Melissa Goldman
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magistraaurea.bsky.social
Melissa Goldman
@magistraaurea.bsky.social
390 followers 370 following 580 posts
Current Math teacher, former Latin teacher; forever nerd and LGBTQ+ advocate (she/they).

Pretty much running off of spite at this point.
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magistraaurea.bsky.social
Finally did more than thinking about pre-ordering @chadtopaz.bsky.social's "Unlocking Justice." Double bonus that my favorite local bookstore, @ravenbookstore.bsky.social, had it in their search. Triple bonus that it will likely be a post-birthday surprise to future-me when I get the pickup call.
Screenshot of a book pre-order for Chad M. Topaz's "Unlocking Justice: The Power of Data to Confront Inequity and Create Change" with a publish date of 5/19/2026 and a list price of $27.95. The top says "Thanks for your order Melissa" and then gives a link for tracking the order and my order number.
November 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Attacking yarn is exhausting.
The head and front paw of a tuxedo cat. She has fallen asleep on my lap, her head against a beige bag with blue and purple yarn inside. Her white paw is stretched toward the yarn.
November 7, 2025 at 2:45 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Calliope has opinions, including that I am keeping her awake.
A tuxedo cat in a window hammock. From this angle, the cat is mostly black with bits of white along her neck, front paw, and back haunches.
October 23, 2025 at 11:52 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
My tuxie regularly looks like she has opinions about how we are carrying on. But I realized I don't have a lot of head on pictures because she's usually headbutting or cuddling to get scratches.
A black and white cat looks at the camera with a superior air.
October 17, 2025 at 11:02 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Decided today was a day to go in and pet the cats at Espurresso Cafe!
Muffin, a female, 6-year-old orange tabby sits on a window sill, next to the base of a scratching post and one of its fake leaves. Jackson, a 7-year-old, male brown tabby sits in the middle of a light wood floor with one ear turned to me while people watching out the storefront. Mrs. Mittenham, a 1.5-year-old, tuxedo sleeps in the back of a plush cat cave. Her enlarged teats suggest she only recently weaned her kittens. One of Mrs. Mittenham's black and (mostly) white front feet. She is a polydactyl cat, but I have absolutely no idea how many toes are there under the fluff!
October 3, 2025 at 12:25 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Trip to Wonder Fair, because I earned a new blank notebook. As always, the highlight is a Dave sighting. #LFK
An orange tabby sleeps, curled up in the middle of a cat bed made to look like a pie. In front of the cat-pie is a small chalkboard easel that says "Dave--Cutie Pie" and another that says "Art Supplies." In the back is a larger chalkboard that proclaims, "Today's Special: Cutie Pie." Also in the back is a display of fake cupcakes and a pumpkin.
October 1, 2025 at 12:24 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
I went for a walk downtown and got to pet two different orange tabbies (Dave at Wonder Fair and Sammy at @ravenbookstore.bsky.social), so pretty good overall.
Dave, an orange tabby, has flopped onto some brick flooring of various reds, close to where it joins up with light-colored wood floor. He is solidly orange, even his stomach, except for one back foot and the last quarter of his tail. Sammy, an orange tabby, crouches on a teal sales counter, turned mostly away from the camera. White runs from his chin, down his front, to the visible part of his stomach. There are keychains, bookmarks, and stickers on the small table in front of the counter.
September 26, 2025 at 12:49 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
It's not just that I enjoy soccer and supporting women's sports (I do), but I love that this is an openly affirming space which is queer-positive and welcoming to so many communities and family friendly. #TransPeopleBelong #BlackLivesMatter
Banners at the back of a stadium section. From the left to right: Blue Crew, Black Lives Matter, Everyone Welcome Here. Blue Crew has a teal brick background and additional writing I can't read; this is the section where especially devoted fans and the drumline sit. Black Lives Matter is a black background with white text and an upraised fist. Everyone Welcome Here has a bunch of raised hands with a range of skin and shirt colors in the middle, representing a class of diverse students. It's a large version of a poster that has been in the news because some teachers have been told they can't put it up. The whole banner is not visible and is blurry because I had to zoom in so much, but it says "Trans People Belong in Sports" in black on a background of the trans flag.
September 20, 2025 at 11:32 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
One of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday evening. #KCBaby #KCCurrent
Half a stadium with lots of teal seats visible and soccer players warming up on the pitch.
September 20, 2025 at 10:58 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Lisa Simpson looking off to the side as she picks up her green backpack with a large Canadian flag patch.
September 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Night.
Tuxedo cat curled up on a white comforter and looking at the camera.
September 7, 2025 at 4:42 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Manifesting while at the NWSL game tonight. #KCBaby #NoKings
Diagonal picture of a white woman wearing a dark T-shirt with "mundus sine caesaribus" (a world without Caesars) in light gray. There are teal stadium seats in the background.
August 30, 2025 at 10:46 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Calli is snoring behind me as I work late at my computer. I feel like she is rubbing it in.
A black and white cat asleep on a white comforter. In front of her are several binders and notebooks that I have been organizing for work.
August 26, 2025 at 10:57 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
It finally arrived. And where better to start reading than the cat cafe?
Cover of "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" by Charlie Jane Anders against a light wood counter. Doodle on the title page of a cat teaching and an inscription to me. Foreground: the book, a scone, and a latte. Background: cat room at a cat cafe with benches and cat furniture around the edges and a white faux fur rug in the middle. A tiny kitty is curled up on the rug and a couple adult cats are along the back wall near the windows.
August 21, 2025 at 9:39 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
No cheating, post the last pic of your pet.
Calliope, a tuxedo cat, sleeping on her side. My stomach and blanket-covered legs are under her.
August 21, 2025 at 12:20 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Timeline juxtaposition.
June 26, 2025 at 9:51 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
My Saturday in two pictures.
White woman's torso from the neck down, wearing a black T-shirt with "Mundus Sine Caesaribus" (world without Caesars) in gray. In the background are leafy branches and a peek at a crowd. Same white woman's torso from the neck down, now wearing a tie-dye rainbow T-shirt and holding a rainbow fan with the KC Current 's logo over another rainbow. The polish on her thumbnail is orange, hinting at yet another rainbow.
June 14, 2025 at 10:49 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
What are the chances?
White woman's torso, from the neck down, showing a black t-shirt that reads "Mundus Sine Caesaribus" (world without Caesars) in gray. In the background are leafy tree branches and a tiny peek of a crowd.
June 14, 2025 at 7:43 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Realized I didn't have any more rainbow-themed nail wraps for Pride, so I had to improvise.
A white woman's hand holding a bottle of sparkly nail polish. Each nail is a different color, starting with orange on the thumb and moving through yellow, green, light blue, and purple, with multi-colored sparkles on all of them.
June 5, 2025 at 4:34 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Most mornings, Calliope chases her tail on my bed.

