About me
My name is David Sandvick, I am about 5'9" tall, I have naturally light colored hair, I have blue eyes which some people really admire, I'm right handed and all my teeth are strong and healthy and in good shape, except for three in the front due to a trampoline accident.
I was born in Greenville Texas on September 10, 1984. Following my birth, my parents got a divorce, which left me without a father figure for some time. When I was six years old my mother gave birth to my half sister Jessica. We lived in a little town not to far from Greenville called Wolfe City. When I was in seventh grade I played the saxophone for the school band, I quickly grew out of that. From the age of eight years old to about fourteen years old my Dad got visitation rights. I flew sometimes to see him, and other times they took turns driving.
When I was fourteen I was able to make the decision of which parent I wanted to have custody of me, or which parent I wanted to live permanently with. I chose my father because I was afraid to be raised by my mother due to the fact that I didn't want to be raised a moma's boy. Bottom line, I lived with my Dad and went to school in Wisconsin. We moved around a lot throughout high school, because he was a farmer. I finally graduated from Lancaster High School in 2003.
After graduation I went into the Marine Corps. I spent almost two years and three tours in Iraq fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Throughout my term in the Marines, I wasn't exactly a role model Marine. I got into some mischief and even got demoted in rank, but after some thinking I turned my life around and picked my rank back up and then some.
I got an Honorable Discharge from the Marines in 2008. In November of 2009 I became engaged to a lovely woman named Kristen. I started school in January 2010 for a few reasons, the most reasonable one being this ridiculous economy I came back to. I chose Architectural Technology because I'm an artist and I like to build things. I do have a website in which I sell my art work. I only have 15 items for sell right now because I just started to sell my art. The following link is my site that I sell my art work on, www.DTrainDesigns.etsy.com.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Just Tinkering Around
I think what Gever Tulley did with the tinkering school was pretty cool. To actually let young children handle dangerous tools is crazy, but to teach them at a young age how to be responsible and safe with the tools is amazing. The kids learned how to be safe while using the tools to the point of trust and belief of all the other kids as well as the teacher. This will be a valuable lesson later on in life as they get older. This video got me thinking of some of the things I learned through tinkering.
As a kid growing up my Dad would let me help him out with different things, from helping on the farm to building things. I learned how to drive a tractor when I was eight years old, just from riding with him, he even let me help plow a field once. I learned how to drive, and even operate, everything on a Combine just from sitting in it when I got bored and reading the buttons. As a young boy when the grocery store opened up in the early morning, my Dad let me drive the Skid Steer there to get some groceries while he worked. I learned how to drive that by sitting in his lap and tinkering around with things. When I was about ten years old I learned how to drive a pickup truck with a manual transmition from tinkering and this phrase my Dad used, "Well u better figure it out", because the dry cows at the other barn down the road a ways needed to be fed, and it was my new choir because he was to busy in the morning. I learned by tinkering around with it. The best part is, I didn't know how to dim the lights because it was an old truck and the dimmer button was on the floor board by the petals. So when ever a car came, I just turned off the lights, till they passed.
I built many things out of wood, metal, and even brick. Just a few things I built out of wood are: Two gazebos, Three coffee tables, each having a midway shelf and various styles of etched glass tops, Two life size play houses that measure 6'x6'x4', for little children, a porch on the front and a deck on the back of my Dads ex-wifes house, and a T.V. entertainment center, which my Dad is actually using right now. A few things I built and welded out of metal are: Two spiral bird feeder hangers, an archway for my Grandmothers sidewalk that leads up to her house, for the vines to grow on, and some custom exhaust work for friends. For the brick work I built two brick fireplaces for some people in my community.
