good news and bad news

The bad news is, I appear to have done something painful to my right knee over the weekend. I have no idea what. On Saturday night, I was standing upright getting a pile of books off a table, and suddenly the back of my knee went pop, and didn't want to bend completely any more. Sunday it was stiff, yesterday it started to get stiff when I got tired, and today every time my heel hits the ground when I walk, something in the front of my knee hurts. Dammit.

The good news is, I got a B on the first draft of my knowledge organization paper. I'm shocked, since I hated it. The comments I got say that if I revise it as suggested, it could be "excellent". I'll take that. Especially since this is the same professor who told me repeatedly and in no uncertain terms that my French is below standards for grad students. (I can't wait until next semester, when I have Literary and Cultural Translation with her. She's going to find out that I can translate, even if I can't write French as well as she thinks I should.)

Job-hunting etiquette question: I took the civil service exam two weeks ago and haven't heard anything since. Is it acceptable for me to call HR and ask what the time frame for finding out about the results is, since I want to buy plane tickets for Christmas and I need to know whether I have to be back here before New Year's? Or should I just go ahead and buy the plane tickets and tell HR they're out of luck if they want me back here on a certain date and my travel plans won't allow for it?

Off to figure out what I have to get done today other than revising papers, writing papers and studying for exams.