Happy Holidays from the Duo!

Witchy Ghosts, Murderers, and Shia LaBeouf | Recent Film Projects

TIA HERE with some videos for you! I've been doing a lot of stuff lately, but haven't had much to show for, unfortunately. It sucks when you put a lot of work into something, like a project or a paper, and then it sort of disappears into oblivion to later become a part of your GPA. But the good thing about videos is that you can hold onto the evidence that you did something and actually show it to the world. So that said, here are the films/YouTube videos/music videos I've been creating lately, both WIP (unlisted) and completed:

Thankful, but Passing on the Thanksgiving Food

TIA HERE with an obligatory, cheesy Thanksgiving post. Because the truth is, I have a lot to be thankful for. A whole lot.

Job + School + General Panic | Diary

TIA HERE and hoping to turn Duo Diaries a bit more personal from time to time. This is effort #1. Because here's the thing—as much as I love writing blog posts with a topical focus, sometimes I don't feel I have an adequate amount of time to create a post of the caliber I'm really hoping to achieve here. Currently, the DD drafts include "How to Listen to Lana Del Rey's 'Honeymoon' Album" à la this Taylor Swift 1989 post, several video tours of the Cornell University campus, and "How to Write a Query Letter," in the same vein as this post about reader's reports. So what's the holdup, right? Life, it seems, and all of the resulting anxiety.

How to Write a Reader's Report

TIA HERE with some advice for any editorial intern-wannabe who has been asked if they can write a sample reader's report as part of an application to a publishing industry-related company. If you haven't written one before, you probably aren't sure where to start. Based on my experience interning at three different places within the publishing industry (an ebook publishing company, literary agency, and publishing house), here is my outline, with examples, on how to write a killer reader's report that will get you hired:

Interning Abroad in Cape Town, South Africa | Guest Post

walking with lions on the Garden Route

JANABETH HERE—are you surprised? As DuoDiaries’ (self-proclaimed) number one fan, it was only a matter of time before I got the chance to write a post of my own.

Between bugging Tia about when the next DuoDiaries will be out and listening to T. Swift, I have been spending my time interning in South Africa. When Tia asked me to write this post, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to reflect on my experience as it comes to a close…

Review | New York City's Cat Café: The Meow Parlour

TIA HERE and oh my god, guess who just went to another cat café. Yep. Me.

In case you've forgotten somehow, I'm currently in New York City, where there is a wonderful little cat café called the Meow Parlour, among other things. My wonderful study abroad friend Alanna and I spent the day at the Natural History Museum and had brunch at Broadway Bites and had great fun. As night fell (around 7 p.m., although we were a bit late because subways never run when you want them to), we arrived at the Meow Parlour where we had made a reservation months prior with friends Thelonia, Lea, and Winnie. This is not the first cat café Alanna and I had visited together, and it certainly will not be the last!

What's It Like to Intern at a Production Company? | Guest Post

QUINCIE HERE—Wait, what?! Not who you were expecting, right? My buddy Tia, who you all know and love, asked me to write a guest post about my summer internships. Of course, being the good friend that I am (*insert sassy hand flip girl emoji*), I agreed. I previously appeared on Tia’s other post about internships, but here are some more specific details and tips about the industry I am working in, which is… *drumroll*... the entertainment industry!

10 Things I Wish I Had Known as a Cornell Freshman

TIA HERE with a little advice for all you upcoming Cornell freshmen. Compiled from things I've learned as a senior (class of 2016, woo!) and what my friends wish they'd known, here's my list of ten things I wish I'd known as a freshman at Cornell:

What's It Like to Intern in Publishing?

TIA HERE and interning at a literary agency and publishing company this summer (which, if you've read even a portion of DD, you already know). Before my internships began, I googled wildly for advice from publishing interns to prepare for what was coming, and I was totally disappointed by the lack of things I could find. Maybe I'm just bad at googling, or maybe it would help others to share my experience so far.

Lunch in East Village & Free Friday @ MoMA | A Day with the Duo

VICTORIA HERE to take you on another adventure with me around NYC! This time with TIA as I tagged along to get lunch and later hit up the Museum of Modern Art with her and her friend who is also interning in the city. We met up in East Village for lunch and ended up going for sliders at Mark Burger.

