Thursday, March 13, 2008
I'm Changing
I'll have to admit that being on Jeopardy! was pretty cool and, frankly, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of it. It's been nearly 5 years ago now. It's sort of a thing of my past. The, albeit limited, physical portion of the show would likely make it impossible for me to duplicate today. In a lot of ways I'm not even the same guy who was on Jeopardy! in 2003. I wasn't a musician when I was on the show, I've met a lot of really great songwriters since my appearance, played with some amazing talent, "toured" along Lake Michigan. I didn't have any of those stories to tell in the little chat session after the first break.
Before I was on the show I used to think about how cool it would be to be able to put Jeopardy! Contestant on my resume. I did just that. It wasn't really so much to say "Hey! Look at me! I'm really smart!", but more to give people who were looking at my resume have something they could remember. Really, though, only one place I applied to ever made any reference to that line on my resume. They hired me, setting into motion one of the worst Chapters of my life.
When reworking my resume this time, I left Jeopardy! Contestant off. The reasons are many, and in the end it was left off due to a lack of space. The more I thought about it, though, the more I'm glad I did.
Since the day I taped my show, I've met lots of folks who could've been on the show. I encourage everyone I think would be good to try out for the show. TSA, neighbor Tim, that woman I'm dating, they'd all be good on the show. They all have a great base of knowledge, can recall it quickly and have interesting stories to tell.
As I've written before, it's not so much how smart you are that gets you on Jeopardy!. You have to pass the written test, of course, which isn't the easiest thing. It's not unthinkable that the people I've mentioned, and many more people I know, could pass the test easily. Getting on the show has more to do with fitting into what they're look for at the point they're putting shows together. Why I got on remains a mystery to me, I'd have been perfectly happy to keep taking the contestant test as I enjoyed the people I met there.
Being smart enough to be on the greatest gameshow in TV history is nice, but there are thousand of people in Colorado who are smart enough. There are probably quite a few here in Castle Rock. It's just not that special. Getting on the show is sort of like hitting the lottery; it didn't really take any skill, it just sort of happens.
I've decided to kind of keep that part of my life to myself for the time being. Yes, I understand that I'm writing about it in a somewhat public forum. I'm not keeping it secret, I'm just not offering the information to anyone. I've kind of decided that I'll have to be asked point blank, something like, "Hey, weren't you that guy on Jeopardy! in 2003?" Being an honest person, I'd fess up in a situation like that. Otherwise, I'll just keep it to myself.
So I'm at work today, doing my job quietly. Jeopardy! is on. People are playing along. The shift supervisor, very proud of herself for winning $50 in a bar trivia contest (shared with the other people on her team) tells the story of taking the contestant test and not passing. The others seem really impressed. People are shouting out answers. They have the advantage of seeing the screen, of reading the clue. I'm head down, watching my own stuff. I'm right more often and generally as quickly.
I'm quiet. I want to say "I passed the contestant test, TWICE. I was on the show. I was in it to the end. I actually could have won." But I don't. I smile to myself, hearing the obviously wrong answers.
At a different time in my life, not too long ago, I would have spoken up right away. Now I don't. I know that I'm good enough. That's all that matters.
BOJ
Before I was on the show I used to think about how cool it would be to be able to put Jeopardy! Contestant on my resume. I did just that. It wasn't really so much to say "Hey! Look at me! I'm really smart!", but more to give people who were looking at my resume have something they could remember. Really, though, only one place I applied to ever made any reference to that line on my resume. They hired me, setting into motion one of the worst Chapters of my life.
When reworking my resume this time, I left Jeopardy! Contestant off. The reasons are many, and in the end it was left off due to a lack of space. The more I thought about it, though, the more I'm glad I did.
Since the day I taped my show, I've met lots of folks who could've been on the show. I encourage everyone I think would be good to try out for the show. TSA, neighbor Tim, that woman I'm dating, they'd all be good on the show. They all have a great base of knowledge, can recall it quickly and have interesting stories to tell.
As I've written before, it's not so much how smart you are that gets you on Jeopardy!. You have to pass the written test, of course, which isn't the easiest thing. It's not unthinkable that the people I've mentioned, and many more people I know, could pass the test easily. Getting on the show has more to do with fitting into what they're look for at the point they're putting shows together. Why I got on remains a mystery to me, I'd have been perfectly happy to keep taking the contestant test as I enjoyed the people I met there.
Being smart enough to be on the greatest gameshow in TV history is nice, but there are thousand of people in Colorado who are smart enough. There are probably quite a few here in Castle Rock. It's just not that special. Getting on the show is sort of like hitting the lottery; it didn't really take any skill, it just sort of happens.
I've decided to kind of keep that part of my life to myself for the time being. Yes, I understand that I'm writing about it in a somewhat public forum. I'm not keeping it secret, I'm just not offering the information to anyone. I've kind of decided that I'll have to be asked point blank, something like, "Hey, weren't you that guy on Jeopardy! in 2003?" Being an honest person, I'd fess up in a situation like that. Otherwise, I'll just keep it to myself.
So I'm at work today, doing my job quietly. Jeopardy! is on. People are playing along. The shift supervisor, very proud of herself for winning $50 in a bar trivia contest (shared with the other people on her team) tells the story of taking the contestant test and not passing. The others seem really impressed. People are shouting out answers. They have the advantage of seeing the screen, of reading the clue. I'm head down, watching my own stuff. I'm right more often and generally as quickly.
I'm quiet. I want to say "I passed the contestant test, TWICE. I was on the show. I was in it to the end. I actually could have won." But I don't. I smile to myself, hearing the obviously wrong answers.
At a different time in my life, not too long ago, I would have spoken up right away. Now I don't. I know that I'm good enough. That's all that matters.
BOJ
# posted by Blind Orange Julius @ 12:25 AM 
