Yep, 'Kill Me, Heal Me' Indeed Killed DID Better than 'Hyde, Jekyll, Me'

When I wrote about Hyde, Jekyll, Me last month, I mentioned about its curious case with another network’s drama series, Kill Me, Heal Me, which not only aired at the same timeslot as Hyde, Jekyll, Me, but also has the same premise – a chaebol(South Korean term for family-controlled conglomerate) man suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or multiple personality disorder because of a traumatic experience in his childhood.  I also mentioned that according to some reviews that I read about it, the latter drama series is actually better, which got me curious, and I hinted, though didn’t commit, that I might give it a look.

Well, I did give it a look.  In fact, I watched the entire series.  It did take a while before KMHM (I will be abbreviating Kill Me, Heal Me from now on) grew on me.  Maybe because I’ve just recently watched HJM (will be abbreviating Hyde, Jekyll, Me, too) and the similarities were hindrances in immediately providing me a fresh experience.  It was only around episode 7 – the part wherein the reason behind the series’ title was revealed – that I found myself completely enjoying it.  At that point, I began to feel that those reviews that said Kill Me, Heal Me is better than Hyde, Jekyll, Me were turning out to be right.  KMHM explores its themes more deeply, its plot holds up much more satisfactorily, and it’s just smarter overall.  The writing is smarter.  And the characters behave smarter – or, at least, know how to think much better than the characters of HJM (yep, it can’t be helped; I will be comparing the two several times throughout this article).

The plot of KMHM is centered on Cha Do-hyun, a member of the Seong Jin chaebol who, at the start of the story, is enjoying a productive academic life in the States.  However, an incident triggers his DID to manifest, the cause of which, as later revealed in the story, was a childhood trauma.  For the next 11 years, he refuses to go home to South Korea so that he can find treatment for his condition while hiding this fact from the Seong Jin family, who are pretty keen about reputation.  However, circumstance forces Do-hyun to go back to Korea, and on his return, he meets Oh Ri-jin, a first year psychiatry resident.  Oh Ri-jin eventually becomes Do-hyun’s personal psychiatrist, secretly treating him for his DID.  As the story progresses, the two learn the secrets of the past, tread the path to healing, and fall in love.

To be honest, I find nothing electrifying about the romance.  But it doesn’t matter.  The story is much more important anyway.  And KMHM truly has a complex and well-plotted story.  It’s full of intrigues and layered with great twists.  The well-developed, well-timed reveals of the story’s mysteries blew me away.  Details that are seemingly small and irrelevant are actually important or intertwine with something important.  Everything fits like a puzzle in the end.

Both HJM actor Hyun Bin and KMHM actor Ji Sung did an impressive job in playing different personalities distinctively.  However, though Hyun Bin was great in HJM, he was limited to two personalities to play.  Ji Sung, on the other hand, has seven personalities to play, hence, he has more room to show a more versatile performance.  It’s not as awesome as Tatiana Maslany’s performance in Orphan Black, but it’s really enjoyable to watch.

Meanwhile, Hwang Jung-eum as Oh Ri-jin is… well, she’s okay, I guess.  But she hams it up a lot when doing comedy.  I was almost turned off by how ridiculous her overacting is.  She makes up for it by being having a couple of fun and heartfelt character moments.

The six personalities that fragmented out of Cha Do-hyun

The most important thing that I find KMHM doing much better is its use of DID as a central plot device.  I’m not saying that KMHM is more scientifically accurate – it does have its share of absurdity – but it has used DID much better than how HJM used it in making an interesting story.  Moreover, not only does KMHM feature more personalities than HJM, but each personality has a sensible background on how he or she came to being.  These personalities are fleshed out properly.

Moreover, Oh Ri-jin also connected deeply with all personalities instead of focusing with one.  What I hated most about HJM is the female lead character’s one-sided focus of her love to a split personality, lack of understanding that the personalities are basically one, and lack of impact on the resolution of the male lead character’s DID.  I have none of these problems with Ri-jin.  She really was a significant element in the resolution of the DID problem, and it’s not only because she is a psychiatrist and a love interest, but there’s a great twist on why she is an important aspect of the recovery process.

