Kite Flying
This month’s playdate is about kite flying. It’s summer time once again! One of our colleagues who was in charge of the report discussed the brief history of kite flying and the different types of kites After that, we grouped ourselves into three then each group get to choose which design to make based on talkatee characters, Tok, Kat, and Tee. Hey, you can also join us in kite-making! All you have to do is follow these simple and easy step by step process: 1. First, you have to prepare all the materials needed. Here are the materials we’ve used: Sticks Japanese Paper Scissors Glue/Tape Nylon Cord/ Strings 2. Prepare the frame or spine of the kite by making a cross-like pattern. Place the smaller stick half-way higher than the center. Secure its position by reinforcing the intersection with string or tape. 3. Plot the japanese paper onto the frame then make an outline of the design. Cut out the paper according to your desired design. 4. Firmly fasten the Japanese Paper onto the frame with the use of scotch tape. After that, you can add some tail or “fins” that can add stability to the kite. 5. Make two holes near the cross section of the frame. Feed the string onto the hole and tie them making a keel. You can now draw some additional design on your kite. It’s done! Now you can make your kite fly. Here’s our very own Kat from talk@tee Kite, look at how it soars high in the...
read moreHiking
This month’s playdate is about hiking. When we were little kids, some of us wonder how it’s like to climb a real mountain, thus we enjoyed playing and climbing on piles of rock, sand, or soil, which served as our “mountains” way back then. And now that we’re all grown ups, an opportunity of climbing a “real” mountain must not be missed. Excited as we were, we’ve planned and scheduled the date of our adventure trip. After that, we secured all the necessary permits/documents that were needed for us to make this adventure possible. Our adventure destination is at Mt. Banahaw, an active volcano which is about 2,170 m above sea level, and is located between the provinces of Quezon and Laguna. Since most of us are first-timers, and we’re not to camp overnight, our itinerary was just to reach the first camp or Camp 1 of Mt. Banahaw via Tayabas Trail (Banahaw de Tayabas) which is roughly 1 – 2 hours climb from the jump off point. And so, with our bags packed with lunch, snacks and “hydrations”, we set off and began our journey. From Lucena City, we commuted to the city of Tayabas via jeepney, and got off at the city proper, then from there, we took a tricycle going to the jump-off point of Banahaw de Tayabas, which is located at Brgy. Lalo. After final briefing and preparations, we began with our trek. At first, the trail seemed to be smooth and easy, so we’re just joking and laughing around as we climb. But as we went further up, we started to feel tired and exhausted, as the trail becomes harder, muddier, and rockier. It was then that we started to take some 5 to 10 minute refreshment breaks, which we took very frequently. 😛 As mentioned earlier, most of us were first timers, so minor accidents like slipping, being bitten by land leeches (which are very prominent in those areas), and getting minor cuts from thornbushes, were really inevitable. After two hours of trekking, we finally arrived at Camp 1. Since it was almost lunchtime, we’ve washed ourselves clean then we prepared our table by lining it with fresh banana leaves where we placed our foods. It’s time for boodle fight! After we finished lunch, we left the camp. Nope, the adventure is not finished yet, rather, we’re up again for another one. Our colleague-slash-guide told us that there is a nearby waterfall in the area, so we decided to go there and pay a visit. The trail going there is not that easy. We can say that the real adventure started here. There were many rocky and muddy slopes along the way and most of us experienced a hard time going there, but the journey was really rewarding. After a short splash of refreshment and enjoyment, and it’s also getting late in the afternoon, we decided to pack our things and go home. All in all, the experience was indeed very challenging for all of us, but we can say that it’s all worth it. Hope to see you again on our next...
