Kaitlyn Kochany

Cottaging is a way of life for Canucks. Going to camp, hitting the cabin, swinging by the lake house/beach/what-have-you: it's in our blood. Slowly but surely, Canadians have gone from rural dwellers to city-livers. As a result, our weekends away have become of paramount importance. Getting out of town and...

In 2007, Glamour published an article called "30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Know by the Time She's 30." According to the Huffington Post, this article took off like gangbusters -- women were emailing it to their friends and coworkers, and the editors of Glamour...

I am a dinosaur. Not only do I not have a smartphone, I don't even have a cell phone. While my landline is cordless, on the days when the power goes out, I use a phone that plugs right into the wall. It's complete with a curly little cord that,...

Ikea! Or, if you're pedantic about capitalization (and in these times of Internet grammarian smackdowns, who isn't?), Ikea! I like to say it with a Swedish accent for added authenticity, but it really makes no difference. I also like re-enact their commercials by barking "You feel sad for...

Summer jobs are the best. When I was in high school and university, as soon as the buds were on the trees, I would be pounding the pavement with my meagre little resume in hand. I wanted retail jobs, I wanted hostessing jobs, I wanted waitressing jobs and file clerk...

When I was 20, I moved into a student house. There were 15 of us, spread out over three floors and a patchy backyard. We shared one kitchen, scrambling between four fridges stocked with an abundance of leafy greens and bricks of cheese. The freezers overflowed with frozen pizzas and...

Breaking up is hard to do, but it's also one of life's inevitabilities. Sometimes things end in a way that leaves the door open for a friendship, but the road between Breakup County and Friendshipville is a perilous journey, fraught with hidden emotional booby traps. It's also a road you...

"Why," my boyfriend wondered, "would we celebrate Valentine's Day? I love you every day. I don't need some Hallmark holiday to show my love."

I stared at him. He was right, of course: the guy is thoughtful, generous, loving and kind every day of the year. But his reticence about...

Winter cycling rides that tricky line between requiring bravery and not being worth it. Some winter days, riding your bike requires no extra courage and only a few extra layers. On wilder days, when the wind is high and the snow is blowing, riding a bicycle seems like an exercise...

I know some of you are heading into the new year with a steely resolution that this is the absolute last year you're going to be working that job you hate. I feel for you guys. New Year's resolutions often revolve around how much better our lives are going to...

Canadians! It's time to get out your big boots, turn up your collars and jam your hands into your mittens! Winter is upon us!

Every year, it's the same cycle. Maybe this year will be different, we think as the snow gently wafts down around us. Maybe it won't get...

If you're of a certain generation -- mine -- you're likely familiar with TGIF, ABC's Friday night programming that aired between 1988 and 2000. In its heyday, ABC was airing popular shows like Boy Meets World, Step By Step, Family Matters and Muppets Tonight, all of which provided the middle-school...

Now that we're all caught up on how to date people, let's chat about how to un-date people. The etiquette of the breakup is one of those things that people will comment on, but never really unpack. "Never on the phone" is said with the solemn tones of...

I'm no expert, but dating is something I've done, and actually done well. It's different from having a boyfriend or girlfriend -- it's the preamble, when you're getting to know each other and deciding if maybe, one day, y'all want to be exclusive. Confusingly, if you do eventually make it...

The topic of the walking dead came up the other day... again. It's no secret that my circle of friends has a somewhat inexplicable fascination with zombies, but my friend Suzanne asked what the deal was.

"What's the deal?" she queried. She meant, why zombies? Why not ghosts? Why...

There's a social convention among people in their 20s and 30s that requires us, upon getting together and having a drink, to occasionally touch on the story of The Most Epic Hangover Ever. We've all got a sordid tale or two: the time he ordered pizza delivered to his bedside,...

Next week, thousands of kids will head back to school. Some, like the bright-eyed kindergarteners, are experiencing the trials and triumphs of academic life for the very first time. There will be tears, I can promise, over their next decade-plus of schooling. (My personal Waterloo came at the hands of...

Last month, after several weeks of gut-wrenching indecision, I took the plunge and quit my job.

I'm in my late 20s, living in The Big City, paying rent, going to the movies and, every so often, eating takeout sushi. I'm very much an average kind of...