The Great Jeopardy! Caper

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this together...As the story unfolds, you'll see why...

So, Monday morning I wake up, ready for my Jeopardy! audition...all is well except for the fact that sometime during the night i started coughing...and never stopped. So, I had about 2 hours of sleep. Not ideal preparation for a trivia day, but that's okay, I'll make it work. Matthew tries to persuade me to stay home, because it seems I may also have a fever. I am unmoved. I shower, and get on down to the St. Regis hotel, cough drops in hand, fueled by coffee, cigarettes, and 4 Tylenol.

About 70 of us were seated, and were put through the Jeopardy! paces by a loud, Loud, LOUD producer from the show who was really into audience participation. We watched a video (hosted by Alex and the Clue Crew, no less!) which explained the procedures. We were given an answer sheet with 50 blanks, and then the video started again. Just like real Jeopardy, with a different category for each question, which popped up on the screen. We had 8 seconds to answer each one. I think I did pretty well, especially because the last clue was a gift from God...Category: Musical Theater...In the show "Little Shop of Horrors, what kind of shop was the 'Little Shop?'" Why, a flower shop, of course. Silly.

Anyway, they graded the tests and we had to sit around and write down 5 interesting things about ourselves to be used if we made it to the next round...And after about 20 minutes, we were told that 4 people passed the written test...out of almost 70. Yikes. The rest of us were free to leave.

Alas, I was not one of the four people. Three out of the four, however, had tried out anywhere from 2 to 5 times before, and this was their first opportunity to advance. Apparently, trying out for Jeopardy! is a commitment, one that you must reaffirm year after year.

So, next year, when Jeopardy! comes to DC, I will once again be furiously seeking an audition, so that I too may advance to the part where I get to play a mock round of Jeopardy!, and use the little clicker thing. Truly, that was the biggest disappointment, not getting to hold the clicker.

What also made me feel better is that the next day, the doctor told me I had a fever of 102, and my internet self-diagnosis was confirmed by a health care professional (thanks, Cookie!) - I have whooping cough (pertussis, if it ever comes up on Jeopardy!). So, perhaps my failure to advance was due (at least in some part) to the fact that I was sick as a dog all last week. I prefer to think of it that way, actually.