As I got older I tinkered with more complicated things. I've taken apart small motors on things like, lawn mowers, dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and a snowmobile. I cleaned them, and even got the required parts they needed in order to run again, put them all back together and they run like new. I can't take apart a car motor yet, but i can do a bit of work on them. I've worked on several friends cars to get them running, or just to fix what was wrong with it. I customized my own dual cold air intake on my truck, as well as installed and wired my own sound system, DVD player with a flip-out 7.5" tough screen, which has on XboX hooked up to it, a navigation system that is wired straight to my ignition, so I don't have to plug and unplug it all the time, it comes on and off with my ignition. I have successfully disassembled, cleaned and reassembled multiple laptops, that still work to this day.
So basically to sum it all up, I learned a great deal, and developed many new talents, just by tinkering around with things. I hope everyone who reads this blog finds it interesting, and as well learns something from it.
As a kid growing up my Dad would let me help him out with different things, from helping on the farm to building things. I learned how to drive a tractor when I was eight years old, just from riding with him, he even let me help plow a field once. I learned how to drive, and even operate, everything on a Combine just from sitting in it when I got bored and reading the buttons. As a young boy when the grocery store opened up in the early morning, my Dad let me drive the Skid Steer there to get some groceries while he worked. I learned how to drive that by sitting in his lap and tinkering around with things. When I was about ten years old I learned how to drive a pickup truck with a manual transmition from tinkering and this phrase my Dad used, "Well u better figure it out", because the dry cows at the other barn down the road a ways needed to be fed, and it was my new choir because he was to busy in the morning. I learned by tinkering around with it. The best part is, I didn't know how to dim the lights because it was an old truck and the dimmer button was on the floor board by the petals. So when ever a car came, I just turned off the lights, till they passed.
I built many things out of wood, metal, and even brick. Just a few things I built out of wood are: Two gazebos, Three coffee tables, each having a midway shelf and various styles of etched glass tops, Two life size play houses that measure 6'x6'x4', for little children, a porch on the front and a deck on the back of my Dads ex-wifes house, and a T.V. entertainment center, which my Dad is actually using right now. A few things I built and welded out of metal are: Two spiral bird feeder hangers, an archway for my Grandmothers sidewalk that leads up to her house, for the vines to grow on, and some custom exhaust work for friends. For the brick work I built two brick fireplaces for some people in my community.
As I got older I tinkered with more complicated things. I've taken apart small motors on things like, lawn mowers, dirt bikes, four-wheelers, and a snowmobile. I cleaned them, and even got the required parts they needed in order to run again, put them all back together and they run like new. I can't take apart a car motor yet, but i can do a bit of work on them. I've worked on several friends cars to get them running, or just to fix what was wrong with it. I customized my own dual cold air intake on my truck, as well as installed and wired my own sound system, DVD player with a flip-out 7.5" tough screen, which has on XboX hooked up to it, a navigation system that is wired straight to my ignition, so I don't have to plug and unplug it all the time, it comes on and off with my ignition. I have successfully disassembled, cleaned and reassembled multiple laptops, that still work to this day.
So basically to sum it all up, I learned a great deal, and developed many new talents, just by tinkering around with things. I hope everyone who reads this blog finds it interesting, and as well learns something from it.
Talking to the Machine
Don't you just love talking to machines, I bet you do. If there's one thing I dislike the most, other than incompetent drivers, its the machines that you have to talk to when you call costumer service, or any other business or some sort.
The worst thing ever, is when you call for information or to set something up with someone, you get this, "for English press one, for Espanol press two", so of course most of us press one. Then the horror begins. "For this option press this number, for that option press that number, for this number press that number", okay, now say in all that mumble jumble you actually caught something that sounded like it was what you wanted. You then press that number, "Please listen carefully as our options have changed", nope not that much they haven't, not really because this is what u get, "For this option press this number, for that option press two, for this option press that number, for that number press four, for all other options press five", yea because you really want to listen to all the other options they have right, and finally, "To replay ALL options press 9". At this point, AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!, I want to tear all my hair out. Okay so say you find the option that you are looking for, if you haven't already hung up the phone at this point, and you press the number, "For this option press one, for that option press two, for this option press this number, for that option press that number, to replay ALL options press this number". I bet some of you want to pull out your hair right now don't you? I could do this until you fall asleep reading this blog, but I'll save you your hair.