MARK BURGER | 33 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

Mark Burger is a dimly lit restaurant that serves up a specialized menu featuring exclusively mini burgers (a.k.a sliders) along with fries and an insane assortment of shakes.

The best thing about this place is that the sliders are surprisingly cheap and they blast all of those hiphop hits you loved in middle school! You can get a regular slider for just $2.50 or go my route and get the double bacon slider for $5.50. No matter what you choose, these little cuties are actually pretty filling and I couldn't take anymore after just one slider, cheese fries, and a mocha shake, of course.

After lunch, we had time to kill until Free Friday at MoMA started at 4PM. We resolved to walk back to our dorm in Chelsea but after losing track of our route multiple times decided to just chill in Washington Square Park until it was time to head to the museum.

Here are some random snaps from the day:

Entrance to MoMA | 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019

Since we probably walked around for an hour and a half lost around West Village, we were kinda beat once we got to MoMA. Heads up for people planning to taking advantage of Uniqlo's Free Friday Nights: I suggest getting there around 5:30-6PM unless you want to wait in a line that wraps around the block! 

UNIQLO FREE FRIDAYS | MoMA is free to all every Friday from 4-8PM

We ended up only exploring about two floors of the museum. Tia's phone was dying and we lost track of her friend and I was super tired - it just wasn't looking good. But I definitely enjoyed checking out the Andy Warhol pieces and all of the people crowded around each one taking photos that they will probably never look at again!

I already had seen the music exhibit the last time I was there, but I also particularly liked it the second time around. It was so cool to see vintage record players and, particularly, the ones I was obsessed with in high school on display. To think about how differently people in the past enjoyed their favorite albums is pretty interesting. I just have to consult Youtube, but music was a lot more concrete and physical in those days and probably not as easily accessible...

After roaming around a bit, we came upon this window overlooking the garden with a great view of that typical NYC architecture. We got a few tourist-y shots in front of it and headed down to the garden before we ventured back home. 

Until next time,

V.

FIT Dorms Room Tour | Kaufman Hall

TIA HERE with a post for anyone looking to live in NYC briefly (like for the summer). There are a lot of different options with a lot of different prices, but I thought I would just talk about the living situation I'm currently in and post some pictures.

So for those of you who don't know, I'm staying at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) dorms, specifically Kaufman Hall. I'm in a double with Victoria, which includes a kitchenette and private bathroom, with two beds in a studio-style room. Without further ado, here are the pictures of what it looks like:

Admiring NYC's First "Flying" Tiger | A Day With Janabeth

nothing is more Danish than candles, right?

TIA HERE and excited to announce that I've finally gone to the (first ever?!) American Tiger store with my DIS abroad friend, Janabeth! (Okay... I've actually already been there twice, but it's because I freaking love that store.) For those who don't know, Tiger is a Danish store that has been spreading across Europe — and now the U.S. — and is nothing short of totally awesome. It offers cheap, cute, unique home goods items, and has wonderful original designs. In Denmark it is known as Tiger, but here in the U.S. (NYC specifically), it is Flying Tiger Copenhagen. That said, I'm just going to be calling it Tiger, because there is no need for this already amazing store to have wings too.

Arriving in NYC | Diary

VICTORIA HERE to fill you in on what I've been up to recently! This summer I will be working at a social media marketing and pr agency in New York City called Socialfly as a social media intern. Super excited to learn more about marketing and develop those professional skillz. I am a complete NYC newbie so I hope you guys stay tuned to witness me take on this new opportunity!

Monday | morning: I spent night Sunday waiting for the 4am Shortline bus to NYC. As I was about to get on the bus, a girl asked me to help her mom out who couldn't speak English and was already sitting on the bus alone. Fortunately, her mother was Korean and I was able to speak with her and help her buy a ticket. I definitely am way better at understanding the language than speaking it myself so though I was able to listen well to her stories about her children and visiting America, my replies were quite short but I tried my best! She praised my Korean skills and became more comfortable with me (gave me gum and an apple when I woke up from my nap lol) which is all I could ask for. After we got off of the bus, I helped her get a taxi to JFK airport and was very satisfied that I could put my Korean to good use even after having left Seoul.  

Monday | evening: After the five hour bus ride I was finally at Port Authority and took a short Uber ride to my summer housing at FIT where I met Tia in our shared apartment. We unpacked our things, were treated to lunch by Tia's mom, and took a train to Chinatown where we bought the most beautiful mangoes ever.
Tuesday: I slept.

