A little information about me

One of the first things you do after being selected is fill out paperwork. There is a legal agreement that needs to be signed, and you answer various questions.

The most basic part is the five fun facts, which I mentioned in the part about the audition. I kept mine basically the same, except on the screenwriting one, I took out the part about "After you've selected me..." and added a bit on quantity.

If I can just clarify a bit on 1 and 3, I really only know that Julie and Maria and I are good at claw machines. We haven't really tested any other family members, but I would think their odds of doing well should be good. I have included a photo of the shelf at work where I am storing the prizes now. Some will end up in the toy drive. Maria used to give a lot to her kindergarten kids. It just depends.

On three, well, I think I have to blame it on Destiny's Child doing a cover of Emotion. I started hearing other songs that I thought were remakes of BeeGees hits, and after I realized they couldn't all be, then I realized I could do it with any song (though the Destiny's Child/Beyonce oeuvre is a surprisingly good fit). Anyway, I used to think it was weird, but then I found out that a coworker of mine can hear any song as it would sound performed by Bob Dylan, and her boyfriend can too. So if there is a guy out there who can do it with the BeeGees, we may be soul mates. Call me!

Part One

Name: Gina
From: Aloha, Oregon
Occupation: Document specialist
Booking Date: 9/21/11


1. I come from a family of skilled claw machine operators.
2. We are on our 15th (and 14th) adopted retired racing greyhounds.
3. I can hear any song in my head as it would sound performed by the BeeGees.
4. I speak French, Spanish, Italian, and Laotian.
5. I have written 6+ screenplays. I have not sold anything, but I read that the average before a sale is 9, so I believe I am still on schedule.


Part Two

Have you ever been at a turning point in your career?
I worked in the tech sector for many years, but when I had to choose between keeping my job or going to Australia and New Zealand for a month, I chose the travel. After a rough patch, I now work in health insurance, and under similar circumstances I would change again. All the Aussies and Kiwis were very supportive of this.

What is the one mistake no one will ever let you forget?
When I first got glasses, in 9th grade, colors and shapes were more intense, and I had just never seen things so sharply. This may be why I told my father that I never realized his eyes were so blue. His eyes are brown.

What is your funniest travel memory?
We were at an animal park in Queenstown NZ, and our very frugal Scottish guide had bought us some food for the animals. You could fill a coffee can for 2.00 NZD. When we were down to about a quarter of the can left we got to the goats, and they swarmed my sister Maria. She panicked and dropped the can, leaving it to the goats, and Chris’s response was “Two dollars wasted!”

Do other people think you have a funny quirk or habit?
Even when I know that a question is rhetorical or facetious, I have to answer it seriously. I have one friend who enjoys this a little bit sadistically.

Everyone has a special talent or quality? What is yours? How do you use it?
I am really good at keeping my head in stressful situations. To better use it I have taken Community Emergency Response Team training and other trainings to be ready for anything.

Part Three: More questions

Who or what first got you interested in learning/knowledge/education?
I think it was learning to read. I did not have any kindergarten or pre-school, so the teachers expected me to be a little slow, but I caught on to reading, shooting from the lowest reading group to the highest in a few weeks, and I was reading everything I could get my hands on. I still love it.

Do you have a favorite teacher from your past?
That is hard to choose, but Mr. Pitzer was probably the most influential. He taught AP History, and was a good teacher, but he also led me to Professor Brown, which led me to Professor Taylor, until it was only natural that I became a history major.

What is your first memory of Jeopardy!?
When I was seventeen I was working in retail, and it would usually be on in the break room when I would take my last break. I would play along and my adult coworkers were impressed, and that’s when I first started thinking it would be something I would like to do.

Why did you want to be on Jeopardy!?
I guess I want to see how I can do. I don’t have a lot of competition playing at home. Don’t get me wrong—I would love to win money, but also it is a show that I have watched a long time, and enjoyed, and I would like to be a part of it.

Is there anyone you would really like the chance to compete against on the show?
Not necessarily compete, but I really enjoyed Bob Harris’ book, Prisoner of Trebekistan, and I always remember when Wes Ulm was on.

What do you hope will happen from your Jeopardy! appearance?
I hope it will be fun—that I will enjoy the playing, and the interaction. I would like to do well and acquire some money for more travel, too. I would love to get the chance to make it a true daily double. Also, I hope I will get the game that occurs on Halloween, because that’s my favorite holiday and I bet the categories will be fun.

What are your expectations about your appearance?
That I will probably start out a little nervous, then get into it, and that I will watch my game with friends and family, so I should probably plan on ordering pizza.

What is your educational background?
I have a BA from University of Oregon, with a dual major in Romance Languages and History.

Why did you choose your majors?
I have always loved language. I started French and Spanish in high school, and then continued with those and added Italian in college. My mother’s family is all Italian, so it was important from that aspect, but it was not offered until college. For History, I was taking some classes and wanted to keep taking more, but I was going to have to stop and start taking other social science classes unless I made it a double major. The choice was easy.

Tell us what you do for a living?
I am a document specialist for Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield. That means that when groups have new policies or renewals of existing policies, I do a final check on them to make sure all of the information from the different sources matches up, so that everything is accurate. Then I publish it to the internet so members can view their policy and member services can provide assistance, and I get contracts sent out to the offices. It’s not an exciting job, but it’s important, and I work with a great team of people.

How did you get your job?
My sister works for the same company and let me know about the opening.

How did your career come about?
I majored in subjects that I liked instead of ones that were practical, so fairly randomly.

Do you have a dream job?
I write screenplays. Eventually I would like to be selling some screenplays to other filmmakers, but probably shoot one independent movie a year so that I do sometimes get creative control.