It's a new month

I never did follow up on my goals post. My plan is to become a Certifed Arborist. I have a degree in forestry and have dabbled in tree care for the last 12 years. Mr. Gaia is still in forestry and works for the government. He insists there is a market for consulting arborists in our area (2 counties making up over a million people).

I've been trying to break this down into a timeline. I looked up the testing dates, but they only go about 6 months out and I think I need more than 6 months to study.

My first step is to lay hands on the study material. It's only about $100, but I'd like to do this on the cheap, or at least as cheap as possible. I've asked Mr. Gaia to look into finding the materials cheaper - either from people who have already passed the test or maybe see if the government agency will pay for them (part of their mission is to train more qualified urban tree workers, having the study materials to become a Certified Arborist dovetails very well with that mission).

So, my first official goal is to lay hands on that by May 15. If I have to order them and pay for them myself, May 15 gives me time to earn the money by mystery shopping and doing surveys.