The thing is, it doesn't matter where or who you call anymore these days, you always end up talking to the machine, or your talking to someone who has no idea what your talking about, how inconvenient that the only reason you are calling them is to get information or help with something. Now that you've totally confused the person on the other side of the phone, their not even the person you want to talk to, "I'm sorry sir/mam I have no idea what your talking about, let me transfer you to someone who further probably don't even now what your talking about, so they can transfer you once again AND put you on hold. By this point it's been about one hour now and you've already smoked a pack of cigarettes, and eaten a whole bottle of Aspirin, or any other pain medication, if you have morphine at this point you might want to take it.
Me, I don't smoke, and I don't have any morphine on hand sadly but true, ha ha just kidding, maybe. So I hang up as soon as I hear the, "For English press one". I then sit back and take a deep breath and maybe do some yoga because I know that the next hour and a half is going to be absolute................................pain. The best part of it all, is that for some reason, whatever the reason may be, when all the pain and suffering is done, you can't even understand the person on the other end of the phone.
And people wonder why some of us don't have hair.
The worst thing ever, is when you call for information or to set something up with someone, you get this, "for English press one, for Espanol press two", so of course most of us press one. Then the horror begins. "For this option press this number, for that option press that number, for this number press that number", okay, now say in all that mumble jumble you actually caught something that sounded like it was what you wanted. You then press that number, "Please listen carefully as our options have changed", nope not that much they haven't, not really because this is what u get, "For this option press this number, for that option press two, for this option press that number, for that number press four, for all other options press five", yea because you really want to listen to all the other options they have right, and finally, "To replay ALL options press 9". At this point, AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!, I want to tear all my hair out. Okay so say you find the option that you are looking for, if you haven't already hung up the phone at this point, and you press the number, "For this option press one, for that option press two, for this option press this number, for that option press that number, to replay ALL options press this number". I bet some of you want to pull out your hair right now don't you? I could do this until you fall asleep reading this blog, but I'll save you your hair.
The thing is, it doesn't matter where or who you call anymore these days, you always end up talking to the machine, or your talking to someone who has no idea what your talking about, how inconvenient that the only reason you are calling them is to get information or help with something. Now that you've totally confused the person on the other side of the phone, their not even the person you want to talk to, "I'm sorry sir/mam I have no idea what your talking about, let me transfer you to someone who further probably don't even now what your talking about, so they can transfer you once again AND put you on hold. By this point it's been about one hour now and you've already smoked a pack of cigarettes, and eaten a whole bottle of Aspirin, or any other pain medication, if you have morphine at this point you might want to take it.
Me, I don't smoke, and I don't have any morphine on hand sadly but true, ha ha just kidding, maybe. So I hang up as soon as I hear the, "For English press one". I then sit back and take a deep breath and maybe do some yoga because I know that the next hour and a half is going to be absolute................................pain. The best part of it all, is that for some reason, whatever the reason may be, when all the pain and suffering is done, you can't even understand the person on the other end of the phone.
And people wonder why some of us don't have hair.
Parade of Homes
Do some houses make you want to vomit when you first see them?
This weekend myself and my Fiance Kristen went her parents house where we set out on an adventure to parade through homes. When we arrived at her parents house the Olympics where on and we were greeted by cocktails. After a few cocktails and some pizza, it was off to bed.
The next morning we woke up and had homemade waffles and bacon, flushed down with fresh squeezed orange juice. We all took our showers and were off for the day, to go see the Parade of Homes. For those of you who don't know whathe Parade of Homes is, its basically a bunch of new homes built by big time designers and shown off t all over the area. Some big houses and some small houses.
