So...what happened here?

The ellipsis are in a different place in today's title, but they're still there. It still counts, and I'm a bit of a mess today because I slightly overslept and my right contact lens is messed up. But I'm overdue for recounting and adventure, so you'll take what you can get.

Today's adventure comes courtesy of my job. Every so often, I have to work the night cops shift, the bane of  most non-cops reporters. It involves working late into the night, listening to the police scanners and, if need be, driving out to the scene of serious and/or fatal car accidents, fires, murders, etc. When those things don't happen, it involves staring at your computer for approximately eight hours trying to combat mind-numbing boredom.

Most of my night cops shift, to this point, have fallen into the latter category. It can be terrible, to be sure, but  after working a semi-real shift this past Sunday I'm all for getting lost in Sporcle quizzes, Thought Catalog articles, etc. and hope every shift I work from now on is the calmest day in the history of Lynchburg.

Upon arrival Sunday afternoon, I prepared myself for my usual boredom killing endeavors. But after only about an hour on the job, the scanners piped up with activity. A tractor trailer, it seemed, had "run over" another vehicle. There wasn't any information immediately shared about the severity of the resultant injuries, but it seemed pretty likely the second vehicle's occupants weren't going to be in the best of shape.

Begrudgingly, I packed up my notebook and the scanner, pulled out my umbrella (oh yeah, we were in the midst of a giant rainstorm), got in my car and headed out to the scene of the accident. On the way I called our usual cops reporter (who is not at all a Jerk McJerkface and whose help I greatly appreciated) to get some instruction on how I should proceed, as I'd never gone out to the scene of anything before.

I heard on the scanner that traffic was blocked from both directions around the scene, so I pulled into a parking lot near by and set out on foot. My black flats, so cute in appearance, are probably the world shoes one can wear on a rainy day. With sopping wet feet and a soggy notebook, I encountered a kind young fireman who led me down to the crash site.

I was directed to the fire chief and, with absolutely no confidence, I asked him quite simply, "so...what happened here?"

His answer: "This truck hit that truck."

He went on to explain that the damage was not as bad as it appeared and the smaller truck's occupants had only minor injuries. The whole "tractor trailer ran over other vehicle" call had apparently been a bit of an exaggeration.

I thanked him and began the trudge back to my car, only realizing once I'd arrived at it the myriad questions I failed to ask. I did my best to get them answered upon my return to the newsroom, all the while feeling pretty not confident and unhappy. I also had to get information on a fire, try to track down a story about a Ferris wheel getting stuck, and otherwise direct myself from the all-important Sporcle.

All in all, it was a rough day, and I was reminded why I don't cover cops. The only upside was that I got to take Monday off, and finally see Iron Man 3.

It was a much better use of my time.