HD Living

One of my family's holiday traditions isn't so much of a tradition as it is an inevitable occurrence that arises at almost every family gathering.

This occurrence is so frequent that my family has even given it an official title. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you High Decibel (HD) Living.

No flat-screen plasmas here, just a whole lot of noise.

Let me paint a little picture for you: Imagine a pimped-out car cruising down the strip on a Saturday night. It has shiny rims, tinted windows, and swirling colours that just scream "Look at me!" The subwoofer is pumping and you can feel your own eyelashes vibrating as it speeds past. Now imagine yourself inside this car, crammed among half a dozen sugar-high monkeys that can't sit still, can't stop talking, and can't stop changing radio stations every 30 seconds. They don't know which way is up or which way is down and they will remind you of this every chance they get.

Ok, perhaps I exaggerate a teensy bit, but you get the point. HD Living is all about keeping the gears churning, keeping mouths moving, and keeping limbs flailing. It's all about the actions and it's all about the reactions. It's modern jesting, it's Facebook poking for the real world, it's sticking a twig in someone's ear just to see what they'll do next.

Some background information: I have 5 older siblings (4 sisters, 1 brother) who are all very quirky and unique in their own ways. For example, and without naming names, some like to read whole novels aloud, some will break into song or bust out their best dance moves only at the most awkward of moments, some like to wake others up unnecessarily early in the morning, some like to start family rumours just for fun, and the list goes on.

Would you like to come over for dinner sometime?

Some of the characteristics of Marchildon-style HD Living include:

• Yelling to family members in the basement from the second floor 
• Trying to carry on a conversation through the floorboards
• Repeating funny jokes until they are no longer funny
• Clapping for all occasions- after finding out what's for dessert, after someone says something stupid, etc.
  
• Overcaffeination and/or binge chocolate-eating 
• Childish pranks
  
• Randomly bursting into song 
• Blasting tunes, good or bad
• Attempting to breakdance
  
• Performing dramatic, exaggerated impressions of other family members
• Complaining about other family members to no one in particular
  
• Yelling at the computer and other inanimate objects
  
• Yelling about how annoying HD Living is and screaming for others to be quiet, thus further contributing to HD Living
• Yelling
• More yelling
• General noisemaking

Oh wait, I think I hear a family member screaming for me a few blocks away. Yep. It's my sister. She's at Starbucks. She's telling me that my gingerbread latte is ready. Gotta go.