Still a sucker for good grades

I've mentioned to a few people that all I care about here is passing my classes. And now that I've got my first grade I know that I was lying: I'm a total GPA whore.

(by the way, don't read this if you don't want to hear me gloat)

It's really just a matter of pride. It's stupid but I feel like I have to prove to my professors that I'm not the idiot I seem to be when I blurt out a few hardly-coherent sentences in class or, on the other hand, sit silently in my corner the entire semester. Not that it matters what they think, or that they even necessarily think that.

In any case, I'm just happy to be able to say that I went to France for grad school and I threw off their curve (for one assignment). Take that, assholes! It's just one class, but after my constant worrying, a touch of overconfidence and arrogance couldn't hurt, right?

FYI: I got a 17 out of 20. It's rare to get anything over 16. No one has ever actually gotten a 20, because that means that you're perfect, and they just can't let you think that. Also, it's funny that in the note the professor included with my grade he didn't say good job or anything, he only pointed out some esoteric critiques of the subject that I didn't cover, and that my essay and presentation were too long. Can't fault him for that, and my papers were always too long back in high school (Matt, no comments please). Not a question of overachieving, I just have problems with concision (have you noticed yet?).

It's funny though that positive feedback is so rare. For example, in French you say 'not bad' (pas mal) if something is good, and 'it's not terrible' (c'est pas terrible) when something pretty much sucks. Another example: In some famous play this guy is in love this this lady, tragic story, etc. He asks her if she loves him, and she says 'I don't hate you' (je vous hais point), which, it turns out, means she's madly in love with him. Apparently this is related to the political climate under Louis XIV when Moliere and company had to say the opposite of what they meant to critique the king. You'd think though that the king would have caught on at some point.