read moreRadio DJ 101
This month’s playdate is Radio DJ 101 We hear them almost everyday in our radio sets or thru our cellphone’s FM radio. They entertain us and keep us updated on what’s hot and what’s not in and out of the music scene. They’re the radio DJ’s. Well most of us are a bit curious on how it is and what are the basics of becoming a radio DJ. And since some of us here have actually experienced being a radio DJ for quite some time, we’ve decided to share with our fellow colleagues the experience on “how to talk” on the radio, hence DJ 101 becomes the topic on our playdate. The original plan is that we’ll drop by at a local FM radio station here and we’ll do some on air greetings. But unfortunately due to the bad weather outside, it did not pursue, so we’ve come up with the idea of setting up our “own radio station” here in the office…err, we mean recording ala radio. After the needed software was installed and tested we’ve proceeded with the discussions about the basics of being a DJ. One of our colleagues who also become a DJ was assigned for the task. The subject focused more on picking up your radio name or alias, the personality of a DJ, preparations, using headphones, music selections, playing song requests, and of course, how to talk on air. After the discussion, we’ve prepared a script that we’ll use for recording which consists of the common jokes that we share here in the office. We’ve enjoyed the recording process and after the editing and adding some effects, here is the final outcome of what we’ve recorded: http://www.bnpdesignstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/edit-with-bed_.mp3 Hey, you might want to try it too! All you need is a voice recording software and your headset (with mic, of course!) and you’re all set to becoming your own DJ. Before we forgot, here’s the bonus part, our bloopers! 😀...
read moreBNP Sportsfest: Palaro ng Lahi Part II
This month’s playdate is Palaro ng Lahi Part II. The Christmas season has been a sinful month, what with all the dangerously appetizing feast laid on the table for the holidays and the long-awaited vacations we’ve all worked hard all year to secure. Because of this, we thought it’s time we straightened our acts a bit and give our idle bodies some much needed exercise. Gyms are a little too expensive and too stiff for us, though, so we opted to do something more fun instead — and of course what would be more fun than playing at work? Nope, we don’t mean fancy adult games like golf and all that. We’re talking about the good old games we used to play in our childhood. Games like the ones on the list below: Ubusan ng Lahi For those who are not familiar with the game, no, we’re not bloodthirsty people out to wipe some clans from the face of the earth. “Ubusan ng Lahi” is actually a game where a group of players chooses an “it” that will be tasked to eliminate the players one by one by tagging them. Any player tagged will then become an “it” himself or herself. He or she will then chase the remaining players together with the original “it” until no one else is left. The fun thing about it is since you’re busy running for your “life,” you don’t usually see who gets tagged, so you can’t let your guard down when you’re around the other players. We caught most of the players this way, but one of our main illustrators was too cunning to be tricked so he was left as the last one standing and duly got his well-deserved bragging rights. Chinese Garter Few kids who grew up in the Philippines before the year 2000 onwards are not familiar with this game, especially the girls, so no introductions were needed for this one. We simply proceeded to dividing ourselves into two groups by doing a “maiba-taya” with most of the girls ending up in one team and most of the guys ending up in the other — much to the latter’s dismay. The guys did try their best to keep their pride and managed to clear the first couple of levels without much trouble, but the latter challenges proved to be a little bit too much for them. In the end, the girls claimed the victory amidst the guys’ lighthearted boos. Dr. Kwak-kwak Dr. Kwak-kwak is a game that that is played by having a group of players loop their arms into complicated twists so that no one can tell how the loops ended up that way anymore. It then becomes the task of the “it” to figure out how to “untangle” these loops until the players are back to how they were when the game started. For people who seldom get any exercise, we were worried for a minute that our limbs would not be able to take the punishment … oops… we meant challenge… but surprisingly, our aging bones turned out to be unwilling to go down without a fight, so we were able to successfully finish the game in spite of the complicated mess we ended up finding ourselves in. Saksak-Puso Playing Dr. Kwak-kwak allowed us to rest for a bit while the “it” figured out how to “untangle” our arms, so when the game finally ended, we were ready and raring for another fast-paced round. This time, we chose saksak-puso (come to think of it, why do these games sound a bit too violent?) to satisfy...
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