Tomorrow is day one of my 500 hour externship. Long days, long hours, no pay. It’s going to be one interesting ride. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’ve been trained for this. I’m not just walking into the kitchen for the first time. 500 hours? Piece of cake.

In the meantime, here’s a post about the origin of “Nose to the Grindstone”. During a field trip to the Old Bale Grist Mill, we learned that if the stones used to mill corn or wheat aren’t positioned correctly, the friction between them can cause the flour to burn. This makes for not very tasty products. To check that the stones weren’t overheating, millers put their nose to the stone in order to smell any burning. The scent of it can also mean that the two millstones have become unbalanced, knocking into each other and striking sparks from the friction. The idiom translates to applying yourself conscientiously to your work, without stopping. Basically work hard and never give up. “Back to the grind” can also be traced back to this idiom. Guess I just have to keep that phrase in mind for my first 12 hour shift on the job. Whew!

Another cool idiom or phrase we learned was “fair to middling”. The different grades of milling are fine, fair, and middling — middling being the highest grade. If someone asked, “how are you doing?”, a common response was “between fair and middlin”, meaning things are so-so or a little better than average. It’s not a very common phrase, but I think I want to bring it back!

Anyways, it’s totally passed my bedtime (it’s currently 2 am). Even though I don’t start work until noon, I’m still psyching myself out for it. Wish me luck! 🙂