Where does inspiration come from?

I'm hard at work trying to plot out my next story "Jacked In", my YA dystopian (and here I was swearing that I would stay away from sci-fi). Inspiration for the character seems to be flying in, but when it comes to the story it feels like I'm standing in a giant hole with a shovel, trying to get out but only finding that hole's getting bigger.

Where am I getting inspiration for my characters? The answer: all around me. Isn't that where all inspiration comes from?

My main sources are from two places:
http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/25126/Akiba+F.html - which is a hospital in Japan who uses an anime character to help recruit blood donors. This just intrigued me with the use of someone using a character to sell medicine.

and

Vocaloid-Sonika - which is a programm that creates a virtual singer.

And voila... I have my character. Now, I just need to figure out a story to go with it... I have a bare bones thing that could be stuck together and resemble something, but I guess it will take a little bit longer to work out what's going to happen.

So, where does everyone come up with their story ideas? And do you often start with a plot or a character?

And, on a final note, I would like to introduce Lexi (well, at least the voice) behind my new story Jacked In.