So apparently a lot of people are out of work these days. I'm not talking about the latest unemployment figures or the number of people who applied for assistance in the past six months. I'm referring to the sudden influx of people I see in places I'm accustomed to having to myself on weekday mornings and afternoons.

Exhibit A: The gym.

One luxury of working from home is that I can go to my local YMCA during off-peak times. I've rarely had to wait for a treadmill, the weight room is quiet, and there's always a place to stretch out in the sauna. Not anymore. These days, the Y is packed from open to close. Who are all these people at my gym, I wonder. Don't they have jobs to go to? No, I guess they don't.

Exhibit B: The movies.

If I have time to catch a movie, which is woefully rare, I opt for matinees whenever possible. This allows me to feel like I don't live in the most populated city in the country, where movie-going ranks up there with seeing the Giants play in the Super Bowl as an activity of choice. I mean, in how many cities would a relatively obscure French film like I've Loved You So Long screen for several months?

It goes without saying that my favorite movie houses, like my gym, are no longer my domain. I have to share them with John Q. Public.

Exhibit C: Restaurants.

Unlike exhibits A and B, exhibit C is not a problem -- yet. Where I used to have to wait for a table, now I'm ushered right in and sat wherever I choose. No more waiting, no more crowds. But I also fear, before long, no more favorite restaurants. With one place after another shuttering its doors, this pleasure may be short-lived. And that would be a shame, not for my sake, but for the people who run these little bistros and cafes that I and many others have grown to love. That said, at least people are rediscovering their ovens and stoves.

The upside of a bad economy, in other words, is that a lot more people are getting in shape, cooking at home, reading books, going to movies, and otherwise biding their time in productive ways that won't break their banks. I'd like to see more of the recession mentality during boom times. I think we'd all be better off.

[Image: Rufino Uribe for Wikimedia Commons]