g'day all....been lurking here for a while and just thought I might introduce myself

I'm a Canadian and a newcomer to these forums, and to BMW's as well. I recently decided to treat myself to a mid-life crisis and bought a 97 Z3 2.8 to play with. Oddly enough, spending my life in the north sort of steered me to fast snowmachines rather than roadsters, but I'm on a quest for warmth and I figured this would get me going in the right direction.

My wife feels I've lost what's left of my mind (something to do with the trip planned to Deal's Gap in 2 weeks) and actually used the terms "anal retentive and obsessive" to describe me. I would've argued a bit more but at the time I had all 4 wheels off and was cleaning the brake calipers with a toothbrush.

Just spent the weekend putting about 700 miles on my "new" toy and I've got a few questions......

1. Why didn't somebody tell me sooner how much fun these things are? And how well built the Bimmers are? And to think I almost bought a Miata

2. Is the "tail of the dragon" a suitable destination in a Z3 in late April?

3. I have a small unmarked pushbutton switch to the left of the steering column and no idea what it's for. Got a Bentley manual, but it may be an addon cause it's not mentioned, but if anybody has suggestions, I'm willing to learn. The only problem with the car is the front fog lights don't work (yet) , and I'm thinking thwere may be a connection (or lack of connection in this case)

Anyway....cheers all

Phil