9/1
Dear Diary,
As usual, life is a series of ever-worsening humiliations. Bernie: never called. Chin zit: size of Taiwan. Hair: monstrous.

9/2
Dear Diary,
Bad to worse. Saw Bernie at Spider Club with some scummy ho; incident caused chin zit to balloon. Amy agreed my hair was tragic and convinced me to check out this new Salon Duarte place on Franklin. Not getting hopes up.

9/3
Dear beloved Diary,
A new lease on life, thanks to the genius of Eva Diaz Duarte, hairstylist extraordinaire! Went to the teeny, European-vibe salon and Ernesto made me an espresso and Rebecca applied some sort of incredible-smelling Kerastase hair mask and administered a soothing scalp massage. Then Eva, a feisty beauty (Fred Segal alum who spontaneously bursts into streams of unintelligible Spanish when excited), turned my rat’s nest into a stylish, edgy coif — and even convinced me to get highlights! Am starting to think life may actually be worth living. Depending on how tomorrow goes.

Salon Duarte, 5927 Franklin Avenue, between Tamarind and Bronson Avenues (323-461-5500 or duartesalon.com).