Changing Attribute on Div is old value on postback

Changing Attribute on Div is old value on postback

I am using the UI Dialog....
 
I have the following code:
  1.         $('#adminDialogButtonOpen').click(function () { $('#adminDialog').dialog("open"); return false; });
            $('#adminDialogButtonCancel').click(function () { $('#adminDialog').dialog("close"); return false; });
  2.         $(function ()
            {
                $('#adminDialog').dialog({
                    autoOpen: false,
                    modal: true,
                    height: 'auto',
                    width: $('#adminDialog').css('width'),
                    open: function (event, ui)
                    {
                        $('#adminDialog').attr('divStatus', 'open');
                    },
                    close: function (event, ui)
                    {
                        $('#adminDialog').attr('divStatus', 'closed');
                    }
                });
                $('#adminDialog').parent().appendTo($('Form:first'));
                var divStatus = $('#adminDialog').attr('divStatus');
                if (divStatus == "open")
                {
                    $('#adminDialog').dialog("open");
                }
            });





















When I click on the OpenDialog button, it opens up the dialog and changes the divStatus on the DIV to 'open'.  So, what is supposed to happen, is that when I postback and re-draw the screen, it looks at the divStatus and if it is open, then it will call the dialog('open'). 
 
But, when I postback to the system... the attribute divStatus is 'closed' even though I can see the status changed in the browser...
 
The reason for the postback, is because I have a dropdownlist in my dialog, and it modifies the dialog based on what is selected.
 
I figure, I can put the OPEN and CLOSE in a hidden field, but I wanted to use the attribute status without having to add another control to the page.
 
Why is the attribute not posting back with my changed value?
 
Thanks,
Cory Jorgensen
Bitco Software