Happenings in September for Christopher

The month of September for Mr. Roth had quite a bit going on. A new job opening became available, he found some strongman buddies to train with him, he started school, celebrated his 1.5 year anniversary with his wifey, and welcomed a roommate into the humble abode. 

Beginning with the end, we formally welcomed Alejandro Vial to our little Carbondale family.  He is the men's tennis team Graduate Assistant coach, and yes he is from Argentina, and yes he has an accent, and yes he speaks in spanish all the time.  Josh would be in heaven!

Moving right along...Chris and Rachel celebrated the very important 1.5 year wedding anniversary on September 19th, 2012.  Since it was such an important occasion we simply could not attend class.  Instead we enjoyed a nice steak dinner at a restaurant called Houlihans - similar to maybe a nicer version of Ruby Tuesdays. It was very delightful to enjoy a night off from all the hustle and bustle and just chat over dinner.  

Wait, did I say we skipped class?  Haha oops!  Well for those that do not know we are now in full swing of graduate school!  Initially Chris was planning on mastering in M.S. in Education in Kinesiology, but decided that my choice in M.S. in Education in Sport Studies was much more interesting so he copied me.  Oh, and we are conveniently in all the same classes :-)  I think he just missed me.  The second reason he switched is because he wanted to get a more diverse and well-rounded education.  If he would have stayed with kinesiology he would have taken very similar classes to his undergraduate degree and since he is interested in being a head strength and conditioning coach someday he wanted to learn about the administrational side of things.  (So he wants to know how to B.S. people like me!)  Despite his constant grumblings about hating school, I believe he truly enjoys it and just grumbles for the sake of grumbling. 

Class schedule:

Mondays - Social Aspect of Sport

Wednesday - Introduction to Sport Management

Thursday - Facility Design and Event Management

Chris is also mastering in Strongman!  As many of you know he really enjoys picking up heavy things, pushing/pulling heavy things, and basically doing anything with heavy objects.  During the month of September he was in full swing training for his competition in October (blog post soon to come with video!).  In the process of training he has gotten a few others to catch the bug.  Co-workers Chas Ossenheimer and Matt Bertsch joined Chris in his training and thus the three stooges were born.  Having these two guys join his training really added a new intensity and enjoyment.  The beard growing contest between Chris and Chas also added an interesting spin to things. (pictures to come)

To train we go into the wilderness and he lifts mountains - no big deal

Last but not least....Assistant coach Maureen left for a new job at the end of the summer, which opened up the Assistant Strength and Conditioning position at SIU.  With employees still getting school paid for - it was a great opportunity for Chris and he jumped on the application process.  *Spoiler alert* I am going to skip ahead and just say he got the job!  I am so excited for him and proud of him I am basically bursting at the seams!  

August

The month of August was Hot Hot Hot; Hot weather, Hot opportunities, and some Hot visitors.

With temperatures dipping into the mid-90's by midnight life was a bit sluggish and stifling.  Working at Pinch was not quite as enjoyable as the beginning of the summer.  Running around through drunk crowds of people all hot and sweaty did not make for the best evening, I learned to ignore the sweat dripping down my back, my smelly BO armpits, and matted hair - rationalizing that everyone else was experiencing the same phenomenon so I probably wasn't standing out too much. It just simply baffled me, however, that people were there by choice and thought that it was actually a good time.  In Oregon when it gets really cold the common phrase is "wear your liquid jacket" which of course is a reference to the warming effects of alcohol consumption.  Well apparently the opposite is true here, people must "wear their liquid A/C."

Other than the weather, life was good!  Chris was making huge gains in the weightroom, both physically and mentally. Since being here he has put on a good chunk of muscle, gotten much stronger, and has continued his pursuit of his own coaching philosophies.

The best part of August was our OREGON VISITORS!

Karri-ann, J. Estrad, and Britton all came out to spend a few days with us

Giant City Lodge Water Tower

Best friends reunited - wine tasting at Walker's Bluff Winery

Ladies ROAD TRIP!

Destination: Nashville, TN Home of Country Music

Country Music National Hall of Fame

There were so many great things to see and check out!  Definitely thought of Spencer the whole time we were here.

Broadway St.

This street was the best - all the restaurants had live country music bands (literally) and it was only Friday in the middle of the afternoon!  We checked out boutique shops, tourist shops, restaurants, and even made an appearance at the original Coyote Ugly Saloon 

(There was possibly a bar top hula hoop contest involved - only in Nashville!)

September events soon to come!