Watched: H/JACK on Apple TV

I finished watching H/JACK on Apple TV. I decided to watch it because I had seen that a new season going to start soon. If it was going to get a second season, the first one was probably good enough. Initially I was expecting an Idris Elba version of Taken, but thankfully it was not.

Instead, it was an interesting show about negotiations, and the human condition. Each character showed how much skin in the game they had, and how much they were willing to bet the others would bail on them. It sounds short when I say it this way, but it was quite a wild ride to see whom would bail out first.

It made me think about the ways I would usually try to get my way around things. I know I can be demanding a lot of the time, and as I raise Allison, I am considering how much this plays into her life. It’s not bad, but is it good? There are many cases where people would fight tooth and nail to get the best for their child. Especially in Singapore, there would be as many underhand tactics and strings pulled to get children into places you would want them to be.

But at the same time, I might only be speaking for a minority of Singaporeans, and sadly this is the minority I’m a part of. I’m learning, and realising a wider range of Singaporeans who are just taking things as they go, and they’re not pushing. They’re upset people are pushing and squeezing to get past, but they’re not going to push. Is it bad that they’re not pushing for their way in line, in life?

I don’t know what the fine line of it would be. I know I was brought up to push, but I was also brought up to be courteous and polite. So what ends up happening 90% of the time, I shove past people, rushing forward, and apologizing “Excuse me” all the way through. Very Joel, Very Singaporean. But if you question my authenticity, I am indeed genuinely sorry about having to shove to get my way through. The hard part is, I don’t know if someone else is behind me, shoving me past too. Because in my 90% of the time, there actually is another person behind me, and not apologizing.

Thank goodness H/JACK is just a TV show, but a good one in making me think how much of my needs I place above others. I hope I learn and really come to a place of grace and patience. Truly a virtue I need to build on.