The gig is now officially over. It did not end in the best way it could have either and see myself and the others who were let go as being quite manipulated by the lawyers.
The day before yesterday, all of us were told our daily output had dropped by about 25% so speed up; no duh, considering the week before we were told the project was to continue and then coming home to find an e-mail from our employer telling us we had but a week left. That I think was calculated as yesterday, the last day, all were planning to work a full day, but found ourselves out of documents by midday.
Interestingly enough, this time, as opposed to the past, we knew that this was the end and no one went to either of the lawyers to tell them we had no more documents to review. Then perhaps after sitting idly for an hour, both of the lawyers come in to tell us we;/ve come to the end of the string that it was a pleasure working with us, and that we need to leave the premises now.
Quite a bit of confusion ensued with people packing, saying good-byes and in the midst of this, one of the lawyers wanted to remind those “who have been invited to stay on”… Nice, that.
One Japanese woman who I have made friends with and who will remain, did a very, very surprisingly un-Japanese thing when I came to say good bye; put her arms out and gave me (and a few others) a light hug. Nice to see someone break out of the mold
There was also some v only in Japanese culture stuff. During the party on Wednesday night one of the reviewers, a 73-old Japanese woman, who does have some interesting stories to tell, but who also was an irritant to work with, decided on her one to buy a large platter of sushi for all. A nice gesture of course. But of course in Japanese culture there is 御返し, or the obligation to return the favor quickly, so a card was circulated to be signed and a donation of $5 was asked for. Uh, guys, I wasn’t at this party (I was on the Key Bridge tending to a homeless person), did nt eat any of the sushi and feel no obligation to kick in $5. （それできらわれた、しらん）
Then it was where do we go for an 打ち上げ会, meal. Dithering and dithering as is also much a part of Japanese group dynamics, finally settling on a Chinese place on K Street. If the food there was their idea of good Chinese food, then I am an Elvis Presley love child.
All then went to some karaoke place, which to me has the same effect a silver cross is supposed to have on a vampire.
Al in all, despite the cavalier treatment at The Firm, it was a good experience in many ways. Felt good about myself, learned a few things and expanded my circle of acquaintances.
Will miss my lunchtime perch with the nice view it had though.
Lunchtime, as humble as it is
Inaformerlifeanexpat's Blog 
You had a great spot for lunch. LOL about the karaoke – I totally agree. We recently went to a friend’s place for a dinner party and as soon as the karaoke machine came out we made a hasty exit.
The food was sooo awful I could actualy taste the black pepper, ketsup and cheap soy sauce used to prepare the ‘food’. If I had had more of my wits about me, I would have remembered the name of the place and actually put in in the blog as a warning not to go, ever.
As to Karaoke. a.) when I sing, all cats with a 100 meter radius die very painful deaths. b.) why in hell should I pay to sing when I can do it for as long as the hot water lasts in the shower for free?