Enjoying my last full week of work

Well, like the title says, I recently completed my last full week of work. On Tuesday, I had to present my fifteen weeks of work to a body of people at Parker-Hannifin. Needless to say, this was a defining moment in my tenure at Parker. The presentation that I have to give at Parker was a defining moment because this gave me access to all of Parker's employees in the Information Technology department. This included the CIO and several other key executives that could make me into the next big thing or could break me into being "one of the average people who are employed here." I certainly wasn't aiming for the latter in this presentation. I felt that I performed well enough on the job that it would show in my presentation. I had my basic information about myself (name, school, year, major), my interests at school (activities I am heavily involved in), a synopsis of my job title and a short description of what it entails (serves as a "how much did you really learn in your position during the summer"), what have I learned, my future goals, and my thank you section (for the people who really had a hand in molding me on the job). I also had a time requirement on my presentation since there were six other presenters to prove themselves that they are Parker material. Personally, I was in the zone so I didn't focus on how many people were in the auditorium- there were quite a few but I was so into my presentation I didn't focus on them until after the applause. I did a seven minute presentation which I had to practice in order to get down the time. The whole session was an hour in length with an acknowledgment by the CIO at the end. We finished without a hitch and went back to work until rush hour started around 5:00 pm.

The rest of the week was uneventful... until Friday came through. Friday was once of those true bonding times between interns and the regular employees. This is where I had brought my camera. Let me go through my picture in order of the time taken:


At lunch, me and two other interns in the IT area happen to run into each other. I was in the back when the help desk intern asked me if I wanted to go get something to eat. I had been working for almost five hours and of course, I told him, YES!!! As we were walking to the cafeteria upstairs, we ran into another intern, who is helping out the server support station. He asked if we were hungry and we said yes. He told us about this sushi place and we all decided to try it out. The place was only five minutes from the location of our job so it was convenient for everyone. The place is to the right of this text. Otani's is a Japanese sushi place where there are two options of cuisine: traditional and hibichi (grill). We were hungry but realized we had little time to enjoy ourselves since we all had to be back by 1:00 pm. We chose the traditional style since this way was a lot quicker. I decided to splurge since it was our last week together- I ordered eight huge sushi with shrimp and salmon toppings on it. The other two interns ordered smaller portions. We all talked about our experiences at Parker and the anticipation we feel going back to our respective schools. Wow, it doesn't feel like I will be going back to OWU in 5 days.

Three hours later, Charlie Kadowaki, the intern who worked the Help Desk, said his goodbyes to his team and I left with him to go to my favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot. My first choice, Benihana's, wasn't open until 5:30 pm and neither of us had time to wait. I reserved a spot for The Melting Pot around 5:00 pm. I decided to take a picture of Charlie in front of the building because it was a good day and I have not had a chance to take a picture of the Parker facility. Right now, it is under construction but it is for a great cause for Parker. I can't wait to see the final product of the Parker facility when I return last summer.

We arrived at The Melting Pot after being stuck in traffic (due to the flooding caused by a horrific storm and the usual early rush hour traffic). I wanted to flaunt The Melting Pot and why not now at the end of a work week! I introduced him to the way The Melting Pot does things and of course, the person taking the order was entertaining and engaging... the way I like things, you know. Something felt a bit odd- there are no ambience. That was fixed automatically as someone noticed this and changed the light fixture to suit the mood in the restaurant. There is another sample of the mood it created to the right. A little eerie and a bit nostalgic, the glasses of wine was kind of cool and psychedelic. I noticed this immediately and pointed this out to Charlie. He liked the mood and the environment of The Melting Pot. Mission partially accomplished.
There was nothing to do except to wait for the food. This time, I had help eating the absolutely awe-inspiring food. The list of food goes something like this:

Cheese Fondue: Cheddar cheese with Granny Smith Apples, Pimpernickel Bread, and vegetables.
Salad: Caesar- can't go wrong with a Caesar's salad.
Entree: Duck, lamb, pork, chicken, shrimp, and pot stickers- just right, not spicy at all. Served with squash, mushrooms, and potatoes. YESSSSS!!!!
Dessert: The best part of the meal. Marshmallows, pound cake, cheesecake, pineapples, bananas, and an extra helping of strawberries which I got because I love strawberries so much especially dipped in that white chocolate fondue. Ooooohhhhh!!!!! See the picture of the right of the screen. This picture does not give the dessert at The Melting Pot enough attention. If you crave desserts, please turn away now!

The second part of The Melting Pot, which is the food, satisfied Charlie and I so much, people. I can tell you that the experience was memorable and one Charlie Kadowaki will not likely forget in a while. Mission accomplished, baby!

After dinner, I parted ways temporarily with Charlie- I can still connect with him through Facebook. I walked through Legacy Village and left to go to Cleveland Heights to go home for the night. Before I did that though, I contemplated the day with reflection on top of a glass structure overlooking the downtown portion of Cleveland Heights. Many questions blazed through my mind. Was Parker worth it for the summer? Is Parker the only job and possibly career I will ever need? Is this experience a dream? Will my degree turn out to be useful once I settle down with Parker? Will I be able to recruit people deemed more skilled than I was at Parker? As I look into the horizon, I wonder those questions. Questions I do not currently have the answer for but yearn to seek them out? Only time will provide those answers to these all too important questions? However, I know one thing: Parker has forever made an impact in my heart and the experience I earned this summer is invaluable. I will not forget this summer and I will cherish the people who have given me the opportunity to prove myself and make myself, a city guy, known throughout the realms of corporate America. I will forever grateful for those people and for the skills I have learned there. I have become stronger and more knowledgable about the corporate environment and about my capabilities as an employee and as a man. I thank you all for your support.




Blessed by the Holy Spirit and the people He brought to guide me,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10