Of course, it does have to rely on some typical tropes of Koreanovelas (or drama in general) – most particularly, the “small world coincidences” – for the narrative to work.  And there are also times when the narrative stumble into moments of gratuity and dumbness.  But despite some missteps, KMHMconsistently maintains its general trajectory of smart storytelling going toward a smart conclusion.  Despite the complexity of the plot – and the narrative’s need to juggle romance, mystery, suspense, and comedy – KMHM succeeds overall in telling a unique, entertaining, and thoughtful story.

KMHM doesn’t match the nigh-perfectness (in my eyes) of I Hear Your Voice.  But I’m really all praise about this series.  Except for the music.  The music sucks (except the ska-style music used during comedic moments, which I like).  But aside from this, I have nothing to complain.  I can say that I thoroughly liked KMHM.

So there you go.  At this point, I have already watched four complete Koreanovelas, and I have another series to check out next – Healers (will review this as soon as I’m finished with it.  I’m currently a third through episode one).  Plus, a label for Koreanovelas is now available for this blog.  So, I guess, it’s time – July 20, 2015.  10 p.m. (those who already watched KMHM will get this reference) – to officially declare that I’m now into Koreanovelas, too.

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‘Hyde, Jekyll, Me’ Gratifies, Then Dissatisfies

I just finished binge-watching Hyde, Jekyll, Me a few days ago. 

I think it’s still early to say that I’ve become a bona fide fan of Koreanovela (Filipino term for Korean TV series).  Hyde, Jekyll, Me is just the third Koreanovela that I was compelled to watch in its entirety.  Hence, the pool size is still small to make a definite conclusion.  But I guess this won’t probably be the last Koreanovela that I will binge-watch.  I think I Hear Your Voice really started something.  I extremely loved I Hear Your Voice, and I wondered if another Koreanovela could impact me as much.  My curiosity in replicating the experience with I Hear Your Voice led me to watch Pinocchio (which had the same lead actor and writer as IHYV).  I thought it wasn’t nearly as great, but I still enjoyed the show enough to see it through until its last episode.  Subsequently Pinocchiosomewhat led me to Hyde, Jekyll, Me, since the latter succeeded the former’s SBS time slot, and Hyde, Jekyll, Me might send me to follow another Koreanovela.

Anyway, Hyde, Jekyll, Me is a mix of romantic comedy and psychological thriller, and the premise is – as what the title implies – loosely inspired by the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.  It tells the story of Gu Seo-jin – the executive director of the theme park Wonder Land, and the next in line to be CEO of his family’s conglomerate, Wonder Group – who contracts DID (dissociative identity disorder), or most commonly known as “multiple personality disorder”, after experiencing a traumatic kidnapping when he was a kid.  The twist is – instead of a “Hyde” monster-personality emerging from a “Jekyll” normal-personality – the original personality Seo-jin is grave, heartless, cynical, and only cares for what benefits him, while the personality that emerged from his illness – who took the name “Robin” – is kind, cheerful, pleasant, possesses a Messiah complex, and creates comics.  Seo-jin and Robin have an understandable conflict with each other, but they nonetheless observe a set of protocols they have agreed on in order to survive and to keep Seo-jin’s condition a secret, one of which is to pretend that they’re twins.

A major shakeup in the existence of Seo-jin and Robin occurs at the arrival of Jang Ha-na, the new commandant of the circus show of Wonder Land.  Jang Ha-na becomes the key witness to the abduction of Dr. Kang, Seo-jin’s psychologist who, prior to her disappearance, revealed to him that she has found the cure to his condition.  But before he can get to her, she disappears, and Ha-na was the last to see her.  However, due to a traumatic encounter with the kidnaper, Ha-na can’t remember his face.  Desperate to find Dr. Kang, Seo-jin’s arranges for Ha-na to be kept protected as well as have hypnosis sessions with Dr. Kang’s talented protégé, Yoon Tae-joo, in order for her to remember the face of the abductor.

