Jia-Rui Chong Cook is a media relations specialist for the outer solar system at Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a former Los Angeles Times reporter—as well as a one-time Jeopardy! contestant. Before moderating a panel on what we lose if we don’t go to space, she talked in the Zócalo green room about her deep knowledge of indie music—unfortunately from two years ago—and her love of graffiti, especially when it comes to the walls of public bathrooms—and her childhood bedroom.
If you could invent a new Jeopardy! category which would you choose?
Like, one that I would dominate? [Yes.] It probably would be “indie songs from two years ago,” because that was the last time I had enough time to pay attention to indie music.
How did you get into trouble as a child?
My walls used to be white in my bedroom, and I decided they looked like a big blank sheet of paper, so I drew all over my walls. I had watched way too much TV where people had scrawled things on bathroom walls, like, “For a good time call such and such a number.” I was mad at my parents and scrawled, “For a yucky time, call our phone number.”
What dessert can’t you resist?
Chocolate soufflés.
What do you wake up to?
Power 106, because it’s the only station we get in our bedroom that is not a Spanish station.
If you could legalize one crime, which would you choose?
I guess it would be street art, since I have graffiti tendencies of my own.
What are you keeping in your closet that you should have thrown out already?
Really high pairs of shoes that I never wear anymore but that I think I may wear to a party someday.
What newspapers do you read?
The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, online versions of the Washington Post. And from time to time the Courier-Post in my hometown of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
What surprises you most about your life right now?
I’m happy that I’m still able to travel as much as I do because we now have a 1-year-old, and people had warned me about trying to take toddlers on planes. It isn’t a great experience, but since we’ve done it a few times I sort of feel like we could do it again.
What do you advise saying to your seatmates at the start of the flight?
We bring along earplugs because we figure maybe it’ll grease the wheels a little bit and get them to laugh at the situation—and know that we’re really sorry that our 1-year-old might be screaming during this flight. Most of the time people just laugh and decline the earplugs.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
You know when you’re on the 110 North trying to get onto the 5 going north? I hate all the people who cut into the line at the very end! I hate that, because everyone else has been waiting in line politely. I’m just as anxious as you are to get to where I’m going.