“Fortunately, due to a terrible misunderstanding, I soon found myself working as a consultant to the World Bank. I am not exactly sure what it was that led the World Bank to believe I had any expertise in infrastructure finance.… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“The longer we spent on Tarawa the more Sylvia and I came to realize that to live on Tarawa is to experience a visceral… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“When it comes to naming things, vanity and flattery are dull motivations best suited for deciding on a child’s middle name. Much more interesting… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
Like many air travelers, I am aware that airplanes fly aided by capricious fairies and invisible strings. — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“Christopher Hitchens once said that he drinks “because it makes other people less boring.” — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“for what is life, a good life, but the accumulation of small pleasures?” — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
I was simply restless, quite likely because of a dissatisfaction with the recent trajectory of my life, and if there is a better, more… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“It was, to reiterate, to stress, to accentuate the point, to leave no doubt, hot.” — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“Look for a wave shaped like an A. An A . Hmm. I saw Zs and H's and Vs . I saw the Hindi alphabet and the Thai alphabet. I saw Arabic script . I saw no As . Finally I gave up, and chose the next wave that would have me, which turned out to be a poor move.… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share
Personally I regard idling as a virtue, but civilized society holds otherwise. — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
Like many highly educated people, I didn't have much in the way of actual skills. — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“It is an unfortunate reality for innate idlers that our modern world requires one to hold a job to maintain a sustainable existence. Idling,… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share Image
“Seriously. There were three of them, all roughly in their thirties, and they spent their time traveling the world, putting together documentaries about the earth’s wonders. The on-screen talent, I learned, did indeed write his own scripts, and came off as the Boss Man for the trio. He was the one with all the responsibilities—deciding on shots, dealing with the… — J. Maarten Troost Copy Share
