Finally getting the jokes

When I was in school at Virginska - post-high school but pre-university - we often got to do fun things in our English class. I was in a group of four people; it was me and my three best friends.

One time we put on a 15-minute skit made up of jokes or phrases from popular English, Australian or American sitcoms or movies. We worked on it for weeks. Back then, I was not watching a lot of television because I grew up without cable TV or a VCR, and I remember feeling a bit left out at times.

While I could laugh at the "I'll be back" reference from "The Terminator," I didn't quite get the "cereal killer" joke we included. It left me feeling embarrased - to embarrased to say anything.
(In case anyone else isn't getting it, "serial killer" is the real spelling, and "cereal" is what you eat for breakfast with milk)

I don't know exactly what made me think of this now - 11 years later. But spending nine years in the United States has definitely helped me catch up on the American English language and slang. I still don't watch a lot of TV, but at least I understand the jokes now when I do.