I'm still in shock.

A few days ago --- right after I got back to Oxford --- one of my friends from high school died rather unexpectedly. At the moment, I am not going to write a 'proper' obituary blog entry or even say who it is (as things need to run their course) because I don't think it would be fair to the family. I don't know if the cause of death is fully known yet, and I certainly don't know all of the details.

This is a tragedy in and of itself, but there are particular reasons why it's especially horrible in this case. Again, I am not going to say anything about this right now.

It was a shock when I first found out, and it's actually bothering me more day by day (though, as only a distant friend, this obviously is not even a blip on the radar screen in comparison to what's going on with relatives and so on!). I am hoping to shortly have a discussion with a particular one of my high school classmates with whom I am close.

Eventually, I would 'like' to post a proper obituary in remembrance, and to tell a couple of stories---but perhaps unsurprisingly I don't want to do that right now (and probably not for quite a while).

For what it's worth, this isn't even the only thing bothering me right now. I know how to address the second thing, however, so at least I know what to do to address the issue. In fact, I think it will work out fine, and my worries regarding that one are essentially due almost entirely to my worrying nature. For my friend's death, however, I have more of a helpless feeling even from my distance. It's bloody scary is what it is.