If you've been following my life closely via this blog, you know that I've tried out for "Jeopardy!" four times in four years and passed the contestant test each time, but haven't been called to be on the show yet.

I've been willing to take a day off work to take the test, but now that I'm unemployed, I figured I might as well go down to Culver City and see a "Jeopardy!" taping in person. Now, I was already familiar with the studio (because I've taken the contestant test there), and I was already familiar with what happens during tapings (from various Internet sources), so all I can say is that things went pretty much exactly as I was expecting. But any psychological advantage can help if I ever do get called to be a contestant, and I think I have a (slight) edge over another contestant who hasn't set foot in the studio before.

That said, it's a little disheartening to see just how fast the "you can ring in now" light around the board flickers on and off when there's a contestant who's very quick on the buzzer, and I won't know how good I am on the buzzer until I get called to be a contestant and am actually standing there on the stage.

I'm not going to reveal the results of the three shows I saw -- heck, I'm not even going to reveal what dates they air, just in case I find myself in a situation where I can place a wager on the outcome.