So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

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Magna
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by Magna »

Dr. J wrote:
alietr wrote:
Robert K S wrote:Buzzer timing and stamina are much more important aspects of the game if one hopes to win multiple times.
I'll add getting a good night's sleep to that list.
Yes!! And eating right. This is the time to try out some "nighttime" products (Advil PM, or is that Aleve??) if you have trouble sleeping. That Jeopardy bus comes early!
They have coffee in the green room, I hope. (Assuming I get the call.)
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by BobF »

Stanislaus Jacob wrote:Do you mind if I ask what city your friend auditioned in? People from my city have started to appear, and I am wondering if they are done with that city or if they spread a particular city throughout the year. You could give me hope! (Unfortunately, I am nowhere near Iowa, but your friend might not live near you currently.)
Conjecture on my part, but I don't think they take all the people from one audition city at a time. I don't recall seeing a bunch of games consecutively with all challengers from the same geographical region.
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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Studying -- I'll give you my approach from when I got the call (both for J! and years ago when I got to be on PT BAM).

The most intense studying I did in my life was preparing for the CPA and CMA exams (which were 6 weeks apart, but have a fair amount of overlap). That was when I did the spend-three-hours-a-night-cramming-for-three-weeks thing. (Don't laugh, I've heard of some accountants that do that for six months prior to the exam.) It worked for that, but that's a pretty limited area o knowledge, in the scheme of things. And no, I didn't do that for J!

I did study some areas that were commonly used on the show, if only cursory. A minor brush up on Shakespeare (especially getting Titus Andronicus right in my brain, instead of the joke name Titus Androgynous), world capitals and country names (my brain seems to be stuck on the world map as of 1975), key members of government and such. And I worked on areas where I knew I was weak on, primarily pop culture. I can't say any studying did or didn't help on the show, but at least I was better prepared than not.

One of the biggest things that nobody talks about is physical endurance. Have your friend start watching her games standing up, I kid you not. You'd be surprised how much a difference that makes, especially on multiple days.

And another obtuse suggestion: Since your friend has an idea of when the show will air (at least a two-week window), look at what holidays or events occur then. I know the first day we taped would air during the Dr. King holiday, so I anticipated something related to that -- which did happen, sorta kinda. And also see what movies are coming out about the time of the air date, especially if Sony has a hand in it. There might be a category which is basically promotional for the movie, but at the time of the taping the first set of ads might just be coming out, and it wouldn't be in a contestant's stream of consciousness.

And, the biggest thing --- HAVE FUN!
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by bpmod »

Spaceman Spiff wrote:Studying -- I'll give you my approach from when I got the call (both for J! and years ago when I got to be on PT BAM).
Sorry, Spiff. I've never encountered that initalism that I recall. Is that Post-Traumatic Be A Millionaire? Or Part Time Be A Millionaire?

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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by MarkBarrett »

bpmod wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Studying -- I'll give you my approach from when I got the call (both for J! and years ago when I got to be on PT BAM).
Sorry, Spiff. I've never encountered that initalism that I recall. Is that Post-Traumatic Be A Millionaire? Or Part Time Be A Millionaire?

Brian
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by Rafferty Barnes »

I certainly intended to study. but my infant still insisted I pay attention to him, and frustrated that I wouldn't be able to devote Harris-levels of intensity to it, I gave up the whole enterprise. I did watch standing up, and my coach Colette gave me some good buzzing advice that I used to adjust the week before (say a short syllable under your breath after Alex finishes reading, then ring in), as well as advice on what to eat in the Green Room. And of course, reading the daily threads on the JBoard exposed me to every strategy and common pitfall.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by legendneverdies »

