More on the mad thyroid

I wen to the local (meaning 20min bus ride) endocrinology specialist yesterday to hear more about the radioactive tests I've done last week. Once I got there, they did some routine thing where they weigh me, measure my blood pressure etc, and after nearly 3 weeks of non-stop eating of heaps of sometimes fatty and junky food, I didn't gain even a single pound, and am still just below 102 pounds (I had eaten a whole footlong sub before I got there though). Wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, and after filling in some forms and waiting for 5 mins, I went in to talk with the specialist. He went straight into the test results, and it turns out I have thyroiditis, which is not a clinical disease that I have to take medicine for the rest of my life, but an inflammation of thyroids. There are some more serious ones like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, but the doctor said my case wasn't as severe as it could be. And not loosing any more weight is definitely a good sign. Good news indeed, because this means that my thyroid problem is not going to last forever. But a downside of that is that I don't get to go under any treatment program, but the best thing to do is to ride it out. This was a little disappointing because lately I found myself unable to do much other than being in a constant state of tiredness + muscle pain + irritated + foggy brain + unbelievably forgetful + unmotivated to do the pile of work I have to do. I guess the doctor is right for not putting me on any thyroid hormone controlling medicine (he said it will make things worse at the start anyways), and he said I should eat well and rest, like I didn't know already. I guess the nature of this thing being nothing more than my body "overworking" and making me feel like I ran a complete marathon the day before every single day, it is not something to worry too much about. Good, I don't ever want to make this a big deal, but sometimes it is rather annoying that everyone says "you just need to take it easy" or "you should sleep/eat more". I'm doing all of that already but still feeling spent. All I can tell myself is that only few more weeks and I'll be home resting in the sun, then it will alllll be better.

Some thoughts on job interviews + radioactive me!

So... I think I had an OK interview, but in the end it wasn't a good news I was hoping for. I'm disappointed a little, but meh I'll find a job eventually. Still, this experience made me realize how much of an art the whole interviewing thing is. I've talked to 2 different people from the same company prior to going there for an on-site interview, first with a fresher who worked there for about a year or two, then with the hiring manager. First guy was sorta know-it-all person who pfft-ed at me for taking SCJP, and told me he was preparing for it but has not yet taken it. I told him I took SCJP as a general proof that I know Java. Not even 2 seconds after I finished that sentence, he started firing me all these java question, which I answered all except for one. He then pointedly said "that was one of the SCJP exam question!" what the.. if you know that much, why don't you sit that exam already.... He prolly thought I was too book-nerdy for an interview, and I wasn't invited to even the phone interview then. I talked to the second person, the hiring manager, about 2 months after that incident, when they came back for another job fair on campus. I handed him my CV, talked for about 10 mins, about my working experience and my specialization at graduate school. What happens then? He skipped me the phone interview and I jumped on the plane to their on-site interview. I didn't get an offer in the end, but the whole thing just clearly shows that there is no set metric or guideline for interviews, just depends on who you talk to... I mean I don't think I got that smart in that 2-month time... Also, all these recommendation about how to appear interested and prepared and smart by repeating some phrases like "I believe I will make a great contribution to your company blahhhh" are, in my opinion, really just bs. Interviewer is a person, I am a person, and both are looking for a match. Would I ever talk like I just jumped out of a textbook? How is that ever representative of an individual? I don't know, I just don't understanding why an interview should be a "show" according to all these "interview tips" that I found on the internet.

And on a completely separate note, about my radioactivity... I went to the local hospital to do some more testing on my hyperthyroidism for which I took a radioactive iodine tablet, waited 24 hours, and measured how much of it was absorbed into my system. And then I was injected with some other form of possibly radioactive material, waited 15 minutes and took the radioactivity picture of some sort... I'll have to wait until next week to find out what that all means though. Being tired all the time is getting really tired. I actually canceled one of the final exam because I just couldn't sit down and read 12 papers, understand them, and regurgitate what was on there. It was my fault that I didn't read them on time but seeing how I had this condition for almost 2 months now, I don't think I will be able to read them even if I had time. It feels like that nothing seems to be recording in my brain almost, I feel a little dumb too @_@. Arrgghh few more weeks and I'll be home for a summer Christmas.