Amidst this, a love triangle ensues between Seo-jin, Robin, and Ha-na.  Initially unaware of the truth between Seo-jin and Robin, she buys their assertion that they’re twin brothers.  She gets closer to and develops feelings for Robin, whereas, on the other hand, butts heads with the insufferable Seo-jin.  However, later on, Seo-jin finds himself getting attracted to Ha-na, while she finds herself caring for him and be confused about it since she loves Robin.

This unique love triangle – two different personalities in one body loving the same girl – was the initial draw of this series on me.  This is the first time that such concept was explored (I don’t count Me, Myself, and Irene as a real love triangle involving split personalities), and I was intrigued.  The series was indeed able to use this fresh romantic scenario to create a delightfully complex dynamic... most of the time (I’ll get back to this later).

Another intriguing element of Hyde, Jekyll, Me is the suspense and mystery brought by the psychological thriller aspect of the story.  The utilization of psychological concepts in the plot was nicely done.  The science is obviously wobbly, but it did have an enjoyable presence, which reminded me of the psychology books I’ve enjoyed in the past (including Sybil which detailed the real-life story of Sybil Dorsett, who suffered from 16 different split personalities). There were a couple of well-done twists but these can be predicted if one would carefully observe the details being provided as the narrative progressed.  Nevertheless, the storytelling was gripping in respect to this aspect of the series.

During, the first 16 or so episodes of Hyde, Jekyll, Me, I felt that the series had a good chance of catching up with my fondness for I Hear Your Voice.  There was a lot of dumb in it, but there was a sufficient dose of smarts in it, too.  The dilemma of the multifaceted romance was also seemingly going into a gratifying resolution.  The message that the story was trying to sold us on were working well, too.  There were flaws that I nitpicked for a while, but they didn’t linger in my mind long since I was enjoying it much.  It was in good position during those 16 episodes or so.

But all that good was not sustained till the end.  I was much unsatisfied of where the story went.  I was frustrated that a story that was generally well-told at that point is ruined by bad writing in its closing episodes.  There were parts that were stretched which I felt weren’t necessary to stretch, and parts that were rushed which I felt should have been mined and expounded more.  The resolution of the dilemma of the romance was disappointing in so many points.  The narrative spent a lot of time on the side of the love triangle the audience was definitely least interested on.  Sure, it eventually shifted to the more interesting side, but the transition towards it was poorly and limitedly executed.

The bulk of Hyde, Jekyll, Me is pretty good.  The characters are pretty likable.  The romance was riveting (before it got to its closing episodes).  There was enthralling things in many parts of its narrative.  The themes explored were thoughtful.  The humor, drama, and tension have good chemistry.  The acting was fantastic – especially by Hyun Bin (Seo-jin/Robin) and Sung Joon (Tae-joo).  So there’s enjoyment to be found in this series.  Unfortunately, the bad ending significantly diluted the story.

Hyde, Jekyll, Me was like getting a seven course dinner in which you find the first six courses scrumptious, but an awful dessert was served in the end.   It was a generally pleasing meal, but you still left with a bad taste in your mouth.

Miscellaneous musings – WITH SPOILERS:

• Gu Seo-iin is, by far, the best character in the series.  The characterization and character development were so well-done.  I was rooting for him all series long.
• Han ji-min was a descent actress.  However, her character, Jang Ha-na, suffered the most from the bad writing.  I was hoping that Ha-na would find herself being in love with both Robin and Seo-jin, and after her struggles, she would eventually figure out a way to reconcile her feelings for the two personalities, and be the ultimate factor in making them whole.  For a while, it felt like the story was indeed going there.  But that didn’t happen.  Instead, Ha-na focused her love on Robin, and kept on insisting that her love was solely for the Robin personality.  Heck, they even got married (so dumb).  She doesn’t seem to comprehend – as well as most of the characters around them – that though Robin is a distinct personality from Seo-jin, he is nonetheless a creation of Seo-jin’s subconscious, and still a part – an extension – of Seo-jin.  All those things she loved about Robin is basically hidden somewhere inside Seo-jin.  And if ever Seo-jin gets cured from his DID, he and Robin should merge (just like the case with Sybil Dorsett.  When she got cured, she recovered or absorbed every memory and quality of her other 15 selves).  Sure, in the end, that exactly what happened – “Robin” was integrated into Seo-jin, and the two got together.  However, there was no real development about it.  I never really see Ha-na identifying Seo-jin himself as the man she loves.  It felt like she only get to love him because the qualities of Robin emerged from him.  Throughout the last episodes, it seemed Ha-na would have even preferred for Robin to fully take over Seo-jin’s body and life rather than for Seo-jin to get cured from his illness.  All of these kind of portrayed Ha-na as dumb and superficial.
• Sung Joon delivered a very compelling performance as the “big bad” of the story.  His transition from a pleasant, caring Yoon Tae-joo to a vengeful, obsessive Lee Soo-hyun was nearly as impeccable as Hyun Bin’s distinctive portrayal of Seo-jin and Robin.
• Detective Na’s Conan O’Brien hairstyle was enough to make me laugh at the character.  But actor Lee Joon-hyuk is legitimately funny.
• Min Woo-jung’s cheer dance routine was pretty amusing and charming.
• A gorilla named Bing Bing – which was seemingly brought to life by a mix of bad CGI and an actor in an ape suit – played a big part during a significant scene in the pilot.  I was a bit disappointed she (he?) never appeared in the series again.  Come to think of it, there was no other circus animal featured.  And I never saw an official performance from the Wonder Circus.
• An element of the story which I hoped was further explored in detail was “Terry”, the third personality that came out when Robin was brought to the edge.  In connection, it was revealed that Ha-na isn’t the first girl that Seo-jin and Robin loved at the same time.  But these details merely had fleeting referencing, and didn’t have any substantial contribution to the plot.  Thus, in the end, it felt like a needless plot detail resulting from bad writing.
• I didn’t like the music at first, but it eventually grew on me.  “♪ Because of you… Because of you-uuuuuu…  ♪ lalalalalalalalalala… ♫ Because of you…. Now I can say, ‘I love you’…. ♫ Lalalala. ♪”
• Interesting note: MBC’s Kill Me, Heal Me – a Koreanovela that has a similar premise of a woman falling in love with someone that has multiple personalities – aired at the same time slot as Hyde, Jekyll, Me.  Intriguingly, according to what I read, the former is better than the latter.  Hmmm.  I might check it out.  Might.
• I welcome any recommendations on what Koreanovela I should try next.  Just take note that I’m looking for something that can recapture the magic of I Hear Your Voice. 

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I.Q. is Overrated

We are easily impressed by I.Q.

Personally, I am a skeptic of I.Q. as a final measurement of a person’s intelligence. Here are some points why I doubt: 

a.) Most I.Q. tests are multiple choices. Thus, even if we don’t know the answer we can pick from the choices by random. Maybe, the odds are low that you’ll get the answer, but it’s still a chance! (Another thing that doesn’t impress me are odds… so what if it is 1% chance against 99%? The 1% is still a chance nonetheless. It could still come up, no matter how low the chance.) So, you may “luck” yourself to a high score. 

b.) Can I.Q. tests measure these aspects of intelligence: linguistics, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and spatial? Based on the questions in I.Q. tests, it seems that the only thing that they might obtain is intelligence in logical-mathematical aspect. 

