Game 1

I headed back to the Green Room, made sure I went to the restroom, then had my make-up retouched. Oh yeah! That reminds me - during rehearsal, I was having MAJOR issues with reading the board. Apparently the clue shows up in that tiny square! And I have uncorrected astigmatism. Normally, it really doesn't bother me, but having to read those words at that distance on that blue screen, I just could not read the board. Luckily, I brought some eye drops and put them in before Lisa touched up my make-up. I think it helped.

Then Mitch miked me up for real, which included a thing-a-majig that clipped onto the back of my pants which felt real official. I had drawn the 3rd position, so I was on the end. Now it was time to give our Hometown Howdies, just like we practiced. When I get really really nervous, I cannot smile for the life of me. When I try to smile, I can feel my entire face quivering. That moment was no different, and I hoped it wouldn't be terribly noticeable in HD.

Finally, it was time to start. Johnny Gilbert's voice was actually saying my name! Again, I tried to smile, but the muscles in my face were determined to continue twitching. Alex came out and we were off! 


Just like in practice, I was having trouble with the buzzer. I finally ring in on a strange clue for which I answer "What is baking soda?" except "soda" was already in the clue. I get credit for it (although I'm not sure what exactly they were looking for) and I hit the Daily Double. By this time, I'm freaked out. Food is sort of an odd category, you can hit or miss. But it was a $600 value clue, and I might as well risk the maximum - $1000. Unfortunately, as soon as they revealed the clue, I panicked.  I had never heard of a "love apple" and it goes on salads. I should have focused on "apple" but the only thing I could think of was more apples. So I focused on "love" which led me to "seeds" which led me to "sesame seeds that go on Chinese Chicken salad - MY FAVORITE SALAD". So... there you have it. I'm already -$600. I thought about how embarrassing my answer was - and I decided less embarrassing than semen whale but more embarrassing than say tomato, which was the right answer. By the way, nobody in my group had ever heard of a "love apple" before. Sigh. 


Being in the red made me even more nervous and I ended up ringing in on a clue that I blanked out on. Thankfully, it was a $200 clue, but again, not a good start. I don't remember much after that, but I do know that I was over a thousand dollars in the red at the first commercial break. I was definitely thinking "Uh-oh...." but strangely enough, I calmed down as the game went on. I know the game, I know that you can make up almost any difference in Double Jeopardy! (unless you were playing against Ken Jennings type). My game plan was to just keep ringing in on things I knew and not to let this make me afraid of ringing in.


Maggie came by during the first commercial break. Glenn came by with water. I think Maggie was trying to say it was okay and to relax. I think it worked. Before the game, Robert and I had decided to star the story about me playing NCAA basketball, but that's not the story Alex went with. He asked me about an anatomy lab story that I had put down for my in-person audition but not for the taping b/c I thought it was lame. Oh well. It was probably appropriate b/c Halloween is coming up and I'm a med student and all that.


The round continued and I don't remember what happened. I do know I managed to get myself out of the red and was going to start Double Jeopardy! At this point, I'm still in focus/robot mode - not thinking about the outcome, just thinking about the next question. I start Double Jeopardy! and again, I hit upon the Daily Double fairly early in Name the Author. I knew I had to let go of everything that had already happened and take stock of where I was. I bet big, although I suppose there's no difference from what I wagered and a True Daily Double. I guess I had a little bit of fear of having $0. The clue came up and I froze. But everything came back into focus, and the numbers "451" and the word "orange" stood out in my mind. I read the clue again in its entiretly before I said "Who is Ray Bradbury?" Suddenly, I was in the lead!



After that, I think I maintained the slight lead - I remember quickly rushing through my mind that Sam Spade was created by Dashiell Hammett and Phillip Marlowe by Raymond Chandler and do not, do NOT mix them up! I also remember a clue about Edward, and quickly running through my mind the Royal Houses of England before making sure it was York. I was surprised to hear Alex say they were looking for Plantagenet but that they would accept York. Later, I looked it up and discovered that York and Lancaster were branches of Plantagenet. 

There was a geography category that I did all right in. It wasn't that difficult - except for the $2000 clue, and I really wish I had buzzed in faster for Oslo.



The only thing that I regret is not ringing in on "Gently". I was almost certain, but for some reason, my courage failed me. I should have run in.


In the meantime, Paul hit on the other Daily Double in some sort of Let's Party Like it's 1499 category. He had half of my score, which Alex pointed out. Paul bet it all, and got the answer wrong. I think he answered with Diaz too quickly. Would I have come up with Vasco de Gama? I honestly don't know if I would have gotten the answer correct, as soon as he hit the DD, I zoned out and tried to refocus on the rest of the game.


Finally, it was the last clue - $2000, Paul still had zero. He rung in and guessed. He had to. Unfortunately, he was incorrect, and I had to wrap my head around the fact that I was in the lead and I was only playing against one other person. I was sad to see Paul go, he was a nice guy.


Alex revealed the Final Jeopardy! category: US Science Cities. I definitely was thinking, uh... what? He said it was the first time they've had the category on the show before. Probably because there aren't very many to choose from. I pre-ran a list through my head: Chicago being #1, then Princeton/Menlo Park, Los Alamos... Pasadena? Really, there aren't that many. They put up the dividers, which unfortunately, weren't necessary and gave us scratch paper to figure out our wager. It was pretty simple, really. Cover double Jen's score. I did my math, then checked it - holy crap, I made a math error. Then I checked it about 4 more times after that to make sure I got it right. Wrote it down with my super duper light pen and LOCKED IT IN.


The answer was revealed - I started writing right away. As a chemistry major and as a native Californian, I knew the answer. I tried to let it sink in that I was going to win. There was a lot of time left remaining, I wasn't sure what to do. Look at the camera? Smile? Stare? I just put my head down again to save myself the trouble. The Think Music stopped and it was time to reveal our answers. Jen - who was so good - wrote down the correct response. She ended up not wagering everything - I don't remember exactly, but I think she covered for a wrong answer from me. Next, it was me - I saw my answer revealed on the screen ahead of me, and then my wager, and then it was official, I was a Jeopardy! champion! I let out a sign of relief and shook Jen's hand. We came around to stand by Alex and he talked to us about the final clue. It turned out the original clue stated "This city west of the Rockies..." which he felt was too hard. So he asked the writers to change it to "This California city...." and asked us if that helped. I mean, for me, it made it 90% sure to 100% sure, so I guess it helped. 


The game was a wrap and Jen was escorted off stage to the Green Room. I tried to follow, but it was time for my post-game interview. Oh, right. Um... that did not go very well. They said to make it spontaneous, inspirational, something. And I'm just trying to wrap my mind around everything that was happening. I'm pretty sure I mumbled on about this and that, playing trivia at Sophia's, a shout-out to Mom and Jeff, although I should have included my brother and Craig :). I just wanted this to be over, and the camera was still rolling. Eventually, I had suffered enough, and they let me go to get my make-up retouched. I prayed that none of the local affiliates would show the disaster of a post-game interview. :)


But there was no time for dwelling on that - it was time for the next game... as reigning champ!