In Which Christopher Robin Auditions for Jeopardy

This past January (or February? The months run together) I took the online Jeopardy! test. I was immediately aware that I had failed miserably.

Therefore, you can imagine my surprise at the end of this February when I received an email from Jeopardy! saying that I had made the cut for the next level of auditions, to be held in Portland on March 28-29.

A good friend from work was also accepted, which made the whole deal even more exciting.

True to form, I began studying for the big day...on March 23 or so. Memorizing the Presidents took two days or so; learning world capitals another evening; Shakespeare and the Bible got a quick glance and a grunt.

Today I walked to the hotel where the audition was being held and was immediately struck by the optimism, professionalism and relaxed attitude the Jeopardy! staff brought to their task. They either were truly having a good time or damn good actors.

The 2 1/2 hours consisted of an explanation of Jeopardy's ins and outs, another written 50-question test, a practice game vs. two other people, and a brief in-person interview.

Throughout the process, the Jeopardy! team was so smooth, friendly and casual that I even forgot to be nervous.

I may hear from them in six months, 12 months, 18 months...or never. It depends on how good a candidate I was judged to be, what they are looking for at the time, and other factors I'm probably not even aware of.

But this experience alone was enough to create a really nice memory.

Oh, and I won the door prize! I remembered the name of the person who played David to Ken Jennings' Goliath, which garnered me a Jeopardy! home edition.

Rock it!