Creativity Vs The Clock

A funny thing can happen to you sometimes. You reach a point, in whatever situation you're currently in, where you're absorbed into your own routine so much that it becomes difficult to add any more elements into that routine. Not only that, some of the old, well-worn elements can lose their place.

In short, shit becomes pretty boring. And if you're anything like me, your solution will likely be to grab that routine by the ankles, turn it upside down and shake all of the out-of-date, loose change out of its pockets. Then, stand it up, straighten its collar, give it a couple of slaps around the face and tell it to sort itself out.

So, you ask, what's the meaning of all this, of all these metaphors? What are you trying to tell me? Well... I quit my job. Yep. teagirl is currently flying solo on the teabag front. No big pots of hot beverage from this kettle right now, just one solitary, stolen-from-Starbucks mug.

My time had come to leave Halo Post Production. I'd had a - mostly - brilliant time working there, learning plenty of useful skills along the way. The biggest plus was getting to work, day in, day out (and often night in, night out!) with some of my best friends. Someone told me recently that all people who work in TV are crazy on some level, which I'm finding makes for some very interesting and enjoyable friendships. But you can't stay in one place for the people, as sad as it is - and was - to leave them behind and move on. I'd gotten everything I could get out of the job, there wasn't room for progression, and while I would have always given it my all, my heart was starting to focus itself elsewhere. And I'm very much a "heart" kind of girl.

The question I've heard the most so far, naturally, has been "So where are you heading next?" This is where all that "grabbing by the ankles" and shaking things up business comes in. In true Ash style, I've changed pretty much everything, quit my stable job (during a recession... yes, I'm aware!) given up my extremely-tiny-and-lime-green London home, all with no real plan.

There's a bit of a plan. I'm in Toronto right now visiting my brother (and doing my last piece of decision-making about my possible 6-month stint here next summer). When I get back to the UK I'm having some much-needed family time in Blackpool before throwing myself into everything again. Which means more couch-surfing and hopefully some production jobs that will lead to something stable, so I can set up camp in the Big Smoke once again....

But it wasn't all about the job, about changing my situation to better suit my progression. Something else occured to me, only part-way through all these changes, and bear with me, because it may sound a little pretentious at first. But, I felt that my creativity was being stifled. I've always been creative, and I mean always. In anything too.... music, writing, sketching... at one point I could even make over 50 things out of one of those cardboard toilet roll holders. And creativity was exactly one of those things that had become excluded from my routine. Not only because I didn't have any real spare time, but because I was so absorbed by that routine - and so focused on spending all free hours between the pub and my bed - that I didn't really feel like being creative anymore. I didn't want to make the time for it. I stopped writing, I can't tell you the last time I drew anything that wasn't a moustache on Katie Price's photographed face. And I stopped blogging.

So, I'm back. If only for the reason that I really don't have any bloody excuse now.
Stick the kettle on, would you?