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yes, I talk with my hands, I’m one of those… (part 2) 🍝

You went out with a good friend, maybe you ended up in a bar or at a party, or you’ve been dragged by said friend to the opening party of Lucrezia’s (fictional character for the purpose of this tutorial) photo exhibition, but the night is terrible. You want to instantly dematerialise and tell your friend, "please, it’s torture, let’s go" but your companion is still chatting with a glass of prosecco in the distance, even though they look at you every now and then to make sure you’re okay. You must be thinking...I don’t want to interrupt while there’s a convo happening...I can’t scream because we’re quite far away and there’s too much noise anyway. Well, do it the italian way...  Two gestures that you can do with nonchalance which will get you out of a boring situation.  Here’s part two of how in Italy we talk with our hands, because yes, I talk with my hands, I’m one of those.   Preliminary phase, prepare the ground to act, because this time it starts with facial expression: 1) Make eye contact with your friend, but without drawing the attention of other people (if the place is crowded and there is noise, it will not be difficult, no one will notice you) 2) Slightly widen the eyes while raising your eyebrows and tilt your head imperceptibly backwards, lifting your chin slightly. Tilting your head and lifting your chin are two movements that you need to do quickly (imagine what you do when you nod, you lower your head down quickly, right? Now, this is exactly the opposite, same firm movement but upward) 3) If your friend seems receptive, it means he has understood that you are about to tell him something.   Action phase, quickly execute these two gestures in succession, making the right facial expressions (you need to express with you’re face some kind of urgency, so again, eyes slightly wide and lifted eyebrows, you can also slightly nod “no” with your head):  1) Keeping eye contact and keeping your eyes active, first point at yourself with a finger and then point at your friend. (First gesture) 2) (Start of the second gesture) immediately after the first gesture and always maintaining eye contact, here is the decisive moment: you raise your right hand, but the palm should not be facing your friend, the hand should be turned so that your thumb is facing you, the fingers should be joined, except the thumb which must be relaxed, in this way: 🫸🏼 (Attention!!! Perform this second movement, which completes the gesture, naturally, after raising your hand, which must not remain still in the air, otherwise you will look a bit stupid)   The right hand is in the described position  (🫸🏼  ), but now you curve your hand a bit  (not in a rigid way, not making a C with your hand, the thumb is always detached from the other fingers) and tilt it slightly to the left, then lift your left hand horizontally as if you were doing an imaginary curve while lifting it, with the tips of your fingers towards your friend’s direction (again, the fingers of the hand are joined together while the thumb is relaxed and separated from the other fingers, imagine the position you put your hand in when you protrude it to show someone a ring, or your freshly done nails) and move it to the right. Here is the interlocking: the inside corner (not the palm) of your left hand touches the palm of your right hand, and an interlocking is created because the right hand is partly welcomed by the left hand in the space between the thumb and the other fingers. The two hands collide with each other, making a sound similar to the one you hear when you snap your fingers. Repeat the gesture two times with a fast pace. This gesture means "let’s go" . Use with care! Grazie per aver letto! (= Thank you for reading this!) (Photo by Julia Stotz illustrating the second gesture)

@veronjque

Jul 29, 2024

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two handed handshakes

somehow it actually transforms any handshake into something genuine and friendly rather than weirdly formal and rigid

@nikau

Jul 28, 2024

🖼

cheering

Putting your hands a little over your head and moving them up and down when you feel excitement

@sogbot1

Feb 6, 2024

Top Recs from @veronjque

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From someone that often is PARALYSED due to fear and anxiety: take that walk

