It is every Bostonian's nightmare: getting towed, and last night one Bostonist experienced it for the first time - me. This is my story.

Living in the suburbs has its perks namely free, plentiful, and covered parking; however, whenever I must venture from my protective bubble a big decision must be made: to drive or not to drive? With an early morning flight looming on Wednesday morning, the prospect of venturing via commuter rail AND the T was not appealing so I decided to drive in the night before and park my car on the street near a friend's apartment. (Strike one)

After searching streets endlessly for a free spot I saw the mother land, a perfect spot only a block from my friend's place with plenty of room for my large sedan. After passing up many spots because of street cleaning regulations I thought I had hit the jackpot - little did I know that Boston Transport would end up hitting the jackpot with this college student within 48 hours.

Clearly the spot I had so beamingly deemed "the holy land" was not a legit spot. I had my hesitations, "Why was no one else parked here?", "How did I get so lucky?, and "Why was I ever considering taking Airporter when this is so much easier?" Last night at 11:48 PM I would come to regret my decision to drive.

As I walked down Mass Ave and saw no cars where my car had been left I began to panic, but as all human beings do - I began to reason and rationalize. "Alex, you probably just parked one more block" or "Maybe it wasn't Mass Ave", I knew the truth the entire time - my car got towed.

After a few phone calls I located my car at the BTD Tow Lot on Frontage Road unfortunately it closed at 11:00 and would not re-open until 7:00 AM. I was stuck. $50 and one taxi cab later I was safely snuggled in my bed back in the suburbs but I couldn't help worrying about my baby, she has always been good to me, and now she is sitting like an orphan in a lonely lot somewhere in Boston.

The story ends happily with a quick (but very painful) charge to my credit card (to be paid off in increments allowed by my student "income") and an early morning wake up call to a close friend with a car. My baby (car) is parked happily in her home - the covered parking lot on my college campus.

Her owner has learned a very important lesson: If a parking spot seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The following is a quick guide on what to do if your car gets towed in Boston:

1. Call the Boston Police Tow Line at (617) 343-4629. Once you provide them with either the VIN number or license plate number of your car they will be able to locate it in one of the Boston lots and give you information on who to contact next.

2. Go to either City Hall or the Tow Lot to pay the balance due for towing and storage expenses. Both take major credit cards, checks, and cash. If you pay the balance at City Hall be sure to hold onto your receipt to prove payment to the Tow Lot.

3. Pick up your car and make a promise to yourself to never let this happen again.

For more information on parking in Boston please visit the City of Boston website.