Sounds like aterpster is one of the guys whose recommendations led to the depreciation of the US major airline pilot's certificate.
All US majors that type rate their pilots seem to have a no circling restriction on their certificates. That was the case at the major I was at, but funnily enough their contract training for non employed pilots did not have this restriction. Alaska may be an exception, I don't know.
Circling even in non radar (which this wasn't) is just part of the job. If you don't like it go around and do it again.
Rather like a memo from a desk job. Except its not. It is a bit more serious than that. It is what we are trained to do.