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    Trendysomething in somo

    Showering with scissors: Coming out of the water closet after a manscapingaccident

    Steven Devadanam
    May 13, 2010 | 8:39 pm
    • Sensitive tissue can be a sensitive subject.
      Photo by Steven Thomson
    • If you're in a strange mansion's bathroom, be wary of just grabbing any lotion.

    After discussions on varieties of Malbec and the viability of the Keynesian economic model, the third hottest conversation topic among twentysomethings would have to be what goes on in the bedroom. From iChat conversations at the office to audaciously audible happy hour narratives, Salt-n-Pepa's hit song, "Let's Talk About Sex" seems to be the anthem of the decade.

    And while we're eager to let the secrets spill, tales from the adjoining room rarely creep into the dialogue. This is the bathroom — the realm of all things hygienic — but when restroom behavior gets restless, most lips are sealed. Which is a shame, really, because that's from where some of the best stories derive.

    Sample scenario: During our Thanksgiving vacation a few years ago, a friend threw a blowout at the rents' Southside Place McManse. While the guests misbehaved downstairs (somebody absconded with a laptop computer and a James Surls' drawing), my friend (let's call her Eve) snuck upstairs for a bit of privacy with her flavor of the week.

    They soon found themselves aggressively engaged in the act in the master bathroom's whirlpool, after grabbing a much-needed bottle of "personal lubricant" from the "hers" side of the bathroom cabinet. Much to their dismay, something didn't feel quite right. Eve reached over the tub to check the bottle — it was the host's mom's eye makeup remover.

    She never speaks of the incident, and now carries her own bottle of personal salve with her everywhere to prevent any painful mommy issues.

    Just this week, I became my own personal victim during a bit of last-minute pre-date preening. The notion of manscaping has always dreaded me. Waxing is such a hassle for the tassel, I never really took to sculpture in studio art classes, and if my attempts at nude drawing say anything, it's that I'm not well attuned to fabricating the ideal human form.

    But something on Monday evening inspired me to go under the knife — well, a pair of children's Fiskars craft scissors I found on my roommate's desk (yes, it had glitter glue residue). It seemed like a logical impromptu fix, but before I knew it, my vision was blurred by the steam of the shower and my avid architectural pursuit went awry.

    Yes, I cut myself. On that.

    The last thing I heard was a sharp thud as I fainted onto the bath's bottom. Eventually I climbed out of the shower to find texts from two neighbors asking what the screaming was about and if I was OK.

    OK?

    It was enough pain to merit perhaps a two-week leave from work, maybe even a few weeks healing in the clean air of the south of France. But I had company on the way, so I slapped on a Band-Aid and spent the duration of a movie grimacing, quietly writhing and attempting pleasant small talk. I'd worried, "How will I ever explain this?" but I simply explained I was only DTC.

    When I awoke the following morning, I wasn't in much better shape. I limped into the office and assumed a permanent slouch at my desk. Waiting until midday showed no signs of improvement, so I did the only thing I could do —make a getaway to the nearest CVS to gather provisions to hasten healing.

    Rushing out of the office, I ran into the CultureMap affiliate who originally interviewed me over a year ago. He said something along the lines of, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

    "Band-Aids. For down ... there."

    His subsequent cringe was all the approval I needed to validate playing hooky for my half-hour errand. Arriving back at the office, I embarked on a strict regimen of rubbing alcohol, max strength Neosporin, bandages designed specifically for fingers and downing margaritas.

    I'm doing better. But I'm eagerly anticipating a day (hopefully sooner rather than later) when potty talk goes back into the water closet.

    unspecified
    news/city-life

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    Houston's richest residents, best suburbs, and more top city news in 2025

    Amber Heckler
    Dec 22, 2025 | 3:45 pm
    Museum of Fine Arts, Houston gala 2025
    Photo by Wilson Parish
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    Editor’s note: As 2025 comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that defined Houston this year. In our City Life section, readers will notice several of our local universities earned high praise from prestigious global and national publications. Houston's sprawling suburbs continued to skyrocket in popularity for their livability and safety, and no top-10 list is complete without mentioning the city's wealthiest residents. Read on for the top 10 Houston City Life stories of 2025.

    1. 2 Houston universities named among world’s best in 2026 rankings. These two high-performing local institutions – Rice University and University of Houston – are in a class of their own, according to the QS World University Rankings 2026. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) compiles the prestigious list each year; the 2026 edition includes more than 1,500 universities from around the world.

    2. Richard Kinder is Houston's richest billionaire in 2025, Forbes says. The Kinder Morgan chairman is the 11th richest Texas resident right now, and ranks as the 108th richest American. Kinder also dethroned Tilman Fertitta to claim the title as the wealthiest Houstonian.

    3. 2 Houston neighbors shine as top-10 best places to live in the U.S. Pearland and League City, respectively, claimed No. 3 and No. 6 in U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Places to Live in the U.S." rankings. The 2025-2026 rankings examined 250 U.S. cities based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.

    4. 5 Houston suburbs deemed best places to retire in 2026 by U.S. News. The Woodlands and Spring should be on the lookout for an influx of retirees next year, U.S. News predicts. Three more Houston-area neighbors also ranked among the top 25 best places to retire in America.

    5. Activist group calls out Houston highway as a 'freeway without a future'. A May 2025 report from Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) included Houston's Interstate 45 expansion on its list of highways with infrastructure that is "nearing the end of its functional life." CNU claims further expansion of Houston's highway system could eventually lead to the loss of the city's bayous, while also diminishing the remaining flood-absorbing land.

    6. 10 things to know about America's first Ismaili Center opening in Houston. After nearly 20 years in the making, the long-awaited Ismaili Center, Houston finally opened its doors to the public. The 11-acre site was painstakingly designed and constructed to offer indoor and outdoor public spaces for all Houstonians to enjoy, connect, and engage.

    7. Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta asking $192 million for superyacht. Fertitta, who owns the Houston Rockets and restaurant and hospitality conglomerate Landry's, decided to sell his 252-foot yacht, named Boardwalk, to make room for an even larger superyacht he is expected to receive in April 2026. Among numerous luxurious amenities, Boardwalk also features a helipad.

    8. 2 Houston neighbors rank among America's safest suburbs in 2025. Spring came in at No. 19 and West University Place followed at No. 21 in SmartAsset's August 2025 study, which is the first time the two Houston suburbs have made it into the top 25.

    9. Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds. This likely isn't a surprise to some Houstonians. The study, conducted by Highland Cabinetry, said Houston "struggles with heavy pollution and underwhelming income levels."

    10. 9 Houston universities make U.S. News' 2025 list of top grad schools. Among the newcomers this year are Houston Christian University and Texas Southern University. HCU's graduate education school ranks No. 21 in Texas, and TSU has the 10th best law school in the state.

    houstonhot headlinescity liferichard kindertilman fertittasuburbsmost popular stories
    news/city-life
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