diff --git a/xattr.scm b/xattr.scm
index bd3a143..778627a 100644
--- a/xattr.scm
+++ b/xattr.scm
@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@
     (get-xattr set-xattr remove-xattr list-xattrs)
 
   (import scheme
-          (chicken base) (chicken foreign) (chicken memory)
-          srfi-1 srfi-12)
+          (chicken base) (chicken condition) (chicken foreign) (chicken memory)
+          srfi-1)
 
 
   (foreign-declare "#include \"xattr_ext.c\"")
@@ -95,8 +95,6 @@
 
   ;; TODO: These exception functions should be constructed with a macro and a simple
   ;; list, like `((c-constant symbol error-message) ("E2BIG" 'e2big "The attribute value was too big."))
-  ;; Unfortunately, it looks like chicken's macros work a good bit differently from CLs?
-  ;; orr I'm losing my mind
 
 
   ;; Return the exception associated with an error-code as per getxattr(2), if it exists
@@ -165,10 +163,15 @@
   (define (pointer->delimited-string-list pointer length delimiter)
     (let* ([is-zero (lambda (num) (eq? num 0))]
            [map-to-char (lambda (a) (map integer->char a))]
-           [byte-list (drop-right (pointer->integers pointer length) 1)])
-      (map list->string
-           (map map-to-char
-                (split-list is-zero byte-list)))))
+           [pointer-ints (pointer->integers pointer length)]
+           [byte-list (when (list? pointer-ints)
+                        (drop-right pointer-ints 1))])
+      (if (and (list? byte-list)
+               (not (null-list? byte-list)))
+        (map list->string
+              (map map-to-char
+                   (split-list is-zero byte-list)))
+        '())))
 
 
   ;; Takes a pointer and returns a list of bytes of a given length