Who tried out for Jeopardy? This girl.

I wasn't sure I wanted to share this on my blog, but last Tuesday, I had an in-person audition for Jeopardy! in Chicago. I was hesitant to tell people about the audition because a) I'm not sure how I did and b) I don't want to get my (or anyone else's) hopes up about an appearance on the show. However, when I got my initial invitation for the audition, the very first thing I did was hop on Google to learn as much as I could about the process. If nothing else, I should share my experience with other nervous Jeopardy! hopefuls so they know what to expect.

Anyone that knows me at all knows about my deep-seated love of trivia and Jeopardy! I've watched it since I was a child and my grandparents would often tell me that, as a baby, I'd dance to the theme song whenever it came on. It was a dream come true to attend a live taping of the show a few years ago in Los Angeles and I've taken the online test as many times as possible since entering college.

The online test consists of 50 general knowledge questions, each with a time limit before automatically proceeding to the next question to ensure that no one is looking up the answers. I've taken this online test no less than 10 times over the years and it's pretty tough. You do not receive a score and Jeopardy! does not tell you whether or not you "passed" the test. However, of the people who do score above a predetermined threshold, some are selected in a lottery to attend an in-person audition for the show.

My invitation came completely out of the blue about a month ago. I didn't hesitate to respond with a big, fat YES, despite the fact that it was in Chicago on a Tuesday afternoon. I didn't study at all for the test because I figured the chances of being asked something that I reviewed were slim to none. I still think this was a good decision.

I booked a hotel room in Hammond, Indiana for Monday night so that I would be close enough to make an easy commute on Tuesday morning. After arriving, I checked into my hotel and immediately drove 25 minutes to the park and ride. I took that into the city where I met two of my best friends for dinner at Lillie's Q in Bucktown. The barbecue was delicious, we tried cherry Kool-Aid pickles (which were as weird as you'd think), and the visit was exactly the nerve-calming evening I needed.

The morning of the audition, I woke up to no less than 10 inches of snow on my car. After a brief pity party, I cleared it off (mostly with my hands), crossed my frozen fingers, and slid my way to the park and ride (which took an hour and a half, not the 25 minutes it took the night before). From there, the commute was smooth. I arrived downtown with plenty of time to spare and stopped at Chick-fil-A before ending up at the Westin, where the audition was held.

Due to the weather, I brought my "nice" clothes (you are instructed to dress for the audition as you would for the show) in a separate bag, so I changed and ventured upstairs to find several people already waiting outside the conference room. We chatted nervously to pass the time and I learned that this was the third audition for two of the women in our small group.

When the three contestant coordinators showed up, they took attendance (there were 24 of us in total), snapped pictures of each of us, and ushered us inside. We were each given a Jeopardy! pen and a 50-question answer sheet before they introduced themselves and gave us a quick overview of how to play the game (duh) and use the buzzer. We did some practice questions as a group, then we watched a welcome/thank you video from Alex Trebek and some of the clue crew.

The senior contestant coordinator, Glenn Kagan, asked who had been to this stage in the process before. Half of the room raised their hands. Cue the palm sweats. I will say - the three guys who ran the audition were absolutely terrific. They were funny, quick, and had a soothing quality about them that really helped keep everyone calm during the process. I also made sure to tell Glenn that I wanted his job. His response? "So do I."

The first assessment was another 50 question, handwritten test, this time with only eight seconds for each answer. The questions were both projected on a large screen in the front of the room and read out loud. In full disclosure, I don't think I did very well on the test. I can think of at least 15 that I know I missed, several of which I skipped and the answer came to me after turning it in. Ugh.

Here's the rough part about the audition - Just like the online test, you are not told how you scored on the written portion. The three coordinators left to grade them and we sat and anxiously discussed possible answers with each other for ten minutes.

When they returned, it was time for the mock games. In groups of three (duh), we were called up to play a shortened, mock Jeopardy! game in front of the group, the coordinators, and a video camera. I was called up about halfway through the process and played with another girl around my age and a middle-aged man. We practiced a bit with the signaling device before starting. Fun fact: During Jeopardy!, contestants have to wait until Alex is done reading the clue and lights come on before ringing in. If you buzz in too early, you are locked out from answering the question for a half-second (which is an eternity in Jeopardy! parlance).

I got a hang of the buzzer pretty quickly and was able to ring in a few times during our short game (which didn't include Daily Doubles or Final Jeopardy). There were a few clues that none of us knew, so the rest of the contestants (sitting behind us) were allowed to shout out the answers. Going into the audition, I was most nervous for this part of the process, but it actually turned out to be my favorite part of the day. After the game, we did a brief interview with the coordinators, where we told them a bit about ourselves and what we would do with the money if we won big. In advance of the audition, we had to fill out paperwork and part of that was to write five one-line anecdotes about ourselves that might be interesting to discuss on the show. Glenn asked me why I've seen Dave Matthews Band 23 times.

Once the mini-games were finished, we were free to leave. The entire process took about two hours. They handed out Jeopardy! earbuds for us to keep as a souvenir and I thanked them for their time and calming presence. We were given absolutely no indication how we fared and simply told that if they wanted us on the show, we would be put into their applicant pool for the next 18 months. If/when they want us on the show, they will call us to invite us to Los Angeles for a taping with a few weeks notice. That's it. Oh, and I'm not allowed to audition again for the next 18 months.

Instead of staying to enjoy a little bit of Chicago, I hit the road immediately, worried about rush hour traffic and more snow. I arrived home at 10:30, super excited that I had the chance to do something I've always wanted to do. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get a call from LA in the next 18 months, but if I don't, I'll absolutely be taking that online test until I do.