Concreters

Hey Dear Friends 

Episode 2 

Concreatures

One for the tradies. Even if you’re not a tradie you’ll have come across a cementer at least once in your life, which I’m sure was an experience one way or the other. 
I worked on building sites for around 10 years, and even if I’m not the greatest tradesmen in the world, I know the places are dripping with stories and lore and bullshit. Here are some of my findings.
Please send it on to some concreter or tradie mates. 

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Transcript

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Is concreting in any way in line with raking a zen garden? Do concretors and Buddhist monks share a common disposition at all? Leaning on the old adage, don't judge a book by its cover. Zen doesn't necessarily have to appear zen on face value. Most concretors I've ever encountered on the surface, and maybe even a couple of layers deep, don't come across all that zen in inverted commas. To the uninitiated on the building side, concreters can even be intimidating. When the pour is on, it's go go go. They'll yell if you're in the road. They won't ask you to do something, they'll tell you to do it, and roar at you to do it faster. Concrete starts going off as soon as it's poured. There's no time for manners or pleasantries, or zen. Sure there's rakes in the substrate and pretty patterns and uniformity emerges, but there's not a lot of tranquility. Yet once the mud is down and the screed is being washed in the wheelbarrow by the labourer, the bull float comes out, and a transformation occurs. An element of zen is apparent. The heavy work is done and all extra hands leave, taking a lot of the chaos with them. The truck and chutes are hosed out and are off on their merry way, restoring the mid-morning suburban ambience. This is where the magic begins. Raking a zen garden is a meditative practice that encourages mindfulness and offers time and space to be in the present moment. I don't see too many differences between that and finishing a freshly poured concrete slab. In a literal sense, the bull float is used to smooth out the surface before it sets. It subdues any rough bits or marks left by the screen and irons out any little high spots or chunks sticking up. It prepares the surface for trailing and finishing. In a metaphorical sense, the bull float is the link between the calm descending and zen manifesting, somewhat of a magic wand. The concrete steps out of the mud. They can take their rubber boots off and slip their crocs back on, maybe roll a smoke. Some concretors will crack a beer at this point. Either way, they take a moment. Whether it's done consciously or not, their frame of mind resets. They observe and reflect on what they are doing and what's been done so far. They contemplate what needs to happen now. The process has begun. The short and volatile whipcracking temperament of only minutes ago begins to subside and is replaced by calm and chill. I have witnessed this metamorphosis firsthand a hundred times. Once the bull float is called to duty, we see a man living purely in the moment. While it's imperative he completes this task with the utmost care and attention to detail, the urgency and any attached anxiety have ceased. Now, while this part of the job certainly can't wait until later, it absolutely cannot be rushed. The nature of concreting simply won't allow it. So the time mustn't be squandered. But when they are on the right wavelength, time is of little consequence. Feel is much more important, and one must be in the present moment to truly feel what they are doing. Their minds don't wander to the weekend, to the boat and fishing rods. Ex-wives and money troubles will still be there later. On one hand, this is their job, their livelihood, and a necessary burden to bear. On the other hand, it's a rare moment of serenity on offer in an otherwise chaotic world. Downtime and RR may certainly be at their local hotel, but whether they realise it or not, or are willing to admit it or not, the pub is not a place of zen. One may feel in their element at the pub, but there is always going to be the smallest amount of performance in one's demeanour. It's unintentional, but there is an ever-present hint of bravado while they're at the pub. This isn't a bad thing. Pub time is vital. It's nourishment for the soul. It's where someone potentially builds large portions of their lore, where someone establishes their standing among their peers and community. Where one can portray the version of themselves they want to be remembered as. It's very important. But it isn't where one can be one with one's true self. That is done with the bull float. Their place of zen isn't a place at all. It's a state of mind. The place is inconsequential. You can do Tai Chi in a prison cell. Every moment is a moment. It doesn't matter where you are, and these moments pass with or without you. Whether you are present in the moment is the key. Let's look at a few other things. As I mentioned earlier, concrete starts going off as soon as it's poured. It isn't the concrete drying out that causes it to go hard, but a chemical reaction. A key ingredient in cement powder is the highly reactive mineral tricalcium silicate. When this stuff mixes with water molecules, it grows these microscopic crystals that interlock with each other and becomes an incredibly strong rock-like material. It's basically magic. With this in mind and the notion that the bull float is the mystical link between the chaos and the calm, maybe there's something to it. If we go back and explore the idea that working the bull float over the slab and raking a Zen garden share some physical similarities and opportunities for simple moving meditation, we can see some parallels with one state of mind and a concrete slab setting. As much as concrete going hard is a physical chemical reaction, so too is the chilling out of a worked-up concreter. Meditation does wonderful things to your brain. It increases serotonin, which makes you happy. It increases gamma aminobutyric acid, which is a sort of natural brain tranquilizer that reduces anxiety and gives you a sense of calm. It releases endorphins, which make you feel happy, and dopamine, which offers you focus and motivation. And it decreases cortisol, which is your body's primary stress