My Self Esteem Is In Jeopardy
I watched "Jeopardy" this evening and by the end of it felt a bit down on myself.
Was it because I didn't know in "Final Jeopardy" that the probe NASA sent last year to Mars was named "Phoenix?" Was it because I labored over whether it would be "HAL" or the more technically correct "HAL 9000" because the question made reference to a failed attempt to launch in 2001?
No.
And it's not because of the galactic knowledge curve that spikes upward between "Wheel Of Fourtune" and "Jeopardy." I'm resigned to getting at least half of the answers right and leaving the other half for those annoying triviaphants who always know something about everything.
The problem is ... I don't have a "Jeopardy" story to tell.
You know, that brief period when we the television viewers get to meet the contestants.
The contestants, surely with the help of producers, always concoct some story that paints their lives as having at least one thing interesting enough to re-tell on a nationally televised game show.
Tonight:
Contest 3: Woman went out on a blind date with a dentist. The date went horribly bad. Turns out he ended up doing a root canal on her some time later. The root canal was better than the date, she said. Alex laughs.
Contestant 2: Man went to live in Guatemala with his wife and is now bringing back his adopted Guatemalan kids to America. Inspiring.
Contestant 1: I can't remember, except that her story was interesting. I rooted against her. I didn't like the way she called out categories. And she celebrated too much when she won.
I've searched my cache of memories, and I simply can't think of any story I could use on a "Jeopardy" show.
Starting tomorrow, I will train my eyes and ears and enlist the help of acquaitances and strangers to help me identify just what pieces of my everyday life might qualify as the stuff worthy of a "Jeopardy Story Moment."
Or I could go the meta route and have Alex tell the viewing audience that my "Jeopardy" story is that I don't have a "Jeopardy" story.
Then again, I have no plans of going on "Jeopardy," so I guess I'll just have to do something interesting.
10 comments:
Dude I have the same problem. Nothing quirky or funny has ever happened to me while I was taking a year off to backpack around the world. Mainly because I never took that year off and haven't backpacked around anywhere. I'm sure I could make something up, but everyone back home would know that it was bull. Worse than that you need like four or five "Jeopardy Stories" incase you win a few straight days. That's even harder to do!
Sorry to have to bring this back up, but that whole shitting yourself story from '06 would work.
that's right, jay. i would have to lose on purpose to avoid the pressure.
mamalujo ... i actually love it when that's brought up. i'm like the pathetic kid who enjoys getting comedic attention even if he's being laughed AT.
I'm busy laughing at the pant-shitting thing. Please hold.
What I was going to say is that I don't watch that bit. I don't know when the last time I say it was. I do wonder how Ken Jennings filled all that time.
how DID he fill that time? that would be an interesting analysis. i'm sure one of those cnn guys with the prometheum boards has a little extra time now that mccain secured the nomination.
i agree with mamalujo
Aw Mamalujo beat me to the punch! You know you're going to go down in blogger history for that one. Much love man, much love.
Eric- My guess it that you probably DO have something that could be interesting but you just don't think it is. In the words of the Monty Pyton clan: "Always look on the bright side of life" and find the humor in anything you like.
You know, it's funny you wrote about this because I was talking with a friend recently about those little Jeopardy stories. The odd thing about them is that they are NOT big, or earth-shattering, or interesting, or amusing. Usually anyway. Trust me, we all have these kinds of stories to tell. We just don't, out of fear of boring people. They're usually something along the lines of "When I went to the store, back when I was in the 20's, I tripped over my feet in the frozen foods department." Or something.
I'm all for revealing little moments in a literary sorta of way. But these ain't that.
The only reason you might not remember one of those stories is the same reason I wouldn't: They're so insignificant.
i hear you. they're probably about as interesting as describing a dream.
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