I don't think I had nearly enough coffee beforehand.
We got to the 10th floor boardroom, and they ran the thing kind of like an exam, with cover sheets and sixty-minute halves. I'll post some of the questions at some point (I got an extra sheet); since the test was going on simultaneously in a dozen or so American cities, as well as in Canada, across Europe (well, the UK, Norway and Belgium) and in India, the questions were pan-continental to reflect that. My Canadian-American upbringing finally served as a plus, as they asked questions about such cultural esoterica as defunct hairstyles of the rich and ethnic and the Crazy Canucks!It was kind of a preliminary event, as less than 20 people were there (and only three women, including Kari (represent!)), a few of whom had flown in from other parts of the country to participate. And true to form, the New York chapter of this worldwide thing did pretty good; I haven't seen the truly final numbers yet, but it looks like we put a half-dozen people in the top 20 (possibly including your humble correspondent, which I'm kind of happy about if only because I don't get to actually answer questions all that much these days).
After two hours of answering questions, everyone was thirsty and exhausted. We left the palatial Central Park south opulence and wandered over to Kennedy's on West 57th street, where a bunch of Scots in kilts were running off some tunes on bagpipes (Oh, it was the Tartan Parade on Saturday, which is plumb unfortunate for everyone concerned, weatherwise.)
It was a gas, and these people are very cool. I hope some of them come out on Wednesdays and mingle with the rest of you fine people, and make it harder for us to do our jobs as quizmasters.
Oh, and they'll be doing it all over again on Saturday, June 2nd, this time with recruiters for game shows and other showbizzy types in the house. (I hope to rub shoulders with some of the greats.)
Oh, and I like Ken Jennings' idea of holding this stuff in Barbados next year. Sign my pasty self up for that action.
**** Update: The North American Results are up; I finished 11th, which I'm fine with. (Kari finished 3rd overall in the "Lifestyle" category. Yess!)
