Darkness on the edge of town

The dark clouds in the news and around the office have me concerned. How much of it is real and how much of it is overreaction or self-fulfilling prophecy is hard to say. It's not necessarily one particular thing but the constant drumbeat of negativity that's beginning to get to me.

I learned something today at work that evolved from initially disappointing to potentially troublesome. Perhaps we are misunderstanding what we know and it won't be as big of a problem as it seems. Perhaps it is as bad as we think it might be. At this point more information is needed, but even if it turns out to be something minor, I could do without this uncertainty and worry in the meantime.

I'll allow for the fact that it could feel worse because I am tired from the busy academic quarter and all of the work I've been doing. Still, when there's a sense that a lot of people are on pins and needles, it reinforces the idea that my perceptions aren't overblown.

(I'm being vague on purpose, but I want to make it clear that my job isn't in jeopardy, to my knowledge. Today's news, which arrives on the heels of some other stuff, could mean that doing my job may become more difficult, not that it won't be there.)