8:00PM, January 25th. The eve of the Tufts Winter Bash. All that’s left to do is confirm that the boom lift has been delivered outside of the venue, and we can all go home and rest up for the big day.

One problem: The lift – essentially a portable crane for lighting installs – is nowhere to be seen.

As Ben and I start making phone calls to track down the 8-ton machine, we start driving away down College Ave. About a hundred yards beyond Gantcher, we crossed from Medford into Somerville, drove another half mile or so, and I happen to see a green flash out of the corner of my periph. With some quick reverse-action we took a closer look… and there, parallel-parked on a residential street, was our lift. I can only imagine it was trying its darnedest to channel its inner-Honda-Civic, because with a 60′ vertical reach, electric green paint job, and a top speed of about 5mph, it was an unlikely fit with the rest of the commuter vehicles parked on the block.

So it turns out the lift company made a mistake: right address; wrong town. A near-perfect delivery. To make matters worse, the fuel had gelled, and the machine became an incredibly heavy, misplaced paperweight (which is really unfortunate, because we had arranged a late-night police escort, and come on… that would have been quite the dramatic recovery). Oh well, we had to settle for a new lift, to be delivered the next morning. To Medford this time. Cool.

At 9am, things were back on track, and we put together another HUGE Tufts Winter Bash, complete with a hot new center-stage layout. By midnight, the place was packed, and Tufts reminded us why they are among the pioneers of the Mobile Club.

2008 is officially underway.