About Me

I just got back from a five mile run and felt motivated to write in my blog (finally)! Since this blog was created to keep in touch with friends everyone who reads this should know me, but for those of you who don't, I'm Charles and I just moved away from my peeps in Fargo to take a job with the state of North Dakota in Bismarck.

What I do:
My title in the position I was hired for is Plant Protection Specialist, sounds important. So what do I do? Well I'm slowly learning that, but the main dealings of my job are with the state Nursery Program and Export Certification. Within the nursery program, there are growers and dealers. Dealers just sell nursery products (woody plants; trees & shrubs) whereas growers are actually growing it. The growers all need to be inspected once per growing season to ensure the consumer is getting a good product. Dealers are also inspected to ensure that they are marketing product suitable for our state and is also being taken care of.

Export Certification is a complicated matter that may take me a very long time to master. Anything that leaves the state to go to another country must be issued a phyto (short for phytosanitary certificate) ensuring the importer that the product is of highest standard. So we have to get together all the paperwork and issue these; which sometimes involves doing inspection of the product to be exported.

Today we can officially say that we are moved in to our new location by the BSC campus. The space in the capitol was just too small for us. It been a very interesting and stressful move but hopefully we can all get organized even though some of the desk and file cabinets won't be in for 3-4 weeks yet.

As for outside of work, I found a 2-bedroom apt that you all have to come visit me to see and will probably be wanting a roommate at some point since it is expensive to live in Bismarck....not as much apartment competition as in Fargo. I'm happy with it and its only about a 5 minute drive to work. I seem to be figuring out my way around this town.

For those of you I haven't told yet, I am officially registered to run the half marathon in this year's Fargo Marathon on May 22...not sure if I can do it but my 5 miles tonight have made that thought a little easier.

Well, I better stop writing and save something for next time...maybe I'll blog about my American Idol predictions...so far, I've been exactly right!!

Laterz