Early Bird

I'm not a morning person. But I'm not a night owl either.

Actually, my body feels best in this time zone.

But for the last week or so, I've made a conscious effort to start my day early. Yes, at six a.m., I'm totally dragging my feet to the elevator. Walking the dogs is a bit of a production in Manhattan. Six may not sound early to some of you, but my writing sessions often go til ten or eleven o'clock at night, so my days can be long. But the regular cool air and morning exercise has been great for me... By the time I'm back in my apartment, making coffee and powering up my computer, I feel refreshed and ready to write. Soon my home office may be transferring here.

In the words of the brilliant Maureen Johnson, "Don't follow your dreams . . . chase them. With a stick, or a shovel, or whatever you have handy. Get that [bleep]ing dream!"

{I captured the photo above at Columbus Circle}

Time Management

My dad plugged me into an AWESOME, LIFE-CHANGING app – Pomodoro. It's a time management application based on the Pomodoro Technique. I've been using it all week and my productivity level has skyrocketed! Basically the program is a timer. It's initially set-up for 25 minutes with a 5 minute break. Each pomodoro activity gets a name (for example, some of mine include writing, cleaning, language class and emails). You can choose to mute the sounds or have a ticking clock. After four pomodoro rounds, I take a longer break (such as walking the dogs, stretching) before resuming my to do list. You can also view your daily/weekly pomodoro statistics...

Having a set time to complete tasks has helped me juggle numerous projects this week. It's also a great way to minimize aimless web surfing (ahem, twitter, facebook). If you've got a lot of things going on in your life, I'd recommend trying it out for yourself!

Sky Top Lodge + Dog Sledding

If you follow my tweets, you might remember when I traveled to rural Pennsylvania with my nine year-old niece. We stayed at Skytop Lodge...

Click to read more ...

My Experience Studying Wild Whale Sharks... Now Live!

I am so thankful, blessed and excited right now! My case study on wild whale sharks in the Gulf of Mexico just went live on the National Geographic Channel's GREAT MIGRATIONS website! {Have you heard about this amazing television event yet? It's premieres Sunday! It's not to be missed!!}.

Quick {exciting!} Writing News

My first post for National Geographic Traveler's Intelligent Travel blog went live today! Please check out my little story about exploring Hong Kong's Stanley Market...

Writing Field Trip

This afternoon I worked from the Turtle Back Zoo in northern New Jersey. I brought my nieces along – they really liked the black bears, red panda, great horned owl, porcupine and red fox. We did a little lesson on animals native to the new england area, so it was fun + productive :)

Projects

{I took the photo above in Sabah, Malaysia}

It's been a really long week for me, how about you?

The highlight of my week was finding out that I'm a high school journalism project. I've never, to my knowledge, been anyone's project before. So that's pretty fun.

These stories, below, have been my recent projects. In case you'd like to check them out in your leisure time – many of these posts have videos from my recent expeditions:

Nighttime Wildlife River Safari

Whale Shark Eyes

Wildlife of Gomantong Cave

Saltwater Crocodile Breeding Ground

Tree-Dwelling Pit Viper

Orangutan Bridges

City Rats

Miami's Hidden Animal Kingdom

Bat Exodus

Tracking Wild Elephants

Stinging Invertebrates

Alien Crayfish Invasion

Cat Facts

Dogs & Dewclaws

Toxic Toadzillas

Manta Ray Transport

What are you up to this weekend? We've got to finish up the loose ends from our move and then start packing. We leave for Europe on Wednesday and we'll be gone for two weeks, so there's lots to do!

Wildlife Experiences

More of my Borneo-related wildlife stories have published this week – Hope you can check out the site and join me on a nighttime river safari, tracking wild elephants, photographing poisonous pit vipers and observing orangutans crossing man-made bridges!

Click image below to link directly to the Nat Geo INSIDE WILD blog...

You can also go to Borneo YOURSELF & enjoy all of these wildlife experiences! I traveled with Terra Incognita Ecotours – The full itinerary is available online – and I cannot say ENOUGH good things about this company & the founder, Ged. Feel free to contact me at any time if you have questions about my experience with this ecotour group, and I would be happy to answer them! If you love wild animals, sustainable travel, nature, photography and culture, you'll love a Borneo Terra Incognita ecotour.

