Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you can't have missed the overwhelming and terrifying events that are currently plaguing Japan. A 9.0 earthquake -- the largest in the country's recorded history -- struck, even affecting the whole planet itself. The subsequent tsunami swept through the coasts and has left many places in ruins. And now the country's very existence could be in thanks to radiation leaks caused by the quake. And this is all while the death toll continues to climb higher.

However, America, and a few other countries it appears, have proven yet again that some of their people don't give a damn about anyone but themselves. Today at school, there were at least several people I discovered who went out of their way to spew the most horrifying thing I've heard in a long time: that Japan deserves this for their attack on Pearl Harbor.

Correct me if my history book has been wrong all this time, but I thought we retaliated for that attack long ago. Hiroshima? Nagasaki? Atomic bomb? Ring some bells, people? We took out those two cities at the end of World War II, and the death toll was far higher than what was seen at Pearl Harbor. Since then we've established good relations with Japan. Anyone now who looks to the past and tries to find some supernatural reason for Japan suffering these disasters is disgusting. It's bad enough we get to listen to idiots like Westboro Baptist Church and Glenn Beck spew their mouths (the latest being Beck's claim that God sent the earthquake at Japan for their supposed ignorance of the Ten Commandments), but even some of our ordinary citizens feel the same.

I'd also like to point out how there have been no instances of Japan's people looting and stealing things in the wake of this disaster. How funny, and how heroic. After Hurricane Katrina, there were tons of reports of former New Orleans citizens breaking into shops and taking what wasn't rightfully theirs, all in the name of looking out for themselves. While I would never disregard the damage done to New Orleans due to that disaster, it is clear that Japan is facing a much worse reality. Yet you don't hear about any of its citizens committing such things. No, like a true nation, its people are sticking together. It's not about number one to them.

Japan being in as much danger as it is right now means several things. For one, the country has been responsible for many, MANY products and goods that we often take for granted. The entertainment and gaming industries have roots there. So much of our food comes from that country and the surrounding areas. Their culture is one of the most amazing on this planet, and they've always been held in high regard for a good reason. If nothing is done, either by sheer luck or by the assistance of other nations, Japan will be doomed. And we will have lost one of the most wonderful cultures seen in history. How's that for the history texts?

I realize that these idiots do not represent all of us. Nevertheless, the fact they exist says a lot. This world has been divided for too long. By race, by religion, by prejudices, by social class, and by history. Our cultures may be different, but we're still the same living, breathing human race on the same planet. It's high time we, as a whole, really must shelter our egos and our pride, and help out those who need it. Even if we can't do much, at least we can say we're praying and hoping for the best. Those that instead sit back and cite "karma" or point fingers at God as being responsible for this atrocity, you disgust me.

My thoughts are with you, Japan. I pray you recover really quickly.

Have you ever had to deal with a customer -- whether in food, retail, or any other business -- who likes to bargain? Do you hate that? I sure do. I dealt with that today at work.

I'll admit, I don't personally believe Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits has the best deals. But that's just it -- they're still deals. Regardless of my or anyone's opinion, it's still a deal, even if they're not as good as, say, KFC's $5 fill up boxes. Anyway, as of right now, the branch of Popeyes I work at has a deal going on for 10 pieces of mixed chicken for $9.99. After tax it's $10.97. Basically, about $11.00 for 10 pieces. And it's JUST 10 pieces of chicken. There's nothing else. I say again, there are much better deals out there. However, compared to what's on our menu at regular price this is actually a sweet ass deal. And note that the advertisement just says chicken only. Nothing else comes with it.

Every so often, however, a customer seems to think he or she can sway me into making any deal into a better one, and this pisses me off to no end for two reasons: 1.) It's already a deal! and 2.) I could get into serious trouble for doing that. That happened again today. Some guy -- about in his late 30s I would say -- came in at around 6:15 pm. I was at the register at the time and took his order. The first thing that came out of his mouth was this: "That deal out there on the window -- the 10 pieces for $9.99 -- how many sides and biscuits come with that?"

Let's look at this question really, really carefully. I'm not taking his question out of context, he specifically meant "what else comes with this deal?" It's the manner of how he worded his question. "How many sides and biscuits come with that?" The answer is none. There's no indication anywhere on the sign that this deal comes with anything other than chicken. "But, Kevin," you may be saying, "he just made a mistake! No big deal, right?" Ah, read on, my friend.

I politely informed him that nothing else comes with this deal. It's just chicken. This is where the second problem arose. He looked back at the sign and then at me, and gave me a look that clearly said, "Are you fucking crazy?!" He seemed to compose himself for a moment and then added, "Nothing? It's just chicken?"
"Yes, sir." I answered.
"10 pieces for $10? That's not much of a deal."
"I'm sorry, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

He began negotiating a better deal for him. First, he asked if we had any sort of deal that was only sides and biscuits. I informed him we didn't. He looked over at another of our specials, which was a family meal special and asked why that particular one did have a side and biscuit deal. I explained that that was how the deal came to begin with. For whatever reason, this answer seemed to send him on a bit of a rant, accusing us of being cheap (irony at its finest) and calling me a poor example of customer service. Eventually, he left saying, "You need to serve the customer! We're always right!"

No, sir. No, you're not. Customers are NOT always right, and I hate this stupid saying with a passion. You are not in the right when you try to negotiate what's already a deal or bargain to better suit your needs. I'm sorry, but you don't. Not in fast food anyway. The deal already comes how it says; I can't change it just because you don't like it. I'm sorry we don't have something better for you, but you can't satisfy everyone. Instead of getting so angry about it, though, either find another place or get something else on the menu, but don't start getting angry at me -- a simple worker who just follows what he's been told, and try to pin blame on him. As the saying goes: "I just work here."

Seriously, this whole sense of entitlement crap people seem to have of themselves needs to go away.