Rafferty Barnes wrote:I certainly intended to study. but my infant still insisted I pay attention to him, and frustrated that I wouldn't be able to devote Harris-levels of intensity to it, I gave up the whole enterprise. I did watch standing up, and my coach Colette gave me some good buzzing advice that I used to adjust the week before (say a short syllable under your breath after Alex finishes reading, then ring in), as well as advice on what to eat in the Green Room. And of course, reading the daily threads on the JBoard exposed me to every strategy and common pitfall.
Rafferbee AKA Megan will be on WOF Friday, as per a post she put on WWTBAM Bored.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by dhkendall »

legendneverdies wrote:
Rafferty Barnes wrote:I certainly intended to study. but my infant still insisted I pay attention to him, and frustrated that I wouldn't be able to devote Harris-levels of intensity to it, I gave up the whole enterprise. I did watch standing up, and my coach Colette gave me some good buzzing advice that I used to adjust the week before (say a short syllable under your breath after Alex finishes reading, then ring in), as well as advice on what to eat in the Green Room. And of course, reading the daily threads on the JBoard exposed me to every strategy and common pitfall.
Rafferbee AKA Megan will be on WOF Friday, as per a post she put on WWTBAM Bored.
And several posts here.

Still haven't got the hang of seeing that forest for the trees, eh Zach?
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by legendneverdies »

No one ever accused me of being smart :)
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by Stanislaus Jacob »

BobF wrote:
Stanislaus Jacob wrote:Do you mind if I ask what city your friend auditioned in? People from my city have started to appear, and I am wondering if they are done with that city or if they spread a particular city throughout the year. You could give me hope! (Unfortunately, I am nowhere near Iowa, but your friend might not live near you currently.)
Conjecture on my part, but I don't think they take all the people from one audition city at a time. I don't recall seeing a bunch of games consecutively with all challengers from the same geographical region.
Two people who were in the same room with me are on this week! (One disguised because he is a college student from another metro area.) I agree that you rarely see anything that blatant, but I wonder if a particular city's pool gets phased out within a more limited period of time than the famous 18 months.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by tep390 »

Robert K S wrote:Buzzer timing and stamina are much more important aspects of the game if one hopes to win multiple times.
100% agree, if you add wagering into that mix. Practicing that more than I did would have helped far more than all those note cards on ancient gods that I made
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by seaborgium »

BobF wrote:
Stanislaus Jacob wrote:Do you mind if I ask what city your friend auditioned in? People from my city have started to appear, and I am wondering if they are done with that city or if they spread a particular city throughout the year. You could give me hope! (Unfortunately, I am nowhere near Iowa, but your friend might not live near you currently.)
Conjecture on my part, but I don't think they take all the people from one audition city at a time. I don't recall seeing a bunch of games consecutively with all challengers from the same geographical region.
My dad and I were at the same audition; he got the call at the end of October 2007, and I got mine at the end of February 2009.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

MarkBarrett wrote:
bpmod wrote:
Spaceman Spiff wrote:Studying -- I'll give you my approach from when I got the call (both for J! and years ago when I got to be on PT BAM).
Sorry, Spiff. I've never encountered that initalism that I recall. Is that Post-Traumatic Be A Millionaire? Or Part Time Be A Millionaire?

Brian
Those who were on with Regis in prime time like to distinguish themselves from the ugly stepsister daytime syndicated version?
Actually, I distinguish it because there were two major differences between Prime Time (PT) and Syndicated WWTBAM.

1. The lead time, at least when the phone game was in place, was much shorter. In my case, there was about 10 days between "the call" and taping. I'd imagine the current incarnation, like J!, has a bit longer lead time.
2. There were two types of studying involved -- lists to get past the Fast Finger ("name these folks from oldest to youngest") and the trivia needed for the Hot Seat.

And, FWIW, I got more questions right from just observing and listening to the news than I did from studying (although, let's face it, studying acts as a good security blanket.)
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by periwinkle »

tep390 wrote:
Robert K S wrote:Buzzer timing and stamina are much more important aspects of the game if one hopes to win multiple times.
100% agree, if you add wagering into that mix. Practicing that more than I did would have helped far more than all those note cards on ancient gods that I made
I tried practicing buzzer timing watching Jeopardy! with my TiVo remote (so I could see if the lights were lit or if other contestants were buzzing in when I hit pause) and with the Jeopardy! pen, but it did not help. The buzzer was not my friend, and I'm not sure what type of practice would have been more effective.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by iowabelle »

I have to admit I studied. I was working at the time and I had about a month's notice (I had been studying and trying to compile lists of repetitive questions on the archive until my computer died and I lost EVERYTHING). I then was reading trivia and boning up on things like Dummies' Guide to Shakespeare, etc. Fortunately, I also had made up flash cards and worked on those, and bought myself maps of the US and world, and paid attention to rivers (which paid off for me).

