Seven Became Four, and the Interviews Went On in the Rain

It was still pouring when I came back.

The streetlight caught every line of rain, and the ground was covered in wet reflections. I stopped to take a photo. It felt exactly like today: messy, exhausting, and somehow still not over.

How Did Seven Become Four?

Today's physical fitness test nearly killed me. Damn.

The pull-ups were the most infuriating part. I clearly did seven, but they recorded only four. Four gets me no points, so yes, I am still annoyed whenever I think about it. Being tired is one thing. Putting in the effort and then being told it does not count is something else.

My final score was 75.7, which was enough to pass. But the pull-up row says it plainly: 4 repetitions, 0 points, failed. Seeing it makes the anger come straight back.

The fitness-test overview showing a total score of 75.7 and a pass, with zero for upper-body strength — An overall pass, with a very noticeable zero for upper-body strength. This AI-assisted privacy edit covers the address field at the top.

The detailed fitness-test results showing four pull-ups, zero points, and a failed rating for that event — Four repetitions, zero points. The most infuriating row on today's report.

Students taking their physical fitness test on the school track beneath an overcast sky — Today's track. Just looking at it makes me tired again.

Students walking along a campus road after the fitness test, with the nearby car's plate blurred — A quick photo on the way. This AI-assisted privacy edit blurs the nearby car's license plate.

I have not made it to the library these past few days either, because there is an interview every evening.

The university science and innovation group I interviewed with yesterday told me today that I did not get in. During the interview, they asked me for the organisation's full formal name. I said I did not know. Then they asked about having to process a lot of boring data. The other candidates insisted it was not boring and found ways to make the work sound much nicer. I just said it was boring and that we could hand it to AI. [facepalm]

They said AI was inaccurate. I replied that AI was less likely to make mistakes than people. The look on their faces told me that this part had probably gone badly.

Looking back, I was expressing what I honestly think about efficiency. But perhaps the interview was also testing something else: whether someone is willing to understand repetitive work and take responsibility for the result. AI can certainly take over a lot of mechanical labour. Someone still has to define the task, check the output, and deal with the mistakes.

So I do not think my basic point was necessarily wrong. I just delivered it with absolutely no cushioning. An interview is a form of communication too. Sometimes having a view is not enough; you also have to help people hear what sits behind it.

The Website, a Server, and Another Bill

I have also been working on my website. The original server was overseas, and access from within China was unreliable, so I ended up setting up domestic acceleration and a lightweight server. One message after another announced that everything had been activated successfully. My wallet received the message too.

Alibaba Cloud activation messages, with account and instance identifiers covered — The services were activated successfully. So were the new expenses. This AI-assisted privacy edit covers the account and instance identifiers.

The Alibaba Cloud lightweight server console, with the account, IP addresses, and instance details covered — Another server, all to make the website more reliable to reach from China. This is an AI-assisted privacy edit.

In the evening I went back out into the storm for interviews with several faculty-level student groups: science and innovation, arts, and sports. Afterwards, I chatted with a few older students and added one of them on WeChat. Tonight's interviews went reasonably well, at least. I did not manage to flatten the mood with a single sentence this time.

By the time it was all over, my body had completely given up on moving.

Heavy rain illuminated by a warm streetlight at night, falling in front of trees and wet grass — On the way back from the interviews, the rain kept falling beneath the streetlight.

I do not really want to write any more tonight. I am simply too tired.

I am still angry about the fitness test. I do not know how the interviews will turn out, and the website has cost me another chunk of money. Let all of it sit in the rain for now.

That is enough. Time to sleep.