"What do you do for fun?" "Well... I've been a dad for about a week."

Jeopardy.

I've been watching -- and yelling answers at my TV -- since I was a kid.  It's been a longstanding dream of mine to be on the show.  I think it would be the ultimate game show experience.

Sure, there are other game shows -- you can win more money on Millionaire or scream louder on The Price is Right.  But Jeopardy is the pinnacle.  The competing, nerdy players.  The tough questions.  The quick format.  The Final Jeopardy music.  Alex Trebek snarkily correcting contestants' French pronunciations.  Jeopardy has it all.

I got really excited about 5 years ago when I realized that anyone can take an online test, offered every January, for a chance to be on the show.  I've taken the test every year since, never knowing whether I did well enough to qualify for an in-person audition (they don't tell you how well you did, just that they might call you if you did well).  

So, what does this have to do with being a new parent?  Well, a little over a month ago I got the long-awaited email.  Jeopardy wanted me to come to New York for the second and final round of qualifications, the in-person audition.  I would take another test similar to the on-line one, play a mock round with other prospective contestants, and have a personality interview to make sure I was TV material.  The problem:  they wanted me to come on May 21, one week after Jeanette's due date. 

My initial reaction was, "Well, there's always next year."  But then I thought, "It's a week later, and Molly might come early, maybe I can do this."  I talked with Jeanette, who was really supportive, and we agreed that as long as Molly came early enough that they were home from the hospital, I would go.  Jeanette's sister Jacki even moved up her planned visit so she would be here to help out while I was gone.  (She said it had been her dream for me to be on Jeopardy since she met me...)

As you all know, Molly made her appearance on the 13th, clearing the way for my NYC excursion.  On Monday I headed up on the Megabus, stayed with old friends that night, and showed up bright and early for my audition on Tuesday morning.  The audition went well, everyone was very nice, and I got quite a few answers right (especially in Before and After) -- except in the fabrics category.  Of course there have to be a category on "fabrics" right when I got up to do my mock round... 

Anyway, I knew I needed to do something to help me stand out from the couple of thousand other auditioners.  And what could help me stand out better than the Mollster?  After all, how many other one-week parents could there be among the group?  Plus, what better evidence could there be that I really wanted to be on the show? 

When it came time for my personality interview in front of the room of other contestants, I made sure to bring it up.  We talked about where I was from and my job ("Have you ever had clients you thought were guilty?" "Most of them")  Then they asked what I do for fun.  I said, "Well... I've been a dad for about a week."  Needless to say, Molly was a big hit.  Everyone congratulated me.  The Jeopardy folks asked all about her.  And they even said "Take good care of Molly" as I was leaving 30 minutes later. 

I don't know if I'll get on the show or not.  But if I do, I'll have to think that being a brand spankin (but not actually spankin) new parent helped.