The Lull before the Holidays

Some of life is calming down a welcome bit. I'm starting prep for Thanksgiving, which includes counting dishes and glassware and hoping I've got enough for the folks who will be attending. I think we'll have a smaller group than last year, since my good china and dining room table are still at the warehouse. I don't even think anything's been done to fix the table yet.

Ace was originally scheduled to do a show yesterday and then do the Arab show over Thanksgiving weekend. Yesterday didn't happen and I think we're going to pass on the Arab show. Ashley's been sick and I haven't bought my membership in the other organization besides AHA that I need to join.

Ace has taken to jumping like a duck takes to water. He's a very happy camper when Ashley gets to take him over things. Just as long as he doesn't decide I need to learn how to jump, we'll be fine.

Did you all watch Zenyatta blow away the boys at the Breeders Cup Classic on Saturday? I happened to remember it was going on and found it on TV about half an hour before post time. What a horse! Ever since Barbaro, I'm rather terrified to watch Thoroughbred racing, but the girls (Rachel Alexandra's the other one) have been quite special this year. I hope Zenyatta's owners retire her. She's definitely earned it. But I bet she's the kind of horse who would rather have that job to do. I do find myself wondering how to get Ron Weschler to get us on a tour that will let us meet her. He knows so many people in racing, but it would be easier if she was at home at Santa Anita and not Hollywood Park.

My friend Kay Reindl was at the race on Saturday and was close by the gate when one of the horses refused to load. It was scary on TV and it was even worse in person. Kay let some joker know how dangerous it was when he stood near her laughing about it. I was amazed that the jockey stuck around on board for so long. It was a good thing that neither the horse nor anyone else got hurt.

Jeopardy! Blog

My blog about my appearance on Jeopardy! is up on the Jeopardy! web site. The part which leads up to the games is accurate. The part about the actual games and who I played is not accurate. I had to write the blog within two weeks of my appearance, which was several weeks before the shows ran. I'm sorry to everyone whose name and game I got wrong. It was all a blur, and if I didn't watch the games on TV, I really wouldn't know what happened. I'm still not sure how I won Game 3. Note that I thought the crew was from NBC and doing a Dateline story, when it was from ABC for Nightline!

What a Week It Has Been

By now, you've probably heard that I am a four-time Jeopardy! champion. Some of you might also have seen me on the Nightline segment that ran on Friday night. If you didn't, and want to, here's a link to that bit of reporting.

Nightline spent the day I shot my five episodes of the game doing the story on the show. At the end of my fifth game, I was asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed, and, of course, I was. I'm looking at it as an added bonus of a good run on the show.

My tally hasn't been added to the Hall of Fame for $50,000+ players and my blog about my experience isn't up on the Jeopardy! site yet either. If you are interested in seeing the game boards I played, you can check them out at J-Archive, a really useful site run by fans of the show.

When my blog does go up, you will discover I am an unreliable narrator. The deadline for the blog was two weeks after I shot my episodes, so I had only my fuzzy brain for reference. I refer to my worthy opponents by wrong names, because I couldn't recall who played in which segment. I hereby apologize to each and every one of them. They were all lovely people and very smart.

I want to thank everyone who has wished me well during this experience. I've gotten lovely e-mail from total strangers and notes from folks with whom I now have the Jeopardy! experience in common. The notes are much appreciated.

So now I'm anxious to learn how Chris Rodriguez did on his next appearance, which won't run until November 16. I was glad for Chris that he got more than his long cross-country-by-train trip out of his appearance, and I hope to god he sprung for a sleeper car on his way back to Massachusetts. The cheap seats are not fun on a long-distance train ride, but a sleeper car is relaxing, as I experienced on my trip to New Mexico just a year ago.