The first few houses we looked at were pretty nice houses, not too big, and not too little. Some houses we looked at were just so big, they were a waist of space. One house we looked at was a smaller house but it had such high ceilings that it looked bigger on the inside than it really was. It had nice dark counter tops with dark wood cupboards, and a really cool stainless steel fridge and stove. The kitchen table was actually a booth set up just like at a fancy restaurant, and it also had the whole big flat screen t.v. thing going on. Below the t.v. was a see through fireplace, or known as what I think is called a two-way fireplace, which is a gas fireplace that can be seen from the kitchen area and the living room at the same time, now that is cool. One house had a loft between the two kids bedrooms that could only be accessible by ladder. It overlooked the hallway and was totally sweet. We looked, and looked, and looked, all weekend, and there was lots of houses that were just total waists of space, and made be want to vomit all over. One was particularly huge, so big I couldn't even finish looking at it, it had a spiral stairway, an office with a really nice piano, and a huge bar downstairs in the lower level. All together it was three levels, but the best part of the house I think was the over-sized hot tube, which was an easy ten foot wide by twenty foot long heated pool with super huge jets.
So all-in-all, my weekend consisted of long days of looking at some really nice homes, some way to big homes, then great cooked dinners and late night cocktail hours.
This weekend myself and my Fiance Kristen went her parents house where we set out on an adventure to parade through homes. When we arrived at her parents house the Olympics where on and we were greeted by cocktails. After a few cocktails and some pizza, it was off to bed.
The next morning we woke up and had homemade waffles and bacon, flushed down with fresh squeezed orange juice. We all took our showers and were off for the day, to go see the Parade of Homes. For those of you who don't know whathe Parade of Homes is, its basically a bunch of new homes built by big time designers and shown off t all over the area. Some big houses and some small houses.
The first few houses we looked at were pretty nice houses, not too big, and not too little. Some houses we looked at were just so big, they were a waist of space. One house we looked at was a smaller house but it had such high ceilings that it looked bigger on the inside than it really was. It had nice dark counter tops with dark wood cupboards, and a really cool stainless steel fridge and stove. The kitchen table was actually a booth set up just like at a fancy restaurant, and it also had the whole big flat screen t.v. thing going on. Below the t.v. was a see through fireplace, or known as what I think is called a two-way fireplace, which is a gas fireplace that can be seen from the kitchen area and the living room at the same time, now that is cool. One house had a loft between the two kids bedrooms that could only be accessible by ladder. It overlooked the hallway and was totally sweet. We looked, and looked, and looked, all weekend, and there was lots of houses that were just total waists of space, and made be want to vomit all over. One was particularly huge, so big I couldn't even finish looking at it, it had a spiral stairway, an office with a really nice piano, and a huge bar downstairs in the lower level. All together it was three levels, but the best part of the house I think was the over-sized hot tube, which was an easy ten foot wide by twenty foot long heated pool with super huge jets.
So all-in-all, my weekend consisted of long days of looking at some really nice homes, some way to big homes, then great cooked dinners and late night cocktail hours.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Our Valentine Meal
It started as your basic preparation for supper, and ended as a fiesta in my mouth.
As I chopped up the ingredients for the rice, my mouth began to water. First I chopped an onion, and minced up three cloves of garlic, mmmmmm, oh yea garlic is much loved in our apartment. When that was chopped, (the garlic and onion), half of it went into the the broth water (which is just a little bit of chicken broth added) for the rice, and the rest was set aside. Once the broth water was at a rolling boil, the rice was added and steamed with sage leaf. The smell was absolutely amazing, but the flavor was incredibly delicious.
While the rice was slowly steaming, in a separate frying pan, scallops sauteed. As you know, before the scallops could be sauteed, they had to be thawed out. While the scallops thawed in the sink, a marvelous white wine was tingling my tongue. So the scallops are thawed now and ready to be cooked. The whole time they were being thawed the only thing in my mind was, "Man these are going to be so good, I can't wait till these get done". The scallops are now in the frying pan being sauteed in about two tablespoons of butter, the aroma in the air was more than spectacular, it was so good they should make a candle smell after it. After being sauteed to a nice golden brown, the scallops were steamed in white wine. Here is a little tip for picking out a wine, that was pasted down to us from my soon to be Mother-in-Law, when picking out your wine look for the points label on the shelf. Pick the bottle of wine that has a high point scale and is still under twelve dollars or so, you get a good tasting wine for an affordable price. For another little tip, when eating a red meat or a hearty meat, like steak, you want to drink a red wine with it. For your leaner and whiter meats, such as chicken and veal and even sometimes pork, you want to drink a white wine. White wine is also good with seafood.
