oloriel | Twelve hours to go...

... till my first final.

I am not too afraid of the essay part. It is going to be horrid, but it was preparable, which is worth something. As long as I can remember my framework and the Kanji it should go okay. (If I can remember my framework and the Kanji...) I'm afraid that the translation part is going to break my neck though.

Should any of you just happen to have a free moment tomorrow morning, 9 am to 1 pm (CET), I'd be grateful if you could press your thumbs, cross your fingers, or otherwise send a good thought or two, thanks.

Also, I have now come to the conclusion that Premodern Japanese Buddhism = Vegetarian Catholicism. Yes, with everything that entails.

Have this little gem from the Nihon Ryôiki*, for instance, paraphrased in the words of yours truly!

Dramatis Personae
- A demon, messenger of King Enra of Hell
- Hirotari, a man
- Nameless Woman, his ex-wife
- Hirotari's relatives

Hirotari: *randomly dies and iz ded*
Hirotari's family: Oh, we've heard so often about people coming back from the dead, let's not burn him yet.
Hirotari: *looks around* Dude, is this the afterlife?
Demon: Might be. Do you know this woman?
Hirotari: Yeah, kind of looks like my wife who died three years ago.
Demon: And she is!
Hirotari: Oh. Um. Cool. Hi, darling?
Nameless Woman: Hello Hirotari. Did you know, since I died with an unborn child in me, I am held responsible for murder and was condemned to six years of torment before I get to go through whatever crappy next life they find suitable?
Hirotari: Ah. Um. Sorry to hear that, sucks to be you, look on the bright side, you're halfway through?
Demon: Yeah, about that. Since you were kinda responsible for the child being in her in the first place, you get to share the last three years of torment with her. Yay?
Hirotari: Yay. Not. Um. Perhaps I'm not actually the true father?
Nameless Woman: Oh believe you me, you are.
Hirotari: But it's not my time!
Demon: By necessity, it is. But take heart, as you've been an otherwise decent guy, you'll be reborn as something ~*nice*~ afterwards!
Hirotari: Um, um, if I were to copy the lotus sutra and pay a lot of money to the local temple, could we kind of cancel that? Totally for her sake, of course. Because, um, she's already suffered so much and three more years are really not necessary, right?
Demon: Your offer is acceptable. Byebye, see you later!
Nameless Woman: You tell me that NOW?
Hirotari's relatives: Wow, good thing we didn't burn that body!
Hirotari: I say! Now excuse me, I got a sutra to copy and all my money to give to the temple.
Hirotari's relatives: Dude, not cool! Why?
Hirotari: Because otherwise they'll come for ME again.
And the moral is, dear children, you should give all your money to The Faith so nobody needs to go to hell! As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs!

Ladies and Gentlemen: Any questions?

Disgruntled Lyra out.

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*"Chronicle of Weird Shit That Happened in Japan". Formal title is longer and means "Record of Miraculous Events of the Recompense of Good and Evil in the Country of Japan", but, you know, it boils down to "Weird Shit".