Wednesday: I went out and explored the Chelsea area to make up for not doing anything the day before. I wore black jeans which was the worst decision considering how hot it was. I have been sweating so much here! I got lost a few times and probably walked more than 20 blocks but I was still happy. Mostly because I picked up a new skirt from Muji and much needed summer tanks on sale for 2/$10 at H&M~
Thursday: I was set to catch up with a friend who I met while in the city for a networking event over spring break. We decided to meet at a restaurant called Santina in the Meatpacking District because of its close proximity to the Highline.

The Highline

I live near the end of the Highline on 31st and didn't realize the restaurant is at the complete opposite end of the line past 13th so today I ended up walking more than 20 blocks too! But the time totally passed by quickly because my walk was filled with cool murals, art pieces, and funky architecture.

Santina is a trendy (and expensive) restaurant located right under the Highline in Meatpacking. The menu featured a lot of different seafood plates amongst others.

I went for the Wild Rice Calamari Salad mostly because it was one of the cheaper options at $17 (still expensive but good)! All of the main dishes on the menu were around $24 and up, so if you're into that definitely check this place out.

Gansevoort Market

After lunch, we headed over to Gansevoort Market for something sweet--my friend needed a de-stresser after going through a two hour job interview the morning of. The market is full of little eateries with their own booths. The options range from freshly squeezed juice to tacos served straight out of a Volkswagen. 

My friend decided gelato would be her cure of choice so we both ordered custard and marsala wine-flavored cones called Zabaglione. We were definitely satisfied!

Afterwords, I headed back down the Highline while listening to my new fave Soundcloud mix. It was a pretty nice day.

Until next time,

V.

Mad Max, Moving, & Mangoes | Diary

TIA HERE, now with a crazy week under my belt. After days of packing, I finally moved my six boxes from the old apartment to the new one (in Ithaca) and nearly broke my arms in the process. I definitely didn't do it all alone. Victoria had her fair share of boxes as well and we would've gotten nowhere without the life-saving assistance of my friend Sarah, a wonderfully talented < 3 A Cappella member and grad student with a big car. You're amazing, Sarah!

March & April | Favorites

TIA HERE and it's that time again! (Time for a bimonthy favorites post.) Here is what I've been particularly enjoying for the past two months.

MUSIC

Ukulele tunes are all I care about right now, and that is in part due to Steven Universe (see below) but mostly because I've been really enjoying playing my ukulele lately! It's basically free accompaniment for any song you would ever want to sing, in any key, at your own pace. Ukutabs and other chord-listing websites are all I need to feel like I can finally sing along to the songs I love. Recently, it's been mostly Steven Universe and stuff from Bioshock Infinite and The Hunger Games. A very strange combo, I know.

Tia's 50th Duo Diaries Post!

it's me and I'm amazed!

TIA HERE and I can hardly believe it. We are a few months away from DD's first birthday, and I have already hit a milestone of my own when it comes to the blog. This is my 50th post! Who knew that my relationship with this crazy website would last this long? (I did, or at least I hoped it would.)

Seven Steps to Get an Internship | With Tips and Tricks From Friends

TIA HERE, just exiting the stressful world that is the internship search. If you are an American university student (or perhaps a college student elsewhere as well), then you know what is expected of you in the summer. While some start their junior year, others begin taking on summer internships as early as freshman year (holla). But how do you go from being an unemployed student with no income, to a briefly employed student with no income?

Happy Birthday, Cornell University!

If you didn't already know it, the wonderful school we go to has turned 150 this year. Happy sesquicentennial, Cornell, and here is to many more years of spreading community and education!

Love,

The Duo.

DD Hiatus Updates | Tia

TIA HERE with the deets on what's been going on since DD's hiatus, at least on my end. (Follow our social media for immediate updates!)

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

Since March, I have been up to my eyes in work—from exams (disguised as "quizzes" on the syllabus, but certainly far too formal to actually be considered thus) to papers, to piles and piles of club work, to a semester-long, virtual internship with an ebook publishing company. While I'm happy to say that my grades have been pulling through nicely, I'm even more happy to announce that I have finally, with certainty, secured two internships for this summer.