Previously, on Zoom Life: L.A. – A plan was revealed, and action was taken to make it come to fruition — and part one of the plan, went flawlessly … I began to face and destroy demons from my past, all the while knowing, some fights would be a battle to the death … New faces entered my life here in Los Angeles, while some old faces made a guest appearance … Drama with a boy began, as he began to pursue me sexually after I made it clear that was not what I was looking for … and what was supposed to be a quick lunch with a new friend turned in to a 4 hour dinner, that led to some intriguing revelations ….

We all want to be able to bury our past — at least the parts of it that have left us in great pain. We try to do this in many different ways — some harmless, and others downright lethal. . Some of us turn to good friends, in effort to help us get over the loss of a longtime lover … Some of us, turn to the bottle, hoping that with each sip, we can wash away the memories … and some of us, turn to something much darker — a drug much stronger than alcohol, in a dire attempt to numb the effects of the angst . . Yes, we all want to bury our pasts . . But what we must realize is that sometimes, the reason we can’t bury it, is simply because it isn’t yet dead …

* Flash, Saturday, Hollywood, California * … It was a beautiful day, and after a nice swim, I decided to meet up with my new friend, John, for an early dinner at a trendy Thai spot here in Hollywood. John is quickly becoming a new zoom, and joining the ranks of other new faces here in my new life, including Brandon, my favorite under-25 zoom! While sipping on a glass of Chardonnay waiting on John, I began to reflect on our conversation from the night before — I had told him of my past, both here and back in Rochester — almost all the details, which for me, is odd considering he is so new in my life. . But I just felt comfortable. John arrived, and we ordered from our cute Asian waitress who seemed to take issue with the fact that I ordered a second glass of wine, raising her brow and saying in a cute Asian voice, “AGAIN?!” . . We both LOLed, and I felt like a lush — just like the old days. Little does she know, years ago, 2 glasses of wine was not even warm up! At dinner, we discussed more about our lives, I learned of his stint in a national commercial (he’s an actor/comedian), and his current auditions coming up — I would like to see him live in standup soon! I love comedy shows ! The food at this place is amazinnnng — some of the best Asian fusion food I have had in years. . and no MSG! Wooooooooo! After my second glass of wine, and much more chatting and getting to know one another, it was time to depart, and off we went after planning our next zoom this coming weekend. Though the day began uneventful, it did not end that way, at all …

… As I prepared for bed later that night, I had an odd feeling that something was going to happen. . something weird. I usually get intuition that ends up being right, so I always get nervous when these feelings come. I drifted off to sleep around 11pm after chatting with a cute new boy on the phone, and was off for the night. Suddenly, around 12:30am, I was woken to loud horns and screaming just outside my balcony. I jumped up, and opened the sliding glass door, to see a small fire on the roof of the building just feet away from me. As I watched, I looked down and saw at least 10 fire trucks, 4 ambulances, and 10 cop cars lights flashing all over. Now, I live in a very trendy, up and coming neighborhood, so I was unsure as to what caused this fire, but as I was pondering it, the small fire suddenly erupted in to an inferno, with flames shooting to the sky ! It was so big I almost stepped back in panic, as the plumes of black smoke billowed in to the night sky, knocking the firefighters backward. People were all video taping it on their iPhones, so I whipped out my new iPhone 6 and did the same. It was actually kind of pretty, and the firemen took an hour to put out the blaze — thankfully as far as I know, nobody was hurt or worse, though I am not 100% on that. The smell soon became too much, and it was hard to breathe, so I came back in and watched from the window — kind of an incredible sight. You can view the video on my Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/JSalazoom, and I’ll be uploading a picture here too! A crazy end to a normal Saturday with a new friend, indeed …

. . The rest of this past week has been a crazy zoom, too. People from my past coming out of the woodwork, from days of yesteryear, including a guy who has been obsessed with me since first meeting me 7 years ago while I accompanied an old friend, Hector, on a blind date to Salena’s! 7 years!! Some can never get enough LoL ! Jeff Duncan (my main zoom on the East Coast) and I always say that most people can never truly leave our lives, and it seems to ring true in nearly 100% of cases .. people from my past often come back at the oddest times — some welcome, some not so much. But, as long as they are harmless like this guy Louie, I’m okay with it — but if and when people surface that I have long since let go of due to much more serious reasons, then and only then, is when we’ll have an issue …

Explosions. There are many different types of bombs, that can affect our lives — some which can quickly prove fatal. There are the explosions that occur in the midst of a relationship, after it is discovered that our lover has been straying … There are the explosions that happen in a friendship, after a betrayal is uncovered that we never saw coming … and there are the explosions that go boom, when it is found out that someone is working behind the scenes to do us harm . . Yes, explosions occur all the time — but the ones we must look out for, are the ones we will never see coming — the ones that are ignited from right under our nose …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….