For what's its worth, I really didn't think the technical interviews were nightmares. It was mostly talking with very intelligent people who were volunteering their time to screen candidates. Though how much one enjoys brain teasers over productive work is of course a matter of personal perference. Everything else (emails, phonecalls, etc) were definitely tedious.

As for working at Google, I think it really depends on the person. For me it was a good gamble in terms of both immediate learning and future opportunities; for others it won't be. I do find the opportunity to have my code (or what's left of it after reviews anyways) reach billions of people a thrill like no other though.