c.) Sometimes I.Q. tests have questions that require information/trivia knowledge. Example, there is a set of groups of letters and you should rearrange them first to form them to words, then find the odd-man out. Let us assume you get London, Paris, Tokyo, and Sydney after rearranging them. Of course, it’s easy. Sydney is out. The others are capitals. But assuming this is a hard question and would require special knowledge. Assume there are two who took the test, and the first have just read about it recently (again, we are assuming that the determining Sydney as a non-capital requires special knowledge and not general knowledge). The second have not. Thus, the first knows that Sydney is not a capital. Is it a point against the second’s intelligence because he does not have this information or trivia in his knowledge? If you look at it this way, this could be unfair to the second since it is not his fault that he had not have the chance or had the circumstance to encounter it. 

d.) Can intelligence be really measured?  I am (a bit of a) skeptic that something complicated and abstract as intelligence can be measured at all. 

e.) I don’t think I am a genius, but I always get a high score in these tests. (Now, why is that?) That is why I’m a skeptic, I doubt I am that smart.

Here is a result of one of those tests I took on the net:

127. Hmmm. Can it really be that high?  However, I think, it’s the best test I took (that almost convinced me that this I.Q. thing may really work). Here are the points why I think this is almost the closest thing to a perfect test to measure my I.Q.: 

a.) no information/trivia knowledge required (though, I would not mind if there were. I am king of irrelevant facts, but, if there were, that would be an “unfair” advantage on my part). 

b.) it’s under a time pressure of 20 minutes (I finished it in 18 minutes). 

c.) no multiple choices in the number problems. Choices were only on abstract problems.  Thus, picking answers randomly are minimal. 

d.) In all the tests that I had taken, it is the lowest score I had so far, thus, more believable (believe me, I’m saying it without arrogance at all).

The highest score I had was in high school (many items, and also under a time pressure. It was good in its own right) and I got a 144. Yah, I think I answered well, but I also made a lot of random choices in that test. So, maybe I got many of those random picks right because of luck. 144 was unbelievable for me. 

I am not showing off. I am just saying that I don’t trust the results. Yeah, maybe I can say that God gave me an intelligence above average. But I don't think I am that smart (I could stomach 127, but 140s are unbelievable) as I.Q. tests make it. Not a super genius.  If I am, I could have understood quantum theory and all that other difficult  concepts of Physics. 

I conclude that I.Q, tests are imperfect. And I.Q. is overrated. It can’t really measure one’s intelligence. Maybe only a small part, but not something definite. There are other things to consider. Talents, skills, E.Q., leadership, how you deal with people, experiences, and other factors. Intelligence is too complex to be measured by a mere I.Q. score.

Besides, I believe that the true measure is not at all about how intelligent you are. It’s how you use your intelligence. How you handle situations with what’s in your head, and to what end you’ll use it. As Doc Ock said in the movie Spider-Man 2: “Intelligence is not a privilege, it's a gift, to be used for the good of mankind.”

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Getting 100 Out of 100 In Both My Two Major Exams (Thoughts on Analysis, Prediction, and Evaluation)

The past semester, I got a hundred out of a hundred in the final exams of both my two major subjects. This was my first. Sure, I had another perfect last year, but that was a twenty-five item short quiz-turned-final exam. And that was a minor, and this time I aced my two majors’ final exams! It feels good.

But the reason of perfecting both exams was not that I know all the answers of the questions in it. I do not know all the answers. It is because through analysis of the test, the behavior of my teacher’s style of tests in the past, and using logic, I found the probable pattern, took a gamble by putting my faith on that discovered pattern though unsure if my deductions are correct, and it all paid off.

Now, applying analysis and logic are not only valuable on tests, but on real life situations also, where we need the situation interpreted or predicted. And I grew fond of mental exercises to interpret or predict behavior and events.

I am no genius. But I have a few amateur thoughts on rules in analysis, evaluation, and prediction.

One basic tool is the scientific method. Whoever invented it is a genius. The scientific method makes sense and applicable and practical on problems because it is based on organized steps.