While the the rice and the scallops slowly steaming, ingredients for the corn was being chopped up. The ingredients for the corn included the following, half a medium green bell pepper, a whole medium red bell pepper, three tablespoons of sun dried, and the rest of the onion and garlic all chopped into tiny little cubes. Once the ingredients were chopped, they were then sauteed in butter in the same pot the corn will be cooked in. The aroma of the sauteed peppers was another smell that should be made into a candle, mmmmmm, so good. When the peppers came to a steady simmer, the corn was then added, and slowly cooked.
As the multiple smells filled the air with magnificence, a beautiful plate of appetizers which consisted of carrots, sharp cheddar cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, and a nice Southwestern Ranch Veggie Dip, were being munched on. If you think that sounds good, what we had for dessert was even better. A fabulous pan of cheesecake swirled fudge brownies was baked and turned out so ooooeey goooey fabulous. An absolute magnificent three course meal, with a bottle of white wine.
!!LETS EAT!!
As I chopped up the ingredients for the rice, my mouth began to water. First I chopped an onion, and minced up three cloves of garlic, mmmmmm, oh yea garlic is much loved in our apartment. When that was chopped, (the garlic and onion), half of it went into the the broth water (which is just a little bit of chicken broth added) for the rice, and the rest was set aside. Once the broth water was at a rolling boil, the rice was added and steamed with sage leaf. The smell was absolutely amazing, but the flavor was incredibly delicious.
While the rice was slowly steaming, in a separate frying pan, scallops sauteed. As you know, before the scallops could be sauteed, they had to be thawed out. While the scallops thawed in the sink, a marvelous white wine was tingling my tongue. So the scallops are thawed now and ready to be cooked. The whole time they were being thawed the only thing in my mind was, "Man these are going to be so good, I can't wait till these get done". The scallops are now in the frying pan being sauteed in about two tablespoons of butter, the aroma in the air was more than spectacular, it was so good they should make a candle smell after it. After being sauteed to a nice golden brown, the scallops were steamed in white wine. Here is a little tip for picking out a wine, that was pasted down to us from my soon to be Mother-in-Law, when picking out your wine look for the points label on the shelf. Pick the bottle of wine that has a high point scale and is still under twelve dollars or so, you get a good tasting wine for an affordable price. For another little tip, when eating a red meat or a hearty meat, like steak, you want to drink a red wine with it. For your leaner and whiter meats, such as chicken and veal and even sometimes pork, you want to drink a white wine. White wine is also good with seafood.
While the the rice and the scallops slowly steaming, ingredients for the corn was being chopped up. The ingredients for the corn included the following, half a medium green bell pepper, a whole medium red bell pepper, three tablespoons of sun dried, and the rest of the onion and garlic all chopped into tiny little cubes. Once the ingredients were chopped, they were then sauteed in butter in the same pot the corn will be cooked in. The aroma of the sauteed peppers was another smell that should be made into a candle, mmmmmm, so good. When the peppers came to a steady simmer, the corn was then added, and slowly cooked.
As the multiple smells filled the air with magnificence, a beautiful plate of appetizers which consisted of carrots, sharp cheddar cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, and a nice Southwestern Ranch Veggie Dip, were being munched on. If you think that sounds good, what we had for dessert was even better. A fabulous pan of cheesecake swirled fudge brownies was baked and turned out so ooooeey goooey fabulous. An absolute magnificent three course meal, with a bottle of white wine.
!!LETS EAT!!
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