Ticking Bomb Atmosphere

Can I just say that today I'm the person who has the job you're all thankful that you don't have?

The atmosphere around my office has been weird for the last several months, sometimes spiraling out of control. I've written about that before.

Some stuff happened at a major meeting over the weekend that has once again stirred things in our building. This time they've managed to involve a separate company on the floor below us.

Emotions are running high, and there is tension in the air.

I'm sitting right in the middle of it.

AND, I'd also like to ask when I became the person to whom the office staff air their grievances with each other, and with people from other organizations?

I was talking with the girl who had this job before me (a friend, and the reason I now have the job). She described my job as being like a "bartender." It's an accurate description. I even have an elbow level counter the whole way around my desk, for people to lean on as they air their problems.

It's fine in small doses, but, in the midst of everything else, I'm not loving it.

And besides - I've been so sensitive to the spiritual atmosphere in places and people lately that I'm usually picking up on (and occasionally experiencing as my own without immediately realizing it) all their really negative emotions long before they ever start speaking.

Don't get me wrong - I actually like my job, my coworkers most days, but this week, today, I'm tired, and I don't really want to be sitting here in the midst of this explosive atmosphere.