Well, here we are at day six and our mission seems to be going smoothly.

As a habitat technician I work on a lot of the Aquarius systems. I learn them as individual parts, but its great to see everything come together and work as a whole. The perspective of being in the habitat is very different than my usual role in top-side support. Aquanauts are not restricted to the limited dive time usually allowed at this depth from the surface. We are living at 46 feet beneath the waves. We have much more time to focus on details when diving around the habitat. Otter (the senior habitat technician) and I take turns using an umbilical hookah rig that links us to the habitat air supply. We take excursions outside to clean and study the plumbing on the habitat.

When the work is complete, I often take time to observe some of the local residents living around Aquarius. There are so many fish, but the real treat is the thousands of tiny creatures that have made every nook and cranny of the habitat home.

The science crew who are staying in the habitat are often out on excursions for several hours. They use large double tanks and fill at stations far from the habitat. For safety's sake they call us on an intercom when they reach these stations. We have two "Stevens" diving as a buddy pair. To avoid confusion we call them by their last names, "Miller and Gittings." On the radio with the effects of nitrogen narcosis kicking in I called them "Giller and Mittings." Our always diligent topside crew corrected me and I said, "Roger, Stiller and Gimmings." They usually let you live stuff like that down in about a month or two, I hope.