Only three more days of work left! One of my coworkers said that C, the husband of my hairdresser who is also an heiress to the pizzeria, couldn't believe why I was leaving.

"Why am I leaving," I asked.

"Because of Joe" (the boss).

"I'm not leaving because of Joe."

"That's what you said."

At that point I was speechless and a bit disappointed with myself for misleading a young worker to think I was so unhappy with my boss of 13 years I quit solely because of him.

Even though it's true to some extent.

I just don't like hearing it be said because I didn't mean for my boss to know. Especially around his birthday. He gets funny around his birthday.

I think I told all of my coworkers a different reason for my leaving--a variation of ill-humor + something about graduating. My boss got the truth though: I won't look for a job if I have this one. Now he'll just hear the rumors and realize they match the sentiments of his other workers, the ones who, like myself, have been asking him to hire more help. (I think I was the only one cussing about running out of towels over the weekend; not having a container to warm up sauce in the microwave; the bathrooms being filthy; his pot-smoking pizza deliveries that steal him away from the dinner rush when we need him most; and the constant shortage of menu items that we, the people who communicate with his customers, have to break the bad news about.)

It's my ego that thinks the boss is no longer competent to manage the place and lead us. It's not wrong, but my heart is what finally decided I have outgrown the place. And all of me is excited to see what's next.