Choose the one you would regret the least
If you’ve visited the office in Al Ilam, the first thing that will catch your attention upon entering the building will be the giant aquariums which serve as the focal point of the lobby. When I joined three years ago, I was very impressed with them. I saw the fishes in them as touches of nature in a rather stoic environment. Back then, the aquariums were filled with different fishes and it was well maintained that even the rocks looked alive under the neon blue lights.
Two years later, they started to show signs of problems. For some reason, things weren’t working right. I’d like to think that the people maintaining them noticed a leak — a small one but hard for them to find.
I walked in one day and noticed that the fishes were transferred to a small tank — my favourite, a clown fish I called ‘Little Nemo,’ was not happy sharing a small space with dozens of other fishes bigger than her. For some reason, I can imagine her getting abused. Her world has just gotten smaller and definitely, nobody likes being in a crowded place — even fishes.
The maintenance people drained the tank, dismantled all the glass pieces and put them back together. In two weeks’ time, they started filling it again plugging the places where the possible leak was coming from.
Just when I thought it was done, they started draining the tank again a few weeks later. It became a cycle for almost a year that the ‘fix’ process became an annoyance. The fishes meanwhile were made to join another tank, Little Nemo included who was trying her best not to be traumatised by the whole ordeal. I always wondered why the problem persisted so long but trusted the people enough that they know what they are doing.
After a year of dragging work, today I passed by the lobby again and saw the mood lighting was back. The tank was filled. The rocks stacked up to their original form. It was also filled with water but there were no signs of the fishes yet. Whether the problem was fixed or not remains to be seen in the next few days.