1829 Pan.

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I went through a bunch of stuff before picking the Toys R Us jingle. The discord crowd suggested a bunch of stuff that I swatted down, because I’m the best at comics! The best!

Toys R Us is over, and I usually don’t slap something in the comic that dates it so much, but fuck it.

I don’t know what I did to my left arm but it hurts at the spot where they always draw blood from me. Maybe I leaned on it too much in my sleep, or something. The yoga mat has made it possible to sleep on the floor longer without hurting my hip but I’m still getting a sore spot on my side from the height of my pillow, I think. I got a harder pillow for the bottom one and that with a regular pillow folded in half was enough before, but now it seem like it’s a little too much. Finding that sweet spot for sleep is always trouble.

I changed my cpap mask again, wich means I need another one for when this one fails, but the place I’m supposed to buy them from won’t answer their phone. They also deleted their website. What the fuck is wrong with these companies? It’s like they’re run by a bunch of scoundrels or something. They keep calling me to try and sell me shit, but I can’t call them. Guh. More adventures in the shitshow that is American healthcare.

33 Comments

Ooookay… I think Mad Academic is being a troll, there. Not sure why they felt compelled to tell you that they’re leaving even when they admit they’re being harsh toward you and your situation… I’m guessing they care more about what they have to say than how it makes others feel, or they’re lying about being long-time readers and just commented to be rude.

In either event, forget about them. All your REAL fans and friends hope you get better soon. Take care of yourself and keep being awesome. ????

Well, his real goal was to hurt me in a way that made him feel like he was justified and righteous. If that’s what he wanted than I give it freely. Better me than someone else.

It shouldn’t be you OR anyone else. You deserve better. No one deserves to be put down just to make someone else feel better. Plus I doubt that letting him try to hurt you will spare anyone else from his rudeness. But it’s kind of you to be willing to do that for others. You keep taking care of yourself, man.

(Also, I’m a bit bummed that my smiley I typed on my phone in my last post just comes out as a “????” on the site. Be aware that it was a :-) that I put in there.)

Also, it seems I may be using a different e-mail between my phone and my computer, since my latest post doesn’t have a face…

I don’t think the Toys R Us song really will date your comic. You’ve got decades till young adults stop having been kids while Toys R Us was around in the US. And Toys R Us Canada is still in business as the company itself is successful, the American one just had shareholders dumping debts from elsewhere on the company or some such sleazy bullshit.

I didn’t think TRU was in Canada.

As someone who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, I can affirm that we do have Toys R Us here in Canada! :)

Toys R Us U.S., Canada, and UK(I think) are all part of the same corporation …kinda.

If I understand everything correctly (big if) ToysRUs The Corporation owns the companies of ToysRUs US, ToyRUs Canada, and ToysRUs UK. This just means that its more likely since ToysRUs Canada is profitable a bankruptcy judge might be more willing to just spin it off as its own company (branding might still be an issue). However the Australian, Asian, and European companies were joint ventures so ToysRUs did not own them outright…they were just a partner. So they stay open so long as the other partners want to keep going and can keep going.

If anything, the plot we left at the store, CDs becoming an obsolete format, dates the comic more.

I still have a hard tie finding the right pillow. If I sleep on my left side, after a while my left shoulder and neck hurt. My physio told me part of the problem is my pillow. When I sleep on it, my head should be horizontal. Instead, it was sloped upwards, stressing my neck.

Changing pillows helped a lot. We have a lot of them. Now my neck feels a lot better, but I still have trouble with my shoulder.

Mind you, every the bed gets made up, my pillow seems to get randomly replaced with another, and I have to go hunting for the right pillow again.

— hendrik

RIP Toys R Us. I actually didn’t have much to do with that store when I was a kid. Maybe got some Lego sets, but I guess I’ve just never seen the appeal of shopping in my life. Still, it feels sad to lose it, as I always thought it’d be there, ready for when I have a kid of my own. With it’s loss, I don’t think there’s anywhere nearby that we can really call “the toy store”.

Your timing and use of the Toys R Us song is a bit odd, as it did just end. The original founder Mr. Lazarus just died (literally a few days ago). So, I don’t know if this was just poor execution or simple lack of awareness. The term “too soon” comes to mind.

I actually worked at the local Toys R Us just over a year ago and I have to say that you could tell it was on its last legs. They kept up a brave front and it was a cool environment to work in, but (and it is a big but) the business approach and management were just not in sync with modern retail. It really felt like I was working for a company in the 1980s.

They exhibited all the worst faults of a bricks and mortar business while scrambling to also compete with on-line sales which simple produces a jumbled message to the customers. They actually had 5 distinct ways a person could shop and actually get a toy however they had 4 different systems trying to keep track of inventory and one “system” that was not even recorded which made for a mess in back-of-house.

Seeing how things happened behind the scenes was eye-opening put very depressing as it was obvious that it could not be maintained much longer.

I’m sure the use of the jingle in this comic was not intended to be in bad faith or bad form. Relax.

No, just bad timing.

March 14, 2018 – Toys R Us announces it will close all US/Canada stores
March 15, 2018 – Toys R Us announces it will close all 1,758 stores worldwide
March 22, 2018 – Toys R Us founder Charles P. Lazarus dies at 94
March 30, 2018 – This strip

Especially considering he said that other songs had been considered.
However, seeing as this is a comic about a big-box store, it has some logic.

Not to mention the types of personality that is singing that particular song.
Still beats the branded hotdog song that is dated a few decades back.

There used to be a Toys R Us about a five minute drive from my house. It got converted into a Babies R Us about 10 years ago.

What does the title, “Pan”, refer to?

Also- If you are in the U.S.:

SALES- Your local Toys R US store(s) are having their close-out sales.

*** You can go to your local TRU store, + buy the stuff that is still in the store. The store’s workers will appreciate that.

The close-out sales, in the US, startered on March 23, 2018.

Your best bet, IMO, is to call the store + see if they’re still open, before driving or otherwise traveling, to get there

Maybe it is: “Pan”, as in- Maddie is acting like Peter Pan (?), or she’s being Peter Pan?

I know of at least 3 different Pans, and one of ’em’s got pipes. Judging by Reggie’s reaction here, this girl’s got pipes!

(grins)

Heh, heh!

I hadn’t thought of it that way! :)

Yeah, I can see Maddie singing like- Ethel Merman, in the 1954 film:

“There’s No Business Like Show Business.” :D

RIP Toys R Us. I wonder what the one on the other side of town turned into. I haven’t been up that way for years.

The acoustics in my shower actually throw me off for singing, rather than encourage me. Much prefer my car or the deserted bike path by my house. That might just be my self-confidence issues.

Panel 1, bubble 5, “acoustics” needs but one T.

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