Life being (too) short or long, it boils down to what you want to fill your life with - and to what degree the chosen life fulfills your needs, dreams, desires. Detailing your car including cleaning wire wheels is no more or less meaningful than rose gardening, building up to perfection an aquarium, making ship models, setting up a miniature electric train or the like. It is all about creating something, mastering a task, enjoying the beauty of your finished work. And in this case, enjoying the very complex and wisely thought out a machine such as a car is. Standing there with a polishing rag I can let my mind wander, I am contained in my little bubble for a while, I find it very meditative and refreshing.
Yesterday I changed my rear brake cylinders, first time, alone - after reading quite a bit on the net resources, learning both the mechanical principles behind a drum brake and how to do it. Sure, I could have paid my local garage to do it, but then I would have missed the wonderful feeling and good mood when I surfaced after the job was sucsessfully completed.
Lordofthewings, congratulations with a wonderful car, enjoy - both driving it and caring for it. It gives you peace of mind.
