Give Me Bullet Points

Since my promotion and subsequent greater interaction with my manager, I have realized there are a few 'work' issues that have bled into my non-work projects:

• My manager (lets call her Sherry) likes to get to the point. She is a no nonsense kind of woman with a wicked sense of humor. Hence, her email rule to all of us, "Give me bullet points". Considering how much I like words and enjoy using them to describe things, it has been a challenge. Rather, it was a challenge. I recently caught myself sending emails to my friends in bullet points.
• While it was quite obvious at the beginning that Sherry wasn't impressed by me (I think she implied said I was 'whiny'). I insisted that she had caught me at a bad time in my career where I had been misled and micromanaged to an inch of my sanity. A year later, I think we get along quite well. She actually complimented my performance in our staff meeting and to her superiors. She has given me confidence to speak my mind and express my opinions, even if the audience isn't exactly receptive. Which is great! I recently spoke up and said something in a non-work environment that caught ME off guard. Woo hoo for Sherry's mentoring skills.
• I am sorry to say, patience is not (and has tragically never been) one of my many virtues. It really makes me sad. Especially when I have to work with people who are not outwardly bothered by things. My last manager was the kind who would speak more calmly and slowly, which ended up sounding condescending and pissing people off more. Not Sherry. While she has a great sense of humor and admirable self-restraint, she also has a temper. She may tell me to calm down after an especially stressful conference call, but I know she understands and isn't holding my impatience against me. Of course, I've never seen her act unprofessionally--and I would like to think I haven't either (except when I have)--but we of short tempers recognize each other fairly easily and it is nice to be in the company of some who can generally handle her impatience well.
• And finally, after a week of dealing with unprofessional people, it is nice to hear your managers speaking well of your coping skills and general abilities.
  

See, bullet points can be fun. Or to the point.