The search for a flat has been on hold for a few weeks. Just a couple days after I learned the new word 'gazump', another UK university posted an ad for a job almost exactly like mine but with a much higher salary. I worried about whether or not to apply, talked to my mother, etc. Then the next day, before I'd figured out what I was going to do, my manager saw the ad and got in touch to ask whether or not I was going to apply. Now he's talked to his boss and HR, etc., and I still don't know whether I want to apply. It's a big difference in salary, but various factors make me want to stay here rather than go there. Also, this is coming up too soon after I moved to the UK. I'd need visa sponsorship still, so the other university would have to prioritise other candidates in any case. It's a very small speciality, but I know of at least one UK citizen who would be a viable candidate and who might apply, though she's living overseas. There are some other people who are either European or permanent residents. Much anxious soul-searching this month whether or not even to apply, let alone what to do if I were offered the job. And if I apply, who to ask to be the second reference. Meanwhile I'm busy getting ready for a two-week business trip with a one-week vacation sandwiched in the middle. None of these are bad problems, but they've given me a lot to think about.
Meanwhile I have an English-language question. What do children call adults? Not relatives but friends of the family or adults from church or neighbourhood groups. When I was little, I would call adults 'Miss/Mrs/Ms Surname' or 'Mr Surname' or sometimes 'Miss/Ms/Mr FirstName'. These days American children seem to call adults by their first names without any title most of the time, but it sounds a bit too familiar to me.