two ends of the pole

well, the returning of tests went better than i had anticipated. now, i get to look forward to testing my intro class tomorrow. whee.

i think i have mentioned before that my mom has bipolar disorder. having not been around her since i was a teenager, it shocked me to see how she acts in the different cycles of her illness. when she's depressed, don't even try to talk to her. she'll bite your head off. fortunately those days don't happen that often, and maybe last 4-5 days at most. when she gets manic, she goes on shopping binges. but not for herself. she'll buy stuff for other people - even people she doesn't know at all. i remember her paying to have our yard mowed, which was nice. but she also paid to have my next door neighbor's yard done, too. nice gesture, but their landlord already has a lawn service come out every week, and she doesn't have the money to be spending on things like that. last time, she bought everyone sitting around her apartment complex pool beer. yeah, she's popular now! fortunately, she does have periods of logical thinking and lucidity. i cherish those times with all my heart.