Fun with books

So, we were supposed to order our books from Elsevier (publisher) in a package - cost around $500.

Paramedic Practice Today, Volume 1 and 2 Rev. Reprint
Author Aehlert, Barbara J Edition 2011 ISBN 978-0-323-08539-

Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional - With Dvd
Author Guy, Jeffrey S. Edition REV 11 ISBN 978-0-323-08519-9

Pediatric Advanced Life Support Study Guide
Author Aehlert, Barbara Edition 3RD 07 ISBN 978-0-323-04750-0

12-Lead ECG in Acute - Text and Pocket Ref.
Author Phalen, Tim Edition 3RD 11 ISBN 978-0-323-07785-9

ACLS Quick Review Study Guide
Author Aehlert, Barbara Edition 4TH 12 ISBN 978-0-323-08449-9

I dutifully ordered them, though I already own the 12-lead book (figured I could give a copy away or sell it on Amazon)

waiting...waiting...waiting

2 weeks and the package is listed as "backordered" with no estimated date.  4 weeks until classes start.  Emailed my school - "Oh, didn't you get the email? There has been some recent publisher changes that has affected textbook purchasing. In this email you will find a list of textbooks required for the Paramedic Program. Textbooks may be purchased new or used from a vendor of your choice; Online, Amazon, Ebay, etc."

Lovely.

Original price of package deal: $491
Price for textbooks (new) on Amazon? $369
Oops, don't need that extra book!
Total cost for books, new: $312
Saving me $179, about 6 hours of overtime!

Simplicity

I bet stupid ignorant underpriviledged people are really happy.

I could be living my life on unemployment/disability checks.

Subsidized housing.  A check every month.  Big screen TV, internet for gaming.  No medical insurance to pay for, free government cheese.  Pulling furniture out of dumpsters (which I do anyway).  Living off the largesse of society.  Spending my days watching whatever OC-Jersey Shore-MTV had to offer and loosing myself in the online world for my social interaction.  Free books at the library.  Public assistance.  I could do it.

Instead I drag myself out of bed everyday and push myself into a job that slowly drains the joy from my soul.  Spend my evenings and weekends on call with EMS just to feel normal.  Study when I scare up an hour or two.  Work on projects to improve a house and land I don't own.  Work hard to repay endless student loans for degrees that really weren't worth it.  Work harder to put myself through paramedic school, pay the bills for my extended family.

WTF am I doing?

Currently Reading...

I know you all have been just eagerly chewing your nails, wondering what the Ambulance Ranger has been reading, so here she goes:

Just finished Stephen King's The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel (AKA Dark Tower 4.5) and LOVED it!  This was the first book I've ever pre-ordered as a Kindle book and it was well done.  Beautiful tale within a tale inside a story.  All I can say is, if you have never read the Dark Tower series, you truly have not lived.  In my continuing re-enjoyment of the series, Wolves of the Calla is next.

Since I'm starting paramedic school in (gulp) 5 weeks, I'm reading a lot of medicine:


Capnography, King of the ABC's: A Systematic Approach for Paramedics [Paperback]
Troy Valente (Author)  Found this book by accident - a very short tome on the pre-hospital use of capnography.  Looks decent, will review later.

And then there's the course books.
Anatomy & Physiology text arrived yesterday.


The Human Body in Health & Disease - 5e by Gary A. Thibodeau PhD and Kevin T. Patton PhD

This is a self-study course, through the University of Texas, where you do video lectures, quizzes, and exams online.  Supposed to be done concurrently with paramedic studies.  I am going to try to be a few chapters ahead.  Going to go ahead and order the study guide for this as well.

Still waiting for these:
Paramedic Practice Today, Volume 1 and 2 Rev. Reprint
Author Aehlert, Barbara J Edition 2011 ISBN 978-0-323-08539-

Pharmacology for the Prehospital Professional - With Dvd
Author Guy, Jeffrey S. Edition REV 11 ISBN 978-0-323-08519-9

Als-Entire Para Evolve (this is the online course component - quizzes & tests done through Elsevier's "Evolve" program)
Author Elsevier Edition 2012

Pediatric Advanced Life Support Study Guide
Author Aehlert, Barbara Edition 3RD 07 ISBN 978-0-323-04750-0

12-Lead ECG in Acute - Text and Pocket Ref.
Author Phalen, Tim Edition 3RD 11 ISBN 978-0-323-07785-9

ACLS Quick Review Study Guide
Author Aehlert, Barbara Edition 4TH 12 ISBN 978-0-323-08449-9


So here I go!  I'll be chronicling the journey here, in addition to the usual chaos of EMS in my life, so stay tuned!