Cutting my Hair for Cancer

I cut my hair! It's short again! If you've known me for longer than 3 years, you've seen it short before, as this is my third time to cut and donate it, but still, it's all short again! This time is also extra special because I was selected as *ta-da!* Alaska's Pantene Beautiful Length's Hometown Ambassador! What does that mean you ask? Well, Pantene (as in the hair product brand) and their partners (HairUWear - a wig making company, EIF - Entertainment Industry Foundation, and the Women's Cancer Research Fund) have started a new program for folks to cut and donate their hair to create free wigs for adult women with cancer-related hair loss. Note- Locks of Love (who I gave my hair to the last two times) donates hair to make free wigs for kids suffering from any kind of medically-related hair loss. There's the difference then...

Ah yes, and as part of their publicity campaign, Pantene decided to select one lucky individual from each state (who Pantene has deemed a "Hometown Ambassador") to promote Beautiful Lengths (the name of their cut-and-donate-your-hair program)... as the um, only applicant from Alaska, um... they choose me!! With my Mom, the cancer educator, in top form, we've secured some publicity for Beautiful Lengths, including a spot on the Channel 11 News, a to-be-written article in the Anchorage Daily News, a short blurb in the newspaper that already happened, an article in the Stanford Magazine more options yet to be thought of or followed through on, and the creation of a flyer.

And back in the life - I've been stage-managing a play for the last 3 weeks and they performed on Friday and it was great! It was a Scandinavian folk tale called East of the Sun, West of the Moon, where a girl has to go rescue her prince... a welcome reversal of the damsel in distress bit if you ask me. I've also been fulfilling my Mom and her friend's pact of learning how to dance (which their husbands also seem to have been dragged into). Dustin and I have taught Mom and Dad and company some basic salsa, east coast swing, and merengue, which is always a fun time. Especially because when my parents and all of their crazy, and awesome, friends get together, they bring food.. tasty food... it makes for a happy Katie.

After a day off from the theatre (where I finally got outside into my mountains!), I start work again early tomorrow for another 3 weeks of stage-managing and teaching swing dance, and of course, the wonderful Tuesday and Thursday nights of Swing Club, which is still drawing about 30 kids to dance and jive, and brings me great joy.