Pie Nazi

Many are familiar with Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. Well, here in town we have a gourmet pie place called Croshaw's. Every August they offer fresh peach pie. It is delicious, much like the soup in the Seinfeld episode. It is only available in August and they only make about 10 per day.

At least since I've been here, it has been an August tradition in the OR to procure as many of those pies as possible each day. You have to begin calling two minutes before they open, and even then you can easily be shut out. IF you get through, there is an absolute one pie limit per caller. Operating rooms that are successful in obtaining a pie quickly become the envy of the other rooms. Pies left unattended in the break room last as long as a wounded seal in a great white shark feeding frenzy.

The other day, with a combination of luck and strategy, we secured 4 pies. Kristen agreed to pick them up for us. She had all four names which had been used to reserve the pies in hand. When the cashier grabbed the pies from the back, the pie Nazi chef, sensing foul play, looked at her cockeyed and said, "What are you doing with all those?" She replied they were for a customer. As Kristen made her way to the door she was able to catch a glimpse of the peeved chef at the verge of erupting with a fiery "NO PIE FOR YOU!"

Work Ethics

I have been reading others' blogs. I have many clever relatives and friends. I have been sitting here reflecting on my own life and pathetically, I have nothing to report. Kristen has already commented on our date last Thursday to the Beach Boys concert. Aside from that, it has been a constant stream of work; 11o hours over the past week to be exact. That doesn't leave a lot of time for anything too exciting.

I made a few New Year's resolutions this past year that I was hoping to keep. They were sleep more and work less. I have managed to sleep just a tad more, but at the expense of exercise time. Work, on the other hand, continues at a steady pace.

When I was 9, Mom would ask me to take out the kitchen trash and I would yell from in front of the television, "I'll get it in a minute." "In a minute" meant I wasn't really planning on doing anything about it until I was asked again. In high school I would typically do my homework in the class immediately preceding the class in which it was due. It's hard to believe that I have now become the person I am today. I never thought I would become a workaholic.

I enjoy my work, but I prefer to be home. So why do I work? Is it the commandment "by the sweat of thy brow?" Is it a fear of poverty? Is it a sense of responsibility? Am I trying to be popular at work? When you are asked to stay overtime, do you think "oh no" or do you think "all right, a chance to make some more money." When do you decide it's not longer worth it?

To be fair, I wear pajamas at work, I blog, and sometimes I can sneak in a novel. So don't cry for me Argentina, I'm just wondering when to pack it in and go home.

5th Sunday Lesson

Yesterday I taught a lesson about caring for the needy and our stewardship over earthly wealth. I think it went well. At some point I joked "Money doesn't buy happiness... that phrase should end 'just kidding'. Have you ever seen anybody sad on a jet ski?"

Later in the lesson I was discussing our obligation to assist the needy. I mentioned jet skis again, but this time in a lengthy list of things that we might be embarrassed about later when the Lord asks us for an accounting of our stewardship over money on earth.

After church, one neighbor, not wanting to be embarrassed by his earthly possessions parked his jet skis in front of my house. I appreciate a good sense of humor, but next time I wish he would leave the keys.

Potter Spoilers

Warning!!! Achtung!!! Adviso!!!

Tomorrow is the official release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. However, children in New Zealand are already aware of Harry's fate. I'm not, at least not yet. I don't really have any spoilers, but I thought the blog title would get your attention.

Last Saturday I saw the latest Potter movie and this week I re-read book 6 in preparation for tomorrow. I'm not normally a big recreational reader, but there is something about Harry Potter that is different. Maybe it's because magic school is a lot like medical school and residency. Or, maybe my monthly PPI's with the stake president remind me of Harry's visits to Dumbledore's office. There is also an anesthesia tech at work who is grumpy and tries to make the anesthesiologists miserable like himself; I call him Filch.

I have ideas of what may or may not happen in book 7. I think Snape is good. I think Harry lives. But who knows. I just hope I don't feel betrayed by Rowling in the end. A bad book 7 would ruin the series in my mind. I know Rowling likes to teach kids hard lessons, but if I want to see the hardness of life, I'll watch the news. We are already surrounded by negativity on all sides. The last thing I want from my recreational reading is pessimism. We need more heroes. We need more Captain Moroni's.

So will you be reading book 7 this next week? Do you care what happens to our friends at Hogwarts?

Tag!

I've been hit, so here it goes.

Four jobs I've had:
1. Cleaning public bathrooms at the State Beach (I had to wear a forest ranger/ boy scout type uniform and try to avoid anyone that might recognize me.)
2. Family Fun Center ("Attention bumper boaters, your ride is now over, please bring your boats back to the dock." I still got it.)
3. Los Hermanos (I can still make a wicked Brisa.)
4. Sharp Rees Stealy Urgent Care (Oooh, that rash looks bad. Rub some vaseline on it and see your regular doctor tomorrow.)

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. Fletch
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
3. Elf
4. Jaws

Four places I have lived:
1. Huntington Beach, CA
2. Provo, UT
3. Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico
4. Los Angeles, CA

Four favorite TV shows:
1. The Office
2. The Simpsons
3. Man vs. Wild
4. College Football

Four places I've been:
1. Maui
2. Popocatepetl Volcano (15 eruptions since the Spanish arrived in Mexico)
3. Sharon, VT (Birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith)
4. Hanksville, UT (Not a single tire store in town)

Four favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Brownie Sundaes
3. Phil's BBQ Ribs
4. Tommy's Chili Burger

Four websites I visit daily:
1. My favorite blogs (see list to the side)
2. Yahoo (home page)
3. Google (for all of life's questions)
4. ESPN

Four places I'd rather be:
1. Home
2. The beach
3. The river
4. The mountain

Four blog buddies I want to tag:
1. Carter
2. Clark
3. The Stevensons (time to start that blog)
4. Abram

Remodeling

It was time to change the look of The Shark's Tooth. Please enjoy the template.

Sincerely,

Tylershark

Youth Conference

Our ward youth conference was held at Snow College on June 28-30.

These two sets of hamsters are some of my youth. Aren't they adorable. I love them to pieces.

Here I am making sure we cream the other ward in a game of tag.

This is right before my shoulders told me I'm in my mid-thirties now.

Just Kickin' It With Clark

Clark heard from a friend that tubing the narrows was the way to go.

We figured why hike the full 17 miles when you can float a few.

We were the envy of all those we passed. Suckers.

We had two miles to go when the ranger told us to stop having fun. I think he was envious as well. Maybe next time he should bring a brother with good ideas.

Zion Narrows Trip

Here we are just getting our feet wet. We went swimming after lunch and got more wet. We didn't wait an hour, but nobody got cramps. Thank goodness.

A little past halfway you reach Big Springs. Just past here people hiking from the bottom start clogging the river.

This section of the Narrows is called Wall Street. Clark is a business major. He felt right at home.