Two nights ago I thought I’d lost a brand new pair of fishnet stockings just off stage behind a curtain.

It was opening night and, though I wouldn’t use the word panicked, you could say I was a bit jittery.  I periodically went behind the curtain – in between doing hair and make-up – to see if I could find them.  It seemed that the more I went out of my way to find them, the more elusive they were.

(It’s funny how inanimate objects take on a personality when they don’t do what you want them to.  Suddenly your computer is a “slow b@$tard”, and your leaky pen is a “messy b@$tard”, though your missing stockings on opening night are probably more like ”fvckers”.)

But then someone switched on a light and they were right there - sitting on the floor by my backpack.  I must’ve looked at, rummaged through, and stood on them at least 10 times.

Last year, all I wanted was inspiration.  I’d trawl the web (on my lunch break *cough*) looking for stirring words of wisdom on creativity, on making a decent contribution to the world, on why doing your thing is worthwhile.

I searched around in the dark and, well, I couldn’t find the fvcker.  In my kind of desperate, disgruntled search, I probably walked right past it and trampled on it dozens of times.

So I played Nintendo Wii, watched every last episode of Will & Grace, and got really, really good at making pizza (really, you should try it sometime).

And somewhere along the way, the lights came on.

TV shows and singing played a significant part in this.  This is going to sound way too earnest for this blog, but I don’t think I’ve known a purer joy than these things.

Now there seems to be an abundance of inspiration.  The last few days alone have brought me a new clarity. The following two things in particular have kind of rocked my world for the better:

The first: these essays on singing from some opera singer guy.  I’m not sure who he is, but he really can string a sentence – wordy but fascinating.

Saving best for last, though, this talk on creativity from writer Elizabeth Gilbert is, in a word, amazing.  It’s also almost 20 minutes long, but I implore you to listen to it right to the end – you’ll be glad you did.

Ole indeed  :)