Another is logic. It is a very valuable tool. Logical application is always a good starting point, and, I believe, among the most important tools. But I have to warn the being logical does not always mean being practical or correct. Logic is dependent only to connectable data, and the data obtained might be incomplete or irrelevant after all. One can derive a train of logic from given data, but it does not mean that the conclusion of it is correct. It means that the data available is correct independently, but when it is brought together, its conclusion is not. Logic’s inaccuracy can be lessened when more relevant data is obtained.

Knowledge, or what you know or the data you have, is the most basic thing. So it is very important to know as much as you can, no matter how trivial (who knows, you might need that certain knowledge in the future). From knowledge, one start analysis, prediction, and evaluation.

The gathering of data is the first point of all of it because it is from those data that one would use for analysis. It is important to gather the relevant data only, if possible. But most of the time, the relevant data is not always available and these relevant data is mixed with other data. I admit that, most of the time, gathering the relevant data needed is very difficult. Another that should be avoided as much as possible is taking “chewed up” data. What I mean by “chewed up” data are data gathered, processed, compiled, or analyzed by others. It is much better if you get the raw data on your own. However, it cannot be avoided, and at least one should be able to minimize the risk of error by making sure that the “chewed up” data is reliable, not biased, and “chewed” by competent and trustworthy people. (“Chewed up” data is especially very dangerous in theology and interpretation of the Bible.)

“When you eliminate the impossible factors, whatever remains, though improbable, must be the truth.” I learned that from Sherlock Holmes. It is my must favorite dictum. Of course, it is not always correct, but it is often so. Elimination of factors, using this Sherlock Holmes law, would almost always lead to the right conclusion.

And when inferences and theories are made, one should draw them, from the data available and not start with an inference or theory then use the data available to support it – which is biased. Drawing inference or theory based on the data, allowing the data to tell the story, is the most practical way and would allow less error.

I observed that “working back” is the most favorite method of many. Interpolation, substitution, and trial and error are usually the ways we use. But the most effective way of “working back” is to reason logically backwards, and then check if the reasoning is correct by starting again at the starting point to the ending and match if the “work back” and the logical chronology makes sense.

Now, prediction or “working forward” is a favorite of mine. But it is more difficult. It is made easier when more relevant data is available. An accurate prediction, having only minor errors or none at all, is dependent to the relevance and importance of the data available. Prediction’s accuracy is also dependent on the time period; predicting an event or conclusion that will happen on a sooner time has more chances of being correct than prediction of a later event. However, if too much data is needed in order to make a prediction, it starts to be complicated and lessens the chance of an accurate prediction.

The more complex a system is, the more chances something will go wrong and more for a behavior to be random, thus interpretations and predictions have bigger chance also of getting wrong. Example is the weather, mass behavior, the human mind, society, economics, theology, and many others. However, I believe that when this complex system is expanded or made bigger, one may start to see relevant patterns from all the randomness and erratic behavior of the complex system. Example, the weather. Now whether is so difficult to predict or interpret accurately, that when you put a specific amount of conditions and variables in experiment A, and then put the same amount of conditions and variables, both would give different results. Why? Because the system is so complex. But when you expand the experiment, it might be found that there are tiny details or factors between the two experiments that makes the differences. (Chaos theory explains this. These tiny details are the ones that made the whole complex system erratic, complicated, and unpredictable in general. And chaos theory aims to be able to interpret these complex systems. I don’t know much of chaos theory though – but I am interested in it and hope to learn more.) Widening the scope of study of complex systems would lead to concentrating into the details.
Another thing is to discard all distractions when making analysis, prediction, and evaluation. What I mean by distractions are prejudices, biases, and the most lethal of distractions, emotions. Emotion can cloud and distort the mind’s objectivity. One should be detached, unemotional, and rational when on analytical thought.

Intuition is one of the most important tools. Intuition is not instinct, ESP, or such. It is probably a God-given unconscious initiative and logical thought. Contrary to what they say, instincts should not be trusted, but intuition.

Common sense is the most important tool. Though it is claimed all humans have it, I think that the application of its full potential is a rare gift that only a minority have. No matter how smart you are, sometimes, it does not mean you have excellent common sense. Common sense is the most effective projection or identity of practicality.

