Stocks Tanked, So I Tanked a Plate of char kway teow

The market was bleeding that day. Red numbers flashed across my screen, each one quietly reminding me how much I had lost. It wasn’t just numbers—it felt personal, like watching hours of effort and hope slowly slip away.

$Himax(HIMX)$  

$Applied Optoelectronics(AAOI)$  

$Tower Semiconductor(TSEM)$  

$Venture Global, Inc.(VG)$  

I stared at the tiger broker app for a while, thinking I should feel worse. Maybe panic. Maybe regret. But instead, something else crept in.

Hunger.

My stomach didn’t care about the market. It didn’t understand losses, volatility, or bad timing. It just growled, loud and persistent, pulling me away from the screen and back into the real world.

So I stepped out.

The air was warm, the kind that carries the smell of street food from a distance. I followed it instinctively, like nothing else mattered. Soon enough, I found myself standing in front of a hawker stall, watching the uncle expertly stir-fry a plate of char kway teow noodles glistening in dark sauce, eggs sizzling, cockles popping in the heat.

Next to it, another stall was frying up fried carrot cake , tossed with eggs and preserved radish.

I ordered both.

Sitting there with a plastic plate and a simple spoon, I took my first bite. The smoky flavor hit immediately. Rich, satisfying, real. For a moment, the market didn’t exist. No charts, no losses, no stress just good food and a quiet kind of peace.

And that’s when it hit me.

The stock market goes up and down. Gains come, losses come. You can’t control everything. But a good meal? That’s immediate. That’s certain.

So I kept eating.

The market could stay red for all I caredfor that moment, I chose to enjoy something I could actually hold, taste, and appreciate.