Found this nice quote that describes very nicely, why people like me, in some cases, enjoy coding.

"Regardless of the hardware, operating system, or language, all software developers share a common joy: that thrill of transforming lines of incomprehensible text into high-powered databases, sizzling graphics, and earth-shaking audio. In our world, we get a special kind of delight in the instant gratification of turning our thoughts into code that then magically instructs a machine to do exactly as we please with just the quick rumblings of a compiler pass. Unlike architects who dream but must wait years to see the resulting building, programming is the closest thing to magic to be found in a day and age when Merlin the Wizard would probably be sent home for violating the company dress code."

This is an extract from the book The Career Programmer: Guerilla Tactics for an Imperfect World, and must read for any one even remotely thinking of coding for a living. (I am not one of those, but its still a good read)

Cheers,
Steve