There's not a lot that surprises me these days. But that could have something to do with my age. That's not to say I'm over the hill and have turned into a grumpy, old cynic, although I do know some people who would argue against that - especially if they catch me leaving for the school run at 7.15am.
It's just that I think you reach a certain stage in your life when it takes a lot to raise an eyebrow, Botox or not (for the record, I'm in the not camp).
Take women, for instance. Everybody knows we are the world's biggest - and some would say, the best - shoppers.
The UAE, it seems, is once of the few places in the world where the retail scene is bucking the global trend, with Dubai finding itself sharing first place with London as the world's hottest place to shop. According to a report published in The National this month, Dubai now has more than half of the world's international brands and, combined with Abu Dhabi, makes the Emirates the second-biggest retail market in the world, behind the UK.
This is good news for the respondents to another survey released this week by Nielsen, the global consumer information and measurement firm.
The aim of the survey, Nielsen Next: Understanding Youth in the UAE, was to provide an insight into the consumer behaviour of youths here.
And here's the surprise. It's not young women in the UAE who splurge the most on shopping - it is young Emirati males.
Nielsen found that out of every Dh100 spent, Emirati youth splashed out the most on fashion and clothing (Dh36), followed by mobile phones (Dh34), eating out (Dh15), going to the movies (Dh6), on books (Dh5) and music (Dh4).
I was raised to believe that men and shopping, even if they are in the 15 to 29 age group, went together like chalk and cheese. But the times, they are a-changin.
And that's a good thing, especially now that women appear to be sharing a slice of the shopaholic pie around - at least in the UAE.
Welcome to the club, boys.