Dogecoin synchronisation marathon - will it get over the line?

I first started to explore crypto currencies just over 3 years ago - at the time I was interested in Litecoin and Dogecoin - mainly because I could play around and understand the tech. Boy oh boy I wish it was a 50,000 coin Bitcoin wallet I just happened upon! But alas it was Dogecoin and after all this time the shiba has not reached the Moon!

My issue with all of these crypto currencies that are rooted in Bitcoin is the unwieldiness of the block chain. Clearly the block chain is a game changing technology, and yet I have been waiting over 36 hours so far for my festering doge 1.5 wallet to synchronize with the network. I need to let this sync and then I'll update to the latest version of the Dogecoin core and then I'll make sure I open it from time to time (or transfer to a managed wallet)

Names blurred to protect the innocent:

Performing a one time huge sync like this after I have left it so long is only to be expected and why using managed wallets is a far better idea for most people.

But the blockchain is showing it's ugly side over there in hosted Bitcoin world as well. I have a little Bitcoin stashed and I decided to transfer some to Bittrex so I could speculate and build myself a small portfolio of crypto currencies. This was a similar time to when I started syncing my Dogecoin wallet - about 36 hours ago. I was expecting the transfer to Bittrex to be instant as it I were sending funds using Paypal or an instant bank transfer. I was quite shocked to find it in a pending state 30 minutes later. I sent a friendly email asking Bittrex what is likely to be happening. They said it was a block chain confirmation backlog and the highest transaction charge payments were being processed first. I used an 'average' transaction payment so I don't expect I'll be near the front of the queue.

Would love to spark up a debate about this stuff and interested in your thoughts on:

• Which is going to complete first, my Dogecoin blockchain syncronization, or my Bitcoin transaction to be confirmed and completed? (36 hours and counting)

• What are peoples thoughts on the time it takes to perform a blockchain transaction?

• Anyone else with Bitcoin payments stuck in 'pending'?