hormone, lowering your blood pressure and easing off your natural fight or flight response. It's basically magic. So now we have simultaneous magic powers at play, directly linked by the bull float. I'm not saying one cannot exist without the other. Concrete is going to set and go hard regardless. But another element to the magic is the skill and finesse of the concrete themselves. Magic isn't all about pulling rabbits out of hats or making the card disappear. Watching a master craftsman or craftswoman ply their trade, whatever that may be, is a magical thing to behold. When you hose off a house slab and it dries evenly without the slightest damp patch taking a little bit longer, you know that thing's millimeter perfect over 300 square metres. That's not to be sniffed at. Similarly, I'm not suggesting that your average concreter is incapable of achieving zen or realizing zen as traditional Buddhist philosophy has me understand, without a bull float in hand. Enlightenment is there for everyone. You've just got to learn to unlock it. Perhaps there's something to the bull float though, a seemingly inanimate object that really only has one job, short of retrieving a labourer's straw hat that's blown into the middle of the pad, Sam you dickhead. But it really is a beautifully engineered piece of kit. How it's weighted so it can be controlled at such a long extension is remarkable, and the blade is often made from magnesium. I'll let you Google that stuff on your own, but it's basically magic too. I've truly seen the vibe of the site change every time the bull float comes out. I see this 6'4 inch, 125 kilo roaring, bellowing brute, the same man who got slapped by a topless barmaid for snapping back the elastic on her lingerie as she walked past, the same man who threatened to belt the Aji truck driver for using his finishing sponge to wipe out the chute. I see him transform into a man who is at peace with the world. A peaceful, gentle soul, who with soft eyes and an easy smile, for a short time afterwards, will affectionately talk about his favourite surf spots from when he was a kid down on the central coast, or about a sunrise he had seen while camping in the desert country a few years back, and how that made him feel after a freezing South Australian outback night. There's Zen right there, no two ways about it. So to summarise, I don't think these guys are climbing mountains in Tibet and sipping yaks milk with the monks, but they are deafs getting their flow on with the bull float. If you're ever going past a building site one morning and they are pouring concrete, stop and have a look, take in the theatre of it all, and watch the happy ending unfold. You'll see what I mean. Maybe. Or maybe I just see the world from a different angle. And you don't have to listen to a word I say. I'm just a guy who did more standing round and watching and wondering on the building sites than pushing with arrows. Oh hey, g'day. Mick here. Did you enjoy that? I hope you did. Thank you for listening. Um thanks for coming back again if you if you heard last week's podcast. That was episode two, concreters. Um it's just a bit of fun. I know not all concretors are like that. I'm sorry. I worked on building sites for like ten years, and I guess I loosely base that on a couple of characters I encountered during that time. A couple of concretes, as one of them himself affectionately puts it. So I guess it's just a thought I had that I explored and got carried away with. But I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. I think a small part of the catalyst for the whole thing was the song I just played, which is called Bull Float Zen by a guy named Blake Scott, who has some really cool stuff. Check him out on Spotify. I didn't get permission to use the song. I'm sure I meant to. I'm sorry, Blake, if you ever get to hear this. If anyone knows him or knows how to get in contact with him, show him. I'd love that. Um same actually last week's episode with the beards. I used the song Would You Consider Having Sex with a Bearded Man by the Beards. And it's a banger of a song. I tried to reach out to the band, to the guys, um, but I couldn't, I don't know, I didn't get a response, so you know, I went for the forgiveness rather than permission um approach. But same deal. If anyone knows the guys in the band or can get through to them, send them the podcast about beards. I'm sure they'll enjoy that. Or if they hate it, it'll give them the opportunity to berate me and tell me to take it the the song off there, which I'll do so. Um a few of you guys seem to like last week's episode though. I got a bit of love in return. If you did leave me a nice review somewhere, um, and I didn't acknowledge that or reply, it's only because I don't know how to. Um I'm just learning about all this. I'm just new, I I don't know how to do it. Shout out to Polly though, who left some kind words on Spotify. Thank you, man. And Polly actually is sporting quite a serious, very impressive Ranger beard. Um, something that I could only ever dream of growing. Um, but if you do enjoy my stuff, um please do give me a subscribe or a five-star rating or a review or share it with somebody, tell your friends about it, see if we can grow. I'm learning as we speak that it's a lot of time and a lot of work goes into making a podcast. Like if you've got a favourite podcast that's you know got backing music and sound effects and all sorts of cool shit going on, like that takes them ages to do. So, you know, definitely let them know they're doing a good job or something like that. Um, you can it does make it all worth it. You can track me down on Instagram at Mick Newton underscore storyteller or on Facebook at Mick Newton Storyteller. I've got a bunch of cool stuff on there. I've got poetry and some just funny things I've done, some little skits and cool stuff. So definitely go and check that out. Um, like I said, please give me a like or a subscribe or whatever you gotta do. Tell your friends, see if you can share the love around a little bit for me. Um until next week, and there will be a next week, I'll be back with something else. I don't know what yet. I might tell a story. I've been thinking of something. Um tell everyone you love that you love them, be kind to everybody that you encounter and stay safe and peace out.