For laughs, jump on board the struggle bus

Eric Praetorius and Jennifer Bellso openly struggle.

They struggle over where to go drinking on Monday night, who to date — and who not to — and how to spend as much time at the beach and still earn a living.

It's a struggle, sometimes, even articulating all of their struggles. But they've found the process hilarious.

So much so that the longtime friends started a website, Ride the Struggle Bus (ridethestrugglebus.com), to share their stories of "hilarity and failures'' with anyone with a sense of humor.

Praetorius, who often goes by Prae, developed the site in March to complement his book of short stories about his experiences and what he calls the ridiculousness of the corporate world. His agent told him that no one would publish a book from a nobody, so he decided to do something.

The result is a hodgepodge of funny postings about the life and happenings of Praetorius and Bellso, who met 10 years ago over a game of beer pong and instantly bonded over their mutual love for Busch Light.

The friends reconnected last year when Bellso, a 26-year-old sales rep and golfer, moved to Tampa. Praetorius, 28, had just quit a boring job was looking to start the website.

The site targets "cube mongers," people who sit at work all day wishing they were doing something else. Stories focus on the writers' everyday adventures.

Praetorius gravitates toward bedlam and the bizarre. Bellso can complain until eternity and loves to share stories about her online dating pursuits because, she hopes, her ex-boyfriend will read them.

On average, the site gets 1,600 hits a day. Favorite features are "Facebook Offenders" about TMI status posts and Monday's "5 Questions'' from readers, like this one:

"What's the difference between partly cloudy and party sunny?"

Team Struggle: Partly cloudy means the Bud Light Lime in our cooler will stay colder longer. Partly sunny means we need to spend another $2 on ice!

Praetorius hopes the site morphs into a career and helps his book get published. Whatever the outcome, it's already been a fun ride.

"We're not out to change the world," he said. "We're just trying to make people laugh."