Borneo Ecotour Content Update

Just a quick update: My stories from the Borneo ecotour are starting to go live on the Nat Geo INSIDE WILD blog! I hope you'll take a moment to check out the website. The first post is about tracking wild elephants through rainforest & rivers, complete with 15+ images and video clips. 

Happy Weekend

Happy Labor Day weekend! What are you up to? I've been busy in my writing cave & escaping to the relaxation of our patio during the evenings. I'm loving this change of weather – It feels like my favorite season has finally arrived! Tomorrow we'll be spending some time with family and hopefully attending a local river festival.

Here are some of my recent Nat Geo posts, in case you'd like to check them out... Did I mention life has been busy? Just the way I like it! 

Blue Striped Grunt School

Coral Aquaculture

Octopus Arms

Alligators' Sensory Organs Detect Water Pressure, Prey

Peacock Mating Dance

Where Sleeping Dogs Lie

Quick Update

Hello everyone! Hope you all have been well. It's been a crazy busy, exhilerating August.... I'm back in Hong Kong after about 10 days on the island of Borneo. We hiked through thick rainforest, photographed exotic plants, tracked orangutans and elephants, cruised a river filled with 20-foot crocodiles, snorkeled in coral reefs and so much more. Can't wait to share all the news with you soon..... now, off to catch my flight to the States!

Follow my frequent travel updates on Twitter.

Doggie DNA Results

Did I tell you that we tested the DNA of our 7-year old adopted mutt, Moose? The results arrived!!!!!! Visit the National Geographic DOGS Blog, make your own guesses & see if you're right!

REVEALED: Secret Animal Mission

You might remember when I jetted off to Florida on a super secret animal mission? Well, now I can finally spill the deets... I observed the Georgia Aquarium ship an 8-foot wide giant manta ray in water, across state borders, on an 8-hour overnight transport. Seriously. I was in the SUV following the truck for the entire journey. Awesome sauce.

These transport posts went live on the National Geographic INSIDE WILD blog in a series. Here's the first blog post What's it Take to Ship a Manta Ray? about preparations and the second blog post Manta Ray Transport...

And if you're up for reading my other recent Nat Geo posts over a cup of coffee this morning, here are some links to new posts:

Giant Grasshoppers

Aerial Surveying of Wild Manta Ray Populations

Notes from a Dog Walker

Saludos

 

On our last night in Mexico the team went out for mole burritos & margaritas to celebrate a successful week of whale shark research. A big thanks to the Georgia Aquarium, Project Domino, ECOcean, CONANP and MOTE Laboratory for all their whale shark conservation work in the Yucatan and beyond.

Rafael put tattoo stickers on Mackenzie and I. It's a little pic of a whale shark that say "Tiburones Ballenas Para Siempre." (meaning "whale sharks for always" or "whale sharks forever").

Goodbye, Mexico

As many of you know, I was in Mexico this past week with a team of researchers and biologists from the Georgia Aquarium and whale shark conservation groups, such as Project Domino. I am so excited to reveal the details of our trip, complete with whale shark research results, photos/videos...... But, you'll have to wait! So in the meantime, here are a few teaser photos of the animals we spotted on our travels, and please keep checking the Nat Geo INSIDE WILD blog to see my blog posts with all the juicy details...

One of the Best Experiences of my Life....

We swam with 40+ wild whale sharks yesterday!

Details soon...

{photo credit}

And... We're Off!

Well, right this very moment I'm on an airplane with a team of biologists and SCUBA divers. We're off to Mexico – It's going to be an exciting, busy week of whale shark research. Follow my journey on Twitter (@Jodi_Kendall) and via the blog. Learn more about our trip and brush up on your whale shark knowledge.

School Bus-Sized Fish

I'm in Washington, D.C. right now wrapping up a few things before I fly out to Mexico this weekend. I'll be there with a team doing whale shark research attending the annual Whale Shark Festival.

Click to read more ...

AirCam Experience

You might remember that last week I flew in an AirCam. All the details on the wildlife surveying research will be announced soon, but in the meantime here's a quick video I took on my iPhone during the flight.... It gives a good glimpse of what it felt like to be up in the small, two-person plane.

I kinda want my pilot's license now........

Up Up Up

I spent the afternoon today on this little airplane surveying wild animal populations. You can hear all the details about my experience on an upcoming Nat Geo Inside WILD blog post, so stay tuned! But here are a few snapshots of a gorgeous (hot!) day in Florida...