Remember Gumby?

University of Miami technician Robert Salom tries on his survival suit in a pre-cruise safety drill.

Right after leaving port this morning, we had a routine safety meeting and drill. As part of this, we were shown how to use short-term oxygen systems (with just enough air to get out of your cabin in the event of a fire). I couldn’t see the demonstration, so I just asked if I could “look” at the apparatus with my hands. No problem. Then came the gymnastics part of the safety drill – donning one of the immersion suits, also called survival suits, or more apropos, gumby suits. These are over sized orange body suits that you would get into if you had to abandon ship, especially in cold water. It’s hard to get into, although I suppose if you were motivated by water rising around your ankles, you could get it on pretty quickly. When it’s completely on, only your eyes and nose are exposed. Everyone had to try getting it on. Luckily it was a fairly tactile exercise, so I didn’t have any more trouble than anyone else. I feel like I’m getting just a little better at making my way around the ship. The more I repeat the same routes, the fewer bumps I get. We were all assigned a number today, that corresponds to our coffee mug in the galley. I’m #2. There is a numeral 2 on my mug, but I can’t see that. So I put some rubber bands on the handle so I can find it easily without help. The same trick is working for the doorknob of my cabin.