What's a better word for "pensive" in this situation?

I just used the word "pensive" to describe the feeling of a system administrator's state of mind while waiting for a long-running task to complete successfully, but I don't think that's the right word. I am trying to describe the feeling of waiting for the results of a task; a feeling of anxious anticipation, hoping things will work out for the best but planning one's next move in case things don't turn out as one had planned. Is there a better word than "pensive"?

EDIT: I am questioning my word choice because Merriam Webster defines pensive as:

suggestive of sad thoughtfulness

and sadness isn't part of the emotion I'm trying to convey.

Solution 1:

Apprehensive?

I guess it helps to clarify that there's both a bit of "the worst could happen right now and that would suck" and there's a bit of "ok, it's going to be fine, what's the next thing I need to do so I'm prepared"

Solution 2:

"Anxious" itself seems better. A state of anxiety often suggests a mind racing with the scenarios of possible outcomes.

The phrase, "with bated breath" also comes to mind, as it combines the act of waiting with a feeling of anxiousness, though it does not suggest any sort of planning for contingencies.

Solution 3:

I think "Apprehensive" implies pessimism about the results and "Anxious" implies a result that could be good or bad and you'd like to find out very soon.

Solution 4:

I guess it depends on the system administrator. Some expect for everything to go right and cuss when things go awry, others plan for the worst and are pleasantly surprised when anything works as it is supposed to work.

For the grizzled system administrator who has seen everything, I would go for expectantly, since that sysadmin probably has a good idea what output he/she expects to see, and is simply performing the steps he/she needs to do to get there.

For the egotistical, self-centered system administrator, I'd go for triumphantly or defiantly, as if he/she is self-assured that everything is correct, but is daring the computer to throw an error his/her way.

Solution 5:

Pensive is a great word to describe that state.