This morning I started to recognise the familiar symptoms of an anxiety attack, that usually leads me to be completely unable to function. I have my resources and I can handle them (anxiety/panic attacks), even if they cause me an immense amount of pain, both physically and emotionally. But there’s one thing I was never ever able to do, that people often told me would help: put on comfortable clothes and take a walk, go outside and breathe, get the fuck out of your room. I thought I would never been able to do that, never. “I am not strong enough, it may be good for others, but me? I’m weak, I cannot function, something bad might happen, my body is not my ally in these cases”. I guess I was wrong, and I’m so happy to admit I was wrong. I said to myself, when those symptoms arised this morning: “ok, breathe, it’s just the same familiar stuff you know very well. Now, you can deal with it, even if you’re scared. But this time, why don’t you try something different? For just one time, allow yourself to react by moving your body, try to show your mind that there are other ways to deal with this”. I was scared as fuck, but I did it. And I discovered another part of myself that I thought wasn’t there. My body, this time, wasn’t against me…and maybe it never was, the poor thing was just trying to adapt to the comfort zone that stillness represented. I am incredibly strong, so much more than what I thought. And if someone needs to hear this: YOU ARE TOO.

@veronjque

Jan 25, 2025

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Its been a long time since i saw myself

Lately anxiety is not helping much, and I’m constantly drained due to exams coming up. I miss my family. I miss myself. This made me reflect on the fact that I’m still here, and also…we are such precious creatures. We diminish ourselves, but everything we touch we influence. We are way more powerful than we think we are. Anyway, let’s see what we have here: • a fraction of “THE wall”: from left to right two postcard I bought last summer at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Bruxelles (“Georgette” by Magritte, a pic of Magritte himself, on the bottom a quote I found in a fortune cookie, then a quote I found in a “Bacio Perugina” a chocolate treat that is very well known here in Italy, on top of Magritte two Js as you can see (this is a CRAZY story), then on a post-it a quote of a thing I wrote in a sort of essay, then a poem that my best friend wrote for me, another fortune biscuit’s quote, a post-card from a place in Italy called “Sacro Bosco” (Sacred Wood, also know as “Parco dei Mostri” = Monster’s Park), it’s an old black and white photo of a young boy grazing the sheep 🐑), two more post-its (one from roomies one from my mom). Yes I have a thing for post-its… • books I started and I never get the chance to finish because of uni (I really recommend though “Whatever arises love that” by Matt Kahn aaaand to start educate urself on Palestine (if you haven’t already started you should, it’s great) “Mornings in Jenin” by Susan Abulhawa) • Abat-jour, lamp, whatever you call her, with a “necklace” (bracelet I made with my granny when I was little, my wrist grew so the lamp suits it better as a lovely necklace), on top a sleep mask. • a notebook (I love it, the red one), on top my two pairs of reading glasses. • Forest green water bottle (very used, but I love her) • A ceramic jewellery holder, which was of my beloved grandmother, with jewels I inherited from her 🥺 • a thing I use to store my bangles and bracelets (my little treasure, they’re all vintage/inherited) • one of my thousands of candles (I don’t know why they ease my anxiety) and mini Corto Maltese (in my opinion a masterpiece in the world of comic-strips) themed matches.

@veronjque

May 12, 2024

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I realised he really took notes

He was particularly fixated on changing his style. He was no longer comfortable, he wanted to look good, feel good. He often asked me for advice, he wanted an honest opinion from a friend (he had also asked another friend of ours in common). He asked for honesty without sugarcoating it: I went into detail on which colours would surely highlight his light-blue/green-ish eyes or his complexion (I insisted on how blue navy would’ve suited him), I told him it would have been perfect if he wore a nice shirt every now and then. Simple jeans, more classic cut pants. A good haircut. I did not see him for a few days, then... He showed up at Uni, walked by me and I didn’t even recognise him, he proceeded to sit by my side and I didn’t even turn around because I thought he was a random person that I didn’t know. He touched my shoulder and said, "Hey, we don’t say hi anymore?" with a big bright smile. He really took everything literally. Friends? Sure. Did I pay attention to a single word that was said that day in class? Absolutely not. I want to scream now.

@veronjque

Jul 16, 2024