Evaluation is at the top of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Intelligence. This is like analysis and prediction put together but higher than it. Evaluation is where you will start to make conclusions, pass judgment, and decide what to do next. Evaluation is hard to do. After analysis gave you the interpretation or “look” of the situation, the question “What about it, then?” comes. One could use the collected dictums and thoughts I mentioned earlier on making an evaluation, but one is really in his own on making the higher conclusion and reacting to it. Responsibility and rationality is teamed up on evaluation.

So, these are my thoughts on analysis, prediction, and evaluation. Now, this is only on my part, and frankly, I am not sure if I am correct. But you can verify it on your own analyses and experience.

Our mind is a wonderful gift from God, and it is very stimulating when we put it to use. But before I end this essay, I have one more final dictum I want to share. That is, as much as possible never guess, assume, pass judgment, and make conclusions when there is insufficient data available. Believe me, it is to your advantage to keep your mouth shut when you don’t really know anything about the situation.

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Me, My Mind, and My Multiple Personalities

The Mind
No exact science can really explain it
Freud and Jung and others, in some degree, made some worthwhile observations and theories about it
Many philosophers, did, too
But Science and Philosophy failed to grasp the Mind’s entirety
The Mind is complex
One of God’s many mysteries in Creation
The Human Mind is one of the major things that separate us from animals
It can create
It can destroy
It can be trained to (or can automatically) ignore emotion and pain
The possibilities are endless

Since imagination has no boundaries
My Mind has no boundaries
My Mind is my sanctuary
My Mind is some sort of place
(Hannibal Lecter and Demi Brooke are among the ones who use and think of their minds as such)
A world
The knowledge, memories and concepts I know is stored there
And from this three, shoots off the characteristics of this world
Fictional character and events and stories of mine are here
There are many secret places that even I don’t know of
Things I forget and chose to forget are probably on those secret places
Sub-consciousness, others name that place
In that world, anything goes
There is no boundary between fantasy and fact
Inside are valleys and plains
The Grand Canyon
Rivers
Seas
Forests
Jungles
Extinct animals
Dinosaurs
Monsters
Elves
Mermaids
Fairies
The Waste Lands
Oz
Wonderland
Nirvana
Victorian London
The Wild West
Medieval Europe
Sci-Fi Outer Space
And many more
All rolled into one
Moreover, there is still infinity of places to explore and discover
Since as time passes, new places are made
All human minds are places like mine
They just have to accept that these places exist to enjoy what the worlds can offer

All of us have multiple personalities
The difference of a sane man with schizophrenic is the ability to control, supervise and be in sync with those personalities
I have many ones
And they live in The World Of My Mind

I am the Amalgam
The overseer of the personalities
Simply, known also as the Waking Self
I am the other personalities
I am one with them
At the same time, not them at all
I would be introducing the famous (and infamous) among them

The first personality is the Knight
(Some who know me had theorized of this self and name him Version 1.1)
The romantic
The sentimental
Ready to slay the dragon every time
Always ready to save the damsel in distress
But, take note, though he is with armor and shield
He is the most vulnerable among the personalities

The second personality is the Professor
A cold, logical, analytical machine
Scorns emotions and superstitions
He only sees the facts, and cares only for the facts
Cynicism and arrogance is his worst faults
Spends most of his time at the Libraries and Laboratories of The World Of My Mind
He cares only for knowledge
Never makes uneducated guesses
Always base conclusions in data analyzed
Most of the time he is right
But not always

The third personality is the Musician
If you allow him, he’ll spent the day playing guitar; playing songs like “Hey Jude”, “Evermore”, “Hotel California”, and “Livin’ On A Prayer”
Or listening to Mozart and Beethoven and the other classic masters who are still alive in that World
He does not mind of being alone
Music is the only companion he prefers best

