We Like to Party: En Tu Ciudad (or, a white girl learns to shake her boot-ay)

Last night, I went out with mi three amigos to the LA pit-stop of My Space Latino's En Tu Ciudad tour (which I painstakingly translated--for your sake, of course--to mean 'in your city'). In response to my RSVP, I had been emailed back with a secret password to enter the party. While password-protected parties usually make me want to hurl, I was excited as this password was so much fun to say--'Paloma.' (Try it--say it aloud--it's fun, I promise!) And apparently 'Palomas' would also be the featured drink special for the evening. Needing translation for this word as well, I asked my Latino coworker for assistance. He claimed 'Paloma' meant bird--something between a dove and a pigeon. Not satisfied with this definition, I googled it. 'Paloma,' it turns out, is also a tequila cocktail. I much preferred this translation.

At the party, after enjoying one or two (ok, perhaps three) Palomas, another of my Mexican cohorts explained that a Paloma is made with Tequila and Squirt. Well, after my initial shock...and then disgust...I settled on delight. Yes, I like Squirt cocktails--it's true!

My buddies in Wait. Think. Fast. performed an awesome set.

And I learned that there is such a thing as a cute accordion player.

I'm old and needed to get to bed before my coach turned into a pumpkin and/or I crashed my Jetta from too many Palomas. But the crowd continued to party on long after I did. Because, as it turns out, Latinos (not blondes) have much, much more fun.

Life in Los Angeles: women washing cars.

I went to work out in Silverlake this morning and I noticed these women across the street energetically waving signs around advertising 'Car Wash.'

I was surprised to see what I thought were Orthodox Jewish women engaging in a car wash promotion. A) It is Saturday, the Sabbath. B) Orthodox Jewish women just generally don't do things like this. Trust me.

Then I looked up to realize these industrious women were standing in front of the Iglesia Central, something I think--from my time in LA--is a religious Latino thing.

Either way, I felt a bit odd about the prospect of driving up to a car wash where religious women--Hassidic, Catholic, or otherwise--in long skirts and modest wears, would be scrubbing down my car [which is, coincidentally, very, very dirty].

I'd feel better about girls like the below washing my car. They're already demeaning themselves so I don't need to feel guilty about it.