"Hair is a big damn deal" said Jimmy via email.

I sent a text to a very good friend of Amy's (ours) to ask if when we cut her hair it should be professional or non-professional. I'm a professional engineer. We're both professional triathletes. I am NOT a professional hairdresser. I'm not even an amateur hairdresser!

I was a professional engineer before I was a professional triathlete. I'm in the process of getting back to engineering, though we've been thrown a curveball. For a while during my early engineering career I controlled the narrative about my triathlon life. I was just a co-worker who raced triathlons. That was about it. I think maybe it was after one of the downtown Austin Capital of Texas races when I showed up at work the following week and one of my co-workers said "Oh, so you don't just race, you win races." Essentially until that day I was just a nerdy engineer who had this weird triathlon hobby. That's basically described my life from about 13 years old onward...nerdy guy who did this weird sport of swim, bike, and run.

Great Brandon, how does that relate to your title. It's pretty simple, and my analogy above is marginal at best. A few other quotes from the email will do better than I could ever write...

"For women it's an even bigger deal. Women identify more with their hair than men. Their hair gives them personality. It's a quick way to tell the world who they are."

This email was written by Jimmy. Jimmy is a good friend, and he has been one of the 'Team Survivor' coaches in Austin. A week ago, I cut Amy's hair. I cut it again this past Saturday. I've never known her to like any haircut she's received. And regardless of how much I might like her to wear her hair 'down', it usually goes right back into a ponytail. Last Tuesday it was a 'bob'. Saturday it was more GIJane. If I may be a bit proud...the 'bob' looked really good and cute. Having 2 grandparents who made a living cutting hair and running a small town beauty salon might have helped, but I did good.