David | Papatoetoe
“I don’t know. You get caught up in a routine. It’s, it’s hard to think, eat better, do something healthier, go for a run, do some exercise, go to the gym, go for a swim.
I go to work, go home, grab some takeaways, have a couple of beers, watch a bit of TV and, and go to sleep, but that’s sort of my routine. Lounging around after work. We lose focus, it’s an easy fix instead of going home and cooking and preparing a meal. It’s easy to go to take-away. Five minutes, five bucks, meal sorted. So, I don’t know.
My job’s quite physical. I think it’s, that’s enough for my body to take, but you know, 20 years ago I’d play league after working in the steel mill, so just getting lazy with age, I think. I don’t know if it’s a mindset or, I think it is. I just got caught in a, a trap where there’s not enough hours in the day. I work from nine to eight, go home, rush a meal, go to bed, and next minute I’m back at work again.
I don’t know. We spend too much time focussing on work and making money, and lose focus on what’s real, and what actually matters. Fortunately for me, or unfortunately, I don’t have kids; so yeah, I only have to look after myself, look out for myself.
I’m originally from here. Solo parent; we struggled, but my mother gave, made sure that we got a good education, made sure we were fed, well looked care of, taken care of, but she said education was the key. So she was really strict, we worked hard at school and she kept us occupied. We had, always had part time jobs after school, so we didn’t have time to gallivant like a lot of my friends. Although I was not happy with the fact I couldn’t join in with them, but you know, a solo parent has to do the best they can, and the best thing she did was she thought well it’s to keep us out of trouble, keep us on a straight line. We weren’t terribly religious, but it played a part in our lives, and you know; do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. It’s good morals and ethics, and nothing flash, but you know, she’d instil things that mean, mean something, and you know, a lot of people could probably do with the same upbringing that I got. It certainly wouldn’t hurt.”
