That's Just Who You Are.

[sechan19]

In seminar today (this is the one I'm taking from my adviser), we got a little bit off topic for a while and began talking about the taking of illegal souvenirs from famous sites. (Trust me, there is a way to get from discussing Japanese legends to discussing the taking of illegal souvenirs from famous sites - we did it today in class.) I was talking about the catacombs of Paris, and how people are always trying to make off with the human remains that bolster the street-supports, when the following exchange took place:

Me: I was actually disappointed with the catacombs because they weren't as scary as I was expecting.
Student: Yeah, but an underground cavern filled with a bunch of bones - that's pretty scary.
Me: Well, I wanted there to be some bone bodies, you know? I wanted to be able to imagine they might get up and come after me because... well, because...
Adviser: Because that's just who you are.
Me: Exactly!

In other news: in the next two weeks I have to give three presentations (of varying length), one of which will be in Japanese, and put together a couple of serious papers - in addition to my usual workload of classical Japanese translation. So... I'll see you all when I see you.

And wish me luck!