Shane Jacobson

My joy is I do genuinely wake up nearly every day pretty happy.

I live with a mate who is bipolar.

Rough-looking dude, probably terrifying to the eye, covered in tats, used to tour within excess and Pantera, like all these bands, was a roadie, travelled the world.

And to look at, you know, he was a lot.

And he would wake up either really, really happy or really, really angry.

And so when I'd walk into the – we lived together for years and then I'd walk into the kitchen in the morning and if he was – if the kitchen was spotless and it smelt –

Like it had been deep cleaned, he was having a great day, he would get up and if I came out and it was just a few dishes that I would do them but if he would get up early and do them so there was nothing to do or if I got up and I had to do them, then he was about to come out on a rage.

And so he was red or he was green, right?

And I don't think ever in between really.

And then one day when he was having one of his red days,

I would just know not to speak, which is a lot for me.

So he was the only setting where I ever just didn't talk, like, in the morning for, like, 15 or 20 minutes.

Like, not a word.

I'd just say, morning, mate, and he'd, like, rant or nothing.

And so I just didn't speak.

So I used to walk around in the same space with him and sit down, and that worked for him, right?

In fact, he would then sit down and talk to me because he couldn't figure out what was going on, especially with me being quiet.

It would shock any room that I'd shut up.

And then one day we just sat opposite each other with me not talking and he said, do you know what really shits me?

Do you know what shits me?