While I've been able to throw up the usual sort of pop culture nonsense that often populates my posts, it's actually been a pretty trying week.

Today, my aunt had a fairly serious operation. She's 78. "Fairly serious operation" and "78" is not a combination that instills confidence, especially as she'd been hospitalized not that long ago due to the problem that led to today's visit to the OR.

As it turns out, things went very well. We actually spent about an hour talking with her at the hospital. She was a little tired not surprisingly, but otherwise in good spirits. Of course, the Coen women seem to have a pretty sturdy constitution (I had two great aunts who lived well into their 80s, and my grandmother, while not a Coen by birth, lived to 92).

We're not completely out of the woods where my aunt is concerned - there are other health concerns that may prove equally problematic - but we're doing pretty well right now, which is nice.

The less enjoyable part of the week started Monday night, when it was discovered that one of our students took their own life at some point during the day. Sarah and I were actually heading off campus when police first started to respond, though at that point it wasn't clear that anything that serious was happening. It was when we returned and saw the collection of vehicles - including a couple of unmarked police cars and an ambulance that was eerily parked at a distance from the building in question - that we started to suspect something serious was afoot.

I've been lucky in my 12 years of RA/RD experience that I've never had to work on a suicide. I've known people who did, and I have to say that their experiences were pretty much borne out over the 72 hours following the first report. It was a less than optimal combination of the nightmarish, the surreal, and the depressing.

From a professional standpoint, it's clear to me now that you can have all of the crisis management and operating procedure you want, but it's still going to be a mess. This is especially true after hours, when you're trying to track down staff that's gone home or is out for dinner or what have you. I will say that I think we did a pretty good job of tracking people down and getting plans set into motion. I had the dubious honor of trying to console some residents who clearly needed someone with more of a counseling background. I think I did OK, but at the time it was painful. I honestly didn't feel like I was making a damn bit of difference.

As the night wore on I had a chance to do more informational stuff with our residents, which was better. I actually had information and could answer questions about what services were available and what the next day or so would bring on campus. I don't know that I told people much new information, but students did seem to appreciate the effort.

Things slowly got better as the week continued - there was a short remembrance service the next day, and a candlelight vigil last night that gave people a chance to talk and share memories and stories. The funeral was today, and a number of students were able to attend, which also helped.

I will say that one of the more unusual aspects of the entire thing was seeing the reaction of the student body. It really ran the gamut. There were a number of students who were deeply hurt - classmates, teammates, etc. - but there was also a not insignificant number of students who seemed to have little reaction. I suppose if you don't know the person the reaction isn't as strong, but there was in some cases even little reaction that it had happened at all. Everyone approaches this differently, so there may be more reaction later. Hard to say.

I'm pretty proud of the work our RA staff did this week, especially those folks who had a deeper reaction. I often wonder about the job they do, given that I don't get as much chance to see and talk to them as I would like (there being 22 of them, I don't always get a depth of interaction), but this week they definately stepped up.

Anyway, that's the sort of week it's been. It's getting better, and even the Yankees getting Javier Vasquez can't prevent that - for now. :P