywhere, that I came one seat off from nailing the result.

I had:

NDP 48 | Greens 2 | Cons 43

I think might be one of the only people in the province who thought there was no chance in hell of Sonia Furstenau beating Grace Lore.

Anyway, more on that later. ONWARD!

In This Issue

Distant Early Warnings

• Writers: check out these open submission calls!

Crafter's Corner

• The best boi Space Marine — 54mm Salamander

Rantables

• Ambiguous Ambition — the joy of simple work

I decided to mix things up a bit with some opportunities for geek creatives that have cone across my radar, alongside new releases!

First up, AE Scifi, an online magazine of Canadian SF&F short fiction, has reopened for submissions after a long perood of dormancy. They're taking submissions for a themed anthology called Unreal, with stories or poems that centre around the city of Montreal as a setting. English and French pieces are welcome and authors are encouraged to write small cover letters that talk about their connnection to Montreeal. Submissions are open until November 15!

Also open for submissions until November 15 is Tyche Books' anthology, Starship Librarians. Tyche wants stories of the Librarians of Tomorrow, be they members of starship crews, post-apocalyptic guardians of knowledge, or defenders against cyberpunk fascist governments. Payment is just $50, but having worked with Tyche in the past, I can say they're pleasant to deal with.

One last shoutout for the Canadian SF&F world: the latest issue of On Spec Magazine, a short fiction periodical based out of Edmonton, hits store shelves this month, as well as landing in the hands of subscribers. This is issue 129 of the long-running magazine, which is highly regarded in Canada's SF&F community.

For my last shoutout this week, we'll turn back to comics with The Squad, from Scholastic Canada. Christina Soontornvat's sequel to her hit graphic novel, The Tryout, sees her pairing up again with Winnipeg-based illustrator Joanna Cacao on a semi-autobiographical look at cheerleading and life in the eigth grade. Look for this one on store shelves starting November 12!

Warhammer 40,000 lore is some of my favourite sci-fi lore. It's just so delightfully over-the-top, especially in its satirical look at humanity's xenophobia and low-key fascist existence under the Imperium. But it balances that sour pill with some moments of lovable good boi energy, and that is on full display with the Salamanders Space Marine chapter. These good bois are always shown to be doing their level best to protect the "regular" humans and civilians of the Imperium, taking pains to avoid collateral damage and casualties.

So I had to paint one!

These photos show the stage by stage job, going from primer in black to basecoat of green, then highlighting green, and then adding more details, before finally finishing it off with shading and fine detailing.

I'm quite happy with the end result!

I'll also briefly say that I think my miniature photo-taking skills are getting refined. I've found some good black material to put up as a backdrop, which makes a huge difference, and I'm noticing that a head-on spot with no flash helps too.

In May this year, I made the decision to leave a secure, decent-paying position in government service. I felt like I wasn't particularly good at the job, and at the time, I had lined up a role that I thought would suit me a lot better.

Nevertheless, I did feel a pang of worry that I was making a bad choice. I was leaving a position of safety and stability, with good benefits and health care, for a position of fragility and risk.

How quickly I would be proven right for having worried about that choice.

Suffice it to say, that while I do really think I was a bad fit for my government job, at no point did I ever feel abused by my boss or unsupported in any way. This other job...well, it didn't have that going for it.

So I left. After one month.

I was jobless for a little while there, but with some luck and a little volunteer work, I found something: the City of Victoria Bike Valet.

Here, I thought, was something to make ends meet while I got back on my feet and hit the pavement for another secure, hopefully permanent role.

But here's the really crazy part: this might be the best job I've ever had.

I'm dead serious. It's an easy job, for starters. I park people's bikes. I hand them their bikes back when they come with a claim tag. It's a coat check for bicycles. That's it.

Yet in that simple day to day, I've found nothing but positivity, extremely thankful customers, and even some fulfilling interpersonal connections. In two months I've gotten on a first-name basis with a large chunk of the clientele. Some of them have stopped by with treats or even gifts for us. I've been given doughnuts, biscuits, socks and even a sweet cycling jersey.

Above all, though, I feel appreciated, encouraged and even celebrated. And all just for parking bikes.

It's a supremely odd sensation.

I feel like as a man approaching the age of 40, I should be behind a desk or something. I should be filled with ambition to be running my own business, or climbing the ladder to executive level, or something. At minimum, shouldn't I be striving for a wage that finally breaks $60,000 a year?

I am still looking around for a new job. This position isn't the most secure, what with the shorter hours in the winter as fewer commuters and tourists opt for cycling transportation.

But dammit, it's hard to shake the feeling that this humble existence is the most contented I've been with my work life... well, pretty much ever.

I think, to some extent, I'm responding to a societal pressure that, on an individual level, could care less if I spent the rest of my life in a low-level labour job, but on a patriarchal and capitalist level is causing me to question my self-worth if I can only say that I park bikes for a living. That shaming is enough to keep me wringing my hands over the state of my career.

On the other hand, when I talk to my friends, the last thing they're interested in is my job. And I don't really care about theirs.

So what to make of all this? Should I simply enjoy the bicycle ride I've been offered, and stop fussing so much over what's expected of me as a university-educated man of relatively young age? Or should I be upping my ante in the job application market, doing my best to break out of the Bike Valet before my resume starts to look barren?

I'm not really sure, to be honest. But for right now, I'm happy, and at the end of the work day, isn't that the bigger achievement?

That wraps up issue #17 of The Lagrange Point! If you enjoyed this little e-newsletter, please consider subscribing, or, if you're already subscribed, sharing it with a friend or family member!

I can't grow this e-newsletter alone. I need lots of mouths spreading lots of words about why people should read The Lagrange Point.

Until next Monday, thank you for reading!

-Tim