The fourth personality is the Philosopher
He is the counselor of the other personalities
Since he is the one who remind the others what values, principles, thoughts and dictums Bernel believes in – mostly, Christian truths
He, most of the time, does the inspiring of the others
He thinks, unlike the Professor, on things what can be
Philosophy, theology and life are the topics he loves best
And meditation and prayer are his favorite activities

The fifth personality is the Explorer
Since My Mind is limitless, his travels never end
He is not complaining since traveling is his love
His job is to explore the places
Explore the potentials
Takes as much knowledge and adventures as he can
All the personalities, when receiving his reports, find his experiences useful

The sixth personality is the Poet
The laziest among them
With a pen and a notebook, he writes
That is the only thing he does most if the time
Write fiction or nonfiction; any topic
Write
Write
And any residue of his time, he spends reading in the Libraries in there

The seventh personality is the Gunslinger
The hero
And he possess the qualities of a hero
“Epitome of perfection,” as defined in literature
Complete with a cowboy hat, thick boots, two revolvers and gloves to prevent blisters
His hand is quick when he draws a gun from its holster
Fast as lightning
And shoots with excellent marksmanship
Drawing and shooting efficiently, he can do it in less than half a second

The eighth personality is the Assassin
The most dangerous of them all
Since he is a cold-blooded killer
He kills with blades
Throwing knives and two sharp swords
A cloth covers his mouth
Fast and agile – that are his strengths
Thus, he is the most contained personality
To unleash him is unwise

The ninth personality is the Penciler
With a drawing table, a chair, pens and pencils
He draws all day
Unlike the Amalgam, he never loses patience or gets bored
He never colors his drawings
Since, what art he do is best with only pencils and inks

The tenth personality is the Collector
The Collector simply does what he does best: collecting
He collects anything… everything
Literature, DVDs, toys, guitars, guns, antiques, stamps, art, paintings, etc.
It does not matter what
He collects just for the sake of collecting
Because that is his passion

The eleventh personality is the Gourmet
Lover of food and wine
He is not a glutton nor gets drunk
He simply appreciates good tastes
And, yes, he cooks well unlike the Amalgam
Cooking is his next love from eating

The twelfth personality is the Engineer
What he does is create structures and bridges and tools
He is also an inventor
Finding ways to make things easier, or more fun and exciting
If anyone needs any gadget, he has it
He solves mechanical and technical problems
Cars and planes are his hobbies
In free time, he customizes and drives them
He has a constant need for speed, and loves the roar of a machine

The thirteenth personality is the Wizard
Master of magic and skills
He hides his eyes behind sunglasses
His amazing ability is to amaze people
An exhibitionist
He possesses many talents, skills, and knowledge of irrelevant facts
He likes to hides those talents and skills
And then surprise them that he can actually do something very well
His favorite is solving a Rubik’s cube in a few seconds (unlike the Amalgam)
He possess a little both of humility and arrogance

The fourteenth personality is the Jester
Laughing and making others laughs is what he likes to do best
He has knowledge of many humorous anecdotes and jokes
His pride himself of being good at making witty comebacks and comments
He lives on his wits, thus, he treasures it

The fifteenth personality is the Doctor
His compassion is famous everywhere in that World
He helps people
He cares for them
Thus, he has lots of friends
And his friends respect and appreciate him

The sixteenth is the Vampire
He is afraid of direct sunlight since it will kill him
And he is at his peak when it is night
He possess supernatural strength and senses
But is cursed with bloodlust

I will leave you for now with sixteen personalities
Because the popular Sybil Dorsett has the record of sixteen personalities (look it up)
The Knight, the Professor, the Musician, the Philosopher, the Explorer, the Poet, the Gunslinger, the Assassin, the Penciler, the Collector, the Gourmet, the Engineer, the Wizard, the Jester, the Doctor, and the Vampire
Together, they are the Amalgam (and at the same time, separate from the Amalgam)
But are there others in My Mind?
Yes, there are many more personalities since there is an entire World in there
Much much more, and many of those personalities I hadn’t met yet

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