Why do it myself?

​I was working under the Cayman R and something seems not symmetric.  A small piece of plastic air scoop, just aft of the engine, is missing on the driver side.  Not until a bit later when I looked it up on the internet did I realize how really thankful I should be for noticing this.  The two little air scoops direct air flow to cool the engine and the transmission.  The green frog is heading to track in less than 2 weeks.  It will need all the cooling it can get.
This is not the first “I am really glad I did this myself” moment in turning the wrench on my Porsche.  Nor will it be the last. 

 Lately I have been asking myself why I like working on my car.  Of course there’s the cost savings, which gets me down this path since I flush my brake fluid 6 times a year.  By now I have realized not to underestimate the time - I’ve learned that I can’t make a living as a mechanic, not even at Porsche’s hourly rate.  And there’s always the clean up, some times messy.  Learning the mechanical skills is fun to me.  It is less scary because we have so many experienced members in the club ready to help if I make a mistake.  Getting up close and personal with the Porsche also helps me understand and appreciate how well the it is designed and built, for road and for track.
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But a moment like this tells the real reason - to care for, bond with, and trust my ride.  When I am taking the Cayman R to its happiest run at the race track, I will be confident that it will accelerate, turn and brake at my request, lap after lap, because the engine is cool, the oil is clean, the brake fluid is fresh, and the pads are thick.  I know if I treated the green frog with attention and do things right, he will always reward me with exhilaration and a big smile.