Farewell, Winchester Mystery House

It's September now, and I need to start packing so I can move myself across the country. And that means saying good bye to my beloved job. I can't very well keep it; New York City to San Jose would be one hell of a commute. And so, with a heavy heart, I drove to work yesterday knowing that it would be my last day working in that "Beautiful but Bizarre™" place.

It's... difficult for me to express in words exactly how much this house means to me. It's become like my second home, with my coworkers like my second family and Sarah Winchester as our ghostly matriarch. I don't think anyone who's read my blog has any doubts that I loved working here, and leaving it was difficult.

I got hired in April of last year, so I've been working there a little under a year and a half. (If my math is correct, that is. I'm not great at math.) That's more than enough time for me to have planted roots, and being uprooted, even for a good cause, always kinda sucks on some level. The thing is, I know I'm never gonna find a place like Winchester ever again. There's no place like it. That's kind of why people travel from all over to see it. And there are no people like my coworkers - if I get along even half as well with my coworkers in my next job then I'll be incredibly lucky.

I've really come to love everything about this incredible place. (Well, almost everything. The heat in the summertime is brutal, and sometimes can make people feel sick, so that's no fun.) I always liked it - I came as a guest on tours so many times before I decided to apply for a job here. I've always loved the Victorian aesthetics, the story behind it, the spooky legends, and the historic technology in the house (i.e. the easy-risers, the hydraulic elevators, the laundry room, the dehydrator in the fruit drying shed...). I've always been charmed by the house, so of course I'm going to miss all of that. I'm going to miss getting to explore every nook and cranny of this incredible historic building. (Hey, there are perks to being an employee here!)

Yesterday was really special, and I definitely have to thank my managers and coworkers for making it so special. Lots of hugs, lots of instances where I had to hold back tears because I'm a sentimental nugget.

I got to poke around the closed off sections of the third floor a bit. (It's one of my favourite areas of the house. I also like the Grand Ballroom because it's the prettiest.) I got a special pin for having worked over 13 months. I had my coworkers sign my journal (I haven't read any of their little blurbs yet because I know I'll cry). And they were even kind enough to schedule my last tour as a mansion tour. Though I usually give Behind the Scenes tours now (or I should say I did; it's hard to get used to talking about it in past tense!) I started on mansion tours, and I kinda felt like it was only right that I end on a mansion tour. It was a good tour. Very nice group, even if three of them didn't speak English that well.

I managed to get through all of that without crying. Granted, I almost cried a couple of times, when hugging coworkers or when being presented with my pin. Twice on my final tour I almost cried (Once in the $25,000 Storage Room - which is the second goddamn room - and once in the last stop) but I managed to hold it together. I held the tears back when I clocked out for the very last time and when I walked through the gift shop to get back out to my car.

It wasn't until I drove away that I burst into ugly tears. It felt like I was leaving a place that's been so close to my heart. Like a home. It was like leaving home. And I consider that a good preview of how much I'm probably gonna cry on the plane.

So I guess... Thank you, Winchester Mystery House, and all the people in it, living or dead. Thank you for making the job so wonderful that I cried when I left.

(Oh but this isn't the last this blog has heard about the place. I still intend to write about Mrs. Winchester. I'm planning to visit her grave on the East Coast, after all!)

-Nym-