I think I had a pretty good grasp on things, although I NEVER would have put John Updike on my "to do" list. :lol:

I realized one big gap was my knowledge of movies but I didn't think there was anything I could have done to prepare for that given my lack of time.

And I did "play along" games where I practiced standing for a half hour and playing with the "buzzer". I guess I should have played with the buzzer more... :roll:

Yes, there's COFFEE in the green room... and all kinds of snacks like fruit, cheese, yogurt and pastries. They feed you pretty well (and they let you eat more between shows), and they definitely want to keep you hydrated so there's lots of bottled water too! My big thing was trying NOT to eat too many carbs so I'd get sleepy.

I'm sure Melissa has kept up her studies, and she has teenaged kids so she has to have absorbed some pop culture (which I didn't have). Some of it's just luck, depending on what categories pop up.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by legendneverdies »

legendneverdies wrote: Rafferbee AKA Megan will be on WOF Friday, as per a post she put on WWTBAM Bored.
Spoiler
Megan won the first two toss up rounds and the final speed up rounds, winning $6200 in cash but losing the match. Gskingdom.blogspot.com has the episode recapped already
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by mxc_takeshi »

That's great and I can only imagine how excited she was about it. :o :D

It's been 7 months to the day for me since my audition, and I hope that at some point in the future I get "The Call"!
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by Tigershark »

mxc_takeshi wrote:It's been 7 months to the day for me since my audition, and I hope that at some point in the future I get "The Call"!
I got "The Call" 9 months after my audition, so hang in there.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by mxc_takeshi »

Tigershark wrote:
mxc_takeshi wrote:It's been 7 months to the day for me since my audition, and I hope that at some point in the future I get "The Call"!
I got "The Call" 9 months after my audition, so hang in there.
I will indeed, Jennifer. Thank you and congrats on your run as champ.
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Re: So Excited... Friend Has Gotten "The Call"!

Post by sarah0114 »

alietr wrote:
Robert K S wrote:Buzzer timing and stamina are much more important aspects of the game if one hopes to win multiple times.
I'll add getting a good night's sleep to that list.
So important! I slept like a baby the night before my first tape day, but I think the added pressure of being the returning champ + a cold acquired on one of my flights conspired against me the night before my second. I ran out of steam pretty early! That was one of the things that I really came to appreciate about Ken Jennings - it takes a lot to stand up there and answer questions all day long!
Spaceman Spiff wrote:And another obtuse suggestion: Since your friend has an idea of when the show will air (at least a two-week window), look at what holidays or events occur then. I know the first day we taped would air during the Dr. King holiday, so I anticipated something related to that -- which did happen, sorta kinda. And also see what movies are coming out about the time of the air date, especially if Sony has a hand in it. There might be a category which is basically promotional for the movie, but at the time of the taping the first set of ads might just be coming out, and it wouldn't be in a contestant's stream of consciousness.
I recommend this too. The weekend between my two tape days, I reviewed Martin Luther King but also Martin Luther, people named Martin, people named Luther, and Kings, just in case they came up in the January 20 game. Wish I'd done that before a Martin Luther FJ came up on the first tape day!
iowabelle wrote:Yes, there's COFFEE in the green room... and all kinds of snacks like fruit, cheese, yogurt and pastries. They feed you pretty well (and they let you eat more between shows), and they definitely want to keep you hydrated so there's lots of bottled water too! My big thing was trying NOT to eat too many carbs so I'd get sleepy.
Strangely enough, I found the green room to be much better stocked during regular game play than the TOC. :( Fortunately I anticipated that it would be carb-heavy and brought my own snacks.
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