She also snores pretty loudly.

When I take video of either, it's hard not to shake my phone with silent laughter.
May 3, 2025 at 1:19 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
For May Day, I am wearing my union shirt. Workers of the world, unite!
White woman with brown hair pulled back and glasses on top of her head. She's wearing a red shirt with a white and red logo of the outline of an apple and LEA (Lawrence Education Association).
May 2, 2025 at 12:07 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Open your gallery, swipe up 5 times and share the first cat picture you see!

Obviously it was going to be Calliope, but this is a sweet one.
A tuxedo cat is getting head scratches from a white woman's hand. Her green eyes look up out of frame. She is laying across a pink shirt and against the arm of a dark blue chair with a TV remote.
May 1, 2025 at 4:11 AM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
I can't believe Calliope has been with me for less than a year. She came from the shelter I had worked in as a university student and is the absolute sweetest!
Tuxedo cat on her back on top of a couple bedspreads. Her stomach and paws are all white, with splotches of black on her haunches, back, and face.
April 30, 2025 at 9:08 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
How did you get my cat?
Tuxedo cat on her back. Her stomach and paws are white and there are black spots on her back legs, back, and chin. She is lying on bedspreads, 1 that is white with green leaves and 1 that is light blue.
April 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
magistraaurea.bsky.social
Conversation with my oldest.
Screenshot of a text conversation. I sent a meme with a picture of Pluto that says, "'There was no autism diagnosed before 1930.' Pluto wasn't discovered until 1930, but I'm pretty sure it was there the whole fucking time." Kid responds: Watch this post spawn a wave of Pluto deniers Me: People are jokingly blaming autism on Pluto. Kid: If autism was caused by a planet I'd think that's freaking cool Me: Would explain why so many autistics are into space. And why so many took it really hard when Pluto was demoted.
April 23, 2025 at 1:22 AM