Not too long ago Someone decided that it was high time to replace the (still under warranty) portable battery charger at the store where he'd gotten it from.
Unfortunately- or fortunately- the store redirected him to the office of the brand to which the battery charger belonged.
And so it was on one hot afternoon that we found ourselves on a bus from Jalan Eunos trundling down towards the industrial estate of Kallang Bahru.
I had been given the choice whether or not I wanted to go- because, well, it seemed like a very long walk from the bus stop into the estate, and it was a very hot day.
I didn't hesitate.
Of course I wanted to go.
It's not like I'm squeamish of unloading bays, wooden pallets, forklifts or rough, dark, well-worn cement floors.
How could I be, when the C.Co Animation Studio that I work in (still, thank God) used to be in an industrial estate o'er at the other side of the island herself?
Trust me, that place was no glass paneled entrance, ambient lighting or carpeted flooring. It was as harsh, and raw, as an industrial, clonking, clunking, steel-everywhere place was supposed to be.
I didn't mind.
In fact I loved it.
With an industry like ours where the gear and lights can weigh up to 50kg or more, you don't want a place where you can't unload your props- they're not necessarily cardboard, push a fully laden industrial trolley through the doors, or load everything in the space without damaging the precious floors.
Pre-designed aesthetics can be very tiresome sometimes.
I much prefer a space where I can design the aesthetics on my own, and it is up to us what sort of feel we want it to be, whether we want to make it glamorous, functional, or keep it simply raw.
What's more, there's no rule that says you can't wear nice heels or a nice dress in an environment like that. It's a place where you can dress up, or down.
One thing distinctive about industrial estates is just how practical, and organic most of their architecture seems to be.
I mean, everything's pragmatic there.
The place doesn't look like this because it's dusty or dirty.
It's because everything is so heavily used.
The funny thing, however, is that I kind of thought that I had seen it all.
But no, there was way much more that I saw during this little errand than I assumed there would be.
It didn't begin from the building where we made the replacement of the battery.
It began from the overhead bridge spanning across the expressway from the bus stop outside the old Kallang Bahru swimming pool.
I don't think I've ever walked across such a long overhead bridge before.
Neither have I ever seen such an inspiring view.
It was a bit of a hike (mind you, it was a hot day) past the buildings of Infineon and Qualcomm, but we soon found ourselves on this little lane that led us from the newer, glass-windowed buildings to the older ones with more concrete pillars, brighter paintwork and concrete surfaces that glared in the sun.
From here we walked down a road, passing by one of them JTC-like factories (I think), past the food court aka canteen, and finally to the Warehouse that we were looking for.
It was interesting to see workers from different departments come out from the building in groups of two, three or four.
Here were the ladies in their corporate dresses, corporate blouses, pants cut off at the ankles, skirts, or corporate tops with their umbrellas, mobile phones and wallets.
Then there were the men, in their shirts, ties, trousers, or in their work uniform polo shirts, some baggy, some fitted. There were men in work boots. There were men in regular office shoes.
It was a colorful scene.
I wish I got a chance to see what was inside the food court/canteen though.
But we had other places to go, and didn't have time.
Thankfully I wasn't that hot nor so rushed that I didn't have time to look around me.
And I'm glad I did.
Because rare is it that one gets to see the well worn ventilation grilles of a warehouse at its huge back door.
Rare is it that one gets to see a row of neatly arranged desks facing the wide open doorway of the loading/unloading bay with the files and the trays, and the work chairs arranged inside.
I don't think I'd ever seen such a neat layout of three desks placed side by side in so long a time.
But there they were.
Unoccupied, of course- everyone was probably at lunch- but ready and available once things started moving and work began to pile in.
It was pleasant to be able to stand in the space of the very spacious and very clean corridor, wander along the units searching for the right one, and look out over the banister to the building opposite.
There's something about this place- I think it's Ruby Warehouse II- that makes it unforgettable.
I don't know if it is the strong, sturdy-looking sloped ramp that stretched from road level to the second floor.
I don't know if it is the 70s feel that I somehow got whilst admiring the building.
Or if it were the unique color of the building, which, unlike most factories that hover between white and grey, was a mix between curry chicken brown and mustard yellow brown.
I had forgotten just how spacious these industrial structures were.
I had also forgotten just how humongous they were.
And yet it wasn't even all of this, but perhaps, if I'm not wrong, the open-air staircase landings that I saw in the building opposite, and the sheltered suspended staircase that I think connected that building, and this one- the one I was now standing in- both together.