"The Devils is in the details"
he says as he sloshes paint,
with broad brush strokes,
upon the bare wall,
not being careful at all,
but having the sense to
mask the trim and to place
a drop cloth under the area
he is now painting.

From without, the night.
From without the day,
You will do what you do,
And do it your own way.

Working from home is a dream come true for some people and a nightmare for others. It all depends on your perspective. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, some people who started working remotely were happy about the changes. For one thing, working from home saved them time and money that would have been spent on commuting to work every day. 

However, the most important advantage of working from home is that it will keep you safe from getting infected by the novel coronavirus. Right now, this is the only reason that counts. Thankfully, software developers have the privilege of working from home. This has propelled some of them to consider relocation from Silicon Valley to more affordable cities in Texas. 

Tech Talent Flee From Silicon Valley 

Do you know that there are more than 225,300 high tech workers in Silicon Valley, San Francisco? To put this into perspective, there are 387,000 high tech jobs in the entire country. So, if there are 225,300 high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley, then you can understand why it is the best hub for web developers around the world. Unfortunately, the city is at risk of losing its position as the number one destination for tech talent. This is primarily because of two things: talent relocation and company relocation. 

Without the companies and the hundreds of thousands of tech workers in Silicon Valley, the city is going to lose its title as the foremost destination for tech gurus in the United States. This makes it one of the most technologically innovative places in the world but it also makes it one of the most expensive. House rent in the Valley is unrealistically high and it's only going to keep increasing. Tech jobs pay more money than many other jobs in Silicon Valley. However, tech workers aren't satisfied with spending all the money they have on daily expenses. 

A small one-bedroom apartment in Silicon Valley costs over $2,000 monthly. By the time you factor in food and other expenses, you might spend over $5,000 just to survive in Silicon Valley every month. This isn't something the average worker can afford. Some of the tech workers who can afford this expensive lifestyle don't think the Valley is worth all the hype. Since they can now work from home, many of these workers have decided to leave the expensive city for more affordable places.

Why should any average worker pay $5,000 monthly to survive when they spend $2,000 for the same standard of living in another city? The primary reason why many of these tech workers remained in Silicon Valley for this long is because of their jobs. Now that they no longer have to go to the office, they want out of the city. Some of them have already indicated an interest in moving to Texas while many others have moved out already. 

Coronavirus is Changing Tech Salaries 

As tech talent and companies flee Silicon Valley, they inspire even more people to leave the overpriced city. However, tech companies that are remaining in Silicon Valley aren't ready to let their talent relocate, remote work, or not. Facebook and other companies have given their workers ultimatums. They have the choice to remain in Silicon Valley and keep their fat salaries or relocate and face cuts. The salary cuts depend on the company but Facebook is threatening to remove up to 10% of the salary of remote workers. Some other companies claim that they will cut between 8% to 20% depending on where their workers choose to go after leaving the Valley. The cheaper the cost of living in the new place, the higher the salary cut.

Bottom Line 

Covid-19 is changing tech salaries in the United States and every other part of the globe. Many similar things have been happening in tech companies around the world, but the most pronounced rate of relocation is in Silicon Valley. Tech companies like Oracle and Hewlett Packard have also left the Valley for Texas. Even Elon Musk has moved from his Silicon Valley home to the Lone Star State. If companies keep leaving the Valley, it will no longer be the most popular tech hub in the world.

Do you have a plan
for your remaining life,
when you battle through
your worry and strife,
to arrive somplace afar,
as you search for answers
of who you really are?

When the rays of light,
in the broad, Western sky,
fades into black;
another day has gone by.
If the clouds coat the night
or if it is clear,
a sky of starlight will appear.
No matter what is said,
there are more in the scene,
who are awaiting the missing vaccine.

I know I write of sadness
and I write of woe,
but I will tell you one thing,
I am not ready to go.
When I go there will be a sound
of bells ringing loudly, when
my written words abound.
We will be free citizens when
we vote out this selfish man.

A gathering of people,
all wearing a mask.
I didn't recognize a single face
until the masks were
removed. It was not
surprising as I now understood,
the wearing of masks
was partially good.

The things you won't find.
The things you won't see,
are stuck in my head
and there they will be.
away from my thoughts,
away from my Soul,
for my mental state now,
keeps falling below
where a sane man should be,
with wife, children and family.

My mind is a flutter,
though I worry not,
about our life
and what God has begot.
Old as I am,
I think about you
and of those memories,
we had and did share,
are missing now,
as the Devil may care.
Please leave us alone,
during this long night.
Let us be now.
Let life now be right,
for I say to you,
my miserable Soul
is filled up with
your fake news hyperbole.

Runs not from me.
Stay in the room.
Surrender to laughter,
Avoid all the gloom,
For the day is new
and I am with you.

It's 6 AM on a Sunday morn.
The furnace came on, once again.
I hear a noisy splatter
of a cold, falling rain.
I sit here writing, of what
I never know,
for 3 hours of sleep in not enough
to rest this aged body of mine.
Perhaps I just need to wonder,
about the way our life, went away.
Never to return, at least not today.

A friend of mine, once said to me
I need to talk to an adult,
not to a child or a dog.
Not funny, but I understand,
for I have found. I have a need.

My words escape me.
They have gone away
and will not return
when I will say.
I'm sorry for what
we have now lost
and will make amends,
no matter the cost.

I'm incredibly humbled to have been included in this series on Honest Chatter.

I'd been following Melody on Instagram for some time before we finally met at an event. She's as beautiful on the inside as she is in her photos.

To be surrounded by people like this fills my heart with such joy.

I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing tribe!

This list is comprised of gifts other new moms and I received that made those first few months so much better. Some gifts are more expensive than others. Others require nothing more than time. And, there are those gifts which new moms have given themselves.

But, each one means the world.

Every mom and every baby is different. But around here, these were the essentials our first month home.

At 1:30 AM on November 20th, I stood in a puddle, not quite sure if I’d peed myself or my water broke. The nurse on Overlake Hospital’s Labor & Delivery line had me lean forward a cough. The puddle grew bigger. It was go-time.

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No central heat,
no central air.
Just an oil heater
in the living room,
that was only on
if there was company.
The living space
was in the kitchen
where the huge wood
stove was sitting.
The first chore,
in the morning,
was to remove the lid
with a tool,
put in paper
and wood, for fuel.
Touch the paper
with a match,
replace the lid,
open the draft
and soon the heat
was coming fast.
The stove was iron
with a big oven,
where pies and cakes
would be forth coming.
Some pots on the rear
flat top of the stove,
kept items quite warm,
almost all the day.
Potatoes, vegetables
some meat, would
go into those pots
to cook away,
until dinner time.
That's something I
recall, from long ago,
when life was simple
as we listened
to the radio.