Ready for the off. Kinda.

[UKCraig]

The big day is here. In 17 and a half hours I will be sat in seat 15F on flight BA095 out of London Heathrow. Over the past four months a ludicruous amount of effort and planning has gone into this but, despite that, it's incomprehensible to my tiny little brain that later today I will be boarding a plane and leaving Europe for eight months. Utterly incomprehensible. It shouldn't be that way, of course, but I guess it's just my way of coping (or not, more to the point) with the huge change to my comfortable life.

I've been putting it out of my mind as much as I can for the last couple of months to save me from freaking out about the whole deal. Well, now that the big day is here, let me tell you... I'm freaking out. Not since the day I started secondary school have I been so nervous. I hope very much that it turns out better than that did!

My bags are packed (finally), I have checked in online for the flight and everything is set. All I need to do now is get my head round the whole deal and get on with it. I'll update you in a day or two. I'll either be in Canada - heading towards Nova Scotia - or, well... actually, scrub that, I think it's probably a little late for a change of heart!!
Next: Getting the show on the road: Montreal to Nova Scotia