As I watched the finale of the hit Mob series The Sopranos
I began to wonder what it must be like to work those kinds of
hours. The typical nine to five job has never been a convenient
fit for me. I either ended up at a job that I dreaded so I would
arrive late and leave early or it was a job that I loved and would work
long hours but felt like I was neglecting my family.
Being in the mob though, at least
according to television is all about the family. That is why I
decided to seek a job with my local mafia outfit. The first thing
I needed to do was update my resume. I tried to gear my years of
software testing experience toward something that my new employer would
find useful. Therefore I focused on the college basketball pools
I organized in the office, my willingness to “collect” any late
payments (of course this consisted of sending a polite email and not
breaking any bones), and my people skills. People skills are
important in the mob because you never know when you’ll meet a
potential juror on your racketeering case.
With my skills and experience geared
toward my new occupation I needed to come up with a nickname. No
mob family was going to hire a guy named Artie Leary. I decided
to go with Nicky Green Eyes. I tried to get my mom to start
calling me Nicky Green Eyes but she’s got this whole Christian name
formula that she adheres to without fail.
The resume was updated, my nickname was
set and I was ready for interviews. Time to see who was hiring.
First I hit the job boards on the
internet. I wasn’t getting a lot of leads there. Although I
did find one job where I could make millions working from home I knew
that my destiny was to be a made man and work where I want, when I
want…just like Paulie and Tony from the Sopranos.
Frustrated with my internet job search I
decided to ask my Italian friend if I could work with him in the family
business he was always gloating about. That turned out to be a
bad idea too. Seems my friend was not Italian at all and I ended
up delivering Greek pizzas for the next two weeks before I realized his
family business was a restaurant and not organized crime. I was
at a loss. I didn’t know where to turn next.
I started calling all the mattress
stores in the area. I knew for a fact that whenever there was a
mob war they all went “to the mattresses”. No luck there.
Not one mattress store had sold a large number of mattresses to a group
of men wearing gold chains and talking with their hands.
Finally I got my break. I was
watching a movie about Whitey Bulger when they showed the bar where his
Winter Hill Gang from South Boston used to hang out. I decided to
go to the bar and initiate the interview myself. After all, I had
posted my resume on all the job boards and not one mob family had
contacted me.
Upon entering the mob hang-out I
immediately felt over dressed. On television all the mob guys
either wear thousand dollar Armani suits or sweatshirts and matching
sweatpants. I had bought a brand new outfit for this interview
but had a terrible case of static cling. My sweatpants were stuck
to my calves making me look like I had two prosthetics and somewhere
along the way I must have sat in some dog hair because my rear end was
covered. I needed to stay focused and move forward. I
approached the man who was talking the loudest and seemed in charge.
On the drive home as I was trying to
stop my nose from bleeding I realized where I went wrong. I
shouldn’t have opened my interview with “Hi, I’m Nicky Green Eyes and I
have an offer you can’t refuse.” I suppose I’m just lucky to not
be sleeping with the fishes. I think television might give a
distorted view of the mob. They should have a disclaimer or
something so people like me don’t get hurt.