Is it stress or mad cow?

Just lately, I discovered something about myself that I find surprising. When I am thoroughly stressed out, my left eye twitches, and I don't recall this having happened before last year. The last 3 weeks though, my eye twitch has become a frequent, and extremely annoying, part of my life.

I'm 99% sure it is entirely tied to the fact that I am dealing with a bunch of people who are a little peeved that their bonus payment structure has been... well, restructured. It's not a major restructure and the defining criteria for reaching bonus requirements has not been changed. However, so far today, I have spoken to and e-mailed with a dozen or so whiny and/or peeved agents and their managers. Whininess from S. is enough to make me see red. Whining from a bunch of well-paid professionals makes me see blurry plaid (you see, my eye twitches). I normally end all my e-mails to these guys with, 'I will be happy to answer any further questions you may have.' You just don't know how tempted I have been to end rather with, 'I would ordinarily be happy to answer any ridiculous question you may have, but I've already answered it half a dozen times today, so ask your manager first.'

A very small part of me wonders if this eye twitch is the beginning of some awful neurological disorder since I lived in Europe during the mid to late 1980's and actually ate beef. Maybe it's mad cow coming to have its way with me. On the bright side, if it is mad cow, then I won't be dealing with these jokers for too much longer. Macabre, I know, but you wouldn't believe the crap these guys (and it is the guys, the ladies apparently have better things to do than whine) keep throwing my way.

M.W.