If not now, when?

Right. This is it. After weeks of talking about it, worrying about it, looking forward to it and using it as an excuse to go on the lash, today I will finally commence my six month career break.

I wake on Sunday morning feeling nervous. In fact I feel almost sick. There are no doubts in my mind about what I'm about to do - far from it - but this is a venture into the unknown.

However despite the butterflies, I don't lose sight of the fact that I am going on this trip for very good reasons. This sabbatical has come about largely because my life is at a crossroads. I don't want to leave my job, but equally I could be a lot happier. I don't know what I want to do next. I don't know whether I want to stay in London any more. I'm 30 in October.

Throw into the equation that I've always wanted to live abroad for a period of time, and that Australia at this time of year is a far more attractive proposition than cold winter mornings in England, and you have a pretty strong 'business case' for this I guess.

I always thought blogs were for people with no lives and the terminally sad. Perhaps this is final proof that I fall into these categories, but I mainly hope this will prove to be a record of my trip I can look back on in years to come.

The last parts of the packing and clearing up are quickly dealt with, and I'm on my way. For the first time the journey to Heathrow is dominated by feelings of trepidation rather than excitement. Once there and checked in, I say my final goodbyes to friends and family before boarding the 14.35 British Airways service to Tokyo.

In my mad dash to finish up at work, pack all my things, say goodbye to my friends and move out of my flat, I had virtually no time to plan for the three nights I will spend in Japan before I arrive in Sydney next week. The long flight gives me ample opportunity to read up on what to do when I arrive, which is just as well considering BA's in flight 'entertainment' is about as entertaining as a stand up comedy show from John Redwood.