Pesach Is Difficult

Things that are difficult to do:

• Bike riding. Also, bike riding in a skirt. I haven't been bike riding in something like 12 years, so I forgot this. I now have bruises on my legs (which were the result of trying to pull down my skirt while in motion on a bike) and I remember.

• Going a week without Diet Coke. It is by far the single thing I miss most this year on Pesach, with the maybe exception of Coffee Bean. Stupid California that changed its law so I cannot have my bubbly caffeine fix. This is made especially difficult by the fact that I know there is no actual Pesach problem with regular Diet Coke. (Sefardim can drink regular Diet Coke on Pesach; aspartame, a chemical which so far as I know cannot be used as flour, is apparently kitnoyot.)

• Getting permission to serve alcohol at our wedding. This seems to be close to impossible. I have a form that says it needs to be filled out by the LAPD. Between Z and myself, we must have spoken to 10 police departments and city agencies yesterday, all of whom claimed they have no idea what we're talking about. I went to the Alcohol and Beverages Commission today, who said so long as we're not selling alcohol or selling tickets to our wedding, they don't care what we do. Then I went to the police department, where I dropped off the form. But I have zero confidence that this form will get to the appropriate people. Less than zero confidence.

•  Stress baking on Pesach. Pesach cake mixes just don't do it. Mostly because you don't end up with anything remotely delicious when you're through. I may have decided to make a lemon tart last night at 2 a.m. Because I am insane. I am less than sure about the Pesach pie crust I made, but I get points for being resourceful. (I did not have a Pesach strainer and so I used a cheesecloth relative for the lemon curd.)