I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ugly Keychains!

I have a very interesting confession to make. Back when I was about 14 years old, I decided it was time for a collection. I considered stamps. I dabbled in exotic stones. I once had small entourage of shiny dog figurines... but the collection that stuck was that of the ugly keychains.

This is how it started. My friend in junior high went to Mexico, and came home with this - the mother of the ugly keychain:


As you can see, the back reads: Manzanillo Mexico: Caramba ...! Cuantas Curvas Y Yo Sin Frenos!, which roughly translates into: Manzanillo Mexico: Caramba Whichever Curves And I Without Brakes! ... Who knows. Either way, I was hooked.

Now I have the following collections:
The Australian Posse, all brought for me by my mom's ex-boyfriend Keith (who travelled extensively for work, and also, apparently, had hoes in different area codes)


The American Collection; and yes, the George Bush-esque bottle opener from Nashville does say "American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God"


The English Collection (again, from my mom's ex-boyfriend)


The Vibrating Keychain - a replica of a San Francisco street car. Pull the string and it vibrates aggressively


The Canadian Collection. I don't have as many canadian keychains as I should - especially since I live here; there's really no excuse. These two gems are from the east coast, when my brother went to Acadia University in N.S.


Finally, the Tropical Collection. Most were purchased for me from my mom, who has been to several warm-weather destinations with various men interested in wooing, wining and dining her. Thanks, mom!


The lesson here? Well, firstly - my mom is currently in Mexico with her boyfriend Joe and my boyfriend Steve is currently in the UK, so at least two keychains are going to be added to the collection. Secondly? If you're my friend and you go somewhere exciting or cool or non-canadian ... get me a keychain! Not only will I pay you back ... you'll be my hero forever. I hope I haven't lost your respect, and that maybe you understand a little bit more about why I'm such a geek. No wonder Steve loves me :D